What a Day in Trabzon Really Costs: Budget, Mid-Range and Splurge, Line by Line

Trabzon has become one of the most popular summer escapes for Gulf families, and prices have followed. Hotels near Meydan charge noticeably more in July and August, Uzungöl's lakeside restaurants know exactly who their customers are, and a private driver can cost more per day than your hotel room. Even so, Trabzon is still good value next to Istanbul or a European mountain resort. You just need to know where the money goes.

The basics stay cheap. A glass of tea in a garden on Boztepe costs about the same as a small bottle of water in Dubai. A plate of Akçaabat köfte with salad and bread makes a full lunch for less than a café sandwich back home. City dolmuşes cost very little. The big variables are the ones visitors tend not to budget for: accommodation in peak weeks, transport to Sümela Monastery, Uzungöl and the high plateaus (yaylas), and the extras that pile up at tourist hotspots.

This guide breaks a day down line by line, with cheap and splurge options for each. Prices are in AED with Turkish lira (TRY) equivalents. We've worked at roughly 1 AED ≈ 13 TRY (autumn 2026). The lira moves fast and menu prices are revised often, so treat lira figures as a guide and check the rate before you fly.

These are per-person figures for two adults sharing a room in high season (June to August). They exclude flights. May and September run about 15–25% cheaper on accommodation.

Tight budget: around AED 180–260 (about 2,300–3,400 TRY)

• Simple hotel or pension near Meydan, half of a double room: around AED 70–110
• Bakery breakfast, köfte or pide lunch, home-style esnaf lokantası dinner: around AED 60–90
• Dolmuş and city buses, one shared tour every other day: around AED 25–45
• Tea, simit, a museum ticket: around AED 20–30

Comfortable mid-range: around AED 400–600 (about 5,200–7,800 TRY)

• Four-star hotel with breakfast, half of a double: around AED 150–250
• Breakfast included; a proper sit-down lunch and dinner with fish or kebab: around AED 120–180
• Rental car shared between two, plus fuel: around AED 80–130
• Entry fees, tea gardens, snacks: around AED 40–60

Splurge: around AED 900–1,500+ (about 11,700–19,500+ TRY)

• Top-end city or seafront hotel, or a lake-view chalet in Uzungöl: around AED 350–700
• Private driver-guide with a large van: around AED 200–350 per person when split between two
• Fish restaurants, lakeside dining, a long kuymak breakfast in the mountains: around AED 200–300
• Shopping for tea, hazelnuts and silver: open-ended

Families of four or more usually do best in the mid-range tier. A rental car or one private van spreads the cost and avoids squeezing children and luggage into dolmuşes.

Cheap (around AED 120–220 per room per night): Small hotels in the streets around Meydan Park and Uzun Sokak are basic but central. Expect a shower over the toilet, thin walls and a simple Turkish breakfast of olives, cheese, eggs and tea. You'll pay a little more for air-conditioning, which you'll want in muggy July. The location saves money every day, because dolmuşes to Boztepe, the airport and the Sümela tour pick-ups all start within walking distance.

Mid-range (around AED 300–500): Business-style four-stars around the centre and along the coastal road towards Yomra offer bigger rooms, family configurations and generous breakfast buffets. These buffets can easily replace lunch. Many cater to Gulf guests, with Arabic-speaking staff, prayer mats and no alcohol on site.

Splurge (around AED 700–1,500+): International-brand hotels such as Novotel Trabzon in Yomra and Radisson Blu sit near the sea and the airport. They suit families who will drive daily. For the classic mist-and-lake experience, the better wooden chalets and bungalow hotels above Uzungöl charge premium rates for balconies over the water. Book weeks ahead for Eid periods, when they fill first.

The money-saving move: stay in the city for most nights and add only one night in Uzungöl. A lake-view room costs far more than a comparable city room. The lake is also at its best early in the morning, before the day-trippers arrive, so one well-timed night is enough.

Black Sea food is hearty, cheap at source and almost entirely halal. Fresh seafood and lakeside tables are where bills climb.

Cheap eats (around AED 15–45 per meal):

• Akçaabat köfte: small grilled meatballs with piyaz bean salad and bread. Eat them in the town of Akçaabat itself, a short dolmuş ride west, or in the centre.
• Karadeniz pide: boat-shaped and topped with egg, butter or minced meat. Good-value pide houses are everywhere.
• Esnaf lokantası (tradesmen's canteens) around the Çarşı district serve point-and-pick stews, beans, rice and soups.
• A simit and tea from a street cart costs well under AED 5.

Mid-range treats (around AED 50–100):

• Kuymak (also called muhlama): cornmeal melted with butter and stringy local cheese, served in a hot pan. Order it with the full village breakfast spread at a mountain restaurant.
• Laz böreği: a custard-filled pastry. Find it in central pastry shops.
• Hamsi (Black Sea anchovies), fried or baked into hamsili pilav. Anchovies are best and cheapest from roughly November to February. In summer the fish is often frozen or more expensive.

Splurge (around AED 120–250+ per person): Seafront fish restaurants and the lakeside terraces at Uzungöl. Grilled trout from local farms is the standard order at the lake. Always check prices per portion or per kilo before ordering, as unpriced menus at the lake are a known trap.

Tip: tea is usually served by the glass, typically around AED 1.5–3. Tea brought "on a tray" for a large group can quietly add up, so ask what you're paying.

Excursions are the biggest swing factor in a Trabzon budget. Four main options cover most visitors.

Shared minibus tours (around AED 40–80 per person). Agencies around Meydan sell daily departures to Sümela (about 45–60 minutes away) and Uzungöl (about 1.5–2 hours each way). Prices usually cover transport only, not entry fees or lunch. Expect a fixed lunch stop at a partner restaurant and a souvenir or tea-shop stop.

Public dolmuş (around AED 10–25 each way). Minibuses run from the city towards Maçka, the town below Sümela, and towards Çaykara for Uzungöl. Departures thin out in the afternoon, and you may need a local taxi for the last stretch. This is the cheapest option but slow, best for independent travellers with time.

Rental car (around AED 120–250 per day in summer, plus fuel). Fuel in Turkey is expensive by Gulf standards, so budget roughly AED 60–120 for a Sümela or Uzungöl round trip. Mountain roads are paved but narrow, fog can settle quickly, and parking at Uzungöl gets crowded by late morning. For the high plateaus such as Hıdırnebi, Haldizen or Ayder across the border in Rize, a car is easily the best value for a family.

Private driver with van (around AED 400–750 per day per vehicle). This is the splurge, and it makes sense for groups of five to seven. Agree the route, waiting time and fuel inclusion in writing on WhatsApp before you set off.

Sümela entry is charged per person and has risen sharply in recent years. Budget roughly the equivalent of €15–20 per adult. Allow for the shuttle or walk up from the lower car park, and check the official museum site for current prices.

Most overspending in Trabzon comes from small premiums at the busiest spots.

• Eid and peak-August pricing. Hotel rates can jump sharply over Eid holidays, when much of the Gulf arrives at once. If your dates are flexible, June and September give you the same green landscapes with calmer prices.
• Uzungöl markups. Everything at the lake costs more than in the city: trout lunches, honey, tea, parking and even ATV rides. Bring snacks and water from Trabzon.
• "Village honey" and souvenirs. Anzer honey from the Rize highlands is genuine and very expensive. Cheap jars sold as Anzer at roadside stalls rarely are. Buy from established shops in the city and ask for certification.
• Unmetered taxis at excursion sites. City taxis are metered. In the mountains, agree a fare before you get in.
• Currency conversion. Card terminals sometimes offer to charge you in AED or dollars. Always choose lira to avoid a poor exchange rate.

What's worth paying for: good Black Sea tea (Rize brands sell cheaply in supermarkets), hazelnuts and hazelnut paste from shops in the Çarşı bazaar area, and Kazaziye wire-woven silver jewellery, a Trabzon craft. Prices for Kazaziye vary widely with silver weight and workmanship, so compare a few shops first.

Here is the same day of Sümela, the city and Boztepe, done cheaply and done comfortably. Figures are per person.

Budget version (around AED 150–200)

• 08:00 Simit, cheese and tea from a bakery near Meydan: around AED 8–12
• 09:00 Shared minibus to Sümela from an agency on Meydan: around AED 40–60
• 10:00–12:30 Sümela entry and the walk up through the pine forest: entry around €15–20 equivalent
• 13:30 Pide lunch in Maçka, or on return to the city: around AED 20–30
• 16:00 Walk Uzun Sokak, then visit Trabzon Ayasofya, now a mosque, which is free to enter outside prayer times
• 18:30 Dolmuş up to Boztepe for sunset tea over the harbour: around AED 10–15 including tea
• 20:00 Esnaf lokantası dinner: around AED 25–35

Comfort version (around AED 550–800)

• 08:00 Hotel breakfast buffet, included in the room rate
• 09:00 Rental car or private driver to Sümela, beating the tour buses: around AED 150–300 per person when shared
• 13:00 Long kuymak and village-breakfast lunch at a forest restaurant near Maçka: around AED 60–90
• 15:30 Shopping for Kazaziye silver and hazelnuts in Çarşı: open-ended
• 19:00 Sunset at Boztepe by car
• 20:30 Seafront fish dinner: around AED 150–250

Both versions cover the same sights. The difference is time, comfort and how early you beat the crowds.

Getting there. Trabzon Airport (TZX) sits on the coast only a few kilometres east of the centre. Seasonal direct flights operate from Gulf cities in summer, with carriers such as flydubai, Jazeera Airways and Saudi airlines typically adding routes from roughly May to September. Year-round, connect via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, AJet or Pegasus. Off-peak return fares from the UAE via Istanbul often sit around AED 1,200–2,000. Summer direct flights can cost more.

Airport to city. A metered taxi to Meydan takes around 10–20 minutes and typically costs around AED 30–50. Dolmuşes and municipal buses along the coastal road are much cheaper.

Getting around. In the city, dolmuşes run along the main coastal road and up to Boztepe, and you pay the driver in cash. The centre around Meydan, Uzun Sokak and Çarşı is walkable but hilly.

Money. Cards are widely accepted in hotels, malls such as Forum Trabzon and larger restaurants. Carry lira for dolmuşes, tea gardens, village stalls and parking. Bank ATMs give better rates than exchange booths at tourist sites. Tipping around 5–10% in restaurants is appreciated.

Safety. Trabzon is generally safe and conservative, and families are welcome everywhere. The main risks are on the roads: fog, sharp mountain bends and speeding minibuses. Drive in daylight and carry a light rain jacket all year, because the mist that makes Trabzon beautiful also brings sudden showers.

Read more: Trabzon · Trabzon in 3 Days: Sümela, Uzungöl and the Black Sea City, Hour by Hour