Narköy Ecologic Hotel & Organic Farm

Narköy is a quite unique, eco-friendly hotel on an large organic farm in the province of Kocaeli, Turkey, about an hour east of Istanbul.

It’s more a countryside retreat than a hotel though and has a range of workshops in everything from permaculture and bread making to yoga and stress management. And guests are welcome to get to know the farm, help milk the cows, collect eggs or gather fruit, herbs and vegetables.

There’s lots to explore in the surrounding area too, with plenty of swimming and hiking to be done, and you can enquire at reception about horse riding and their free bicycle rental.

The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable and all come with private bathroom and WiFi, and instead of air-con the hotel uses an ecologically more friendly natural ventilation system.

There is a very good on-site restaurant too, with a range of Turkish dishes, most of the ingredients of which come straight from the farm. Breakfast is included in the room rate and is, as you might expect, top quality.