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For meteorologists, Turkey has seven distinct weather regions, but in the perspective of all casual visitors, crucial distinctions are between your coast which consists of moderate winter temperatures and hot, humid summers, and the inland areas with their extremely cold winters and excessively hot summers. The further east you travel, the more pronounced these climatic extremes become, so that much of eastern Turkey is unpassable with snow from December through to April, with temperatures sometimes falling to around -12°C. In July and August temperatures rise rapidly and can exceed 45°C, making travel while in the east really miserable.
The Black Sea coast gets two to three times the national average rainfall, together with more moderate temperatures, so that it is rather like Central Europe but pleasantly warmer.
When to go
Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best times to visit, because the climate can be perfect for sightseeing in İstanbul and on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, and it will be cool in central Anatolia, but not unpleasantly so. Visiting before mid-June or after August may also help you avoid mosquitoes. If most of your drive is for beach-bumming, mid-May to September is perfect for the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, if a little steamy out of the water. The Black Sea coast is best visited between April and September – there will still be rain although not a lot of it. Visit eastern Turkey from late June to September, although not before May or after mid-October unless you’re ready for snow, road closures and bone-chilling temperatures.
With the exception of İstanbul, Turkey doesn’t really have a winter tourism season. Most accommodation along the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea and in some parts of Cappadocia is closed from mid-October until late April. These dates are not guaranteed and rely on the way the months are going. High season comes from July to mid-September, and price is at their peak.
Anticipate crowds along all coastal areas from mid-June until early September. You will have to plan in advance when travelling throughout the four- or five-day Kurban Bayramı, as banks shut and ATMs may run shattered. Also, do not go to the Gallipoli Peninsula around Anzac Day (25 April) unless it’s particularly significant that you should be there in those days.
Marmara
The countryside around Istanbul, Edirne, Bursa and the Sea of Marmara is low hills and rolling farmland excellent for fruit orchards (apricots, grapes, peaches) in addition to vegetables, sunflowers and grain.
South of Bursa are higher mountains (2500+ meters/8200 feet).
Rainfall averages 668 mm/26 inches per year; temperatures vary from a low of -16C/3F in the depths of winter to 40C/104F about the hottest day in summer. It’s quite humid (average 73%).
Aegean
The Aegean region dedicated to İzmir is a true breadbasket, with low hills and higher mountains framing fertile valleys full of rich alluvial soil. The dependable summer sun produces bumper crops of tobacco, sunflowers, olives, figs, peaches, pears and apples.
Rainfall averages 645 mm/25 inches each year; temperatures range from -8C/18F to 43C/109F, with average humidity of 69%.
Mediterranean
Turkey’s southern shore is hemmed in by high mountain ranges. There’s some beach from Fethiye to Antalya, but east of Antalya the littoral broadens into the fertile Pamphylian plain (which is where you find Side) fringed with white sand beach.
Not far east of Alanya the mountains get down to the sea again, completely east to Antakya, keeping this coast very hot and humid in summer: maximum 45C/113F, minimum -5C/23F; rainfall is 777 mm/31 inches.
Central Anatolia
The middle of Turkey is high plateau (elevation 900m/3000 feet at Ankara) of rolling steppe framed by mountain ranges, some of which boast snow-capped dormant volcanoes. (It was the volcanic Mt Erciyes near Kayseri that formed the Central Anatolian moonscape of Cappadocia.)
The land produces summer and winter wheat along with other crops, and feeds millions of grazing sheep. Temperatures range from -25C/-13F to 40C/104F, with rainfall of only 382 mm/15 inches per year. The average humidity is 62%.
Black Sea Coast
Turkey’s Black Sea coast, 1700 km/1000 miles long, is surprisingly lush and green due to the 781 mm/31 inches of annual rainfall dropped as the winds crossing the Black Sea rise to vault the coastal mountains.
It’s cloudy most of the time, which appears to suit the tobacco fields. Cherries originated here, and are still grown in abundance, much like hazelnuts (filberts), of which Turkey supplies half the earth’s requirements.
The lush grass feeds cattle which produce Turkey’s best milk, cream and butter. The humid coast east of Trabzon is perfect for growing tea bushes. In the steep evergreen-choked valleys above, you might think you are in Central Europe, though warmer.
Temperatures range from -8C/18F to 40C/104F, with an average humidity of 72%.
Eastern Anatolia
Mountainous, rugged and chilly, eastern Turkey is an elemental place where temperatures drop to -43C/-45F in deep winter, and rise to 38C/100F in summer, though the annual average is just 9C/48F.
June to September are the best months to visit unless of course you’re going skiing at Palandöken just outside Erzurum.
Rainfall is 560 mm/22 inches. It’s relatively poor country, with whole wheat fields, fruit and nut orchards, and lots of grazing sheep.
Southeastern Anatolia
Down near Syria on the banks from the rivers Tigris (at Diyarbakır) and Euphrates (near Şanlıurfa) it’s hot most of the time: as much as 46C/115F in high summer (and-unusually-a low of -12C/10F some winters).
It’s dry, with only 576 mm/23 inches of rainfall, but lots of water with the gigantic Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) irrigation and hydroelectric power system centered near Şanlıurfa. Crops love the heat and grow fast. People go slow, and mostly in the shade. The best time to visit is anytime except summer (mid-June through mid-September).
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