Wind west of İzmir and an eFoil down near Marmaris
Turkey keeps its wing and its eFoil on different coasts. The wing foil centers sit west of İzmir, on the Çeşme peninsula at Alaçatı and at Gülbahçe near Urla, where a north wind called the meltem fills the summer. For an eFoil you go further south. The easiest one to book is in a holiday club across the water from Marmaris, sold as a package with flights from the UK. A board delivered to charter yachts and lessons at Akyaka are the other two.
Two quite different holidays, then. One is a wind week built around a school and a forecast. The other is a package week where an eFoil taster comes with the room. Holding a wing for the first time is a subject of its own, and our wingfoil guide covers it.
Where you stand and where you fly in Alaçatı bay
Alaçatı bay, Yumru Koyu, is U shaped and a good 2 km deep, and the wind comes in sideshore from the left. On its west side lies a standing area of about 500 by 300 meters. You can fall, stand up, reset the wing and go again without swimming.
Shallow water has a price for a wing foiler. A foil needs depth, so anyone who cannot get up on the foil straight away walks the board out about 100 to 150 meters before starting.
Busy summer days crowd the west side. Riders who can hold a line upwind tack across to the east shore, where the water is flatter and a second standing area of roughly 100 by 300 meters gives room to practice. Kiters have their own corner at the southeast end, away from the windsurfers and wing foilers. A strong north wind can make the bay choppy.
A station manager quoted by SURF magazine warns about dark patches close to the shore. One can be a shallow or a seagrass bed, so take care when you see one under the board.
Three wing stations share the bay
Alaçatı Surf Paradise Club, known as ASPC, is the big one. Germany's SURF magazine counted more than 120 windsurf boards, 20 wing foil boards and 20 instructors there and called it the largest water sports station in Turkey. A redesign moved it to the front of the beach, still mid bay, close to the water. It teaches wing foiling in five languages on Fanatic, Gaastra, F1, Duotone and Neilpryde kit, and its rental wings are GA Wing Cross in sizes from 3.5 to 6.2 m², paired with Neilpryde Glide and Fanatic Aero boards and GA foils.
ASPC splits its wing course into four steps, and the foil only comes in halfway:
- A1: handling the equipment and the wing, on a training board
- A2: practice, still without a foil
- B1: the first foil board
- B2: controlled riding, going upwind and turning
Lessons are private or in groups, and every level includes equipment insurance, a wetsuit, a life jacket and a helmet. The address is Alaçatı Mahallesi 18012 Sokak No. 3, Liman Mevkii, Çeşme, İzmir.
Myga Surf City is the station furthest upwind in the bay. It hosted the PWA windsurf World Cup from 2008 to 2010 and works with Duotone, Severne and Patrik equipment. Sun Surf Alaçatı is the newcomer. It opened in 2025 on the site of the old ION Club Alaçatı, which closed at the end of 2023, and it stands on the grounds of the Alacati Beach Resort. The wing gear is Duotone, and kite lessons there run with the High Tide school.
Where a station sits decides the depth in front of it. Sun Surf lies in the lee, where the water gets deeper, which suits foilers, and it teaches every level from a first lesson to advanced foiling.
How the meltem shapes an Alaçatı day
Every summer the northerly Etesian winds blow persistently over the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, through June, July and August. In Alaçatı that wind is the meltem, and it runs from June to September, with a chance of wind of up to 70 % in summer. July and August bring the steadiest days. The wind holds fairly well from late May into October, yet the locals rate June and September as the best months.
Thermals boost the meltem, so it builds through the day. It usually sets in properly around midday and peaks in the late afternoon. SURF magazine puts the average at 15 to 25 knots. For a first wing lesson the useful window is 9 a.m. to noon, before the meltem has fully arrived. Riders who already foil can take the stronger breeze of the late afternoon.
From October to April about half of all days at Alaçatı and Urla still bring 4 to 7 Beaufort, from changing directions. The Lodos comes from the south with waves, the Poiras from the north in spring and autumn, and the Gerence from the northeast is the strongest. SURF magazine reports days of more than 30 knots outside summer. Windsurfers mostly come between May and September.
Sea temperature and wetsuit
Alaçatı's water is about 20 °C from June and over 25 °C in July and August. A shorty or a 3/2 wetsuit covers the season, and on some days shorts and a lycra are all you need. By the long term means of the Turkish State Meteorological Service the Aegean drops below 20 °C in November, while the Mediterranean coast stays a few degrees warmer all year.
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| Month | Aegean coast | Mediterranean coast |
|---|---|---|
| April | 15.9 °C | 18.1 °C |
| May | 18.8 °C | 20.8 °C |
| June | 22.1 °C | 23.9 °C |
| July | 24.2 °C | 26.7 °C |
| August | 24.6 °C | 28.1 °C |
| September | 23.3 °C | 27.0 °C |
| October | 20.8 °C | 24.6 °C |
| November | 18.0 °C | 21.4 °C |
Urla Surf House on Gülbahçe beach
Gülbahçe beach, near the town of Urla, is about 35 minutes from İzmir airport, just under 45 km by motorway. Urla Surf House is mainly a kite station, and wing foiling is its second sport. Lessons are held in English, with international instructors for beginner, advanced and freestyle courses.
The wind is mostly sideshore from the left. A fishing harbor shelters the entry area from waves; beyond it the water can get choppy. The beach is firm sand, with no reefs. In front of the station the water is very shallow in places, so start upwind or a little further out where it is deeper. Many kiters share that shallow patch, which is another reason wing foilers launch further along. The training area is a large standing zone, chest deep, right next to the freeride spot, and the station regularly runs trips to a flat water spot upwind.
Urla keeps different hours from Alaçatı. From June to September the meltem here blows from the north to east, starts early in the morning and lasts until about 3 or 4 p.m., in a strength that suits a 4 to 5 m² wing.
Off the water there is storage for your own equipment and a lounge, and the restaurant and café of the Urla Surf House Hotel are a few meters from the center. GoTürkiye also points to a kite beach about 6 km from the Gülbahçe center, in a wetland with shallow water for beginners.
Two ways onto an eFoil on the southwest coast
One is a holiday club that puts the taster in the package. The other is a board that comes to a charter yacht.
Cook's Club Adakoy, across the water from Marmaris
Neilson, the UK tour operator, sells a beach holiday at Cook's Club Adakoy, on a secluded peninsula across the water from Marmaris. It belongs to Neilson's Inside Collection, which means the Neilson activity program runs inside a hotel that also takes guests who did not book through Neilson. The club is aimed at adults and at families with teens aged 16 and over, and it has no kids' clubs.
eFoiling is part of the holiday price there, along with snorkeling, sea scooters, kayaking and paddle boarding. The included part is a 20 minute taster with a full safety briefing and tuition from Neilson instructors. Tasters run several times every week. You book them on the Neilson app three days ahead, or in resort on the day. If 20 minutes leaves you wanting more, a 90 minute lesson can be booked in resort at extra cost; Neilson lists no price for it.
The instructors start you lying on the board, then kneeling, then standing, and Neilson says most people are up and foiling within their first session. Neilson describes the bay as sheltered, with warm, calm, clear water. The boards that forgive a first session are on our best eFoil for beginners page.
Getting there is the package part. Neilson flies direct from 15 UK airports to Dalaman, and the price includes the return flight and a coach transfer to Adakoy that Neilson gives as 90 to 120 minutes, or 90 on the flight details. Neilson holds ATOL number 10794.
A Waydoo delivered to your charter yacht
On a gulet or yacht charter there is a second option. A listing on GetMyBoat offers a Waydoo eFoil delivered to the yacht deck for charters around Fethiye, Göcek, Marmaris and Bodrum, then collected at the end of the trip. It is equipment only; the boat is yours to arrange. The set comes with an impact vest and a helmet sized to the rider, video tutorials on operation, flight basics and safety, and technical support on call. Extra batteries rent separately.
The listing asks for a refundable deposit of 1,800 USD on every rental. Riders can weigh at most 220 pounds (about 100 kg) and should be in good physical condition with basic balance. The listing names no instructor, only the videos, so this suits someone who has flown an eFoil before.
Akyaka, on the Gulf of Gökova, is a third name. In January 2026 a Turkish news report said the chair of the Turkish Sailing Federation's wing and kite surf committee, also a national team coach, had started teaching jet surf and electric foil lessons there. Our eFoil rental guide explains what to ask.
A Neilson eFoil week or an Alaçatı wing week?
Decide how much of the week you want to spend foiling. At Adakoy the eFoil is one activity among several: you fly for 20 minutes, maybe come back for a 90 minute lesson, and spend the rest of the day snorkeling or doing nothing. It needs no wind, and flights and transfer are one ATOL protected booking. A couple, or a family with older teens, who want to try foiling without building the whole holiday around it will find this the easy choice.
The wing asks for more of your week. ASPC's own ladder puts the first foil board at the third of four levels, so plan on several sessions and a wind forecast that you check every evening. Sportif, an ATOL protected UK operator, lists Alaçatı among its centers and gives mid June to mid September as the best time. It describes a sandy launch in front of the center, flat water with a shallow area upwind, and a wind that comes sideshore from the left in summer and from the right in spring and autumn. Booking the İzmir flight and the school separately works just as well.
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| eFoil at Cook's Club Adakoy | Wing foiling in Alaçatı | |
|---|---|---|
| Airport | Dalaman, coach transfer of 90 to 120 minutes included | İzmir, about 90 km by motorway |
| How you book | Neilson package with flights from 15 UK airports, ATOL 10794 | Sportif (ATOL), or flights and school booked separately |
| What is included | 20 minute eFoil tasters with an instructor; 90 minute lessons at extra cost | ASPC includes insurance, wetsuit, life jacket and helmet with every lesson level |
| Wind needed | No; sheltered bay | Yes; meltem from June to September |
| Best months | - | June and September by local rating, July and August for the steadiest wind |
| Who it suits | Adults and families with teens 16 and over | Anyone ready for a course over several days |
Timing the day
In Alaçatı a beginner books the morning, 9 a.m. to noon, and leaves the stronger afternoon wind to riders who already foil. At Urla the wind starts early and fades around 3 or 4 p.m., so a morning session catches the best of it. At Adakoy the wind plays no part. The limit there is the booking window, three days ahead on the Neilson app, so reserve a taster on your first evening.
A Turkish wing license and the kite field at Akyaka
No official Turkish rule written for eFoils has come to our attention. Neilson's tasters and the GetMyBoat board run under the operator's own briefing.
After a wing course at Urla Surf House the station can issue a Turkish license on request. It is not an internationally recognized IWO certificate.
Akyaka has a registered area for kites. According to a 2016 report in Hürriyet Daily News, the Muğla Governor's Office registered the Akçapınar coast at Akyaka as a kitesurf field: about 3,500 meters of shoreline inside a first degree archaeological site, approved by the Council of Monuments and the Agency for the Protection of Special Areas. Our reading is that the field is drawn for kites and says nothing about wings or eFoils, so ask a local school before you launch anything else there.
Take it as general information, not legal advice. Other countries' rules are on our eFoil rules page.
Where else the wind blows in Turkey
GoTürkiye, the national tourism board, lists more wind spots along the coast. It names them for kitesurfing and windsurfing, not for wing foiling, so they suit riders who travel with their own kit or who have checked with a local club first.
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| Spot | What GoTürkiye says |
|---|---|
| Akyaka, Gulf of Gökova | A top kitesurf destination: thermal winds, sandy shallow water, a 3 km riding track |
| Gökçeada, Aydıncık beach | Windsurf conditions on 300 days a year by the board's count; Aydıncık is the most popular beach |
| Akyarlar bay, Bodrum peninsula | For skilled surfers: deep water, strong winds |
| Datça | A windy bay with a surf facility, May to September |
| Sarıgerme, near Dalaman | Kite and windsurf clubs |
| Saros Bay | Windsurf and kite |
| Ayvalık | Surf and kite |
Sarıgerme lies near Dalaman, the airport for Adakoy. Pack by our wingfoil gear guide. The Etesian wind that fills Alaçatı blows across Greek water and the eastern Mediterranean as well, and our Greece and Cyprus pages follow the eFoil there. Zanzibar runs on trade winds, not a thermal, and sits with every other coast on the spots overview.