Hello,

My husband and I are very interested in travelling to Turkey in early July. We don?t know too much about the area we are looking into which is why I need your help. We want a lazy beach vacation because we have never taken one together (we always seem to be visiting large cities or taking ski vacations)!! The beaches near Oludeniz interest us the most but we are open to any suggestion. Typically we like the quaint hotels or b&b in super great locations but since we have never spent time in a big resort, we thought we would try it this time. We are in our early 30?s and want to have a variety of restaurants, activities, etc wherever we visit. For this vacation we would like close proximity to a nice beach and a pool.

Hopefully some of you can help with some of the following:

1.Has anyone stayed at the Club Belcekiz Beach Hotel or the Asena Beach Hotel? Any comments or other hotel suggestions?
2.I have seen some good posts about the towns of Kas, Kalkan, and Gokova. Do these towns have good beaches and a variety of activities and restaurants or are they fairly sleepy? Can anybody recommend good accommodation in these areas?
3.I have read that during July the weather can be very hot. I grew up in Dallas so I am no spring chicken when it comes to heat, but is it unbearable in Turkey during this time?
4.I have not found a good online map of Turkey so can someone tell me how far a drive Cappadocia would be from Oludeniz?

I apologize for all of my questions but I figured you guys would have a lot of the answers I need. Thanks!

I haven't been this far south in Turkey, but you might want to check the hotel name - Lonley Planet says the Club Belcekiz Beach Hotel is now called Belcekiz Tatil Koyu (and it's the 'flashiest' on Belcekiz beach, with a huge pool. Or you might want to research the Hotel Meri ('snooty', with its own beach).
If I were in that area, I'd definitely try to get on a Blue Cruise from Fethiye and sail around the coast. (Search Google for Blue Cruise Turkey or "gulet" for lots of options.)
As for driving distances, don't kid yourself about the average speed you can make. There is only a small bit of highway in Cappadoccia and you will not be able to cover kilometers quickly. I very broadly estimate the distance to be more than 450 miles if you drive along the southern coast; less if you drive inland but that might be unbearably hot.
For a map of Turkey with click-on distance between some cities, try
www.turktravel.net
and click on the small map.

I would agree with "jenviolin" check out Blue Cruises - Turkey. While you can join a week cruise on a Gulet, you can also arrange a private yacht with all meals included, stops at various coves alone the Aegean with land tours to sights of interest. You can dip into the water wherever you drop anchor and you won't have to deal with lots of sand and other tourists.

Even though Turkey is desperate for tourists, the summer months also have lots of Turkish citizens out on holiday and on the beaches, and the roads (should you decide to rent a car to explore, can be treacherous). On a boat you won't have to deal with crowds.

Turkey is the only trip we did with a group because "Turkey is a very big country". On our tour, we departed Antalya on the Med and traveled to Cappadoccia with only a brief stop in Konya. Take my word, it was a very very long day. While the highways were not crowded (we traveled in Oct), the distance was great. It was almost 10-hrs (including 1-hr Lunch and 1-hr at Konya) and our bus driver was "moving".

The distance from the Aegean to Cappadoccia will be even longer than from Antalya. Assumming 50mph, that if as "jenvioli" indicates the distance is 450 miles - that at least 9-hrs. traveling and there really aren't many decent places to overnight if you want to break up the trip.

I'd check the Blue Cruises and compare their all inclusive prices (except the side-tours) with hotel and your meals - this might be a good option. And the cruise is "kind of romantic". Think about it.

I've been to most big resorts in Turkey and would recommend Olu Deniz which must have the best beach in Turkey.Try
Tapestryholidays.com or Jewel in the Crown Holidays.

Hey March.

My wife and I spent a few weeks in Turkey two summers ago and had a great time. We thought it was like the Greek Islands were supposed to be. We came in from Chios at Cesme and basically worked our way down the coast to Antaylya, so right through the area you're talking about. I don't know that I'd necessarily call it the perfect place for a lazy beach vacation, because there's so much to see. But you can always find somewhere nice and just chill together. Anyway, it's certainly exotic and romantic.

We stayed two days in Oludeniz, and thought it was pretty nice. Probably didn't quite live up to expectations from Fodors, but the beach was pleasant, with nice clear water. We were doing the budget thing at the end of a long sabbatical trip, so I can't comment on the big resorts, but I'm sure if you spring for them, they are spectacular. And they probably have private beaches which would cut down substantially on the crowds, which were a bit of a negative at Oludeniz.

Our favorite town on the coast was probably Kalkan, which was charming and friendly, although there's not a beach right there. We stayed at a place called, I believe, Hotel Pirat, which was pretty nice, then moved to a small place just up the hill called Villa Diana, which was very small with a nice pool. Kalkan has a number of good restaurants and a marina - enough going on to keep you occupied and not have to eat at the same place every night, although the big towns for activities are Bodrum and Marmaris. But there's a pretty good tourist infrastructure all over the coast now.

Of the other towns, Marmaris was much nicer than expected, although pretty touristy; Dalyan was quite cool, and a boat ride on the river past the Carian tombs and then out to the sea is totally worth it; Gekova itself was nothing much, really, although the snorkeling in the sound was pretty cool. (Beautiful clear water, although the sunken city is not very recognizable as anything other than rocks). Ephesus was actually the highlight for us, I think; saw a concert in the 2,500 year old amphitheather under a full moon. Definitely worth the trip. We talked about doing a blue cruise, and I know people who rave about them, but ... I'd really want to know what I was getting into in terms of number of passengers, etc. (i.e., I'd probably opt for high-end and book in advance).

I think the drive to Cappodocia is very long - 6 hours or more - but if you check ViaMichelin online you can probably get the exact time.

Finally, it will be scorching. I grew up in Florida, and Turkey was far hotter. You spend most of your time in the water, or chugging huge amounts of water. But it cools down somewhat in the evening. Bring a big hat though.

Enjoy! Ken