Marmaris

Marmaris packs its social life into the strip between the marina and the old town, and it comes in two very different flavors. The waterfront and yacht marina, Netsel, one of the largest and best-equipped in the eastern Mediterranean, is the genteel side: a long palm-lined promenade of moored gulets and superyachts, ice-cream parlors, cafes and the jetties where daily boat trips and Blue Cruise gulets set off. A few streets inland, Bar Street (Barlar Sokak) is the opposite, a narrow, neon-lit run of back-to-back bars and clubs that becomes one of the most raucous nightlife scenes on the Turkish coast after dark, pumping music into the early hours. In between sits the Grand Bazaar, a warren of covered shopping lanes selling leather, textiles, spices and Turkish delight, where bargaining is expected. It is loud, commercial and unashamedly touristy, but the marina promenade at dusk is genuinely lovely.

Above the harbor, the old quarter of Marmaris survives as a tangle of steep, narrow lanes climbing to a small stone castle, a pocket of history that the modern resort grew up around. The fortress was rebuilt by Suleyman the Magnificent in 1522, when he gathered his fleet and army here for the campaign against Rhodes, and it now holds a modest archaeology and ethnography museum with a pretty courtyard and, from its walls, the best view over the bay, the marina and the red-tiled old houses. The whitewashed lanes below have been softened with bougainvillea, boutique guesthouses, craft shops and quiet cafes, so the old town makes a welcome contrast to the brash seafront just downhill. It is a short but steep climb up from the harbor. Allow an hour or so to tour the castle and wander the lanes, ideally in the late afternoon when the light over the bay is at its best.

Icmeler is Marmaris's more relaxed, better-looking neighbor, a purpose-built resort about 8 km west around the bay, set against a dramatic wall of steep pine-covered mountains. Its main draw is the beach: a long, tidy crescent of coarse sand and fine shingle with notably clearer, calmer water than Marmaris town, well organized with sunbeds, umbrellas, watersports and a pleasant palm-lined promenade behind. The setting, with the mountains dropping almost to the shore, is genuinely scenic, and the resort as a whole is quieter and more family-oriented than the center of Marmaris, though it keeps its own bars and restaurants. Getting there is half the pleasure: the cheap, frequent dolmus runs along the coast road, but the nicest way is the regular water taxi that shuttles across the bay from the Marmaris seafront. Icmeler also serves as the road gateway up and over to Turunc and the coves beyond.

Turunc is a small resort tucked into a steep horseshoe cove south of Icmeler, reached by a twisting mountain road with spectacular sea views or, more pleasantly, by boat. It rewards the effort: a compact bay of clean blue-flag water framed by pine slopes, with a sand-and-shingle beach that shelves gently and stays calmer and clearer than the town beaches. Smaller and more laid-back than Marmaris or Icmeler, Turunc has a low-key village feel, a cluster of seafood restaurants and cafes around the sand, and enough sunbeds and watersports to fill a pleasant day without the crowds. Boats from Marmaris and Icmeler call in regularly, so it works both as a quiet base and as a half-day excursion, often combined with the neighboring cove of Kumlubuk or the hilltop ruins of ancient Amos on the headland above. The winding approach and enclosed setting have kept big-resort development out and the mood gentle.

The finest day trip from Marmaris heads about ninety minutes northwest to Dalyan, a river town famous for three things that combine into one memorable outing. You cruise the reed-lined Dalyan river by boat past the Sultaniye mud baths and thermal springs, a messy, fun wallow said to be good for the skin, beneath the spectacular rock tombs carved high into the cliff face at ancient Kaunos, and out to Iztuzu Beach, a long, wild sandspit that is one of the Mediterranean's most important loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting sites. Because it is protected, Iztuzu stays undeveloped, with strict rules and a turtle rehabilitation center nearby, and in season you have a real chance of spotting turtles in the river mouth. Most people book it as an organized full-day boat tour with lunch included. It makes a long day, but a rich one that blends wildlife, ancient history and a spa soak in warm mud.

Marmaris sits inside a large national park of pine and sweetgum forest that wraps the whole bay in green mountains, and the classic way to experience it is from the water. Daily boat trips, on everything from big party boats to traditional wooden gulets, leave the marina to loop the sheltered coves and islands of the bay, pausing to swim and snorkel at spots such as Aquarium Bay, Kumlubuk, Turunc and the glowing Phosphorus Cave, usually with lunch and music thrown in. The enclosed, island-dotted bay is exceptionally calm and clear, which is exactly why Marmaris is one of the main starting points for multi-day Blue Cruise gulet holidays along the Datca peninsula and the Gulf of Gokova. On land, the forested hills offer jeep safaris, quad tours and panoramic viewpoints above the town. For the scenery and the swimming coves, though, the boat is the thing.