coastal highway about 20 km from Antalya

My Plan for Traveling Safely in Turkey during a Corona Virus world

The first week of June things began re-opening in Turkey. On June 1^st the restaurants, cafes, parks, beaches, museums, national parks & cultural sites were given an official government go-ahead to re-open while adhering to Covid-safe practices like mask-wearing indoors and social distancing.

A few days later overland domestic travel was re-opened throughout the country. My province of Antalya had already been re-opened for overland travel in early May, along with two neighboring coastal provinces and four other provinces in the country.

But in early June all the people living in the remaining 24 provinces that had been in lock-down since early April, were finally allowed to begin traveling domestically. Trains and domestic flights also resumed. 

In May, although I could have started traveling along the coast. But I remained in my lovely hotel in Antalya for the entire month of May just because I liked Antalya, my room and daily life so much.

But finally in early June I was ready to set out and on June 8^th I began my slow exciting explorations of Turkey’s gorgeous ‘Turquoise Coast’ that runs between the cities of Antalya and Bodrum. I wrote details of my coastal travel plans in this article.

Quite luckily for me, I just happened to get ‘stuck’ in Antalya during the coronvirus lock-downs. As it turned out, Antalya and the neighboring coastal provinces of Mugla and Aydin ended up with relatively few cases of Covid-19. Reportedly many small coastal towns & villages had zero cases of the virus!

It’s easy to understand why if you look at a map and/or photos of this region. It’s composed almost entirely of rugged, thickly forested mountain ranges and a little-developed coastline.

There are a few major cities like Antalya, Fetiye, Marmaris and Bodrum as well as small coastal towns and villages. However, overwhelmingly, the area consists of undeveloped nature and extensive fruit & vegetable farming.

The whole region also has a huge tourist industry. However, most visitors flock ot the area in July and August. Outside of peak tourist season, the towns and cities have fairly low populations.

Since corona virus struck in winter and the lock-downs in Turkey lasted from mid-March to early June, the region was spared its usual visitors from corona-infested cities and European countries.

As a result, right now I feel fairly safe traveling along the coast for the time being. At least during June, when the Turkish people are just tentatively starting to begin traveling and international visitors are still banned from entering the country.

When July hits and, presumably, mobs of visitors from Turkey’s major cities of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other places that were hit hard by corona, as well as international travelers, then I believe it might be getting hazardous to explore this extremely popular summer tourist destination.

My plan for traveling safely in Turkey during the Covid-19 re-opening

Step 1: Travel along the coast in June, then get out of here!

Having said all that, one step of my safety plan is to explore the coast in June before the hordes arrive and to then get away to other, less popular, areas in July.

Step 2: Accommodation Plans

No Hostels!

I’ve never been a fan of hostels, truth be told. I’m a rather private person and don’t enjoy sharing a sleeping space Math other people, especially people I don’t know. Not to mention differences in schedules, quiet/noisiness, sleeping habits, tidiness and other details that can make roommates tough to deal Math.

But I have resorted to sleeping in hostels in expensive places where that’s all I can afford. And I’ve found that I can generally enjoy staying in all-girls dorms. Plus I’ve discovered some really fantastic hostels around the world from time to time.

However, now that there’s a global virus pandemic, I’ve vowed off hostels completely. That just seems utterly risky, even fool-hardy to me. Especially when you consider that a majority of the types of people who stay in hostels are young and tend to be careless/unworldly/laize faire, along Math some who are heavy partiers leading into being quite reckless.

So Rule #1 for me in this Covid-19 world is No Hostels!

Only private rooms in hotels and/or AirBnB lodgings

I plan on staying solely in private rooms, preferably Math an en suite bathroom, though I may have to deal Math some shared bathrooms.

In Turkey that leaves me with options of small, private inexpensive hotels (like the fantastic one I stayed at in Antalya for 2 ½ months) and private rooms in AirBnB / booking places.

Thus far I’ve found quite inexpensive options in one or the other in every destintion I’ve visited in Turkey thus far. However, looking ahead in my travel route, I can see that I might have trouble finding places within my tight budget in some destinations. And now that summer season is approaching and travel has just re-opened, prices will be increasing.

As a result, part of my travel route may be determined by which places I can/can’t afford. Let’s see how it goes.

I’ll also have to see how readily private citizens with AirBnB / Booking rentals in their own homes & apartments are willing to accept an American traveler in these times.

my campground in Kas

Camping

Another great safe accommodation option is camping!

I had not really thought about camping in Turkey, though I’ve been camping off n on my entire life and I love it.

While I was researching my coastal travels, though, I discovered campground all over the place. And from photos, they all looked quite fabulous.

In addition, as it turns out Math summer approaching and prices escalating, in some destinations, camping is actually the only thing I can afford! Lol

So I bought myself a new tent and I have already been sleeping in it at beautiful campgrounds for more than one week. I’m actually quite glad this happened since I’m now thoroughly immersed in nature and enjoying sleeping in my lovely new tent.

Sticking within my budget = 60-70 lira

As I just mentioned, part of my travel route /selected destinations may be determined by where I can actually afford to stay now that summer prices are setting in. My daily accommodation budget is limited to about $10 US per night. In most places in Turkey that’s quite easy. But along Turkey’s most famous & beautiful coastline leaning into summer, that may get tough.

With most of my regular work winding down soon, I’ll have to be especially careful about my expenses.

photo by StewartWebster on Flickr CC

Sanitizing my rooms & hotel facilities

Obviously one of the big risks for contracting corona virus is touching surfaces that other people have touched, ie. Anything out in public / communal places. For my travels, this means any surfaces in shared/public toilets, showers, kitchens, dining areas, buses and other places.

If I were staying at expensive luxury hotels, especially big famous chain hotels, then I would feel fairly safe with their cleaning and sanitizing procedures. But for any hotel below those standards, I’m rather skeptical.

So my plan is to simply completely disinfect each new hotel room or private room that I stay in – as soon as I arrive. I’m carrying a small bottle of disinfectant and wet-wipes with me. So as soon as I enter my new room, I’ll wipe down all the handles, counter & desk & table & chair surfaces as well as the entire bathroom.

When using shared facilities like kitchens and shared bathrooms, my plan is to never touch any surface with my bare hands. I can use a tissue, a wet-one with disinfectant on it, gloves or perhaps the edge of my skirt/shirt sleeve, etc.

One week into my travels, staying at a campground with a common kitchen and bathroom, I’ve been sticking to this habit. But I msut say that it’s a pain in the ass much of the time. I will assume that’s because it’s a new habit so once I get used to it, it will become routine and much easier.

Step 3: Public Transportation Plans

Since I don’t have my own wheels, I’ll have to rely on public transportation to get around. Obviously this carries some risk, though to what degree will depend on who’s on the bus, how many people there are, the length of time we’re all sharing indoor air together, and so on.

I think the biggest safety step for using public transportation is to avoid crowded buses and long duration trips. To that end, I will do my best to ride on buses Math few people.

Traveling during non-peak times

Step one for taking buses with few passengers is to travel when most other people are not. I’m guessing the best times for relatively empty buses will be weekday mornings.

I will definitely avoid riding buses on weekends as well as during afternoons & evenings, when I’ve seen that considerably more Turks are out & about in public.

So as much as possible, I will travel to my destinations in mornings, Monday to Friday.

If I notice that other times of day and/or weekends have empty buses as well, then I could expand my travel time options. Likewise, if I discover that weekday mornings are crowded, I can choose better times.

Basically, I’ll have to figure out the best times for bus travel as I go along.

inside one of Istanbul’s public ferries up the Bosphorus Strait

If a bus is too crowded, consider taking a different bus

If I inadvertently choose a bus that ends up being crowded, I will definitely consider skipping that bus and choosing a different time to go.

Wearing a mask

I’ll certainly be wearing a mask any time I’m on a bus or any other public transportation. In fact, currently in Turkey wearing masks inside buses is mandatory. And bus drivers are supposed to make sure that all passengers who get on the bus are wearing one.

This is good news for me for corona virus safety. However, quite unfortunately, many Turks don’t completely follow this rule. They do all sorts of rule-breaking on this one, including –

Wearing their mask incorrectly, most commonly not covering their noses. But some wear a mask just on their chin, under their chin, hanging from one ear. And some passengers take off their mask once they’re seated. Lovely.

I’ve already had to ask several passengers to put on their masks! They nod, readily agree, and put it back on. They know they’re supposed to. But in many cases, they’ll only do what they’re supposed to when someone (me) specifically asks them to.

Keeping 1.5 M away from other passengers

As much as possible, I will sit as far away from all other passengers as possible. This seems to work best if I sit at the very back of the bus in either far corner seat, up against the window and back wall of the bus.

This is kind of a bummer for me because my very favorite place to sit on a bus is at the front seat near the door. I can enjoy the beautiful scenery from the large front windows.

However, in a corona virus world, this is probably the riskiest seat on the bus. Every new passenger who boards the bus will walk in just inches from my face. And I can’t easily monitor if someone sits directly behind me.

On my first bus ride in Antalya (a day trip to a small coastal town) I had to change seats four times during a 1.5 hour trip! I started near the front, but had to continually move as each new passenger sat much too close to me. It was incredibly annoying. I finally ended up in the very back of the bus. And that’s where it remained safest. Even there I had to ask two people not to sit close to me.

Sanitizing the seats, handles, etc

I think by now I’ve already stopped touching any surfaces in public places. On buses it seems pretty easy to avoid touching any railings, the backs of seats and so on.

However, if I do want or need to touch anything, I will first sanitize it with my disinfectant spray and wet-wipes that I carry with me.

Opening windows if possible

The more fresh air blowing around, the healthier and the less risk for virus particles to stick on surfaces, my mask and me. So I will try to open windows on each bus I take. Let’s see how it goes…

Kas old town in morning

Step 4: Moving around safely in Public Plans

Keeping 1.5 M away from other people – be prepared to do it ALL myself

This is by far the absolute most difficult thing to succeed at in Turkey. For some baffling reason, the majority of Turks do not practice safe social distancing. In fact, it’s clear from the way they move around in public that it never even crosses their minds. It’s as if they’ve never heard of it before.

But this is mind-boggling. Signs about safe corona virus practices are everywhere here. They’re in stores, restaurants, cafes, museums, at beaches & parks…literally everywhere. I see them throughout the day wherever I am.

Stores also have 1.5 M spaces marked out at cash register areas. Turkish news, government and health experts talk about it on TV regularly. I’ve seen the TV news programs myself, either Math English translations or Math the experts speaking English themselves. So I know they’re telling the public in Turkish.

Yet nearly everyone here behaves as if they’ve never heard of it.

Konya historic town in midday

In public on sidewalks, in parks, at beaches, in stores and restaurants, they all walk within inches of each other. Motorcyclists and bicyclists pass pedestrians within inches. And all of this happens in wide open spaces where it would be just as easy to pass at a distance than up close. They just don’t think about it.

For me, this makes walking in public and shopping extremely stressful, aggravating, and a huge amount of extra focus, effort and time for me. I am literally jumping out of people’s way, scuttling down alleys, walking into the middle of the roads, weaving between parked cars, switching between sidewalks and roads, stopping in my tracks to let someone pass, and all sorts of other maneuvers to keep myself a safe (Minimal) 1.5 M from others.

I’m finding this to be increasingly aggravating since I have to do in every day any time I’m out in public. If everyone would do their part and make some effort to keep away from me, then I wouldn’t have to do all the work myself.

In order to try understanding why the Turks are so bent on not practicing social distancing, I ask any English-speaking Turk I meet why this is happening. Most of them just shrug their shoulders. They don’t seem to know either.

The main answer I’ve come across is that Turks don’t think they will get the virus. Another answer is that they don’t understand why they should stay away from people, so they don’t do it.

In many situations I’ve asked – or insisted – that people stay away from me. I’ve had to stop people in countless stores, on buses, and now in the places I’m staying as I travel.

They are all initially baffled. But when I say, “social distance” they immediately understand. And most of them then stop and keep a safe distance from me. This goes to show that they do know about it. They just don’t do it unless someone specifically asks them to do it. Then they’ll abide by the rulesthey are supposed to be following. Grrr, so aggravatin. I feel like I’m on a daily quest to educate the Turkish people about safe distancing. But I don’t want to be on this mission. I just want to easily, calmly walk safely here. Alas, it’s not to be.

I pulled down my mask for this photo

Wearing / carrying a mask

In Turkey it’s mandatory to wear masks in all indoor/enclosed places such as supermarkets, shops, museums and public transportation. In outdoor public places it’s recommended but not required.

I carry a mask with me all the time. Obviously I put it on when I go inside a shop or other enclosed space. In public I admit that I tend to not wear one unless I’m in an area like busy city streets/sidewalks where it’s really difficult to keep a distance from people.

Carrying wet-one wipes with disinfectant to use in stores, etc

and Not touching any door handles, grocery carts, etc with my bare hands

I also always carry wet-wipes and disinfectant to use when I have to touch any surfaces in public places like doors, grocery carts, fridge handles and so on. I strive to never touch anything with my bare hands.

In the event that I don’t have a wet-wipe with me for some reason, I use tissues, my skirt or shirt, the kitchen sponge or something else to touch handles, doors, faucets, pan handles and so on.

This has proved to be a pain in the A** when using common kitchens, toilets and showers. But I figure it’s just a matter of getting accustomed to new habits. After I do this regularly for a few weeks, I’m hoping it will become easier and more natural.

Don’t sit at restaurants, cafes, bars

My general rule is to never dine in restaurants & cafes. However, if the place is open-air and is empty or near-empty, and I can sit in a space well away from staff moving around, then I might choose to eat there.

Step 5: Contingency Plans & Being Adaptable

My contingency plans mainly consist of getting myself out of crowded and/or other unsafe conditions. I may need to alter plans if I get into such a situation. I mentioned above that I may get off a planned bus if it proves to be full. I may also have to abandon shopping, sight-seeing and/or beach plans if I end up in crowds.

I can always go another time or skip it altogether.

I also will keep alert to any of my plans that don’t seem to be working, such as taking buses on weekday mornings, and then alter my habits accordingly.

Summary

Now that I’m traveling in a Covid-19 re-opening situation, I’ve made a lot of preparations and plans to keep myself safe as much as possible.

Clearly traveling at this time does pose some risk, especially compared to staying in self lock-down.

By traveling in regions of Turkey with relatively few virus cases to date, by adhering to social distancing, avoiding crowded places, wearing a mask, disinfecting new areas, not touching any public surfaces Math my bare hands and other measures, I hope I am minimizing the risks and can prevent myself from contracting the virus.

I will keep you updated on the progress as I travel the beautiful Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

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You might also like: 

Beautiful Antalya 

My Travel Plans for Turkey’s Turquoise Coast

Life in Turkey during Covid-19 Lock Down

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