Artvin
Artvin sits where the Black Sea coast meets steep green mountains, a gateway between Türkiye's highlands and the Georgian border, with ancient stone churches above tea gardens and the Çoruh River below.
Artvin occupies a dramatic slice of Türkiye's northeastern Black Sea coast, where forested mountains plunge almost directly into the sea. The city sits in a valley carved by the Çoruh River, its streets climbing away from the water into hillsides thick with deciduous forest. This is a landscape shaped by elevation: within a short drive, you move from sea-level ports through tea plantations and hazelnut orchards into alpine meadows and craggy peaks.
History in Stone
The surrounding region preserves a layered past in its architecture. Stone churches built during Georgian and Byzantine periods stand in villages throughout the highlands, their simple rectangular forms and carved doorways weathered by centuries. On a hillside above the city, the remnants of Artvin Castle speak to a long history of fortification along this frontier. The Ottoman period left its own marks: bridges, caravanserais, and mosques built in local stone that blend with the landscape rather than dominate it.
Mountains and National Parks
The terrain around Artvin is among Türkiye's most dramatic. Two national parks protect significant portions of the surrounding mountains, preserving both landscape and biodiversity. Deep valleys, waterfalls, and high plateaus characterize the interior, where villages maintain pastoral traditions. The Altiparmak Valley, with its series of traditional stone bridges, offers one of the region's most characteristic landscapes—a green corridor winding between steep-sided hills.
Black Sea Life
The coastal character here differs from the resort-focused stretches further west. Hopa, the nearest port town, has a working harbour where fishing boats unload alongside the occasional cargo vessel. The regional cuisine reflects the Black Sea's identity: anchovies prepared in dozens of ways, dense Black Sea bread, local cheeses, and tea grown on the nearby slopes. In Artvin itself, a small bazaar district serves both locals and the steady stream of Turkish visitors who come for the cool mountain air and unhurried atmosphere. The market fills on certain days with produce from the surrounding villages—wild herbs, honey from high meadows, and stone-pressed cheeses.
Find it on the map
- Artvin City
Tours that visit Artvin
No tours visit this place just yet — tell us where you want to go and we'll build one. See all tours
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
