Towns on Marmaris Peninsula in Turkey
Mar 3rd, 2009, 06:05 PM
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Towns on Marmaris Peninsula in Turkey
We are dreaming about an October trip to Turkey. Last year we did an Istanbul-Goreme-Kas- Fethiye loop. This year we want to go from Istanbul to Selcuk and then for a few days on the coast between Selcuk and Fethiye. We will be using public transportation and we want to go someplace scenic and quiet, but with nice places to walk or boat trips in the vicinity. I am thinking of Datca, Bozburun, or Selimiye. Does anyone have experience in this area? Would one of these be a good choice? I know they all have bus transportation from Marmaris but I'm not sure about October. What about places to stay? I have a few places I've found online but more without websites. A long, slow bus ride does not bother us at all. Thanks!
Mar 3rd, 2009, 06:24 PM
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I don't think I'm much help here but your trip sounds great. I too travel by bus around Turkey: have a trip Alanya, Antakya, Kas, Fethiye planned for May. Do you have any advice for me with that? I don't have any experience on the places you ask about, but went from Bodrum to Selcuk to Izmir and Cesme 2 years ago. I did all my travelling in September and there were plenty of transport links and places to stay.
Mar 4th, 2009, 04:38 PM
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We rode the bus from Antalya to Fethiye and it was absolutely gorgeous with the mountains on one side and the sea on the other. Really splendid! The only place we stayed was Kas. If you click on my name you should find our trip notes and comments. We took a dolmus from Kas to the ancient city of Xanthos - about an hour, also very interesting ride over the coast range. I don't think we will make it to the Turquoise Coast this time, but I know we will be back - and maybe go further east like you are doing. I hope you will do a trip report!
Mar 5th, 2009, 01:05 AM
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linawood ....Here are perhaps a few highlights to stop along the way from Selcuk to Fethiye..Priene, Miletus, Didyma. We also stopped at the Temple of Zeus at Eurmos, Bafa Lake which both of these are before Didyma on the main highway.
Lake Bafa is a lake situated in southwest Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province and the northern part within Aydın Province's Söke district. The lake used to be a gulf of the Aegean Sea until the Classical period, when the sea passage was gradually closed by the alluvial mass brought by Büyük Menderes River. The gulf, and later the lake, was named Latmus in antiquity.
It is lovely small village with a few panisyons for acommodations.
I too am interested in some time visiting Bozburun as I have heard a nice town and not touristy..like Marmaris..I have only been as far as Marmaris on the Datca peninsula.
more ideas...Köycegiz - Peaceful and quiet, this traditional town sits on the shore of large, placid Köycegiz Lake connected to the Mediterranean by the reedy Dalyan River. Hot springs are nearby.
Göcek - Small, pristine and charming, this is primarily a nice port of call for yachters.
Dalyan - People come for its setting on the placid Dalyan Çayi (Dalyan Creek), for the dramatic Lycian tombs hewn into the rockfaces that dominate the town on the west bank of the river, for the ruins of ancient Roman city of Caunos, and for broad Iztuzu Beach
gertie3751......try to plan or stop in at Phaselis and Cirali before Kas...
Cirali / Olimpos Roman ruins scattered in a pine forest, a secluded beach, fertile fields, and the Chimaera, the world's oldest and best-known natural "eternal flame".
Phaselis - Once a thriving port shipping timber and rose oil, Phaselis is now a beatiful park backing its three perfect little bays good for a swim.
Also be sure to visit the area of Simena, Patara, Demre and Myra..
Patara - St. Nicholas ("Santa Claus") was born here, but visitors now come for the spacious, very long, very uncrowded beach as well as the sand-covered ruins of St Nick's Roman town.
Üçagiz/Kale/Simena - Close to Kas, Üçagiz is a tiny village on a cove with a sunken Roman city and an island (Kekova) with a Byzantine one.
Demre/Myra - Dramatic cliff tombs loom above a huge Roman theater, and vegetables grow everywhere in the rich alluvial soil. This is where St Nicholas did his good works, and where he is buried.
if you both enjoying looking at travel photos of Turkey here are my photos;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/sets/
Lake Bafa is a lake situated in southwest Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province and the northern part within Aydın Province's Söke district. The lake used to be a gulf of the Aegean Sea until the Classical period, when the sea passage was gradually closed by the alluvial mass brought by Büyük Menderes River. The gulf, and later the lake, was named Latmus in antiquity.
It is lovely small village with a few panisyons for acommodations.
I too am interested in some time visiting Bozburun as I have heard a nice town and not touristy..like Marmaris..I have only been as far as Marmaris on the Datca peninsula.
more ideas...Köycegiz - Peaceful and quiet, this traditional town sits on the shore of large, placid Köycegiz Lake connected to the Mediterranean by the reedy Dalyan River. Hot springs are nearby.
Göcek - Small, pristine and charming, this is primarily a nice port of call for yachters.
Dalyan - People come for its setting on the placid Dalyan Çayi (Dalyan Creek), for the dramatic Lycian tombs hewn into the rockfaces that dominate the town on the west bank of the river, for the ruins of ancient Roman city of Caunos, and for broad Iztuzu Beach
gertie3751......try to plan or stop in at Phaselis and Cirali before Kas...
Cirali / Olimpos Roman ruins scattered in a pine forest, a secluded beach, fertile fields, and the Chimaera, the world's oldest and best-known natural "eternal flame".
Phaselis - Once a thriving port shipping timber and rose oil, Phaselis is now a beatiful park backing its three perfect little bays good for a swim.
Also be sure to visit the area of Simena, Patara, Demre and Myra..
Patara - St. Nicholas ("Santa Claus") was born here, but visitors now come for the spacious, very long, very uncrowded beach as well as the sand-covered ruins of St Nick's Roman town.
Üçagiz/Kale/Simena - Close to Kas, Üçagiz is a tiny village on a cove with a sunken Roman city and an island (Kekova) with a Byzantine one.
Demre/Myra - Dramatic cliff tombs loom above a huge Roman theater, and vegetables grow everywhere in the rich alluvial soil. This is where St Nicholas did his good works, and where he is buried.
if you both enjoying looking at travel photos of Turkey here are my photos;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/sets/
Mar 5th, 2009, 01:17 AM
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Datcha is a lovely place but VERY isolated. Either you have a two hour ferry from Bodrum or a very long trip by road. I presume there is public transport, but once on the datcha peninsula you are looking at at least a two hour journey to datcha, the scenery is spectacular, but datch has no beaches to speak of. It is mainly used by boats travelling the coast. If you do travel to datcha the marfe hotel is very good.
Oct 26th, 2009, 02:21 PM
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I'm just reporting back. We decided to go to Bozburun for 3 nights on our October trip and it was probably the highlight - everything we were hoping for and more. We traveled from Marmaris on the minibus which was running every couple of hours. It is an absolutely gorgeous one hour and twenty minute ride through and around rocky craigs and along bays with constantly changing scene of bays and mountains. The town is very small (and quiet in October). It is a yachter's town - the waterfront is lined with magnificent, mostly wooden sailing yachts and across the bay they are making huge wooden gulets. The town runs about 2 blocks along the waterfront (cafes, shops, a mosque) and a couple of blocks inland. Then there is a promenade for about a km lined with small pensions and stucco homes set in lush vegetation. The bay itself is very barren and rocky - little vegetation - and surrounded by low mountains. I wrote this in my journal: "This stay in Bozburun has been a totally amazing experience - really a Shangri La for us. In all our travels around the Mediterranean (20 years worth) we have never had such a beautifully sited accomodation so close to the sea and been so personally welcomed and taken care of - above and beyond by far. And Bozburun in its stark simplicity of sea and barren mountain , its pleasing and varied shapes,to me is so very restful and elemental".
We stayed at Suna Pansiyon just next to the town and recommend it very highly for the location, the amazing care of the family, the superbly fresh breakfasts, and the value (60 TL for an apartment on the sea and breakfast for two).
http://www.gezivalizi.com/suna-pansiyon-bozburun.html
I also highly recommend the restaurant where we had almost all of our meals - Liman Restaurant on the waterfront. The food was very well prepared and very good value.
We took the minibus one day to Selimiye where we had also considered staying. It was a smaller and sleepier town than Bozburun with fewer small pensions on the water and also on a beautiful bay. I'm sure we would have been happy with that choice also.
We stayed at Suna Pansiyon just next to the town and recommend it very highly for the location, the amazing care of the family, the superbly fresh breakfasts, and the value (60 TL for an apartment on the sea and breakfast for two).
http://www.gezivalizi.com/suna-pansiyon-bozburun.html
I also highly recommend the restaurant where we had almost all of our meals - Liman Restaurant on the waterfront. The food was very well prepared and very good value.
We took the minibus one day to Selimiye where we had also considered staying. It was a smaller and sleepier town than Bozburun with fewer small pensions on the water and also on a beautiful bay. I'm sure we would have been happy with that choice also.
Oct 26th, 2009, 03:01 PM
#9
I am glad you enjoyed Bozburun. Although we have never stayed there we visited it twice last year, while driving all over the Datca peninsula. We also discovered Hayit Buku and Palamut Buku, among many other virgin areas now reachable by car (previously only from the sea).
Having a car makes a big difference if you like discovery and variety, but if we did not have a car, we would also have picked Bozburun as the place to stay. I will also share a short piece i wrote on Hayit Buku:
HAYİT BÜKÜ, DATÇA
I gave away a spare rib recipe under the shade of the trees reaching towards the sea. Eser fed two cats and two kittens before lounging on the beach. The food on and inside the oven in the kitchens, prepared for the so far unseen visitors, started my mouth watering. Stuart drifted towards our table as a British flag appeared at the tip of the peninsula.
It was probably the same calm on the beach before the pirate ship turned into the harbour so many thousands of years ago.
The owner of the restaurant is the only remnant of that pirate ship. She is possibly the aging captain who decided to take over the looted restaurant and instructed her offspring or maybe the first mate to follow the family profession.
I think she has two maybe three separate menus with different prices, one for pirates, one for traders and tax men, and possibly one for travelers misguidedly trying to make it to Cnidos before the occupying hordes reach it, or the earthquake destroys it.
There were also some mathematicians and one or two famous artists in Triopia who used to visit this cove. Unfortunately they passed away during last summer’s heat wave because of the lack of nearby healthcare.
Having a car makes a big difference if you like discovery and variety, but if we did not have a car, we would also have picked Bozburun as the place to stay. I will also share a short piece i wrote on Hayit Buku:
HAYİT BÜKÜ, DATÇA
I gave away a spare rib recipe under the shade of the trees reaching towards the sea. Eser fed two cats and two kittens before lounging on the beach. The food on and inside the oven in the kitchens, prepared for the so far unseen visitors, started my mouth watering. Stuart drifted towards our table as a British flag appeared at the tip of the peninsula.
It was probably the same calm on the beach before the pirate ship turned into the harbour so many thousands of years ago.
The owner of the restaurant is the only remnant of that pirate ship. She is possibly the aging captain who decided to take over the looted restaurant and instructed her offspring or maybe the first mate to follow the family profession.
I think she has two maybe three separate menus with different prices, one for pirates, one for traders and tax men, and possibly one for travelers misguidedly trying to make it to Cnidos before the occupying hordes reach it, or the earthquake destroys it.
There were also some mathematicians and one or two famous artists in Triopia who used to visit this cove. Unfortunately they passed away during last summer’s heat wave because of the lack of nearby healthcare.
