The Southern Route by Mareike and David

Alexandroupoli – Bandirma

Final stage of our cycling journey Germany-Turkey

At the end of our cycling journey, we wanted to avoid spending the last few days in the suburbs of Istanbul. That's why, after crossing the Turkish-Greek border, we decided to head south instead of making straight for Istanbul. We cycled from Keşan to the Dardanelles, where we entered the Asian continent, and then continued along the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara to Bandırma.

Elevation Profile

292 km, 2,260m climb

The route is varied in its character, with some sections following major highways, which are quite acceptable for riding due to the wide hard shoulders always available. A large part of the route takes us to scenic viewpoints and wonderful rest stops on the shores of the Mediterranean and Marmara.

The Gallipoli peninsula is an impressive landscape to cycle: at the same moment, you can see the Sea of Marmara on your left and the Mediterranean on your right. To cross from the European to the Asian continent, we took a ferry from Gelibolu to Lapseki (there is also a highway bridge crossing, which we wanted to avoid) – it costs only a few Lira and is frequently used by the locals.

From Lapseki our route follows a main road to Baliklicesme, where we switched to a smaller road. In Gümüscay we took even smaller paths. This part is quite sandy, but feasible with gravel equipment. Nevertheless, it is also possible to follow the main road between Biga and Güvemalan, which is slightly south of our indicated route.

The route follows a long ascent (on the side lane of the motorway) and from then on it is basically downhill until the city of Bandirma, with olive groves on both sides.
We decided to take the ferry from Bandirma to Istanbul-Yenikapi. It takes about 3 hours, costs around 800 TL (2025) and drops you off right in the middle of the capital. Alternatively, a ferry could be taken from Mudanya or Yalova (following the Marmara coast eastwards).

ConclusionWe did have wonderful cycling days in Türkiye, enjoying great rest spots amidst impressive scenery. We did gain a good impression of what it's like to cycle in the rural areas along the southern Marmara Sea. We wish you all good route decisions for your cycling stage towards Istanbul!