Fethiye: what to do before and after the gulet
Every one of our combined routes passes through Fethiye twice or ends there: the bus arrives on Friday evening, the gulet leaves on Saturday morning, and the boat comes back the following Friday at lunchtime. That leaves at least one free afternoon and evening in town, and Fethiye is a good town to have one in.
The town
Ancient Telmessos, flattened by an earthquake in 1957 and rebuilt around its harbour. The Lycian rock tombs are cut into the cliff directly above the centre - the Tomb of Amyntas, a temple front carved into the rock in the 4th century BC, is a ten-minute climb and the view at sunset is worth it. Sarcophagi stand in the middle of streets and car parks; the town simply grew around them.
The fish market
The evening everyone remembers. In the covered market in the centre you buy your fish at one of the stalls in the middle - sea bass, bream, prawns, calamari, whatever came in that day - and carry it to one of the restaurants around the edge, who grill it and bring salad, bread and mezes for a fixed per-person fee. Go after 19:00. Our fish market post has the detail.
The Tuesday market
If your free day is a Tuesday, the weekly market behind the canal is the biggest on the coast: textiles, spices, olives, cheese, leather, copper, and the usual fake-brand T-shirts. Good for presents, better for fruit to take on the boat.
Paragliding from Babadag
Tandem flights from the 1,960 m summit down to the Oludeniz promenade take 25-40 minutes and need no experience. It is the optional activity on the first gulet day, booked through the crew, weather permitting.
The hamam
Fethiye's old Turkish bath dates from the 16th century and is in the old town behind the harbour. An hour there on the Friday the boat comes in is the best way to get a week of salt out of your skin. What to expect is in our hamam guide.
Kayakoy
8 km over the hill: the Greek village abandoned in the 1923 population exchange, 350 roofless stone houses and two churches on a hillside, now a museum village. Taxis go; so does a path from Oludeniz.
Fethiye is the hinge of Istanbul to Fethiye with Gulet Cruise, Gulet Cruise & Cappadocia to Istanbul and All Around Turkey with Gulet Cruise, and the end point of the Istanbul to Fethiye Tour.
