7-Day Aegean Village Life: Olive Harvest, Local Markets & Shared Tables

After breakfast, visit an olive grove and meet your local host. Walk among the trees while your host explains how the grove is maintained, how harvest timing is chosen and what happens to the olives after picking. When harvesting is underway and conditions allow, join a supervised picking session. Outside an active harvest, enjoy a demonstration and a closer look at the grower’s work. Continue to an olive oil producer. Observe the production stages operating during your visit, then join a guided tasting to explore differences in aroma, flavour and texture. Enjoy a countryside lunch featuring seasonal ingredients before returning to Urla. The afternoon is free for a walk, shopping or a quiet café stop.
Overnight: Urla
Meals: Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, travel to Seferihisar and the coastal settlement of Sığacık. Explore the streets and visit a local market if it is operating that day. Browse seasonal produce and discuss ingredients with your guide. If the market schedule does not match the departure, visit selected produce shops instead or move the market experience to another day. Continue to a local kitchen for a hands-on cooking session. With your host’s guidance, prepare a small menu using seasonal ingredients. Dishes may include vegetables cooked in olive oil, a savoury pastry or a regional salad. Sit down together to enjoy the lunch you have helped prepare. Spend the afternoon exploring Sığacık at an easy pace before checking in to your accommodation.

Overnight: Seferihisar / Sığacık area
Meals: Breakfast and workshop lunch

Leave Seferihisar after breakfast and travel to Şirince. Enjoy a guided walk through the village, taking in its lanes, traditional houses and small shops. There is time to browse and stop for tea or coffee. Visit a local food artisan for a demonstration and tasting. Depending on the confirmed host, the experience may focus on preserves, bread or another regional speciality. After free time for lunch, enjoy the village at your own pace. Later, check in to your accommodation in Şirince or the nearby Selçuk area. A regional dinner is included this evening.
Overnight: Şirince / Selçuk area
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

After breakfast, travel into the Aydın countryside for an arranged food producer visit. The host will introduce a locally produced ingredient, such as figs or olive products, depending on availability. Hear about cultivation, preparation and the work involved in bringing the product to market. The visit does not assume an active harvest. Continue to a village kitchen for your second cooking workshop. Prepare a seasonal menu with your host, learning practical techniques and the stories behind the dishes. Enjoy lunch together before a relaxed village walk. Continue to your accommodation in the Aydın area and spend the evening at leisure.
Overnight: Aydın area
Meals: Breakfast and workshop lunch

After breakfast, depart for Milas. Visit an olive grower or olive oil producer in the surrounding countryside. Learn about their methods and join a tasting, comparing your impressions with the oils you sampled earlier in the journey. A short grove walk or harvest demonstration may be included, depending on the host’s activities and conditions. After free time for lunch, explore selected streets and shops in Milas. Check in to your accommodation and relax before the evening. Gather for a farewell dinner featuring regional dishes. Share the recipes, flavours and encounters you would like to take home.

Overnight: Milas area
Meals: Breakfast and dinner

Enjoy breakfast before checking out. Depending on your flight time, there may be an opportunity to purchase olive oil or other local products before your transfer to Milas–Bodrum Airport. An overland return to İzmir can be arranged at an additional cost.
Meals: Breakfast