Güre Thermal Springs (Güre Kaplıcaları)

What to expect

Güre is a former small town on the north shore of the Gulf of Edremit, now a neighbourhood of Edremit district in Balıkesir province. It sits where the southern slopes of the Kaz Mountains, the Mount Ida of Homer, drop to the Aegean. Hot water rises a few hundred metres from the beach, and over the past few decades a cluster of thermal hotels has grown up around it. Turkish visitors know the area as Güre Kaplıcaları, and the provincial culture and tourism directorate lists it as a thermal tourism centre.

Do not expect a single historic bathhouse or an open-air pool fed by a spring you can see. Güre works like most modern Turkish spa districts: the water is piped into the hotels, and you soak in their indoor thermal pools, Turkish hamams and private family baths. What sets it apart is the setting. You can spend the morning in a thermal pool, walk down to the sea for a swim in summer, and drive into the pine forest of the national park in the afternoon.

The directorate gives the spring temperature as 104°F40°C and describes the water as a fluoride-bearing sodium sulphate type. It notes that hotels certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, from three to five stars, operate in the district, along with other hotels that offer lodging and use of the water.

The hotels

OpenStreetMap shows the main thermal properties within about 1.5 km (1 mile) of each other. Among them are Güre Termal Resort, Adrina Thermal Health & Spa Hotel, Hattuşa Vacation Thermal Club Kazdağları, Ramada Resort Kazdağları Thermal & Spa, Form Hotel Thermal & Spa, Venüs Termal Butik Otel and Körfez Termal. They differ a lot in style.

• Güre Termal Resort (also marketed as Güre Termal Spa Kazdağları) has 111 rooms, two indoor thermal pools, two outdoor swimming pools, a hamam and a spa. Its men’s and women’s thermal pool and hamam sections are each open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the men’s pool switches to mixed use in set hours. It does not serve alcohol and offers family baths.
• Adrina Thermal Health & Spa Hotel is on the seafront with its own beach and pier. It lists two indoor thermal pools, a 605 m² outdoor pool, a children’s pool and a large spa building across a 39,000 m² site, with 246 rooms.
• Hattuşa, Ramada and Form sit a little back from the shore, on the slope toward the hills.

Each hotel sets its own pool hours, age rules and dress rules. Hours quoted by booking sites change, and one hotel notes that it may change its concept at short notice, so confirm with the hotel.

Getting there

Güre is on the coast road that runs west from Edremit toward Assos and Çanakkale, about 12 km (7.5 miles) from Edremit town. Akçay, the resort town next door, has the closest shops and beach promenade. The hotels are signed from the main road, and every one has its own parking.

• From Istanbul: Most people drive via Bursa and Balıkesir, or take a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Bandırma and drive south and west from there.
• From İzmir: Head north on the coast road through Ayvalık and Burhaniye to Edremit, then continue west.
• By air: Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport, near Edremit, has domestic flights. Taxis and hotel transfers cover the last stretch.
• By bus: Intercity buses run to Edremit and Akçay, and local minibuses run along the coast road.

When to go

The pools are indoors and open all year, so winter is a good time to come. Weekdays from October to May are the quietest, and room prices at the larger hotels usually drop. Summer is high season on this coast: families come for the beach as much as the water, and the outdoor pools fill. Bayram holidays and long weekends book out early across the district.

Spring and autumn are the best months to combine a soak with walking in Kazdağı National Park, when the forest roads are dry and the heat is moderate.

Prices and booking

The thermal pools and hamams are hotel facilities, included in the room rate for staying guests. Treatments such as massage, kese (scrub) and skin care are extra, and private family baths are usually charged by the session. None of the hotels publishes a day-visitor price on its website. If you want a day soak, phone ahead and ask what the day pass covers and whether it includes the hamam and sauna. Turkish prices change often, so treat any figure you see on a booking site as a guide.

Packages vary from bed and breakfast to full board, so compare what is included. The provincial directorate recommends a 21-day course for anyone using the water as a cure, and no fewer than 15 days.

Bathing culture

Güre follows Turkish spa customs. Everyone wears a swimsuit in the thermal pools, mixed or not. In the hamam, men wear a swimsuit or a cotton peştamal around the waist, and nudity is not the custom in shared areas. Where a hotel has separate men’s and women’s sections, couples and families who want to soak together book a private family bath (aile banyosu). Shower before you get in, keep soap out of the pools, and keep your voice down: some guests are here on doctor-recommended cure programmes rather than on holiday.

Where to stay nearby

The thermal hotels themselves are the obvious base, since the water is only available inside them. Akçay, next door, has a long seafront lined with cheaper hotels and guesthouses. Edremit town, 12 km (7.5 miles) east, has budget hotels and the bus station. In the hills above Güre, OpenStreetMap lists small stone guesthouses, a boutique hotel and bungalows for anyone who prefers forest to beachfront.

Safety notes

• Hot water: At 104°F40°C the springs are hotter than most people should sit in for long. Keep sessions short, drink water and get out if you feel dizzy. Anyone with heart problems, high blood pressure or a pregnancy should ask a doctor first.
• Slippery floors: Mineral water and marble make hamam floors slick. Wear slippers between pools.
• Children: Check each hotel’s age rules for the thermal pools and hamam. Hot pools are not suitable for small children for more than a few minutes.
• Summer heat and fire: The Kaz Mountains forests are high fire risk in summer. Follow any closure signs on the national park roads and never light a fire in the forest.

Nearby stops worth adding

Kazdağı National Park begins in the hills above Güre, with forest roads and walking routes. Pınarbaşı, a picnic area in the forest, is one of the best-known spots locally. The Tahtakuşlar Ethnography Museum, in the village of the same name, covers the traditions of the mountain villages. Further west, the coast road continues through Altınoluk and Küçükkuyu toward the ancient city of Assos. For another Balıkesir spa with a different feel, Gönen Thermal Springs is in a town centre on the other side of the province.