Marmaris

This big, brash resort city has two faces, and they're hard to reconcile. From the sea, a line of hotels stretches around the northern edge of a great bay, the whole encircled by a magical necklace of pine-clad mountains. Behind those same hotels, however, the city has been overwhelmed by boxy concrete development and streets lined with a hundred generically named eateries. An annual horde of European tourists descends on these workaday establishments, but for the international traveler, there is little about Marmaris that can’t be savored elsewhere in Turkey. Although it is a pretty spot—the lengthy seafront promenade is a redeeming feature—there isn’t much reason to linger unless you are meeting a yacht, traveling on to the Greek island of Rhodes, or perhaps snapping up an unbeatable deal at one of the top resorts, some of which are spectacular worlds unto themselves. Marmaris Bay is home to some of Turkey's biggest and busiest marinas, and is one of the main bases from which sailing yachts and wooden gulets can be chartered for Blue Cruises. There are a number of easy options for day trips to natural beauty spots like Cedar Island, Lake Köyece?iz, and the resort of Turunç.