Turkey
Wedding ring lost on a beach in Turkey?
At Lara people swim mostly from decks; on the Princes' Islands some beaches are platforms built out over the water.
Yes, there is usually something to try when a ring or watch goes missing on a Turkish beach or sea deck. The deciding question is whether it dropped onto something solid or into the sea, and after that how exactly you remember the place.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Turkey. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Six stretches of the south and west coast have area pages of their own. Istanbul, Bozcaada and Ayvalık are covered here.
Warm, tideless water in the south, Black Sea waves in the north
Around Muğla the sea close to the towns is clear, warm and tideless. Without a tide, the most useful thing to tell us about a loss in the water there is how deep you were standing.
The north is different water. Ayvalık's wind and waves bring windsurfers and sailors, and above Istanbul, on the Black Sea, golden sand meets the waves at Kilyos, while at Uzunya the sea keeps a real chill even at the height of summer.
How a loss in Turkey is handled
Your contact does not change
Everything goes through one WhatsApp chat with one person at Ring Seekers, from your first description of the day to the report after the search.
Starting from your sunbed, not the beach name
A beach name alone can cover a long stretch of sand. The detectorist is sent your pin and pictures, so the search starts at the sunbed, deck or rock you were actually on.
Some losses leave little to search
A phone that went over the side of a gulet far out in a bay is one of them. If yours looks like that, we tell you early.
The resort name from your booking will do
You do not need to know whether your hotel counts as Kemer or Antalya, or whether Altınkum is part of Didim. Send the name on your booking and we place it.
Costs explained, then your call
We explain the costs before any search is booked. Whether to go ahead is then up to you, with no deadline from us.
Our Ring Finder Service Locations in Turkey
Where on the Turkish coast it happened
Pick the card for the coast you stayed on. Six of them lead on to a fuller area page; Istanbul, Bozcaada and Ayvalık are covered on this page alone.
Turkey's coasts, one card each
Antalya, Belek, Side, Kemer and Alanya
Konyaaltı, on the western side of the city, is one of Antalya's two main beaches, with cafés and hotels behind it. For Konyaaltı itself and for every resort from Kemer round to Alanya, the Antalya, Belek, Side, Kemer and Alanya page goes beach by beach.
Kuşadası and Didim
Kuşadası has many beaches: Kadınlar Beach is the one close to the town centre, and Sevgi Beach has running and cycling tracks along it. Didim has Altınkum and a coast of intricate coves, and boat trips out to those coves are easy to join, so tell us whether a boat was part of your day. The Kuşadası and Didim page has both towns in detail, along with the Dilek Peninsula beaches past Güzelçamlı.
Bodrum Peninsula and Datça
Gümbet, Bitez, Ortakent, Turgutreis, Yalıkavak and Torba are among the Bodrum places people know by name. If you slept in one village and swam at another, give us both. Each stretch, and the Datça coves after them, is on the Bodrum Peninsula and Datça page.
Marmaris and İçmeler
Marmaris is a major centre for gulet cruises and yacht charters, with a wide choice of places to moor, and boats leave the old harbour for the islands and bays along its coast. If it went on board, the boat's name and the bay it anchored in matter more than the town. For İçmeler, Cennet Adası, the coves off the bay and Bozburun, go to the Marmaris and İçmeler page.
Çeşme and Alaçatı
Alaçatı lies south of Ilıca and inland from the coast, with windmills on the hills above the town and a good beach to the south. Many bays along the coast southeast of the town can be reached only by boat, so if yours was one of those, say where the boat set out from. The Çeşme and Alaçatı page takes the coves one at a time.
Fethiye, Ölüdeniz, Göcek, Kalkan and Kaş
In Kaş, Küçük Çakıl beach is right in the town centre and İnceboğaz is on the road out to the peninsula, so the name of the beach already tells us whether you were in town or out of it. Fethiye, Göcek, Ölüdeniz, Butterfly Valley, Kabak and Kalkan are on the Fethiye, Ölüdeniz, Göcek, Kalkan and Kaş page.
The Princes' Islands, Istanbul
Büyükada, Heybeliada, Burgazada and Kınalıada are the four main islands, with ferries from both the European and the Anatolian shore. Each has beaches, some sandy, some rocky, some wooden or concrete bathing platforms built out over the water. The quieter bathing spots are on the sides and backs of the islands, away from the ferry docks.
Kilyos, on the Black Sea
Kilyos is a village just outside Istanbul, with golden beaches and beach clubs around it and wilder bays along the Black Sea a little farther afield. Burç Beach draws windsurfers and kiteboarders. Uzunya Beach lies in a deep natural harbour at the tip of the Bosphorus, a secluded alcove of golden sand.
Bozcaada and Ayvalık
Bozcaada lies a short way off the mainland from Geyikli Pier, an island of vineyards, calm beaches and bays, with kite-surfing at Çayır Beach. On the Ayvalık coast, Sarımsaklı Beach is known for dry sand that does not stick to the body, and Patriça and Ortunç bays make other beach days. Cunda Island, over the bridge, has fish restaurants along its harbour.
Places we cover in Turkey
- Antalya
- Konyaaltı, Antalya
- Lara, Antalya
- Belek
- Side
- Kemer
- Alanya
- Kuşadası
- Dilek Peninsula, Kuşadası
- Didim
- Altınkum, Didim
- Bodrum
- Datça
- Marmaris
- Cennet Adası, Marmaris
- Bozburun
- İçmeler
- Çeşme
- Alaçatı
- Fethiye
- Ölüdeniz
- Butterfly Valley, Fethiye
- Kabak Bay, Fethiye
- Göcek
- Kalkan
- Kaş
- Princes' Islands, Istanbul
- Kilyos, Istanbul
- Bozcaada
- Ayvalık
- Cunda Island, Ayvalık
Things that go missing on a Turkish holiday
Rings are what most people write about, but anything with metal in it can be looked for.
Rings and jewellery
- A wedding band
- A gold bangle
- A necklace
- A single earring
- An anklet
Gadgets and everyday metal
- A sports watch worn in the sea
- An Oura ring
- A phone
- A hire car key
- Metal-framed prescription glasses
Days out named on this page
- Climbing back onto a sea deck at Lara
- A boat trip out to the Didim coves
- A bathing platform on Büyükada
- Windsurfing at Burç Beach, Kilyos
- Kite-surfing at Çayır Beach on Bozcaada
- The running track by Sevgi Beach
Once your message is in
You send the details; we do the arranging.
The loss, in your words
Tell us what you were doing when you realised it had gone, and where you were staying. Rough is fine.
Show us on a map
A pin where you think it went, even a rough one, and a photo of the item. If holiday snaps show the place, add those.
A detectorist is briefed
We look for a metal detectorist who can get to that beach, deck or harbour, and they start from your pin and pictures.
You decide, then you hear back
Nothing is arranged until you say yes. Once the detectorist has been, you hear the result in the same chat, including anything that could not be reached.
Questions about Turkey
My wedding band went as I climbed back onto a sea deck at Lara.
Lara is a long beach of gentle waves and darkish sand with some small pebbles. Most of it is run by beach businesses, and people there swim mostly from decks and platforms. That gives a searcher a fixed structure to start from. Tell us which deck it was, the ladder or steps you used and roughly how deep the water was beneath them, and send a photo of the band.
A smartwatch came off on Sevgi Beach, and it is a very long beach.
It is 12 km long, with running and cycling tracks, so the name alone leaves a great deal of sand to cover. Drop a pin where your things were, say whether the watch could have gone while you were running or cycling as well as on the sand, and send a picture of it with its strap.
My bracelet is somewhere on a bathing platform on Büyükada.
The Princes' Islands have sandy beaches, rocky shore and wooden or concrete platforms built above the water, and a platform is a small, fixed place to start from. Tell us which side of the island you were on and how far from the ferry dock. A pin on the platform and a photo of the bracelet complete it.
I noticed my ring was missing as we left Heybeliada.
Heybeliada is one of the four main Princes' Islands, and no modern traffic runs there, so a day on it means walking, cycling or the electric buses. The ring could have gone anywhere along that route, not only on the beach. Mark on a map each place you stopped, starting at the ferry dock, and send a photo of the ring.
Can a car key lost at Burç Beach in Kilyos during windsurfing be found?
That turns on where it went. At Burç golden sand meets the Black Sea waves, and windsurfers and kiteboarders use it, so the first thing to settle is whether the key went on the sand, where the kit was laid out, or in the water. Sand around your gear is ground a detectorist can cover properly. A key lost out in the waves is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. Send a photo of the key and its fob.
An Oura ring went at Çayır Beach, the kite-surfing beach on Bozcaada.
Çayır is the Bozcaada beach where people kite-surf, and the island lies a short way off the mainland from Geyikli Pier. Say whether you were on the sand, in the water or out on a kite, and whether the ring might have come off on the way over. A photo showing the ring's colour and finish helps whoever searches recognise it.
A gold bangle went on Sarımsaklı Beach at Ayvalık.
Sarımsaklı is known for sand so dry it does not stick to the body, and there are bamboo beach bars and seaside restaurants there. Work out where your towel lay in relation to the water's edge and to anything fixed on the sand, and whether you swam. A pin, a photo of the bangle and the time you last noticed it on your wrist are what we start from.
Turkey
Write to us from the hotel or from home
Send us on WhatsApp what went missing, the resort or town, and a map pin where you think it went, and we take it from there.