Demand for camping sites with ‘fair price’ in Istanbul skyrockets
ISTANBUL
The camping sites in Istanbul, which offer an alternative vacation in tents with “fair prices,” have become a new trend in the metropolis, with people flocking to the sites in the districts of Şile, Çatalca and Sarıyer.
“The occupancy rate of the camping sites in Istanbul has reached 80 percent for the Eid holiday next week,” Demirören News Agency reported on April 29.
Many people prefer camping in tents due to their “fair prices,” as the daily fee for pitching a tent ranges between 50 and 200 Turkish Liras ($3.4 and $13.5).
“People from every economic status come to camping sites. Lately, camping has become a trend,” noted Mehmet Ali Karvan, manager of a camping site.
Visitors do not need to own a tent to come to the sites, as “they can also rent our tents,” he added.
On a question of why he preferred tents, Onur Çağan, an Istanbul resident who has been camping for six years, replied: “Hotel vacation costs you a lot. Here, a tent is all you need. You do the rest by yourself.”
Another vacation alternative is a caravan, which burst onto the scene amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The demand for caravans increased with the start of the pandemic,” said Göğün Sever, a caravan company owner. “After hotel fees and summer house prices skyrocketed, the tendency to rent or buy a caravan peaked.”
The weekly rental price of a caravan is around 14,000 liras ($945). “This is half the price of a weekly hotel fee,” Sever highlighted.
“The price of renting a 50-square-meter area weekly is 1,200 liras [$81],” Karvan said.
There are also dozens of camping sites in Istanbul free of charge.
The most famous ones in the Çatalca district are Korsan Koyu, roughly called “Pirate Bay” and Malatra Bay.
Lake Sazlıbosna in the Arnavutköy district and Bıçkıdere in the Şile district are two other known free camping sites.
