Getting to Trabzon
You could come overland. In 2 days (or less if you include a nightbus), you can make the trip from Istanbul. This costs a bit less then 30 US$.
There are regular plains from Istanbul.
There's also a ferry making regular stops on the way once a week.
Accomodation
The hotel situation in Trabzon has changed a bit since the opening of the Russian border. A lot of Russian prostitutes, the so-called "Natasja's", have occupied the harbourzone and Taksimsquare.
Hotel Anil: a bit noisy because of the Natasja's, 15 U$.
Hotel Horon: promises luxury rooms with AC, but expensive at 50 US. This includes a small breakfast at the roofterrace.
Don't get tempted to sleep in one of the parks. I met someone who was robbed there during the night.
For camping, it is better to go to Macka and surroundings, it is safe, about 50 km, municipial bus every hour (11/98).
What to do
Trabzon itself doesn't have too much to offer to the tourist. There is the Aya Sofia chute a bit out of town with nice frescoes. Take a dolmus.
The main thing why people come to Trabzon is the monastery of Sumela, and it's definitely worth it! Sumela is about 50 km south of Trabzon. There are different ways to get there:
- We tried to join a tour organized by the tourist office, but t
here weren't enough people so they cancelled it. We decided with the 3 of us to take a dolmus to Macka (30 km) and then walk/hitch to Sumela. There was very few traffic, but finally there was a truck giving us a ride. This was 1986, but I got a report saying it is now quite easy to hitch there since there's more traffic.
- Nowadays there's a bus company Ulusoy organizing the trip. They give you enough time to visit the place. The bus company was the one up the rise from the Tourist Office and Ataturk Alani called Ulusoy. There was a bus leaving at 9 am leaving from the Ulusoy eski otogar (Brett Atkinson and Yuval Ronen 8/97). The trip was cheap (about 5 US$), and you get 3 to 4 hours to visit the place. You will be mainly accompanied by Turkish tourists.
- Finally you could of course just take a taxi, that will be the most expensive option.
We actually camped at the base of the monastery (this was 1986). The monastery was illuminated, which is of course a marvellous sight. There was a guard who collected the admission fee, and afterwards invited us for tea. Once you get into the monastery, you might be disappointed. Inside are only ruins. There are some frescoes, but they have been damaged.
There is a camping ground about 3 km coming from Macka towards the monastery.
Getting out of there is not so difficult since you can hitch a ride on the several dolmuses with tourists.
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