Chilled, relaxed, smaller place with good restaurants. I like it to be scenic/pretty, but am not bothered about having a beach. Needs to have somewhere nice to stroll pre/after dinner.

Definitely don't want large over commercialised resorts with lots of people. I am not bothered about transfer times from the airport if it gets me to where I want to be....like Kalkan ( I would definitely return, but stay closer to the town and not up the hill!)

This year I am going to Dalyan, because after visiting Kalkan (which was wonderful) I am looking for somewhere flat!!

We like villa holidays, and peace and quiet...

We went to Marmaris last year,friends had already booked so we went there to be able to met up with them,it wasn't really my kind of place,too many shops and not a very nice beach where we stayed,Siteler area.Whilst there we visited Icmeler on the dolmus and loved it so have booked there for 2 weeks this year.T.

I've only been to Gumbet and we had a fantastic holiday. Out the back of our hotel was bar street that was extremely lively, then out the front door was the beach and quieter places to eat. Perfect in my opinion!

I love to visit small, traditional resorts, somewhere we can get good food, relax on the bach and chil out. Bitez, Ortakent, Yalikavak and Gumusluk are lovely. We normally stay in Gumbet as thta is where we used to live, and then go around to different resorts. Whilst in Gumbet we don't visit bar street, we stick to the quieter parts but it is a great base and we know so many people there.

I have visited Marmaris during the day but I don't think I would like to holiday there, it is just so big! Turunc was nice though

I would like to visit Kas, Kalkan and Dalyan one day as they sound very nice.

thanks so far for your thoughts so far were off to dalyan too meerkat 2505 in august for the first time and were realy looking forward to it too.
kedi i agree with you too about gumbet i could not stay there just too loud for me but love most of the peninsula it`s very easy to explore and lots of little places to stop and have drink or meal. i thought turgitres was fantastic thats on our list for holidays also yalikavac we will deffinatley be returning to bitez at some point, if i had my way it would be next year but my wife is a little worried about bumping into the hotel manager of the orion i`m sure he is no longer there but she is not convinced.
do not know much about kalkan but from what people on here say it sounds lovely.
we went to altinkum for our first 3 visits and loved it but it now is starting to sound a lot like a mini marmaris i hope not as it holds a lot of fantastic memories for us both.

Andy - would you please put a report on when you return from Dalyan? I am going mid September so it would be good to hear from you once you have been in August. It looks like the kind of resort we like.

I would love to go back to Kalkan -it is a really special place, and I had a lovely relaxing holiday there.

We have always done AI, but in saying that, the thought of just lounging on a sun bed or sitting in a complex all day would drive me loco, we enjoy the luxury of the ultra AI, but they have to be somewhere very scenic, have to be able to walk out and see everything on offer, and have a good Dolmus service. So, the only place for us is the Bodrum Peninsula, followed closely with Fethiye, Olu Deniz and Dalyan.

I guess we all have our own ideas of what makes a good holiday, and to all the pool prowlers, beach bandits and sun lounger lizards, it's whatever floats yer boat, but for us, if you go and holiday in whichever country, have a look at what's out there....we have been amazed.

So, Torba, Bitez, Turgutreis, Gumusluk, Ortakent and buzzin Bodrum gets our vote.

Whatever you choose, just enjoy.

In my younger days I would have loved Marmaris, Bodrum etc but my tastes have changed and now I yearn for outstanding natural beauty, fantastic views, no mass tourism and a tranquil atmosphere. I really love to be somewhere where they don't all speak English and very few europeans venture. I have nothing against my fellow countrymen but it's a lovely change not to see many. I spend about 8 weeks a year in Datca which to me is heaven. You can go all day without hearing an English voice. There are places on this peninsula which time has forgotten. There is a bit of a buzz around the harbour just to keep me awake. I also love Sogut on the Bozburun peninsula which is even more remote.

hi Meerkat2505
i will post a report as soon as we get back, i must admit thats the one thing we always enjoy the most is reading what kind of holiday and what experiences other people have had.
what hotel/apartments are you staying and i`ll look them up for you and let you know a little more about whats in the immediate area to where you are staying.
We are staying in the asur apartments there are only 10 apartments so should be quite laid back (i Hope).

Andy

My 1st visit to Turkey 20years ago was to Kusadasi and although the hotel and food was awful we returned the following year to Marmaris and loved it.
We have been every year since and been to Olu Deniz,Alanya,Side,Gumbet ,Marmaris,Kusadasi and a my favourite place Icmeler.
Its flat,scenic,friendly,has a large beach(not bothered about it not been sandy)and has excellent restaurants.
We only go in October and its very relaxing then with everything winding down for the winter.
I have always wanted to try Kalkan but dont like hills,and Dalyan but put off by the mossies.

We stayed in Marmaris last year and did not like it, much too loud, brash, and boozy, a good destination for girlie/boys holidays for the under 30s, but not families or older couples. We did however discover Icmeler, a gem of a place, just a short dolmus ride from Marmaris, so we simply slept in our accommodation in Marmaris then took our stuff and spent the entire day and night in Icmeler, only returning to Marmaris in time to fall into bed again.
When we go away we look for beautiful scenery, unspoilt towns/villages, nice beaches, and friendly locals, so Icmeler scored far higher than Marmaris, and we will definitely be holidaying there again soon.

Until we bought an apartment in Altinkum last year, we always looked for quiet and away from families. My OH is very much into the culture and therefore we've been to different resorts to visit various archaeology sites. We have done Ephesus, Pammukalae and the Temple of Apollo in Altinkum. When we get moved out there, then we will go and do Istanbul and Troy.

Ardath, if you don't have any problems with walking then I recommend you give Kalkan a try, the people are warm and welcoming. From here you can take the dolmus down to Kas, the trip alone is worth it, as you hug the coastline. You've also got the finest beach we've ever seen close by at Patara and there is also the Lycian Way and then there is Myra, birthplace of St. Nicholas, yes, Father Christmas is Turkish !!

Les

We also love looking at historical sites and went to Ephesus last year, despite the distance from Marmaris.
Like the sound of Kalkan, and love walking, so perhaps we'll go there at some point.

We tend to look for a resort that is quite lively with plenty of good quality restaurants and a good variety of bars. This means that we've plenty of choice for our more lively nights, but we also like to have the option of a quiet chilled out night aswell. Don't really like anything over the top.

We went to both Icmeler and Oludeniz last year and found both to be suitable. We picked these resorts partially because they both had a much livelier neighbouring resort so that if we found Icmeler and Oludeniz not to be lively enough, we had the option of spending a night or two in Marmaris and Hisaronu. As it turend out we didn't particularly like either of these so spent all our time in Icmeler and Oludeniz which we loved.

A good beach is always a bonus as is a good selection of daytime activites and excursions. Think this is why we liked Oludeniz so much aswell as the atmosphere at the bars along the front at night.

We're off to Dalyan in three weeks time. We're expecting it to be a bit quieter than Oludeniz and Icmeler but hopefully there'll still be enough going on to keep us entertained for 8 days/nights.

Hi Andy - thanks for the offer, but I am actually staying in a villa in Dalyan, and not hotel/apartments. This is only my second visit to Turkey (I am usually to be fround in Egypt!) and having enjoyed a villa in Kalkan so much, we have decided to do the same this time. It makes for a very relaxed holiday....