Marmaris is as classy as the southern coastal towns get. This is where Those of us with 40m floating sports cars like to keep them in the winter and the amount of money that comes into this town in the season has enabled it to develop with a degree of restraint and taste that has made it the envy of the wannabee marina towns from Izmir to Antalya. It can be a real eye opener to wander around the 'big' marina of an evening, lubricated with a couple of beers, and watch the other half at play.
For most of us though, Marmaris supplies some great restaurants, good shopping, a variety of nightlife and proximity to some good beaches. It's also a favourite departure point for Mavi Yol (the blue road) cruises of the undeniably gorgeous Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.
Marmaris is also somewhere you have to go through to get to Datca, ah, Datca. You'll have to hurry to see it before it disappears but more on that below.

If you're already in Turkey Marmaris is well served by the ever dependable inter city bus network and can also be reached by the little coast buses that will bring you in. There are some spectacular views from the roads in this part of Turkey and it's probably worth taking a car for the day and spinning up and down for a while, something with no roof is more fun, if slightly expensive, and you can always pretend that you live here.

Accommodation here is slightly pricey but, depending on how choosy you're feeling you'll probably find something. As always, when you're looking for somewhere to stay you'll be glad if you travelled light. The Interyouth Hostel, now located in the bazaar itself, provides reasonable value and is a good source of information for diving and other tours.

There are plenty of opportunities to dive in Marmaris, as there are in Fethiye and Bodrum. One of the more professional operations seems to be the European Diving Centre who I think you can contact via email. They do have a web site somewhere and we'll track it down and supply a link shortly. There are also any number of smaller setups who will take you out for the day and make your ears hurt. Remember that diving is potentially dangerous, especially the underwater bits, and exercise a little caution in your choice of boat.

The local honey is justifiably famous and if you hunt around the bazaar you'll find a great little honey shop, you can also buy from roadside honey sellers and make your choice from pine or flower honeys. You'll also find a wide range of suede and leather goods, carpets, copper and brass but you'll probably pay a premium to cover the fact that you're shopping in Marmaris.

Boat cruises can be for a day or a fortnight, you'll get the best deal in a group of 6 - 10 as most of the good boats are equipped with 6 double cabins and it's the boat itself you pay for rather than the berth. The majority of captains speak a couple of languages and asking around is probably the best way to find a deal, whatever, good boats aren't cheap to charter and the captains have probably agreed on a minimum between themselves. For a bit of snorkeling and tanning then a day boat is fine and you'll get a taste of the experience that might tempt you to return.

The surrounding area has some nice beaches, more and more of which are getting blue-flags every year, and again, asking is probably the best way to find out.

A year ago, Datca was the perfect getaway, it has been amongst Turks for a generation. This spring though will probably see the completion of the new road south along the peninsula from Marmaris and this will undoubtedly open up the remote and peaceful little town to more and more development. This summer could be you're last chance to experience the delights of Datca and it's peninsula, just getting there (formerly a 2 hour journey) takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery in this part of the world. There are beaches and bays accessible from the road and not all of them have been turned into holiday villages yet, Datca itself is still a small town with a little accommodation and a few good fish restaurants. It's also a good place from which to take the ferry to Bodrum, that makes a great start to the day (ferry tickets can be purchased in Datca and there's an 8:30am ish bus to the ferry which gets you into Bodrum about 11:00am).
If you make it to Datca then there's the final challenge of getting to Knidos, a splendidly isolated ruined city possessing a twin beach where you can swim in the Aegean and then walk 20 metres and swim in the Mediterranean. Knidos can really only be reached by boat from Datca or Marmaris, or by hiring a taxi from Datca for the day. Both ways work just fine.

Beaches | History | Firatli Travel