The Turkish Riviera, Explained: Bodrum, Fethiye, Kaş, Antalya and the Rest

"Turkish Riviera" is a marketing term, and like most marketing terms it covers too much ground. It usually means the stretch of coast from Çeşme, west of İzmir, down the Aegean past Bodrum and Marmaris, round the corner at Fethiye onto the Mediterranean, and east through Kaş and Antalya to Alanya. That is around 600 miles (1,000 km) of shoreline, four airports, two seas, and at least six places with nothing in common except good water. Nobody does the whole thing in one trip. The useful question is which piece.

At a glance

Where it is

Southwest Turkey, Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, Çeşme to Alanya

Airports

İzmir (ADB), Bodrum (BJV), Dalaman (DLM), Antalya (AYT)

From the US

No nonstops to the coast; connect in Istanbul, then about 1 to 1.5 hours onward

Season

May to October; July and August are peak

Bodrum to Fethiye

About 160 miles (260 km), roughly 4 hours by road

Fethiye to Kaş

About 70 miles (110 km), roughly 2 hours

Kaş to Antalya

About 120 miles (190 km), roughly 3 hours

Currency

Turkish lira; cards widely accepted, carry some cash for markets and boats

One thing to hold onto: the Aegean half (Çeşme to Marmaris) is windier, drier and a touch cooler than the Mediterranean half (Fethiye to Alanya), which is hotter and more humid in July and August. The character changes with the airport, too.

Çeşme and Alaçatı: wind and the Istanbul weekend crowd

Çeşme sits at the tip of the peninsula west of İzmir, about an hour from İzmir airport (ADB). The water is colder than further south and the wind is relentless, which is why Alaçatı, the stone village next door, became one of the best windsurfing and kitesurfing spots in Europe. It is also where a certain slice of Istanbul goes on summer weekends: cobbled streets, boutique hotels in old Greek houses, restaurants that take reservations seriously.

Come here for a stylish village with a sea nearby rather than a beach vacation as such; Ilıca is the long sandy beach, warm springs in the shallows. Skip it if you want warm, still water or a quiet week.

The Bodrum peninsula: Aegean, boutique, gulets

Bodrum is the piece most Americans end up choosing, and for good reason: it has the widest range of anything on the coast. The peninsula is about 30 km across and holds a dozen villages that behave like separate resorts. Bodrum town has the castle, the Mausoleum site and the nightlife. Yalıkavak has the superyacht marina and the expensive beach clubs. Türkbükü is where Istanbul society goes to be seen. Gümüşlük is the fishing village with tables in the water. Bitez and Akyarlar are the quiet, family ends.

Hotels are mostly boutique and mid-sized rather than mega-resorts, villas are everywhere, and the wooden gulets that run day trips and week-long Blue Voyages tie up in the main harbor. Bodrum Airport (BJV) is about 36 km, or 45 minutes, from town, with a 1 hour 15 minute hop from Istanbul. The sea is Aegean: clear, a few degrees cooler than Antalya, and often with an afternoon breeze that makes the heat bearable.

Marmaris and Datça: the busy bay and the quiet peninsula

Marmaris is a big, cheerful resort town on an enormous sheltered bay, roughly 2.5 to 3 hours from Bodrum by road and about 1.5 hours from Dalaman airport. It has a long promenade, a huge marina, bar streets and a mostly British package clientele. Boat trips are good; the town is loud.

Datça is the opposite: a thin peninsula poking west from Marmaris, with a single road, almond trees, a couple of small towns and the ruins of Knidos at the tip. It is slow to reach (about 1.5 hours from Marmaris), which is why it stays quiet. A car ferry links Datça to Bodrum, the nicest way to connect the two Aegean stretches.

The Dalaman coast: Fethiye, Ölüdeniz and Göcek

This is where the Aegean becomes the Mediterranean, and where the coast gets its postcard. Ölüdeniz, the blue lagoon under a mountain, is the most photographed beach in Turkey and busy to match; paragliders launch off Babadağ above it all day. Fethiye, 20 minutes away, is a working town with a fish market, a harbor full of gulets and Lycian rock tombs cut into the cliff behind it.

Göcek, 30 minutes from Dalaman airport (DLM), is the sailing capital: several marinas, a small village with good restaurants, and a bay of pine-covered islands you need a boat to appreciate. Nearby are Kayaköy, the abandoned Greek town above Ölüdeniz, and the Saklıkent gorge. Families and sailors love this stretch; nightlife is thin outside Hisarönü, a British holiday strip that feels like it.

Kaş and Kalkan: quiet, deep water, diving

About 2 hours east of Fethiye the road climbs and the coast turns to cliffs, which is why Kaş and Kalkan never got big hotels. Kaş is a small town built around a square and a harbor, with bougainvillea, a modest nightlife of bars rather than clubs, and the best scuba diving in Turkey off its headland. The Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo) sits so close you can see the houses; a short ferry runs across.

Kalkan, 30 minutes west, is steeper, more polished and mostly villas with pools, rented by British families who come back every year. Neither place has much beach: you swim off platforms, from boats, at Kaputaş, the small cove with a staircase between the two towns, or on the long empty sand at Patara, 30 minutes from Kalkan. Kaş is about 3 hours from Antalya airport and a bit over 2 from Dalaman.

Antalya, Belek, Side and Alanya: the big-resort coast

East of Kaş the mountains pull back and the coast flattens into the long beaches where the mass market lives. Antalya is a city of well over a million with a walled old town, Kaleiçi, and two big beaches: Konyaaltı (pebbles, miles long) and Lara (sand, lined with enormous themed hotels). Belek is golf courses and five-star all-inclusives. Side is a Roman town with a temple of Apollo on the point and sand either side. Alanya, 2 hours east, is a Seljuk castle above a crowded, inexpensive resort.

This is the all-inclusive coast, built for German, Russian and British package travelers, and Antalya airport (AYT) has far more direct international flights than anywhere else on the coast. It is also the best stretch for ruins: Perge, Aspendos and Termessos are all day trips. It is hotter and stickier than the Aegean in high summer, and the towns are not the attraction; the hotels are.

The Blue Voyage

The Blue Voyage (Mavi Yolculuk) is the one thing that ties the whole coast together: a week on a wooden gulet, sleeping on deck, swimming off the back three times a day, eating what the cook makes. The classic routes run from Bodrum into the Gulf of Gökova, from Marmaris or Göcek through the Fethiye islands, or along the Lycian coast from Fethiye to Kaş. Charter a whole boat with friends or book a cabin on a shared one. June and September are the sweet spots; book early for July and August, and check what is included before you pay.

Which one is for you

• Boutique hotels, good restaurants, a bit of everything: Bodrum peninsula (fly BJV)
• A chic village and watersports, and you don't mind cooler water: Çeşme and Alaçatı (fly ADB)
• Sailing, lagoons and families: Göcek, Fethiye and Ölüdeniz (fly DLM)
• Quiet, diving, a small-town week with a villa and a pool: Kaş or Kalkan (fly DLM or AYT)
• An all-inclusive where the kids are entertained and you never open your wallet: Belek, Lara or Side (fly AYT)
• Roman ruins between beach days: Antalya and Side (fly AYT)
• Nightlife: Bodrum town or Gümbet in summer; Antalya for big clubs; Kaş for bars
• Getting away from everyone: Datça, or the villages east of Kaş
• The whole coast at once: a Blue Voyage from Bodrum, Göcek or Fethiye

Getting there and around

From the US East Coast, fly to Istanbul (around 10 hours) and connect; the domestic legs are 1 to 1.5 hours and run many times a day in summer. On the coast, a rental car is the only practical way to move between towns, and drive times run longer than the map suggests because the road twists. Within a resort, taxis and the shared minibuses called dolmuş are enough.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Turkish Riviera?

It is the southwestern coast of Turkey, on the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, running from around Çeşme and Bodrum in the west to Antalya and Alanya in the east. The Turkish name for the stretch is the Turquoise Coast.

Which part of the Turkish Riviera is the best?

It depends on what you want. Bodrum has the best mix of hotels, restaurants and villages; Fethiye and Göcek are best for sailing and families; Kaş is best for quiet and diving; Antalya has the big all-inclusive resorts and the Roman ruins.

What airport do you fly into for the Turkish Riviera?

There are four: İzmir (ADB) for Çeşme, Bodrum (BJV) for the Bodrum peninsula, Dalaman (DLM) for Marmaris, Fethiye, Göcek and Kaş, and Antalya (AYT) for Antalya, Belek, Side and Alanya. From the US you connect through Istanbul.

Is the Turkish Riviera expensive?

Compared with the French or Italian Riviera, no. Bodrum's Yalıkavak and Türkbükü can match European prices at the top end, but most of the coast is good value for Americans, and the all-inclusives around Antalya are among the cheapest in the Mediterranean for what you get.

How many days do you need on the Turkish Riviera?

A week in one place is the normal trip. Ten days lets you pair two neighboring stretches, such as Bodrum and Datça or Fethiye and Kaş, or add a few nights in Istanbul on the way in.

When is the best time to visit the Turkish Riviera?

Late May to June and September to early October: warm sea, hot but not punishing days, and fewer people than July and August. The Mediterranean half stays swimmable a little later into October than the Aegean half.