Recently, we had a pleasant tour in the Aegean with our campervan (from now on I will be calling it a caravan). A week on the road seemed to me like a whole month, because I had been locked up at home for months because of the pandemic. I don’t want you to read this article like a simple campervan and Aegean caravan route because it was a small step for humanity, but a giant step for me. So I’ll start by telling a little bit of my story about what I did during the two weeks, and then I’ll take the Aegean caravan route . I will answer frequently asked questions such as how we prepared our meals on the road, how we handled the toilet and shower stuff in the campervan, and whether it was not hot, as soon as the article came in. For a long time, I was very eager to write a blog with such pain, sweetness, and photos instead of articles that give plain information, finally the time has come.

Those who follow foreign blogs know that such travel articles hold a lot in foreigners, but I can’t say anything clear about what the public reaction will be because our people don’t like to read; We’ll see it all together. Of course, there may be some of us who don’t want to worry about the details of how I feel nauseous on the boat and just want to look at the route. I don’t resent those who jump and jump, don’t be afraid. Anyone who wants is free to read as they please. You can even ctrl+f and read only the places where the words you want are passed. My soul doesn’t even hear it really, be comfortable. If you want, you can go directly to the heading “Aegean tour route is starting” below, or if you say you can’t bother with reading so many things, you can just watch the video at the end of the article where I describe our 1 day in the caravan during the Aegean tour, no problem. Anyway, I made my warning, if we are ready, I start to explain.

Treacherous Friends Who Convinced Me To Go Out When There Was A Virus Out There

I’ve barely left home in the last four or five months. Because it seemed to me that the world was covered with a virus, and I didn’t want to get a virus because of them, because I also saw how stupid people can be in the process. (Yes, I instinctively get ugly when it comes to survival, what do I do ajdsk) in addition to the articles and books I was busy writing during my time at home, I mostly dealt with the plants I grew, took care of the garden, and went on small bike tours. And of course, “Why don’t I repaint the furniture in my youth room decorated with Fenerbahçe colors and get a more modern look?” It was also happening that I tried to do big things with the enthusiasm coming randomly. (I see it and take care of the architectural documentaries that I always watch.) So in general, I was happy with my condition.

If you remember, we were all very nervous when the pandemic first started. Some people were very bored at home, some came out of their cocoons, and some discovered themselves, in short, there were some changes in everyone’s life. I was never bored when I was home, and I didn’t come out of my cocoon, but I was really happy that I was simply away from the virus, and I intended to stay home as long as I could. But my dear friend Tuğçe’s purchase of a sailing boat turned all my plans upside down. Tuğçe and Emre invited us to the boat, Selçuk rose to this idea, I was terrified by their comfort or something like that when they said that 4 people sharing a small living space for a long time may be risky, despite all the arguments I presented, they somehow deceived me and convinced me to leave the house.

Never Without Disinfectant

I was convinced to leave the house, but I also didn’t neglect to take a liter of disinfectant with me, as the part of my brain that was trying to survive came out of the house with me. Normally, when I was packing my travel bag, the most important thing would be underwear. (Yes, yes, you read it right, I said underwear. I never travel until I’m sure I’ve brought enough underwear with me.) But the most important thing this time was disinfectant. I think it’s a tremendous example of how human priorities change.

4-day boat tour and sailing in Gökova Bay, Mugla

Leaving our safe and virus-free home behind, we first went to İzmir to meet Tuğçe and Emre. As Izmir is a humid place than I remembered last time, I regretted the decision as I got out of the car. I even felt like I had betrayed our cool town Sapanca. If I had a little conscience, I could travel on a dolphin bike ride on Sapanca Lake instead of going to Izmir for a boat tour. But I didn’t.…

Fortunately, there was air conditioning in Tuğçe’s house, but my love for Sapanca still goes on. After spending a night in Izmir, we went to Bodrum to go on a boat together. We wandered in different coves in the Gulf of Gökova for 4 days. If we don’t count my stomach, which started to get sick from the moment we got on the boat, sailing on the sea was very exciting. On the first day, both because of my nausea and because I was constantly trying to keep track of where people touched (because I wouldn’t touch where they touched and I would be the survivor. Little calculations of my amygdala asfdas) I couldn’t focus on the event, but the days that followed were really good. The best part was sleeping in the open air while watching the sky, and those who know me know that it is in the top three of my favorite things in life.

In addition to the fun of this trip, there was minimal sailing training for us. Thanks to Emre, a long-distance captain who has devoted his heart to sailing since he was little, we now know many things such as what is sailing and how to do it, what should be considered when making tack, and tricks of the course of the bear’s leg. As you can see, once we’ve learned a little bit of literature, we’ve been able to pretend to be a captain next to someone who doesn’t know it in four days.

By the way, speaking of sailing training, I came across an article later during my research about sailing. It was an article about sailing in Croatia and gave me awesome tips about sailing. Besides, since the places mentioned in this article caught my interest, my next goal will definitely be sailing in Croatia one day.

Aegean Caravan Tour Begins!

After we got off the boat, we didn’t have a clear plan. Because we didn’t have time restrictions, we decided to continue on our way from the coastline and stay where we liked it. Our course was rough as follows. We started in Bodrum and we went to Didim, Kusadasi, Izmir, and Canakkale and returned home.

I have to admit, although the request to immediately move to Canakkale after Izmir belongs to me, I never felt it. (Even a little regret at the moment) because there were a few places in Izmir that I wanted to see, especially Mordogan and Karaburun. After Izmir, I wanted to continue on the route of Dikili, Ayvalik, Asos, and finally stop in Bozcaada and return home, but I became a victim of Twitter.

You wonder what kind of relevance Twitter has to your topic, right? Let me tell you right now: The tweets I read about the increase in coronavirus cases at that time caused me great fear, so I decided to skip this part of the route. This taught me something: If you are anonymous, you won’t be on Twitter. Twitter is definitely not the right medium for those with anxiety. After sharing this with you from here, I continue to explain the Aegean caravan route.

Bodrum, Yalıkavak

After we got off the boat, our first job was to go to Bodrum. I hadn’t been to Bodrum for a long time, but the real reason I visited was the Vegan A La Turca, which I was dying to try on. I just came out of the cafe where I entered because I was going to buy a vegan meatball burrito and a burger, and I filled my bag with all kinds of vegan products because gluttony requires it. Their meatballs and burgers were really delicious. However, the juices they made themselves were also very successful. In fact, I’m pretty sorry I didn’t get any more later. If you go to Bodrum, be sure to come here and stay in this mortal world until you try these beautiful foods.

The cafe couldn’t accommodate guests because of the pandemic, so we took our food as a package and started looking for a place where we could both eat and spend the night. Finally, after crossing Xuma and Mufla Beach in Yalıkavak, we came to Yalıkavak folk Beach a little further away. (I don’t know the names of these’ beaches ‘ by heart, of course, I just specified the location to give the correct location, and I was aware of their presence when I looked at the map asdlk) when we got here, there were only a few tents on the beach, and the place was not very crowded. Yet we parked our car as far away from people as we could and ate in the sight of an enormous full moon.

By the way, there was no public toilet on this beach. That’s why we took care of the toilet work with our own means. But there is a small restaurant by the beach and when you go and ask for a toilet, they say no, but if you sit there and eat, they will show the location of the toilet with great pleasure. Keep in mind those who will go.

A Cool Night in Yalıkavak Public Beach

During this tour, many people asked if the car was hot at night. In fact, we bought a small fan powered by USB from the first grocery store we entered to worry that it might be hot at night. But interestingly, we didn’t get hot at night for a week; on the contrary, there were even times when we were cold. But those with camping experience will attend, stay in a caravan or tent, and with the first light of the sun, it starts to get hot inside and soon reaches a temperature that cannot be slept. Although we did not encounter overwhelming heat as we had good insulation, we woke up automatically around 7-8 in the morning during the tour.

Journey to Lovely Didim

Yeah, it’s time for my dear Didim. Those who follow my Instagram account know that I have a very unadorned love for a beautiful bird and Didim in this world. After having breakfast in the early hours of the morning, we left Yalıkavak for Didim. I can’t tell you how excited I was at the time. When we went to Didim, I was happy to see my dear friend Kayahan, but there was something else I missed more than Kayahan, and I couldn’t stand in my place out of excitement for this: the Ancient Theater of Miletus.

In general, I have never been a person who is very interested in history or cultural heritage in my entire life, you know, but when I’m interested in a place, I can say that I have enough interest to investigate. But in Didim, there is a temple, an ancient city, an amphitheater. Even spending time in the city center or going anywhere with a nice view seems like a waste of time to me. Either we will go to Miletus, or we will go to the Temple of Apollo, or there is a great wetland between Akköy and Batıköy, where the Great Menderes connects to the Aegean Sea. Going to these three places is now like Didim’s Fard for me. We go, we find a nice corner, we sit down, we chat, we watch sunrise or sunset… 3-4 hours go by like this wherever you look. Anyway, if we all agree that my love is endless for these three places, I can continue to tell you more about the Aegean caravan route .

 Click here to find out the historical places to see in Didim.

Caravan Camping in Didim

We arrived in the city, met with our friend, and after visiting every place I liked, we set out to look where we would stay. There is Tavşanburnu Forest Camp by the sea where you can accommodate both tent and caravan in Didim. The prices of this camping area, which has a market, buffet, toilet and shower inside, are also very affordable. We also planned to stay here, but when we went, we saw that the area was extremely full. But when I say full, I mean something like that, people bought their refrigerators, washing machines, and dish antennas and came. Such a fullness.

And so we stopped staying at the rabbit campsite. We decided to go back to Miletus and spend the night there. So I could meet sunrise on the steps of the ancient theater where I fell in love. (At the beginning of the morning, security has not yet arrived, you can easily enter and exit.) In addition, there was a toilet and fountain near Miletus, which was a unique guardian for caravan life. Before we went to Miletus, we had to stop downtown and buy ourselves a table because we didn’t have a table in the trailer yet, and we gave our only camp table to our friend

What do We eat in The Caravan?

After we got our plastic but the proud table, we went to Miletus and ate dinner. How we usually prepare food in the car and how we store food in a tiny closet are also two of the many questions asked. We eat vegan, so we don’t have much to store in the closet. At most, we put olives, herbal milk and water. And since there is plenty of room, we also throw vegetable fruits in the closet.

Click for practical vegan recipes that you can prepare in camps and caravans.

Our breakfasts are mostly oats, fruits and nuts. In our other meals, we prefer to eat vegetables, side foods such as rice, bulgur and salads. For example, at our dinner in Miletus, we added the cooked Mexican beans we bought from the grocery store to a full salad, wrapped it in lavash and swallowed it as a taco. This was a meal we could not get enough of.

Cooking equipment suitable for van life

We have two ovens to use in the trailer. One of them is a product called a jet boiler, which quickly boils water in 2 minutes and works with small propane tubes in which it is also possible to cook. The other is a one-eyed portable oven that is powered by a propane cartridge. These two are more than enough for us. So far, we have also been using portable products used in camps as a cookware set, but after that, I plan to buy a small pressure cooker. I’d never thought of a pressure cooker before, but thanks to the brick on the boat, I realized that cooking in a pressure cooker is very practical in such small living spaces.

Alternative caravan campings in Didim

Lastly, I said we decided to stay in Miletus because Tavşanburnu was crowded. But after dinner, we returned to the center to meet with our friend and we didn’t want to go back that far because we were hanging out late; We started looking for an alternative place. (My sunrise fantasy has also been a lie.)

There are two beaches named 2.5 and 3 in the center of Didim. Since there are also parking spaces here, they are very suitable places to stay with caravans. When we went and looked, we saw that there were many vehicles and tents. There are also toilets on the beaches, but I think their doors are locked at night. It is difficult to handle the toilet work in the open because it is a bit of people, but there are petrol stations nearby. The other two places you can consider for accommodation are Manastır bay and İmbat bay. These bays are a bit far from the center and their paths are not very clear to go at night. That’s why you have to go and look before it gets dark.

We spent the night in a place that we had an eye on our way to Miletus because we didn’t like these places. After passing the Tavşanburnu Forest Camp, we saw a wooded area at the bottom of the sea, on the left after a few kilometers. We slept in this place I don’t know the name of and woke up in the morning with the view below. If you pass by, you will definitely know where it is.

Kuşadası and Dilek Peninsula Büyük Menderes Delta National Park

After having breakfast in the morning in a beautiful sea view, we left Didim and went to Kusadasi to see our friend Damla. After spending some time with Damla and his family and eating a lot of food, we went to Güzelçamlı Beach when the sun was about to set and went to the sea. The beach was extremely large, and by evening the intensity was significantly reduced. There were also showers on the beach where you could get rid of the salt water after coming out of the sea. But there were no toilets; they used the toilets of nearby cafes.

After leaving the sea, we met with Damla the next day and left to go to Dilek Peninsula and started looking for a place where we could both stay with a caravan and eat. We found a few campsites nearby, but some of them were not suitable for caravans and some we didn’t like. When we got very hungry, we put aside the search for a camping site, thinking that we could park somewhere on the street and stay because when I was hungry, I turned into a monster.

The lightness of finding vegan food in Kusadasi

When we were looking for a restaurant with Vegan options, we accidentally saw that there were things like falafel in a place called Antelope, and we immediately barged in. The food was really delicious, and the prices were also quite affordable compared to a resort. We paid  100 TL for a falafel burger, falafel balls (both had salad and potatoes on the side and portions were large) and a mojito.

Caravan Camping in Kusadasi

After dinner, we started wandering again to stay on a pleasant street. Then, again by chance, we saw a place where caravans parked on the beach near Sevgi Beach and entered here. I also share its photo below so that you can understand more or less what it is like. I didn’t take the picture with a toaster, but since I was drowsy I skipped looking at how it came out, and handle it.

It was a free space where caravans came and stayed. Later, we also noticed that there was a paid campsite called Youth Camp next door, with a restaurant, toilet and shower, but we spent the night here because we were already established. And when we woke up in the morning, the first thing was to walk into the sea, which was 30 seconds away. (Ehehe 30 seconds on foot … long live caravan!)

How to Have Shower and Use Toilet During the Aegean Caravan Route?

You can imagine that this is the most common question we receive. Obviously, showering was the easiest part of the job during this tour. The shower was not a problem as we went into the sea almost every day. Almost all beaches also had freshwater facilities, so we could get rid of salt.

The main thing was to meet the toilet needs. We did not care much about this issue while making the caravan, but when we experienced it, we saw that the situation was not what we thought. If you are staying in a paid camping area or if your accommodation is away from people, there is no problem with the toilet, but if you are in a place that is not far from people and there is nothing to hide behind, you cannot meet your needs in nature. In this case, gas stations come into play and of course, your tour passes by looking for Opet, whose toilets are well clean. There is no doubt that Opet is in first place in terms of cleanliness. Shell and BP may be good in some areas, but outside of Opet, this is no different than gambling. So do not be surprised by Opet. (The recommendation of a famous ‘caravaner without a toilet’).

Dilek Peninsula and Its Great Bay

One of the most beautiful places we visited along the Aegean caravan route was Dilek Peninsula. We visited this place on our second day in Kuşadası. Entrance to Dilek Half Island National Park is paid. Camping inside and any kind of fire is strictly prohibited. I think around five and a half to six national parks are closing. All the bays in the park have facilities such as toilets and showers. Since the sea is stony in some areas, it is useful to have sea shoes with you.

Its nature is wonderful, its bays are half an island that wishes for a place of immense beauty. The first few bays are extremely crowded, but it is possible to find a slightly calmer environment in the subsequent bays. So we stopped at Kalamaki Beach, which was quite calm in the morning compared to the others. This place became very crowded in the afternoon, and we decided to leave for Izmir.

İzmir is very Humid!

I assume that this title that I threw about Izmir clearly expresses my feelings. I don’t know if it’s global warming anymore, Izmir has warmed up so much that the last time I experienced such a temperature was in India three years ago. Despite all the humidity, there were many places I wanted to travel in Izmir on the Aegean tour route by caravan. Especially in recent years, we have searched for a campsite by the sea for a long time for Back-To-Nature Camps, but we have not found a place that we feel comfortable with. This time, we wanted to start from Seferihisar along the Aegean caravan route and travel along the Çeşme, Karaburun, Mordogan lane and find free or paid camping areas that are beautiful to the eye.

But since I fell into the cauldron of Twitter, which I mentioned at the beginning of the post, we stopped doing this route. Actually, because we stayed in the trailer, we had little contact with people, but wherever we looked, we went to the market every three days and used the toilets of gas stations or the public toilets of campsites. Although I pay a lot of attention and don’t drop my disinfectant, once the fear settles inside me, I didn’t want to take a risk. And probably because of the wind we ate on the boat and because we were constantly moving, the fact that I was coughing every once in a while because of the weather change had an effect on me getting into the tribe.

For this reason, we were guests at Tuğçe’s house for two days and took care of our computer business and missed the places in between, and after visiting Carleston Cake & more, which was run by my dear friend şeyda in Göztepe and recently added vegan alternatives to its menu, we headed to Çanakkale. (Let this sentence be recorded as one of the longest meaningful sentences I have ever made in my life.)

Internet Solutions for Vanlife

By the way, let me explain how we solved the internet business in the trailer. Normally, we have internet in our trailer, but we didn’t take it with us because we didn’t plan that this tour would take so long. So we came to Izmir to do some work on the computer.

As freelancers who manage all their businesses on online platforms, the topic of the internet was very important to us from the very beginning. So we had to use portable vehicles that didn’t need any infrastructure. We chose to buy a Superbox because there is a quota limit on Vinn-style products. We can easily use the Superbox at the cigarette lighter entrance in the car; at home in a normal outlet, and for now we are very happy.

A pleasant camping area by the sea in Canakkale

There were two places we wanted to visit in Çanakkale. One was a camping site that Selcuk liked very much and waited a long time to show me, the other was a friend of ours who made orgonite. Our first stop was the Agora Holiday Stop camping area in Ezine, on the side of Tavaklı Pier.

Here, we spent two quiet and pleasant days by the sea. Sunset on the beach in the evening; At night we lay on the sun loungers and watched the stars. Our stay here was satisfactory in every way and it helped to reduce the tension I was experiencing due to Twitter to some extent. It is not possible to watch the stars at night and still be nervous.

You can click here for detailed information about Agora Camping Area.

Our second stop in Canakkale was Corgonites, which produce handmade orgonites that balance the energy of the environment from precious stones found in nature. I can’t believe how these orgonites emit this energy, but when you really hold it in your hand, you realize it has some kind of frequency. Apart from that, their design is really fascinating. They can also be used as wristbands, necklaces, or home decor. If you’re curious, you can check out the @Corgonites Instagram account.

Add Bozcaada to your route!

After a day in Canakkale, we really wanted to stop by Bozcaada, but we gave it up because of the coronavirus concern that covered me. If I had a mind now, I certainly wouldn’t have missed Bozcaada. I feel comforted by saying that it is good in every job. But in the coming days, depending on the state of the pandemic, we plan to stay in Bozcaada for 1-2 weeks as a continuation of the Aegean caravan route .

Last year we spent three days in Bozcaada and we enjoyed it very much. If you add Bozcaada to your Aegean route – and I think you should definitely add it – you can get information about camping sites in the region, bays to swim and things to do from the article “Places to Visit in Bozcaada”.

Yeeeees! For those who say “When will this article end?“ Yes, this is the end of the article; for those who say, “We were reading a great story, so it shouldn’t end,” Sorry, but it is the saddest part of the article for you… The article on Aegean caravan route ends here. Anyway, if I extended it a little longer, it would not be a blog post, but an epic of the Aegean caravan route

In the article, I tried to answer as much as I could to the questions and experiences that came through the tour. If there’s a place I missed, you can feel free to ask questions in the comments section.