Turkey Travel Answers

The entire length of Turkey's Aegean coast (also referred to as the Turquoise coast and/or Cleopatra's coast) practically is nothing but endless fantastic towns and spectacular sea-fronting vistas - from Antalya all the way to Izmir. So much ancient and highly historic towns/villages abound along the way i.e. Kas, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum, Ephesus to name a few more-known places. If you're into hiking , you should consider doing the Lycian way which will take you a few days of sustained hike. If you decide to do this, make sure you go with a reliable guide. For a day at the beach. consider Olu Deniz inland near Fethiye. Magnificent.

I don't know that coast as well as I want to know it but the ancient sites, Fethiye and Kayakoy are musts imo (especially Kayakoy).

"'The sound of a thousand cats crying...........'" - Kayakoy by leics

Olu Deniz is a truly beautiful bay but I'm afraid I found it to be crowded with and catering for visitors (Turkish but also vast numbers of European holidaymakers)...though I did visit in peak season. The same applies to the villages of Hisaronu and Ovacik directly above Olu Deniz both of which seem very much aimed at (mainly UK, I felt) visitors. I believe Dalaman, Izmir, Marmaris and Bodrum also have strong UK/European package holiday links but as I've not yet been to those places I can make that statement from the experiences of friends and acquaintances and the advertising I see for package holidays.

When I go back I'll make better pages and tips (I was new to VT when I visited) but I suggest you look at the info pages and tips made by VT locals and visitors about the places Solodancer and I have mentioned. To find them, just put the placename into the searchbox top right.

It's true what Leics said that these days the beautiful inland beach of Olu Deniz tends to be crowded with mostly European tourists; same is true of Bodrum, Ephesus and Antalya or even Izmir and generally speaking of most of the main coastal towns on Cleopatra's coast. That said, you might consider going during off season and encounter less visitors. However, the smaller villages along this stretch especially those inland should be good for a more tranquil holiday.

If you get to Bodrum you can take the local minibus to Gumusluk, a charming little seafront village in a quiet cove.

To give you some relevant answers it would be helpful to know when you anticipate travelling, your proposed transport options and some idea of your likes. The area is very strong historically and ancient ruins abound, but then you may hate that idea and want to spend the time at the seaside.

If you rent a car, you will enjoy the most of the west coast. There are many locations you can stop-over, but if you take bus from point A to point B, you may lose time with transportation and you may skip some impressive bays along the road. You can start from Marmaris, go around Gökova bay with marvellous scenery, reach Bodrum and stay over there, then go up Güllük Bay and further to Kusadasi. When you reach Izmir, you already covered the best of the west coast. You can start the other way around from Izmir to Maramaris if you like.

Thank you.

Well, true ... ;-) ... Right now I am just checking some options. It might be Izmir

For one week best place is Fethiye and you can visit many places around ...

FrankTravelpage wrote:

Well, true ... ;-) ... Right now I am just checking some options. It might be Izmir

 

Izmir is a good option as a base, sort of middle way, which means you can easily travel to both directions.  And the city is a good transport hub.  Not far from here the ancient site of Ephesus and also at not  great distance Bergama (the ruins of ancient Pergamum) is worth a visit definitely.

I would make a good plan to visit all the sites in Aegean coast. 7 days is plenty of time to see everything. You can start from Istanbul and drive or take a bus to Canakkale. Visit Troy and Canakkale. You can drive to Assos from there and stay for a day. Then drive to Pergamon. From Pergamon to Selcuk to visit Ephesus. If you can spend some more time there, you can visit Sirince which is a beautiful village and famous for homemade wines. Then drive to Pamukkale. After Pamukkale you can go to Fethiye then go back to Istanbul by an overnight bus or you can catch a plane from Dalaman airport. This is just a suggestion. I hope it will help you. You travel between all those towns by bus easily and in one week, you will the the best things in this area.