Ordu
A Black Sea port city where hazelnut groves meet the sea, Ordu rises from a coastal promenade to hillside tea gardens with views from Boztepe across the water.
Ordu sits where the Pontic Mountains plunge toward the Black Sea, creating a city that climbs steeply from a waterfront promenade into green-forested slopes. The seafront forms the social heart of the city — a long, paved walkway where locals gather in the evenings to walk, sit on benches, and watch the ferry traffic. Behind this waterfront, the land rises quickly, and the city stacks itself along the hillside in a way that makes every walk an uphill or downhill journey.
Hazelnuts and the Black Sea Economy
Ordu is one of Turkey's principal hazelnut-growing regions, and the crop shapes the local economy and landscape in ways that become apparent in late summer, when the harvest begins. Along the roads leading inland, orchards cover the lower slopes of the surrounding hills, and the nuts appear in local markets, sweets, and chocolates sold throughout the city. The Black Sea coast produces much of the world's hazelnut supply, and this industry has defined life in Ordu for generations.
Boztepe and the View
A cable car rises from the city to the summit of Boztepe, a hill that offers a sweeping view over Ordu and the Black Sea. On clear days the horizon stretches across the water. At the top, small tea gardens occupy the slopes, and a small mosque stands among the trees. Trails lead into the forested hillside, and the summit area has the unhurried feel of a local outing rather than a formal tourist site. descending by cable car in the evening, the city lights begin to appear along the coast below.
The Waterfront and Local Life
The promenade is a place to eat seafood at simple restaurants near the harbour, where the menu might include fresh fish, Black Sea anchovies, and local cheeses. Tea houses dot the waterfront. Moving inland and uphill, neighbourhood streets pass fruit sellers, small mosques, and the everyday texture of a Turkish provincial city that sees fewer international visitors than some other destinations along this coast. The surrounding valleys and higher elevations hold hiking possibilities — meadows, streams, and the continuation of the Pontic mountain landscape.
Find it on the map
- Ordu City
Tours that visit Ordu
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.
