All About Turkey’s Gorgeous Turquoise Coast

Overview

Turkey is a large country with incredibly long coastlines that total over 8300 km / 5000 miles.

The country’s entire northern border lies along the Black Sea, running from the western border with Bulgaria, past Istanbul and then all the way eastward to Turkey’s eastern border with Georgia.

Likewise, nearly the entire western and southern borders of Turkey are coastal, running along the Mediterranean Sea on the south and Aegean Sea in the west.

Right about in the middle of the vast Aegean/Mediterranean Coastline there’s the large bulging TEkke Peninsula that juts southward into the Mediterranean. It runs between Antalya city in the east to Marmaris city in the west, with a coastline of about 450 km / 280 miles (Some authorities mark this peninsula from Fetiye or Bodrum in the west rather than from Marmaris).

sea near Kekova

This region is often called the Turquoise Coast because of the stunning sea colors. It’s also known as the Turkish Riviera, due to its many coastal resort towns, villages & cities as well as its plush luxury resorts and world-class yacht marinas.

Historically, this bulging peninsula was the homeland of the ancient empire of Lycia, which greatly pre-dated the Greek and Roman Empires that later occupied the region, followed by the Seljuk Turks and then the Ottoman Turks.

They’ve all left their cultural and architectural marks along the coast.

Geography

Coastal Views 2 Turkey’s Turquoise Coast is physically spectacular. Not only because of the stunning sea colors but also because of the soaring mountain ranges that lie close to the coast, at many points plunging directly into the sea as steep mountain slopes or vertical rock cliffs.

The land is extremely rocky. These rocks form tall headlands, offshore islands and rock formations, sheer cliffs, bare-faced mountain peaks and stone & pebble beaches.

There are many extremely well-protected natural harbors that make excellent bases for towns & cities as well as for sailing yacht marinas, tour boat operations and fishing boats (more on that below).

Although several cities, towns and villages lie along this curvy coastline, overwhelmingly the entire region looks primarily natural, with most of its rugged mountains and forests undeveloped.

Just offshore along this entire coastal region, practically within spitting distance of the coast, are several dozen Greek islands. They make the scenery even more spectacular. They also provide hundreds of tour boat operators in various cities & towns the opportunity to offer many different boat trip options, ranging from half-day trips to week-long cruises among the islands.

Natural Diversity

The Turquoise Coast is a fantastic region for nature lovers. In many places the soaring mountains make spectacular sights. A few key coastal highway sections are particularly jaw-dropping.

Beaches are dotted along the entire coast, ranging from tiny isolated pebble beaches to long sweeping sand or stone beaches.

There are also deep canyons, plunging waterfalls, deep coves, and the 550 km-long Lycian Way trek.

Outdoor activities include Paragliding at Oludeniz, Kayaking, horseback riding, scuba diving, sailing and hiking. Except for paragliding, most of these activities can be done at each destination along the coast.

Here are some of the most noteworthy nature spots:

Canyons

Goynuk Canyon – located just 35 km / 20 miles south of Antalya

Saklikent Canyon – a deep gorge set in a national park one hour from Fetiye or Kas

Waterfalls

Lower Duden Waterfalls

– a spectacular waterfall that plunges over a cliff into the sea at Antalya city
Upper Duden Waterfalls

– a series of waterfalls set in the forest in northern suburbs of Antalya

Beaches

Konyaalti – 8-km / 5 mile long stone beach in Antalya city

Patara– Turkey’s longest beach: 18 km of sweeping golden sand backed by dunes

Kabak Bay – stone beach in a deep cove surrounded by soaring mountains

Kidrak – a lovely sand beach near Oludeniz, which is less famous/less crowded

There are many other beaches all along the coast between Antalya and Marmaris. Some famous, some little-known. Every destination has several beaches nearby.

The Best Mountain & Coastal Views

Antalya

Kas

Fetiye

The Most Spectacular Coastal Highways

Between Finike and Kas

From Fetiye to Kabak Bay

The Lycian Way Trek

This demanding 540 km-long mountain trail was pioneered by an expat British/Turkish woman, Kate Clow in 1999 to help preserve the historic roads and ancient sites. It runs from Oludeniz (just south of Fetiye) to just west of Antalya city and passes through 25 Lycian sites, many villages, across several beaches and touches close to several cities & towns.

It’s maintained annually by the Culture Routes Society, travel partners and groups of volunteers. The Culture Routes Society’ website for Lycian Way sells detailed guidebooks, descriptions of the trail sections, information about maintenance and so on.

It’s easy to hike short sections of Lycian Way near Fetiye, Kas and Olympos.

Kas yacht marina

Yachting and Boating

As noted above, there are many extremely well-protected natural harbors that make excellent bases for sailing yacht marinas, tour boat operations and fishing boats. As a result, the Turquoise Coast is world-renowned and extremely popular among yachties from Turkey, Europe and elsewhere.

Here are some of the main marina locations:

Antalya city has a tiny marina set in a small circular cove surrounded by soaring cliffs. The marina was established way back in 200-100 BC, making it literally more than 2000 years old. It’s been in continuous use ever since its founding, though by various cultures and empires over the centuries.

Kas is another historic coastal town, located about 200 km east of Antalya, that now boasts two excellent marinas. The historic marina is situated in a small rounded cove with the original town set behind it on a gradually-sloping hillside. This marina is now used for tour boat operators who take visitors out on island tours, fishing trips and to the Greek island of Mais.

Kas’s modern yacht marina is situated in an even more protected waterway. At the eastern end of Kas town a mountainous 8-km-long peninsula juts out into the sea a short distance then curves eastward to run parallel to the coast. The narrow body of water between the peninsula and mainland is the site of the marina, where the sea is almost always as flat as glass and the yachts sit perfectly still in their slips.

Fetiye city, about 100 km east of Kas, is set in a large rounded coastal valley on the waterfront. This huge natural harbor is almost completely round, surrounded by rolling hills and high mountains, and with only a narrow passage leading out to the open sea.

The waterfront is so long that several large marinas fit comfortably together at the southern end of the city as well as a couple smaller marinas for local boat owners.

Offshore Greek Islands

As noted above, more than a dozen small Greek islands lie right offshore of Turkey’s coast. They include many of Greece’s most famous & important small vacation islands, such as Kalimnos, Samos, Rhodes, Lesbos, Leros and Kos.

In the eastern part of the Turquoise Coast, just offshore from Kas, is the tiny island of Meis. Heading westward the remaining Greek islands lie scattered just off the coast, many close to Turkey’s coastal cities of Fetiye, Marmaris and Bodrum.

Regular passenger ferries run between Turkish cities & towns and many of these islands. In addition, hundreds of boat tour operators offer a variety of cruises to the islands. Some boats cruise around the islands enjoying the views, while others visit one or more islands. Boat trips include half-day, full-day and week-long cruises.

These boat trips represent a major tourist industry all along the coast and originate in all the towns and cities with marinas. Dozens of tour boats are on stand-by to take visitors out cruising.

Travelers can also take the ferries in just one direction from Turkey to enter Greece. They can then continue on to other islands or the Greek mainland.

Lycia and Ancient Lycian Ruins

Lycia was an ancient maritime empire that occupied this region of Anatolia. It dates back to about 1300 BC and lasted for over 1000 years, until about 200 BC, when it was taken over by the Romans.

Because the Lycians did not keep written records, little factual information is known about them, but Lycia was mentioned by the Hitites in the 1200s BC and was known by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Persians.

Amazingly, Lycia is famed as the world’s very first democracy!

The ruling government was called the Lycian League, which consisted of elected officials from 23 federated cities. The most important Lycian cities included six along this coast: Patara, Xanthos, Myra (now Demre), Olympos, Pinara and Tlos.

Lycian cliff tombs in Kas

The Lycian capital was at Patara. Today remains of their ancient city have been excavated and include their main assembly hall, an outdoor stone amphitheater, the city’s main stone road lined by marble pillars and a series of shops, various stand-alone tombs and a magnificent triple-arched city gate.

The Lycians’ most notable architectural remains known today include their stunning cliffside tombs, carved into sheer rock faces over-looking the sea. Scattered around this region are over 1000 known Lycian cliff tombs. The largest, most magnificent are located at Fetiye and Demre.

The Lycians also left behind many stand-alone stone tombs, called sarcophogus. These can be seen in many coastal towns and cities.

There are also remains of hilltop Lycian stone castles, ancient towns & cities and outdoor stone amphitheaters scattered throughout the peninsula.

Visiting the various Lycian cliff tombs and archaelogical sites is one of the most interesting and unique things to do along the Turquoise Coast.

The most important and spectacular Lycian ruins can be found at Olympos, Demre, Kas, Patara, Xanthos, Fetiye, Tlos and Pinara.

Ottoman building in Keleici – Antalya city’s historic district

Other Historical & Cultural Attractions

After the great Lycian empire, several other great empires settled this region. They include the Greeks, Romans, Seljuk Turks and Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Remains of all these empires are located throughout the Turquoise Coast. They’re found in the centers of towns & cities as well as out in the mountains, along beaches and on open flat plains.

Most cities and towns in this region also have interesting & important museums that cover archaelogy, historic local culture, maritime history, art and the natural world, among other topics.

Here are some of the stand-out historical sites & attractions:

Antalya city

Historic District of ‘Kaleici’ & Harbor with Ottoman style buildings
Several important museums

Demre

St Nicolas Byzantine Church Ruins (St Nick as in Santa Claus!)

Kas

Small Historic Town District & Harbor

Fetiye

Museum of Lycian Artifacts from archaeological sites

Kayakoy – abandoned Greek mountain village

Marmaris

Marmaris Castle

Caravan Serai (historic trading route travelers’ inn)

Coastline and Konyaalti Beach in Antalya

Major Spots Along the Turquoise Coast

From east to west

Antalya – Coastal City with Marinas, Historic Town, Museums, Beaches

Goynuk – Gorge

Olympos National Park & Lycian City Ruins

Finike – Historic Town & Marina

Demre – Lycian Cliff Tombs & St Nicolas Church Ruins (Santa Claus!)

Kas – Historic Town

Kekova/Simena– small historic coastal villages, Lycian ruins & Kekova island

Patara – Beach & Lycian City Ruins National Park

Fetiye – Coastal City with Marinas & Lycian Cliff Tombs & Lycian Museum

Kabak Bay – Bohemian Lifestyle at remote beach cove

Oludeniz – Stunning Beach with unique geography

Dalyan – Meandering River & Ruins

Marmaris – Coastal City with Marinas and historic Marmaris Castle

Bodrum – Coastal City with Marinas and ultra-luxury resorts

Summary

Turkey’s beautiful and rugged Turquoise Coast is an absolutely stunning region in southwestern Turkey that runs for over 450 km / 280 miles along Turkey’s Mediterranean Sea.

This little-developed mountainous coast is packed with a diversity of spectacular natural features including plunging cliffs, soaring mountains, dense pine forests, beaches of all types, stunning waterfalls, deep canyons and dozens of bays & coves. Many small Greek islands also lie just offshore along this coastline.

This original homeland of the ancient Lycian empire is full of impressive Lycian archaeological sites, scattered along the coast and up in the mountains. The challenging 550-km-long Lycian Way trail passes through most of these sites.

In addition, remains of Roman, Greek, Seljuk Turk and Ottoman Turkish empires are also found in the area’s towns, cities and countryside. Several towns have historic Ottoman era town centers and excellent museums on a variety of topics.

The Turquoise Coast is also home to many large sailing yacht marinas, tour boat operators and fishing boats, all set in beautiful naturally well-protected harbors and bays. There are also many great outdoor activities to join.

Obviously there’s a tremendous variety of things to see and do along this impressive coastline. It could easily take several months, over even years, to explore the entire region in depth.

Choose what to see & do based on your main interests or else try to experience a little bit of everything in just one area.

Kas old town in morning

Each destination on the coast has most, if not all, of these attractions within easy reach. Whether you choose Antalya, Kas, Fetiye, Marmaris or another base, you’ll be able to visit ancient Lycian sites, historic Ottoman town districts, at least one or two museums, yacht marinas, beaches, mountains and stunning coastline.

So if you’re limited on time, like most travelers, it’s a great idea to pick one place and do everything from there. Alternately, you can hop along the coast visiting several destinations, although this will be much easier with a good chunk of time, at least one month.

Or if you’re particularly into nature and are an experienced hiker, you could tackle the arduous Lycian Way Trek.

Any traveler heading to Turkey should definitely visit the amazing Turquoise Coast and stay as long as possible to fit everything in.

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