View the route
Date of the journey:- September 2019
Distance travelled:- 665 miles
The next destination in Turkey we wanted to visit, was Soumela Monastery. With no direct route to get there. We chose to make the trek north, to the Black Sea coast. Follow the coast east to Trabzon, then drop down to Soumela.
All of this couldn’t be achieved in one day, so we chose to break the journey down into smaller chunks. With overnight stops at Corum, Ordu, Giresun, and Macka.
Our hotel, the Charming Cave Hotel, gave us a complimentary drop off at Goreme bus station on the morning of our departure. We opted not to get the direct Kamil Koc bus from Goreme to Corum. Because this bus didn’t leave until 1300 hrs which was too late. Arriving in Corum around 1900 hrs.
Although, we did purchase our bus tickets for the Metro Turizm bus. From the office in Goreme Bus Station.
We chose to get an earlier bus to Corum from the next town of Nevsehir. This meant a 30 min ride on the public bus to get there.
Nevsehir Bus Station was a large modern bus station. Not very busy at all when we were there. Our 1100 hrs Metro bus arrived and we started our 5.5-hour journey to Corum. The bus was a large spacious one, with 2+1 seating.
Refreshments were served on board. We also had several toilet breaks en route.
Corum New Bus Station, as with most Turkish bus stations, is outside of the city centre. We needed to get a local bus from there into the city to get to our hotel Bilge Suite Hotel for the night. Which we booked through Booking.com.
Unfortunately, Google maps don’t give public transport options. Instead, we went to the information desk at the bus station to get assistance.
With the language barrier, the only information we were able to understand was the general direction of where the bus stop was.
A couple of minute’s walk away on Fen Lisesi Cd. was the bus stop. With no bus, information displayed at the stop, and no one to ask. When the first bus pulled up, Tania jumped on. Armed with our hotel address she asked the driver if it was the correct bus. After studying the address he said “get a taxi” so Tania got off. Immediately followed by a local Turkish man he advised Tania to get back on the bus.
The driver, a grumpy grouchy man, to say the least, couldn’t sell us tickets. So we just stood on the bus and watched our position on Google maps to see if we were going in the right direction. Arriving at the next bus stop. The local man who had told us to get back on the bus, then asked us for some ticket money as there was a ticket office at the stop. He said something to the driver in Turkish, jumped off, got us our tickets, got back on, and gave us our tickets and change.
We thanked him for his help as he got off at the following stop and carried on monitoring our progress on Google maps.
Being the only foreigners on the bus and fully ladened with our backpacks. We attracted quite a bit of interest from the other local passengers. They started to take an interest as to where we wanted to go.
In no time at all, we had 2 policemen, a mother with her baby and another gentleman, all looking at our map and discussing our route. One of the policemen said to stay on the bus. As we watched our location on the map, it was evident we were actually on the right bus, going in the right direction.
Well, you can imagine our surprise when the bus drove past our hotel and stopped no more than 50 yards up the road!
We quickly showered and changed. Heading out for something to eat. Just down the road is Ja Ja Boss Cafe, a cafe with a live band playing.
With another day of travelling ahead of us, we left Corum heading for Ordu. The hotel porter accompanied us across the road to the bus stop. Assisted with the purchase of the bus tickets to the bus station and put us on the correct bus.
Once back at Corum Bus Station, we needed to get the bus to Samsun. For this journey, we used the Metro Turizm bus company. Tickets were purchased online through Obliet.com. A cost of 30 Turkish Lira each. The journey time to Samsun was only 2 hrs.
At Samsun Bus Station we had to change to a local bus for a further 2 hr journey to Ordu. We did this at the bus station, with a company called Vangolu Turizm for a cost of 30 Turkish Lira each.
Ordu was the second overnight stop en route to Soumela. A nice seafront city, again not a typical tourist spot and another dry city without alcohol in cafes and restaurants. Arrival was at Şehirlerarası Otobüs Terminali a 20 min walk to our accommodation for the night. The Wyspy Hotel. Booked through Booking.com.
After a very comfortable night’s stay in Ordu, we headed east. A short hop of only an hour on a local bus, to the town of Giresun. Walking back to the bus station we arrived at. We caught the bus to Giresun from outside the main bus terminal. Just waiting at the bus stop until a bus with a Giresun destination board came along. Tickets were bought on the bus at a cost of 13 Turkish Lira each.
The bus followed the coast, affording us some nice views of the Black Sea coastline. A mainly rocky terrain, with some beaches. Not a tourist area in the slightest, so the beaches were empty. Ok, it was October but the temperature was still tickling 30 degrees.
Giresun was similar to the other towns we passed along the way, pleasant, clean, and untouched by tourism. The bus arrived at Giresun and dropped us off at Tabaklar Sk. roundabout in the town. We stayed at the Lonca Butik Otel having booked it through Booking.com. Only a short 7 min walk from where we were dropped off.
Not much to see or do in Giresun, a castle on the hill and a town to stock up on essential toiletries but, another nice overnight stay.
The final leg of this journey was a 2-hour minibus ride from Giresun to Trabzon. On the front, between the mosque and the Giresun “Hollywood” sign is a small row of shops. One of them is the Prenskale Turizm office. This is where we purchased tickets to Trabzon. The tickets cost 20 Turkish Lira each. We caught the minibus from the same location and arrived at the Trabzon bus station 2 hrs later.
Our intention was to visit Soumela Monastery. Being about 50 km from Trabzon and having no direct public transport link. Making the decision to hire a car for the day.
Using a local car rental company, Ali’s rent a car, as it was close to the bus station in Trabzon.
Paying 120 Turkish Lira for the all-inclusive 24-hour hire. Tania had worked out a scenic route over the mountains via the Atatürk pavilion. The route was twisty and turny with some roads no more than tracks. The stunning views and scenery made it more than worthwhile.
With it being late afternoon and too late to visit Soumela Monastery that day, we looked for some accommodation for the night. Having passed through the town of Macka, we saw the Voice Hotel. Stopping to enquire about rooms.
It looked deserted, with all the lights off. A Turkish man appeared out of nowhere and advised that they were fully booked. After some discussion, we had an apartment in an adjacent block on a dinner, bed, and breakfast basis for 300 Turkish Lira.
The following morning we made the 30-minute drive to Soumela Monastery. A stunning Greek Monastery which is just stuck onto the side of a cliff, a truly awesome sight.