Türkiye's coast bites after dark. Cappadocia is the easy part.

Yes. Türkiye has mosquitoes in summer, and on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, from Antalya to Bodrum, they bite mostly in the evening and at night, joined after dark by sand flies that can carry leishmaniasis. Istanbul was the center of the country's largest West Nile outbreak in 2024, with very few cases reported since. Cappadocia is likely the lightest stop, and CDC recommends no malaria medicine for Türkiye.

Evenings and nights on the coast

On the Turquoise Coast and the Aegean, the biting starts around dinner. Visitors to Antalya-area resorts such as Lara Beach, Belek and Side, and to Bodrum, tend to report bites in outdoor bars, gardens and rooms with open windows, and few indoors with a plug-in repellent running.

The night shift that matters more belongs to phlebotomine sand flies. They're tiny, bite from dusk to dawn and spread leishmaniasis, which CDC lists for Türkiye. Its skin form, cutaneous leishmaniasis, is the most common bite-borne disease in the country, concentrated in the southeast and the Mediterranean region. Researchers have found sand flies carrying the parasite in Antalya province and in Muğla, the province that includes Bodrum, where a third of the sand fly samples tested in 2016–2017 were positive. In Muğla the season runs from March to early October and peaks in August, with most sand flies caught in the countryside at about 650 to 1,300 feet (200–400 m).

One routine covers both. Put repellent on before dinner outside and keep it topped up through the evening in gardens and open-air bars; our guide to how long repellent lasts helps you time it. Sleep in an air-conditioned or screened room or run a plug-in vaporizer, and use a bed net if you sleep exposed to the outdoors, as CDC suggests. A skin sore that doesn't heal after the trip is a reason to see a doctor. A spring or fall trip still needs the evening habit, since the sand fly season around Bodrum runs into early October.

Istanbul's West Nile year

West Nile is spread by Culex mosquitoes, which bite in the evening and at night. In 2024 Türkiye had its largest outbreak. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) counted 90 locally acquired cases and 7 deaths, with 44 of the cases in Istanbul and most of the rest in Thrace (Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ) and Bursa. A Turkish news report put the 2024 count higher. ECDC then listed a single case in 2025, in Çanakkale, and none in 2026 through October 21. It isn't clear whether that means quiet seasons or cases that weren't reported. In Istanbul in late summer, wear repellent for rooftop dinners and evenings by the water.

CDC recommends no malaria medicine for Türkiye, and the yellow fever vaccine is neither recommended nor required. If you'll hike, camp or stay on a farm in central or northeastern Anatolia, CDC also lists Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, spread by ticks and by contact with infected animals' blood and body fluids, so wear permethrin-treated clothing, check for ticks daily and stay clear of livestock blood.

Where you're going

How the main stops compare for a June–September trip.

Adding the Greek islands to a Turkish coast trip? Our Greece briefing covers the islands and Athens.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor forum threads and linked so you can read them in full. None is dated, and bites at the resorts vary with the week, the weather and where you stay.

• Lara Beach, Antalya · August

  Posters described repeated mosquito bites at Lara Beach in August, one after an evening in an outdoor bar area without repellent. Others said bites were not a problem in the room with a plug-in repellent. TripAdvisor ↗

• Bodrum

  A poster who was bitten heavily by mosquitoes in Bodrum shared a bite remedy, reporting quick relief after a mud treatment at Pamukkale. TripAdvisor ↗

• Side

  In a thread about mosquitoes and other biting bugs in Side, a poster said the drains had been treated for mosquitoes the week before. TripAdvisor ↗

And the rule that outlasts every trip: any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Türkiye.

Traveler questions