“What beaches do you think are best (nicest) in the area you live in Turkey and why?

We forwarded the following question to our group members (living in Turkey) on Facebook and down below the answers we received: “What beaches do you think are best (nicest) in the area you live in Turkey and why?

Elaine : Oh dear, you’ve really started something now. Cleopatra Beach in Alanya is lovely and there are other nice beaches to the East of Alanya itself. Unfortunately, the local Belediye recently decided to renew all the beach bars without giving the project much thought. They tore down all the lovely old bars that had character and atmosphere and where the owners had stamped their own individuality and replaced them with modern featureless structures all the same. These are now under the control of the hotels some of which are now charging for sunbeds which were previously free if you ate and drank there. The aim is to do the same for the remaining bars most of which are on the Cleopatra side. I can’t help but think that this will do a lot of damage to tourism here, it’s certainly enraged many of the residents who just cannot understand the Belediye’s thinking. I am thinking of starting a petition to stop them ruining the remaining bars but I don’t hold out much hope. I could go on and on and on but I will leave it there. Sometimes change is not for the better.

Jessica: I’ve not been to many beaches outside of fethiye to compare. But for this region my favourite is sea me for a really chill day with good food and amazing service. Only draw back is that it’s expensive. For a cheaper day I prefer the main belcekiz beach in oludeniz. Although the lagoon has lots of nice sand I prefer the open water of oludeniz because you get really big waves. Only draw back is that it’s difficult for people with mobility issues with the waves and stones.

Alyson: Side. We have lovely sandy beaches. The east beach still has open space left for the public. Sadly the main beach is now mostly covered in sunbeds owned by the big hotels. They have spread them down to the shore line leaving no space for local people to sit.

Lynda: We have the same problem at Avsallar. Most of the beaches are taken by the hotels and they have built out onto jetty’s which is compounding the problem

Alyson: It’s not fair on local people. They don’t have the cash to use beach bars either. Most don’t have cars to drive out of town. Neither do they live on sites with pools. Public beaches are vanishing at an alarming rate. Local people need beach space to picnic and swim in the summer heat.

Alyson: I would like to see hotels stopped from placing their sunbeds right up to the shoreline, and using ropes to claim the entire beach area. Space should be left for local children to play. I like to see boys playing football and Turkish families eating on the beach. The Turkish grandmother’s sitting in the sea fully clothed on a hot August sunset. So much nicer than a beach covered in plastic sunbeds!

Lynda: also the sun beds at our beach hut are €8 each a day

Debbie: Can’t say I’ve found a ” beautiful ” beach here . Turgutreis has super views . Yalikavak has clean beach with restaurants . Public beaches are more fun when the locals bring the picnics and the ” kitchen sink ” I enjoy those the most .

Ruth: Iztuzu beach Dalyan. Unspoilt, clean and with good ‘facilities’ at both ends.

Lesley: The beaches of Avsallar and Incekum are very nice. About 25km from Alanya.

Elaine: Yes lovely, soft sand and easy for swimming.

Mary: Iztuzu beach, which Ruth already mentioned is the most beautiful sandy beach I’ve come across so far. There is also a lovely sandy beach in Altinkum with good facilities and plenty of places to eat and drink. There is a well kept promenade bordered by a large grassy area where many people picnic and a reasonably new cycle path. It’s very accessible for those with mobility issues or wheelchair users although there’s no ramp on the beach itself.

Allyson: I’m really not a beach person myself, but the last beach I visited was the public beach in Gündoğan. It was packed, but it was a delight to watch all the families enjoying their time together on a warm, very sunny afternoon; everyone was playing on the sand or in the sea and each family was enjoying the picnics they had brought with them for the day. The beach is very clean, patrolled by lifeguards too, so very safe for all. The best part was listening to the giggles of the children having fun. x

Tony: I suppose we are pretty fortunate where we live, in that there are an abundance of beaches to suit all tastes. A lot of the bigger,more popular beaches are shingle, such as Calis beach and the public beach at Oludeniz. Also, the sea in these areas is not exactly calm, especially in the afternoons. The lagoon at Oludeniz does offer a sandy, calm beach though. Calis main beach is free, along its entirety, but apart from the public beach, Oludeniz is not. We prefer the smaller sandy beaches around Fethiye peninsula which also offer calmer waters normally found on the Aegean coast and no need for jellybean shoes! Further afield, about 45 minutes from Fethiye you have the lovely Iztuzu beach at Dalyan, and in the opposite direction you have the 12 mile long Patara beach. Both are sandy beaches and at Patara, you can also visit the Roman ruins. I have added a couple of maps, if people are interested?

Beliz: The Lagoon area of Ölüdeniz in Fethiye have the best beaches in my opinion as I like Maldives type still waters.

Susie: And I am off …. 😂😂🤪 A few years ago I would have started with saying we were lucky enough here in avsallar, alanya to have the best beaches in the area. Beautiful sandy beaches, little coves and the ability to swim daily with turtles and occasionally the odd dolphin. However that is no longer the case. Our beautiful sandy rock free beach is now full of rocks and debris from where where the hotels have built and dumped into the sea. The little coves are for now for hotel guests only with no physical access points. There are literally there are only 6 park benches for the locals to look at the beach yet no where for locals to sit on the beach. The turtles moved out due to the big pirate tour boat coming in daily blasting the music as well as the construction of the hotels jettes. I used to love watching dads teaching their sons how to fish – that no longer happens as there is no area for them to do so.

Many people are complaining about the beach bars that have been erected in alanya. In avsallar we don’t even have room now for a beach bar in fact we need to travel by car to a private beach bufe to get a tea by the sea or travel 20 mins to alanya. The balance of tourism of local life was destroyed a few years ago but with it the beauty of our local beaches was destroyed too 😞

Theresa: The potential for nice beaches here in Alanya is huge, but given that they are normally dirty and we now have identikit beach bars thanks to the local Belediye, they are actually disappointing. The beaches are normally quite rocky and pebbly around here although Incekum, out near Avsallar is lovely as it’s sandy. Konakli, like Avsallar has been hijacked by the hotels although I believe it’s still possible to get onto the beach it’s hotel rule! Long term planning and consideration for local people has been sacrificed by greed to satisfy the hotel chains. Konakli and Avsallar beaches are much cleaner than Alanya although there is still debris coming onto the shore which I believe is dumped by the pirate ships into the sea. It’s quite disgusting. And I have quite often seen the Belediye boat out cleaning the rubbish from the water in Alanya so they are aware of the dumping and the problem.