Sapanca Lake
Sapanca Lake
4
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
488 reviews
Excellent
212
Very good
173
Average
67
Poor
18
Terrible
18
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punisher34
Istanbul, Türkiye596 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
After organizing a daytime breakfast with a group of friends, we went to the barbecue areas by Sapanca Lake. Even though the lake and its surroundings were beautiful in terms of natural beauty, unfortunately everywhere was crawling with Arabs. They're literally everywhere, and it's annoying.
Written August 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mohamed Sami
Alexandria, Egypt1,983 contributions
Oct 2022 • Family
A nice looking lake reachable from Istanbul. This place is very nice for the eyes and very relaxing where the lake is colourful with a lot of greeneries around and many kid activities and ice cream boosts. If you have time you can also enjoy a boat trip with very nice views
Written September 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
_zmir_T_rkiye3101 Beste Erbak
Izmir, Türkiye14,318 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
A very beautiful freshwater lake. It is a freshwater lake in the Marmara Region that was once part of the sea. It is 16 kilometers long and covers an area of 42 square kilometers. The nature is magnificent. There are cafes and restaurants on the shore. A nice walking path. Very enjoyable.
Written February 23, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lolwa M
1 contribution
Aug 2021 • Family
No places to set
For 3 hours I tried to set & drink coffee
Restaurant only accepting family coming for meals.
Impolite
One person is not welcomed.
Other places are not clean
No proper toilets
My children enjoyed the rides
But Safety is an issue !!!!
Dirty roads, bad smell every where
For 3 hours I tried to set & drink coffee
Restaurant only accepting family coming for meals.
Impolite
One person is not welcomed.
Other places are not clean
No proper toilets
My children enjoyed the rides
But Safety is an issue !!!!
Dirty roads, bad smell every where
Written August 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Garth M
1 contribution
Oct 2020 • Family
I love this lake it has great fishing but the surrounding area is v traditional so don’t expect a beer but do expect plenty of headscarves . It has the usual boat rides and pedaloes all overpriced.
Take a drive round the lake to find restaurants overlooking the lake and sit with the local gangsters(really it has many) enjoying a boozy dinner.
Also lots and lots of beggars which is unusual in turkey.
Take a drive round the lake to find restaurants overlooking the lake and sit with the local gangsters(really it has many) enjoying a boozy dinner.
Also lots and lots of beggars which is unusual in turkey.
Written January 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michał C
Warsaw, Poland4 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
Lake is big and located in a nice area. Unfortunstelly there is too kuch comerce around it. Hard to find a spot with sole nature. You can see the lake for example from the Sapanca village.
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mohsen m
Iran4 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
I was in Sapanja lake on 2021-08-05.
It is a lovely lake and there are many restuarants in the beach. I highly recommend Gulzar restuarant. It is a very nice and clean place to unwind and enjoy eating with the view of the lake. The staff are very friendly, especially Metil. There is a cat named Benjamin which has brought from Ankara. Your kids can play with him for an hour and get happy.
It is a lovely lake and there are many restuarants in the beach. I highly recommend Gulzar restuarant. It is a very nice and clean place to unwind and enjoy eating with the view of the lake. The staff are very friendly, especially Metil. There is a cat named Benjamin which has brought from Ankara. Your kids can play with him for an hour and get happy.
Written August 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gabi h
Rishon Lezion, Israel45 contributions
Oct 2022 • Friends
More than two hours drive from Istanbul just to get you to a tourist trap.
Nothing more than that.
We expected to see the nature of the please, and we arrived to a very poor zip line,a very small domestic water fall and very poor restaurants with very poor food.
It was a big lost of time
Nothing more than that.
We expected to see the nature of the please, and we arrived to a very poor zip line,a very small domestic water fall and very poor restaurants with very poor food.
It was a big lost of time
Written October 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Malih D
San Diego, CA167 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
Lake Sapanca is a fresh water lake in Turkey, between the Gulf of İzmit and the Adapazarı Meadow. The lake has a catchment area of 251 km², surface area is 45 km², a length 16 km east-west / 5 km north-south, and a maximum depth of 52 m
Written October 17, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoSolien
Utrecht, The Netherlands2 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
The best about our tour was our guide Ismael from Azure tours. He was very funny and entertaining. We were all Arabic speaking, so Ismael spoke Arabic, although he knew also English. I also liked the lunch with fresh baked fish in Masukiye and the view there. At the lunch a glass of fresh juice costs 10TL extra, and a plate of fruit 15TL extra.
The less positieve points:
1- we were brought to a very small childrens zoo in Urmaniye instead of ‘the biggest zoo of Istanbul’ which is Faruk Yalcin Zoo. The guide didn’t even inform us about this change, after I asked he said it was to save time. This small zoo was really a waste of time.
2- lots of time was waste traveling to a honey selling shop before the lunch and another Turkish delight selling shop in the afternoon.
3- the actual site seeing time is max 3 hours, compared to the 12 hours (all day) that the tour takes including travel time and stopping time.
4- there are some exciting activities to do around the lake of Sapanca, like riding with a quad bike up to the hill where you have a panoramic view of the lake and the surroundings (costs 200TL, you want a video of your ride? costs 80TL extra), bungee jumping (costs 30TL pp) and zipline (25TL pp). The quad bike wasn’t worth the money to my opinion. All these thing are optional and nice to do but the guide doesn’t tell you anything about the extra costs until you get there. If you don’t want to do these things but other people in your group do, then you will have to wait 1-1,5 hour until the rest of your group comes back.
On the way back to Istanbul (2,5hrs until we got back to the hotel) we sang and danced a lot in the bus with our guide, this was really fun.
Conclusion: do this trip keeping in your mind that most of the time you will be traveling in the bus, and take some extra money with you if you like honey, turkish delight and experiencing some excitement.
I hope this review helps!
The less positieve points:
1- we were brought to a very small childrens zoo in Urmaniye instead of ‘the biggest zoo of Istanbul’ which is Faruk Yalcin Zoo. The guide didn’t even inform us about this change, after I asked he said it was to save time. This small zoo was really a waste of time.
2- lots of time was waste traveling to a honey selling shop before the lunch and another Turkish delight selling shop in the afternoon.
3- the actual site seeing time is max 3 hours, compared to the 12 hours (all day) that the tour takes including travel time and stopping time.
4- there are some exciting activities to do around the lake of Sapanca, like riding with a quad bike up to the hill where you have a panoramic view of the lake and the surroundings (costs 200TL, you want a video of your ride? costs 80TL extra), bungee jumping (costs 30TL pp) and zipline (25TL pp). The quad bike wasn’t worth the money to my opinion. All these thing are optional and nice to do but the guide doesn’t tell you anything about the extra costs until you get there. If you don’t want to do these things but other people in your group do, then you will have to wait 1-1,5 hour until the rest of your group comes back.
On the way back to Istanbul (2,5hrs until we got back to the hotel) we sang and danced a lot in the bus with our guide, this was really fun.
Conclusion: do this trip keeping in your mind that most of the time you will be traveling in the bus, and take some extra money with you if you like honey, turkish delight and experiencing some excitement.
I hope this review helps!
Written October 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Merhaba. Sapanca tren istasyonunun yakınlarında kamp alanı mevcut mu? Yürüme mesafesinde çadır atıp kalabileceğimiz bir yer mevcut mu?
Written July 8, 2021
İzmit merkezden(halk evi seka park vs) sapanca gölüne ulaşımı nasıl sağlayabiliriz?
Written August 12, 2019
Halkevi orta yoldan Sapanca araçları geçiyor, ordan binip gidebilirsiniz ilk durakta SEKApark yanılmıyorsam
Written August 12, 2019
Hi could you please advice how to reach this place. Or can you recommend a tour office for this trip. Thanks
Written August 8, 2019
Hello ..
you can trnt a car , use google maps to get there ..
Or check with travel agency .. there are many in taksim square ,, i went ther with Mercan Travel - here is their website : mercan.travel lr call them +90-212-2337846
Hope this is helpful :)
Written August 9, 2019
Hi, I am planning to go to Sapanca lake in August, what area of the lake is the best to go to? I am planning to rent a car and go there. Where should I go to?
Written June 13, 2018
Renting a car for a group of 3 or more maybe fine
If you are alone or couple I recommend to join tour
It is 90 Turkish lira ( could be more in august) per person and can be booked easily
The lake area is small and few hours will be enough
Then move to the waterfall called Sopeli
Good luck
Written June 13, 2018
How can I get Sapanca from Istanbul? Is it a long distance? What is the better way to get there
Written April 2, 2018
Hi Mohaya,
infact 1 day will be ok for a short visit but for more comfortable time I'd like to spend a night there , if i were you.
Possible to use bus : If you are staying in Europe Side ,
directly go to Esenler Otogar ( Intercity Coach Station) and find VIB company, every hour they have trips. Or Izmit Seyahat to Izmit and from there to Sapanca.
And if you are staying in Asia side this is a better choice. You need to go to Pendik Train station. Please remember that railway trip is lovelier than bus.
Thats all :)
Take care and Have fun...
Written April 3, 2018
Hello, do they have bicycles to rent over there? How far if from Istanbul? can you come and go in 1 day or need to stay in a hotel?
Written May 31, 2017
Yes. You can drive there and back to Istanbul. 2 sa. 37 dk. (140,5 km) E80
I am sure they do have rental bicycles during summer but I have not rented one myself.
Written May 31, 2017
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