Rize

Understand

Rize is best known for cultivation of tea: the climate of the northeast coast is the most suitable in the country. This is serious business: Turks are among the heaviest tea drinkers per capita in the world, very little is imported, and almost all of it is produced here.

Get in

Rize is on Highway D-010, which runs almost the length of the Black Sea coast.

() has daily flights from Istanbul (both IST and SAW), Ankara and Izmir. It's on an artificial island 36 km east of Rize. The Havas shuttle bus no longer runs, so you need a taxi or car hire.

Trabzon Airport () 73 km west has better international connections.

Six buses a day are direct from Istanbul, taking 19 hours via Gebze, Izmit, Adapazarı, Samsun and Trabzon. From Ankara is 13 hours. Some buses continue to Hopa on the border then Batumi in Georgia. Dolmuşes run frequently from Trabzon.

Bus lines are Metro Turizm and Flixbus.

is central in town, unusually for Turkey, as D-010 runs just past it.

Get around

Much of Rize can be accessed on foot, but it sprawls a long way east and west. Dolmuşes ply the main streets.

See

thumb | 300px | Castle entrance

built in 1711 is the city's main mosque. Yeni Orta Mosque, built in 1941, is plain outside, with a tatty line of shops at street level, but handsome within. The entrance is on Hal Sk opposite Grand 464 Otel. Kale Mosque clings to the hillside next to the castle. It was built in 1658.

Do

thumb | 300px | View of Rize Şafak Lunapark is a weary-looking children's amusement park on the downtown waterfront. Football: Çaykur Rizespor play soccer in Süper Lig, the top tier. Their Rize City (aka Çaykur Didi) Stadium (capacity 15,200) is on the seafront 6 km east of city centre. Beach: sorry, no. Land has been reclaimed all along the shore, for instance to build the main highway, so the sea comes right up to the concrete foundations.

Buy

Lots of supermarkets in town centre, usually open daily 08:00-22:00.

Eat

Lots of eateries along the main east-west streets through tow, no stand-out.

Local specialties include muhlama (cheese melted into oatmeal), hamsi boreği (a tortilla of fried bread, anchovies and rice), and alabalik (trout).

Drink

thumb | 300px | Tea plantation near Rize Tea, the national drink, is produced here.

It's a conservative city, few places serve alcohol.

Sleep

Sahil Park off Menderes Blv is the focus of a cluster of mid-range hotels. These include Milano (below), Şimal, Rhisos Gold, Aydoğan, Gözde Pansiyon and Grand 53.

Connect

As of May 2025, Rize and the coast highway have 4G from all Turkish carriers, but the signal is poor in the mountains to the south. 5G has not yet rolled out in Turkey.