Skip to content
Mixroutes
Yalova
Town in Turkey

Yalova

Yalova is a city located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara.

Plan a trip to Yalova→From Istanbul

It is the seat of Yalova Province and Yalova District. The city has a population of over 250,000 with adjacent conurbation districts. A largely modern city, it is best known for the spa resort at nearby Termal, a popular summer retreat for residents of Istanbul.

Get in

Getting to Yalova

IDO car ferries sail every 2 hours from Istanbul Yenikapı, just south of the Old City, taking 75 min. Pricing is dynamic but in 2022 an adult foot passenger pays about 80 TL. They also sail hourly from Pendik on Istanbul's Asia Side, taking 45 min, for an adult fare in 2022 of 45 TL.

  1. 01
    Yalova ferry pier is central
See

Worth seeing

Gazi Paşa Cd is the long beachfront boulevard, mostly pedestrianised and lined with cafes.

  1. 01
    City Museum

    Small museum of city life, but few artifacts, and the displays are only in Turkish.

  2. 02
    Ibrahim Muteferrika Kagit Museum

    Muteferrika (1674-1745) was an ethnic Hungarian from what is now Romania, who converted to Islam and became an Ottoman diplomat.

  3. 03
    Yürüyen Köşk

    This is a beach-house used by Atatürk in his later years, now a cafe.

  4. 04
    Karakilise
  5. 05
    Çınarcık west is
Do

Things to do

Altinbaş Lunapark is a brash chain funfair by the marina, open daily 11:30 to midnight. Çınarcık has the best beach and is the party town. Thermal springs bubble out of the mountain at 60 °C in Termal and elsewhere along the ridge to Armutlu. They taste very salty, being heavily mineralised. They're mildly radioactive from radon, but within the permitted range.

Eat

Where to eat

Yalova near the marina has Doyum Lokantası, Kent Lokantası, Latika, Güven Lokantası, Kardeşler, Kervan, Yalova Gurme, Özbaşkanlar, Yalova Balıkçısı, Yildiz Kebap, Kadirga Yemek, Balık sofrası, Lokanta Cihangir, and Tike right by the ferry pier. Local specialties: balık ekmek is fish sandwiched within a half-loaf, from the floating balıkcı who fish from the river. Yalova Sutlusu is a milky, coconut-infused baklava.

How locals move

Getting around Yalova the local way

  • Get inIDO car ferries sail every 2 hours from Istanbul Yenikapı, just south of the Old City, taking 75 min.
  • Get inhas IDO car ferries from Eskihisar near Gebze across the Gulf.
  • Get inDolmuşes run from the ferry pier (look for the booth) to Orhangazi every 30 min, to İznik hourly, and to Yenişehir every two hours.
  • Get aroundYalova sprawls, with several outlying towns such as Termal (for hot springs), Çınarcık and Çiftlikköy (for beaches) and Topçular (for ferries from Eskihisar).
  • Get aroundIn town their main hub is by the ferry terminal (ask for İDO); for town centre ask for Heykel or Merkez.

From Wikivoyage: Yalova, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.