TRAVELLER’S GUIDE Park and glide: gulets are the traditional way Bodrum and beyond to explore Turkey’s shoreline THINKSTOCK The town of Jumeirah Bodrum Palace Bodrum (right) and (00 90 252 311 0030; its surrounding peninsula jumeirah.com), which are known for their luxury opened 1 May, and hotels and beach clubs, Mandarin Oriental which come alive in Bodrum (00 90 252 311 summer when the well- 18 88; mandarinoriental. heeled, party crowd com/bodrum), which descends. launched last year. Upmarket places to Swissôtel Resort soak up the 24/7 Bodrum Beach (00 800 atmosphere include 6379 4771; swissotel. head instead to the twin Simpson Travel (0208 Ibiza-style club Halikarnas com) opened this month peninsulas of Datca and 003 6557; simpsontravel. (00 90 530 372 29 85; on a private beach in Bozburun, south of com) offers villa holidays in halikarnas.com.tr), with its Turgutreis, a 25-minute Bodrum. Sea breezes, the region, with a stay at Secret Garden restaurant drive from Bodrum. See beautiful beaches and the sea-facing Simpson designed by Jade Jagger. “Where to stay” overleaf olive groves define the Secret Bozburun Among the swathe of for more options. landscape of Datca, Peninsula starting at high-end hotels to have Anyone with a desire to whereas Bozburun’s pine- £1,735 for a week in July, sprung up in the area in sample the quieter side of backed curving coastline based on two sharing, recent months are the the Turkish coast should is more rustic. with flights. Kas and Kalkan Kas and Kalkan, bed and breakfast Samira Resort Hotel and which are a 25- accommodation, Apartments in Kalkan for minute drive apart along a equipment, six dives and £353pp in July including stunning stretch of a guide from €242. flights from Glasgow to Mediterranean road, Flights to Turkey are not Dalaman. make for an ideal twin- included in this price. From both Kas and centre escape. For more bustle, head Kalkan, you can access Kas is the quieter and to Kalkan, which is known Patara, home to a ruined arguably more charming for its rooftop bars and Lycian city including an of the two, the small restaurants. New for this impressive amphitheatre. streets off its main square season is Botanik Garden Nearby, you’ll find one of lined with lantern-lit Bar (00 90 535 470 Turkey’s longest beaches restaurants. Kas is also a 9099), which uses herbs – an impressive 18km centre for scuba-diving grown on site in its long. Kaputas, a small (right). Dragoman (00 90 garden to produce drinks. stretch of sand, reached 242 836 3614; dragoman- Thomson (020 3451 by walking down 180 turkey.com) offers 2688; thomson.co.uk) steps, is also accessible week-long packages with offers a week at the from both towns. here are few simpler pleasures than blustery Cesme peninsula. If scuba-diving is Istanbul Black Sea strolling through a Turkish town at night, more your thing, consider the charming resort of after a long, hot day spent gazing out at Kas. Further west, the lively resort of Oludeniz Sea of Cesme and Alacati the turquoise seas. As the muezzin’s call combines a much-photographed beach with an Marmara Tto prayer wafts through the warm air, your only ideal destination for paragliders. Daniel Craig Aegean concern will be where to go for dinner. A rooftop launched himself off the town’s 1,969m Mount Sea Cesme Ankara restaurant perhaps, looking out across the glinting Baba in the 2012 Bond filmSkyfall . Alacati The windswept More recently, the TURKEY Aegean peninsula of town has lured the chic lights of the surrounding bay. Or maybe something Boat lovers are also well served by numerous GREE CE Coastal more intimate, in an atmospheric courtyard “blue cruises” along the coast, which take place on Bodrum Cesme is Turkey’s top Istanbul set to its smart Dalaman garden, garlanded with low-hanging lanterns. traditional wooden gulets. Trips often depart from Oludeniz destination for hotels, enticing With 7,199km of coastline, picking the perfect Fethiye for a three-night journey along the coast, Bozburun Geyikbayiri windsurfers, so popular boutiques, excellent Kas resort can be tricky, although most of Turkey’s stopping at Oludeniz, Butterfly Valley, Kas, Kalkan that it draws resta bougainvillea- Fethiye coastal activity is concentrated around its and/or the sunken city of Kekova, before docking Demre professionals annually for draped houses. western and southern shores, where the Aegean in at Demre and travelling by road to the ruins of Kalkan the PWA World Cup (17 In Alacati, you’re a taxi to 22 August; ride away from the white and the Mediterranean meet. The Black Sea Olympos, an ancient city left by the Lycians. Mediterranean Sea Turkey coast is much less focused on tourism. Indeed, the entire Turkish coastline is littered ��� miles C YPRUS pwaworldtour.com). sands of Ilica Beach or a Planning a trip to Turkey became more with archaeological intrigues, most notably at the To sample the area’s two-hour journey away complicated last year, when compulsory e-visas Greek city of Ephesus. Europe’s most complete The big providers of package holidays to Turkey watersports, stay in the from the ruins of were introduced. These must be purchased in classical metropolis is an unmissable detour for are Thomson (020 3451 2695; thomson.co.uk) atmospheric town of Ephesus. Numerous advance online at evisa.gov.tr, with a 90-day, anyone visiting the central Aegean coast. Despite and Thomas Cook (0844 855 0515; thomascook. Alacati, close to the bay. operators offer tours to multiple-entry permit costing US$20 (£13). having undergone 150 years of excavation, only com) . Thomson has online deals such as a week’s Alacati Surf Paradise the former capital of Asia With sparkling bays, staggering Yet the launch of this summer of BA flights one-fifth of the 10th-century city that once stood B&B in a “Small and Friendly” hotel in Fethiye, Club has a handful of Minor; No Frills Ephesus from Gatwick to two of the coast’s major hubs – on the site has so far been revealed. departing Leeds/Bradford on 3 July, for £224 schools (right) operating Tours (00 90 232 892 ruins, thrilling watersports, and Dalaman and Bodrum – has made accessing the Those who prefer to take in their history on two per person . Even in the school holidays, deals between May and 88 28; nofrillsephesus region even easier (0844 493 0787; ba.com). feet will be awed by the Lycian Way, a 539km long- are available: Thomas Cook has four nights October. Five tours.com) offers a half- There are destinations to suit most travellers distance walking route that runs from Oludeniz to in Marmaris, flying from Stansted on 30 July, windsurfing lessons with day excursion for €40 chic hotels, there’s plenty to enhance here, whether you hanker for the boutique Geyikbayiri (cultureroutesinturkey.com/ for £275 self-catering. Other operators to the Bu Bi Surf School (00 90 per person. Departing hotels and beach clubs of Bodrum, or the quieter the-lycian-way). It traces the settlements of the Turkish coast include Anatolian Sky (0844 273 232 716 68 76; bubisurf. from Selcuk, it includes a beach break, says Laura Holt coves of the Bozburun Peninsula. The tiny town Lycian people eastwards via graves and ruins, with 3141; anatoliansky.co.uk) and Exclusive Escapes com) costs from TL530 transport, guiding and of Alacati has long lured windsurfers to the opportunities to swim and kayak along the way. (020 8605 3500; exclusiveescapes.co.uk). (£130) per person. entrance fees. 14 | TRAVELLER | 20.06.2015 20.06.2015 | TRAVELLER | 15.