Fethiye bays and beaches: the Blue Lagoon, Butterfly Valley and the quiet ones

Fethiye sits at the back of a wide bay sheltered by Sovalye Island, with the Taurus mountains straight behind it. It is where our west-coast bus leg ends and the gulet week begins, and the beaches around it are the first thing you see from the water.

Oludeniz and the Blue Lagoon

The famous one, 15 km south of town: a spit of white pebble beach closing off a lagoon so still and so turquoise it looks edited. The lagoon itself is a protected nature park with an entrance fee and no motor boats; the open beach next to it is public. Paragliders from Babadag, the 1,960 m mountain above, land on the promenade all day long. The gulet's first swim stop on Saturday is just outside the lagoon.

Butterfly Valley

A canyon that opens onto a beach between 350 m cliffs, reachable only by boat or by a rope-assisted scramble from the village of Faralya above. The Jersey tiger butterflies that name it gather in the shade in summer. The gulet anchors here on the Thursday of the week, when the day boats from Oludeniz have mostly gone.

Kabak and Kidrak

South of Oludeniz the road climbs to Faralya and drops to Kabak, a small bay with a few camps and restaurants, popular with people walking the Lycian Way. Kidrak, between Oludeniz and Kabak, is a pine-backed pebble beach with far fewer people than its neighbour.

Calis

The long beach north of the harbour, facing west: this is where Fethiye goes to watch the sunset. A water taxi runs there from the town quay in summer. Not a swimming beach to cross the country for, but a good evening.

Gemiler Island and Samanlik Bay

Reachable only by boat. Gemiler (St. Nicholas Island) has the ruins of five Byzantine churches climbing its slope; the gulet anchors off it on the first night. Samanlik, around the corner, is the last swim stop on the Friday morning before the boat comes back into the harbour.

Patara

An hour's drive south: 18 km of sand dunes and the ruins of the Lycian capital behind them, protected as an archaeological zone, so almost no building. Not on our route, but easy to reach on your own if you spend a few extra days in Fethiye.

The gulet week that visits most of these is part of Istanbul to Fethiye with Gulet Cruise, Gulet Cruise & Cappadocia to Istanbul and All Around Turkey with Gulet Cruise; the 3-night versions cover the lagoon and the island. More in our gulet cruise guide.