A Guide to the Turkish Coast
Where to eat, my favorite tiny beach town, a wine route, a guide to çig köfte and more
Turkey is a huge country and I’ve only covered a fraction of it and am by no means an expert. Still, it’s a place I’ve been lucky to visit repeatedly and at times extensively. In 2020, Nathan and I spent about six weeks on the Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast for its dazzling water. It was my third time there but first time in some of the smaller towns. It’s truly one of my favorite places on the planet. Please feel free to reach out with any specific questions.
Turkey has some of the nicest beach towns in the Mediterranean, from Alaçati, an ancient Greek town with whitewashed buildings and nearby wineries (see this newsletter), to the gorgeous waters and rock carved churches of Fethiye.
Getting there:
If you’re coming from Istanbul, you can drive or fly into Izmir or Bodrum. There are typically pretty cheap EasyJet or Pegasus flights. I’ve gotten questions about Pegasus in the past. It’s a local budget airline with restrictions similar to Ryanair or EasyJet. It’s totally safe and fine to book.
Getting around:
If you’re staying in Bodrum you can get a taxi or car service to your hotel. But I highly recommend renting a car and exploring more of the coast. Most major car rental brands have locations in Turkey and the roads along the coast are well maintained. Signs are often in both English and Turkish.
Where to Go
IZMIR
Izmir is a hub for the airport and the third biggest city in Turkey. It’s not where I would spend most of my time on the coast. Spend a day in the extensive Kemeralti Market (have lunch at any of the small restaurants) and visit the Agora of Smyrna, ruins of an ancient city.
Eat manti (oh how I miss manti) at Idil Manti Evi. Walk along the water at sunset. Rent a car and head to Alaçati or farther south.
ALAÇATI
Read the full Alaçati guide here. On your way here, stop along the Urla wine route. Urla and Mozaic are two favorite wineries. Follow along on a wine region trip here.
Click for details on Turkish wines ⤵️
EPHESUS
You must visit Ephesus! These are some of the best preserved Greek and Roman ruins in the world.
Prepare to spend about three hours and try to go in the morning if possible. It gets very hot during the summer and there’s not a lot of shade.
BODRUM
See some Bodrum highlights here, including a boat trip you should definitely take!
If you’re looking for an idyllic beach town, Bodrum might not be it. It’s cute and can be fun, but it’s also packed with British tourists, lined with kitschy souvenir stores and Irish pubs, and doesn’t have the nicest public beaches. It reminds me of Ocean City–great when that’s what you’re looking for, but not great if you were hoping for something more low-key. There are luxury resorts on one side of Bodrum and they have a completely different vibe and nice beaches, but they’re separated from the main town so are only good for a true resort trip where you’re not interested in leaving the hotel.
That said, one of the best meals I’ve had on the coast was in Bodrum, at Orfoz Restaurant. And there’s great çig köfte here, good kebab in a nice setting at Otantik, and an amazing tiny börek spot right around here. Make sure you eat as much börek as possible when in Turkey! The fish market is also nice. Pick out your fish then choose a restaurant in the market to cook it for you.
In Bodrum, or anywhere farther south, take a boat trip. It’s one of the best things you can do on the coast. Bodrum is where the Mediterranean meets the Aegean and the water is the dreamiest shade of Turquoise and so clear you can see 30 feet down.
GÜMÜSLÜK
This small fishing village makes a good day trip from Bodrum. Spend the day at the beach and eat at any of the seafood restaurants along the water. As one wise shop owner told me, “they all get their fish from the same places and they all cook it the same. There’s really no difference and you can’t go wrong.”
ÇÖKERTME
If you’re looking for a remote beach village where you can feel local, this is it. There are only one or two bed & breakfasts along a small strip of beach, and about five restaurants/bars. It gets busy at night when the yacht crowd heads in for dinner, but during the day you have the crystal clear water to yourself. See more of Çökertme here (click through to about halfway).
This was the most random stop on our trip, but ended up being a favorite. I still dream of moving here and opening up a book shop/wine bar.
FETHIYE/ÖLÜDENIZ
These towns have the prettiest coastline. See churches carved into rock from a boat trip in Fethiye, sail through the Butterfly Valley in Ölüdeniz, hike parts of the Lycian Way for views. I haven’t been to this part of Turkey since 2012 and don’t have specific restaurant or other recommendations, but I do know it’s the prettiest part of the coast. (Will update this guide as soon as I make it back.)
Be a Better Traveler In Turkey
One very easy way to be a better traveler in Turkey is to read the news. There are photos of Ataturk all over the coast, which would be confusing if you didn’t know those photos are basically a symbol for sectarianism, and a sort of ‘screw you’ to current president Erdogan, an Islamist whose administration in 2020 converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, a relatively minor step among other efforts to reshape the country and move away from Ataturk’s founding vision. Turkey’s government has a pretty awful human rights record. It has destroyed many democratic institutions, jailed critics and journalists, repeatedly attacked and repressed Turkey’s Kurdish population, and more. Here’s how Erdoğan set the stage for Turkey’s disastrous earthquake response, and on why journalists were detained for reporting on the earthquake. So, discerning travelers could make a point to choose to spend their money in locally-owned establishments that display distaste for that government. Of course, you can never guarantee your money is going to someone you 100% agree with, but thinking about things like this is a small way to try.
Other Tips
This part of Turkey is very liberal in comparison to some other places in Turkey. You can pretty much wear whatever you want, especially in Bodrum. That said, I would bring some longer skirts and a scarf to wrap around your shoulders in case you visit a mosque or other site where modesty is required.
I haven’t heard anything about the earthquakes impacting travel to this part of Turkey. In general I would just be respectful and take into account that some people you interact with might have family members who live in the south or might have lost people in the earthquake.
Reading List
I like to read books about the place I’m visiting. Anything by Orhan Pamuk or Elif Shafak is great! I recently read The Island of Missing Trees and loved it. Both are novelists, but their novels often bring up politics and other issues.
Do you have any specific questions? Let me know!
– Rebecca 💛