comScore pixel
Kartalkaya resort snow
Lat Long: 40.59° N 31.81° E
Ski Turkey

Kartalkaya Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Kartalkaya at 2042 m altitude

Issued: 2 pm 07 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Kartalkaya: 0.8 cm on Sun 17th  (after 9 PM)

Visitor reviews for Kartalkaya Ski Resort

Kartalkaya Ratings

Overall: 3.2. Based on 53 votes and 42 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.8

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Kartalkaya is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.3

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Kartalkaya has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 3.4

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 3.6

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.1

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Kartalkaya

Public Transport: 2.9

  • There are no buses or taxis to Kartalkaya
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.6

  • No places to stay in/near Kartalkaya
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 2.4

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 4.1

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Kartalkaya

Ski in/Ski out: 4.0

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 3.3

  • There are no child care facilities at Kartalkaya
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 2.1

  • Kartalkaya relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.8

  • There are no snow groomers at Kartalkaya
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Kartalkaya are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.0

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Kartalkaya is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.4

  • If snow conditions are poor at Kartalkaya, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.1

  • Kartalkaya usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.7

  • The staff at Kartalkaya are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Kartalkaya are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.2

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 3.5

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.7

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.7

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.8

  • No intermediate terrain at Kartalkaya
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 3.4

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 3.2

  • Not even a kicker at Kartalkaya
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 2.5

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Kartalkaya
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.5

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Kartalkaya has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.3

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.7

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 3.2

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.0

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 2.6

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 2.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 2.9

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.2

  • Overall, Kartalkaya is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.0

  • Overall, Kartalkaya is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

Latest
Oldest
Most useful
Top rated
Lowest rated
February 23, 2009
Lucien from Ski Turkey Turkey
I am going quite often during weekends to Grand Kartal or Doruk Kaya (Kartalkaya) since 3 years. The prices of the ski pass or hotel room are increasing a lot every year, but the quality of the material (I prefer not ask about the maintenance) is decreasing every year, especially in Doruk Kaya. Since 2 weeks the chair lift near the "Olympic runway " is running at half capacity because the electrical engine got hot ( it is not a joke). But the price of the ski pass is not at half capacity. Doruk kaya (Kartalkaya) management just want to make easy money with absolutely no investment. It is a pity, something very nice and a quite big area can be performed with some investment. I think no investment has been performed since more than 15 years in both of them.
February 08, 2009
A.E from Ski Turkey Turkey
Kartalkaya is a really good ski resort and very close to main cities like Istanbul and Ankara. The hotels are comfortable. Some people said that the hotels are expensive but if you are staying in Kartalkaya hotels you never pay for something else because all the meals, drinks (including booze) and ski passes are included in the price.
January 02, 2009
Philippe from Ski Turkey Turkey
Do not expect the Alps or Colorado, but Kartalkaya is a very pleasant place to spend a few days (expensive though). Main issue early in the season might be the lack of snow, and the poor maintenance of the trails. You better know a local to have a real snow report. It seems to me that what you find on the web comes from hotel managers who want to lure you in; customers are in short supply those days. Have fun there.
December 24, 2008
Can KAYA from Ski Turkey Turkey
Kartalkaya is a very nice weekend escapade mountain, and the backyard of Istanbul high-society. The reason that prices have gone up lately is the willing-to-pay people. So much crowded, especially in the weekends, because of daily tours. Can not really be compared to Alps or other resorts, but one of the best of Turkey. Very close to Istanbul (3h) and Ankara (2,5h) Hope this review helps
December 23, 2008
Lena Nazli from Ski Turkey Turkey
Very, very expensive. Why?
October 24, 2008
murats from Ski Turkey Turkey
I've been traveling to Kartalkaya since 1995. It is the best ski resort for inhabitants of Ankara and Istanbul. 4 hours from Kadikoy and 3 hours from Ankara. Long season (15 Dec-1 Apr) I had opportunity to ski in April 23rd, 2002. Receive notably amount of snow, but last two years I've concluded that snowfall had decreased about 50%. But this is relevant for every resort in Turkey (Possibly the effect of the climate change.) Hotels are expensive (the most expensive mountain hotels of Turkey) But due to proximity to main cities and comparably wider lift and piste options they deserve those prices. I advise you to take tours-coaches departing from Ankara or Istanbul. You take the bus early morning, sleep until the mountain. Depart back at 17.30. If you take your car, get prepared for icy conditions en route, snow chains are essential. Since Kartalkaya is the wall between Black Sea and interior part of Anatolia, may be extremely windy and chilled. Only slight difference in pressure can produce up to 50 km of wind at top. So don't hesitate to take your windshields. What I couldn't understand is, until 1995 there had been NO improvement or advancement in lift systems of hotels. 2 hotels use separate valleys with separate lifts without connection. No one can convince me about reasons of that. Overall: Good, not far, accessible, expensive...
February 25, 2008
murat from Ski Turkey Turkey
I have tried Kartal Hotel; the service of which is really nice. The snow quality is very good. Trails are large enough to let you safely ski down. Only downside is the length of the trails which are really short. Anyhow, it is the best place for skiing in the vicinity of Istanbul.
January 07, 2008
Nihan Dinç from Ski Turkey Turkey
Turkey's first snowpark opens this season in Kartalkaya Dorukkaya Ski and Mountain Resort. rails, rollers, boxes and big air... lots of fun i mean! Dorukkaya is more concerned on snowboarding than skiing. In sense of festivals and snowboarding competitions Dorukkaya is much more active than other resorts. every March they organize 2 main festivals "Rossignol Fest" and "Burton Games" both provides great parties and fun. For the last 2 seasons Dorukkaya improved itself. As it has more foreign visitors it is easier to find English speaking personnel.
December 28, 2007
Ortac Ozortac from Ski Turkey Turkey
I've been visiting Kartalkaya since 1986. Every season the valley improves itself. It has got better in recent years. The best idea for improvement is adding both two hotels' pistes to each other. Then visitors will have more than 20 kms of pistes. I think the hotel managers have to think about it. Good skiing @ Kartal Hotel's pistes. I feel like I'm home there.
February 16, 2007
Danny from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
I too learned to ski at Kartalkaya and left with a very positive impression of the place (for a beginner at least). For those of you having not travelled to Turkey before I would just like to add that the resort is "wet" i.e. alchohol is allowed (the hotels have bars which is usually where you'll find Jim who left the comment below). Also being muslim, Christmas is not usually a holiday period, so opportunities exists to grab a cheaper Christmas ski break than you would perhaps find in European resorts.