Tekirdağ Province · Turkey
Tekirdağ travel guide
Tekirdağ is a city in Tekirdağ Province, Turkey, home to about 204,000 people.
- Best months
- May, June and September
- Nearest airport
- TEQ38 km · Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport
- Currency
- TRYTurkish lira
- Time zone
- Europe/Istanbul
- Language
- Turkish
About
About Tekirdağ
Tekirdağ is a city in northwestern Turkey. It is the seat of Tekirdağ Province and Süleymanpaşa District.
There are signs of human settlement here right back to the dawn of the Stone Ages. The first recorded settlement of "Byzanthe" was founded by Thracians in what is now Barbaros, a village 9 km to the southwest. The seed of the modern city was a colony of Greeks from Samos in 550 BC, who called it "Rhaidestos". When the Roman Empire divided, Tekirdağ became part of the Byzantine portion, and equally Byzantine was the evolution of its name. In 14th century it was captured by the Ottomans, who called it "Rodosçuk".
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Tekirdağ
See
- Archaeology and Ethnography Museum
- Rákóczi Museum
- Tekirdağ Photography Museum
- İbrahim Balaban Painting Museum
- Rüstem Paşa Mosque
- Namık Kemal House
- Kumbağ
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Tekirdağ to stay in
You probably only need to book ahead in peak season July-Aug. For small apart-hotels or flats, look for kiralık signs, meaning "for rent". Many places close down in winter. Hotels are clustered near the promenade and sea-front boulevard, with more a couple of blocks back. Traffic noise can be a problem.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Tekirdağ
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tekirdağ are May, June and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; December is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Tekirdağ: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport (TEQ), about 38 km from the city centre in a straight line; İstanbul Airport (IST, 107 km) and Çanakkale Airport (CKZ, 132 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Quickest if you fly into Istanbul's new airport (IST). The Asia-side airport (SAW) has budget flights but means crossing the metropolis. Istanbul Seyahat bus runs direct from IST airport to Tekirdağ, about every two hours round the clock for 230 TL (Nov 2023). Otherwise by public transport you have to go into Istanbul city centre then travel out again to Tekirdağ. Çorlu Airport (TEQ), about 60 km northeast, is much closer, but it is only served by infrequent flights from Ankara, and isn't well-connected to public transport.
Getting around
Walk for anywhere downtown. Dolmuş: public buses run by the city council are white with blue and green stripes. They ply from the old otogar to outlying residential areas — some via city centre, so this is the only occasion you might have to use them. Privately-run minibuses share the same colour pattern with the buses and you're most likely to use them to Barbaros and Kumbağ, or to Değirmenaltı, which may be badged as Route 1. All dolmuşes run on a fixed route, every 10 min daytime dropping to 30 min late evening, with the last around midnight.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
TEQ · Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport
IST · İstanbul Airport
CKZ · Çanakkale Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Tekirdağ
Stay safe
Like any big city there are rough, down-at-heel quarters, such as the northern district of Aydoğdu. These are well away from the coast and downtown, and visitors have no reason to go there. Don't swim within 5 km of the commercial harbours west of the centre. Bilge water is the main problem, and marine waste has been another. In July 2021 the national government announced vigorous measures against what they referred to as deniz salyası but most call deniz sümük - "sea snot". National emergency number is 112.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Tekirdağ: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Tekirdağ?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Tekirdağ are May, June and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 29 °C; December is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Tekirdağ?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Tekirdağ Çorlu Airport (TEQ), about 38 km from the city centre in a straight line; İstanbul Airport (IST, 107 km) and Çanakkale Airport (CKZ, 132 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Tekirdağ?
Turkish lira (TRY).
Nearby
Destinations near Tekirdağ
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.