Top Four Beach Resorts in Turkey

Turkey’s visually stunning beaches, sumptuous local cuisine and excellent value for money have made it one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations.

With the vast array of cheap holidays to Turkey on offer, however, the task of narrowing down your choice of beach resorts can feel overwhelming. With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of Turkey’s top four beach resorts in a bid to help you make the perfect choice.

1. Dalyan

Significantly quieter and less developed than other Turkish resorts, Dalyan is a small, beachside town that has clung tightly to its Turkish roots, while preserving its unique natural identity.

The most popular beach among tourists who frequent Dalyan is Iztuzu. With no hotel developments in sight, the beach is a popular day trip destination with tourists, but the locals have made every attempt to maintain its pristine 4.5km arc of golden sand, which stretches from a pine-covered mountain to a river delta. 

There is little of the archetypal holiday resort about Dalyan, with nightlife entertainment restricted to your hotel, but stunning, natural scenery, thermal springs at Sultaniye and local mud baths should help to set the scene for a truly relaxing vacation.

If you’re deciding when to visit, holidaying in Dalyan between May and September will ensure that you get to see hundreds of loggerhead turtles laying their eggs on the beach; a sight that is certainly worth including in your planning process. 

2. Olu Deniz

Olu Deniz, situated on the South West Mediterranean coast, is one of the most stunning beach resorts in Turkey. Its pine-covered mountains, blue lagoon, sand and shingle beaches and turquoise sea make Olu Deniz an idyllic holiday destination for anyone looking for their own tranquil, little slice of paradise.

While gorgeous, natural scenery makes Olu Deniz one of the most photographed beaches in Turkey, the resort is also teaming with adrenaline fuelled opportunities for the more adventurous amongst you. In addition to diving, walking and mountain biking, Olu Deniz is one of the world’s most popular paragliding destinations, owing to its stunning backdrop.

3. Antalya

Situated on the Turkish Riviera, Antalya is Turkey’s largest resort, and with 10.5 million visitors each year, the third most visited city in the world.

If you’re in search of stunning beaches, cobbled streets, true Turkish culture and a thriving nightlife, Antalya delivers on all fronts.

While the beaches of Konyaalti and Lara offer exactly what you would expect from a world-class holiday resort destination, Antalya’s trump card is its successful preservation of the city’s inherent Turkish flavour.

With its charming cobbled streets, Kaleiçi, the old centre of Antalya, is an ode to the city’s Lycian, Pamphylian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman cultural influences. Packed with cafes, hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and clubs, Antalya effortlessly blends rich history with functional modernity.

4. Marmaris

If you’re seeking a lively beach resort, with a thriving nightlife, Marmaris is sure to fit the bill. While it’s still possible to enjoy a relaxing holiday in Marmaris, the resort has a distinctly young feel, with the offering geared more towards partygoers and night owls. 

Marmaris’s dark, volcanic, black sand beaches, crystal clear waters and various water sports opportunities offer holidaymakers the perfect respite in between trips down Bar Street, which is bursting at the seams with an endless strip of hostelries, restaurants and clubs.