Side is as lovely traditional old town with Roman ruins.There are lots of small lanes with tradition Turkish restaurants.It has long sandy beaches on both side of the town.To the east is the Sorgun forest which has paths and places to sit.Further on is a lake and a river.
Out of all the places in Turkey I have been this is the most traditional resort.You fly to Antalya airport which is a haven of calm compared to Dalaman airport.

Bodrum is a town rather than a resort, it does have it's bars and tourist shops but there are also a lot of traditional restaurants, there are a lot of Turkish people living there all year round not just for the tourist season. There are lots of little streets and you can find all sorts of nice little places to eat if you have a look around.

It is a very old historic town with a castle and some archeological ruins and it is a great base to explore the rest of the peninsular by dolmus (minibus - a very cheap and easy way to get about).

There are plenty of apartments in Bodrum itself or in one of the resorts nearby.

I used to live there so I would highly recommend it, in fact when I was looking into visiting Spain a while back Nerja was the place I fancied because it looked like it would be similar to Bodrum. I haven't actually been yet but your description sounds just like the sort of place I would like.

Kedi

Thank your you both for your replies, I will have a look at both Side and Bodrum.

yes i would say side or alanya

Or consider Fethiye.

Definitely consider Fethiye, I think that would suit you well. Its is Turkish harbour town, lots of Lokantas, proper shops, lovely harbour and bay views.

i would have a good read up if i was you as bodrum and side are both geared up for tourists, fethiye is a working town but the beaches there arent great but i prefer fethiye to side and bodrum, we love akyaka, now that is a traditional turkish little town, beautiful beach, fab views and walks, in a conservation area so no high rise hotels , lovely riverside,not many TO go there either so keeps the riff raff out lol, i think anatolian sky do packages or its a diy holiday, its fairly laid back and not many shops etc, ive put some photos in the gallery have a look incase its too laid back for you

http://akyaka.com/index.php

Yes, Bodrum does cater for tourists but it is still a working town, it is still busy in the winter time so it's not just a tourist resort.

Ive just noticed the OP is going next May.This is a good time to visit Cappadocia in Turkey,an amazing place but just available as organised trips from resorts served by Antalya airport.

Bodrum ............

Has always been a working town steeped in history and helped made famous by
"Cevat Sakir" a Turkish man I would have loved to have met and shaken hands with.He is buried in Gumbet and at some time I am going to visit his final resting place.

He had a great passion for Bodrum ...as I do, my heart always skips a beat when I see the castle and realise I have reached the place that I love.

With it being a town and only having having a small beach I would not personally stay there but in one of the many beautiful resorts on the peninsula (excluding Gumbet)

A quote from "Cevat Sakir" ex poet and educated at Oxford!!!

"Hello if you come to this top of the hill you will see Bodrum. Don't think that you will return as the very same person as you came.To all those who came before you happened the same.THEY LOST THEIR HEART IN BODRUM and left it.

How true these words are to me!!!

thank you all for your replies. Akyaka looks lovely, can anyone give me an idea of how big it is? Are there many restaurants.bars etc, it looks so pretty and scenic which does for me but as mentioned earlier my husband likes to go off walking (not a big fan of laying on the beach/by the pool!) and finding little bars and shops.
I think I'll do a bit more research on it.
Not heard of fethyie before so thanks for that, I will check it out

yes akyaka is gorgeous we are going there in 3 weeks time , akyaka is in 2 parts the lower end which is the beach end and has a lovely riverside, there are bars /restaurants all along the sea front and most of the river side, the top end is mainly shops but it does have more restaurants up there and is about 10 - 15 mins up a steep hill, we mainly keep the lower end as its so scenic. there are boat trips, its about 50-60 mins from dalaman airport and 20 miles from marmaris so you could visit marmaris or icmeler for a day trip. ive been told theres some lovely walks around and other little beaches in coves but i havent walked much as when we go its usually too hot

heres another link for you to look at

http://www.turkuaz-guide.net/gokova.html

Forgot to say that Dalyan is also a small working town, with a beach that you have to access by boat. 25 mins from Dalaman Airport.

I'm with you there Kadi !

Kedi x

Hmm, Olu Deniz seems to keep popping up on the travel agents websites, there also doesn't seem to be much accommodation in Fethyie, most of it is on Olu Deniz. The beach looks nice at Olu might have a look for info on it.
Thanks again for all your replies
Kind regards,
Caroline.

I have to say that although I like Olu Deniz, it doesn't really match your original requirements. It is not a 'big working town', it is a small purpose built tourist resort. It only has a 'strip of bars/tourist shops', which you said you didn't want. It also has very little self-catering accommodation, which you said you wanted.

Just wanted to warn you! However you could get the dolmus (bus) into Fethiye quite easily. This place definitely matches your requirements better. (Try Travel Republic to put together a holiday there.)

There is loads of accom in Fethiye, you have to book direct. I wouldnt want to go to Olu if I was expecting a traditional place, the other poster is right.

ok thanks, I will look into booking Fethyie as a diy. We do this for Spain so thats fine. Only thing is transfers, what does everyone do? We get the bus in spain.

Travel Republic which I suggested also do transfers. Check out their website: http://www.travelrepublic.co.uk