Located at the intersection of Aegean and Mediterranean regions, Fethiye is one of thirteen districts of Mugla. Fethiye attracts attention with its historical beauties as well as its natural beauties and riches. It is one of the fascinating districts of Turkey in terms of tourism.

 

FETHIYE TRAVEL GUIDE

Fethiye has a matchless beach of all the world, named Oludeniz (literally “Dead Sea”, due to its calm waters even during storms; official translation name Blue Lagoon). It also has very convenient places for diving like Af Kule. There are many caves that are available for tourism. Furthermore, its natural structure is suitable for alternative sports such as paragliding. Kelebekler Valley (Butterflies Valley) and Kabak Bay are some of the most pristine areas.

Region	Aegean
Province	Mugla
Area	3060 km²
What’s popular	Oludeniz, Calamari stuffing
Distance to City Center	123 km
Winter / Summer Pop.	85.000 / 220.000
Nearby Resorts	Dalaman, Kalkan, Kas, Demre, Marmaris
Avg. Temp. in Summer	28,9 °

 

 

Where is Fethiye?

Even though geographically Fethiye is within the boundaries of Aegean Region, sea waters of Fethiye are considered as a part of Mediterranean waters. Contiguous city on the eastern is Antalya; the north is next to Denizli and Burdur. The exact location is available in the map view of this page.

 

How to Get to Fethiye?

Fethiye is accessible by road from every province of Turkey. In summer there are buses to Fethiye everywhere in Turkey. The bus terminal is easily reachable in the district center.

Airline transportation is available via Dalaman Airport, which is the closest airport to Fethiye. The distance between Dalaman Airport and Fethiye is 53 km. Transportation to the city center is provided by HAVAS services (bus rings) and taxi.

Getting to Fethiye by road takes relatively long time from big cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. Sakarya, Bilecik, Afyon Denizli route is used to come from Istanbul with a private vehicle. From Izmir, the best way to get to Fethiye is to drive on the Aydin highway and reach the town via Mugla.

Fethiye’s distances to some other holiday destinations and cities are as follows.

Dalaman Airport: 53 km
Mugla: 123 km
Kas: 115 km
Marmaris: 130 km
Demre: 160 km
Finike: 186 km
Antalya: 195 km
Datca: 200 km
Bodrum: 235 km
Didim: 253 km
Kemer: 255 km
Kusadasi: 280 km
Izmir: 350 km
Ankara: 630 km
Istanbul: 825 km

 

When to Go to Fethiye?

The characteristic Mediterranean climate is prevalent in Fethiye. Summers are hot and dry, winters are warm and rainy. The temperature is around 30 degrees during the summer months. In winter, it is generally over 10 degrees. With the warming of the air, leading off from May till September, tourism season starts in Fethiye. If you especially enjoy the crowded and vibrant nightlife, it is recommended to visit the region in June, July and August. May and September are calmer than summer months and hotel prices are getting lower.

 

Places to See

The first thing that comes to mind in Fethiye is Oludeniz. In very few places in the world, you can come across a similar kind of natural wonder.

With turquoise sea, white and fine sandy beaches, forests integrated with the sea and many antique cities that have remained from ancient times, Fethiye has always been one of the top five touristic destinations in Turkey. Actually, the main reason is that there are many places to visit. Some of them are:

• Babadag: Paragliding in Turkey mostly reminds Babadag. The pleasure of watching Fethiye from the point 2,000 meters high is quite different.
• Saklikent: It is a wonderful place with lush pine trees and magnificent cliffs.
• Kelebekler Vadisi: Thousands of butterflies flock to this spot in July and August, there is no transportation by road. It can only be reached by boat from the sea.
• Fethiye Museum: It is the place where many works obtained from excavations in the region are exhibited.
• Kayakoy: It is a famous place with the remains from the Greeks.
• Patara: It is a lonely beach suitable for swimming and sunbathing.
• Other ancient cities
  • Tilos
  • Telmessos
  • Cadianda
  • Letoon
  • Xanthos
  • Pinar
  • Sdyma
  • Araxa
  • St. Nicholas

You can read more on Highlights page.

 

Beaches in Fethiye

Fethiye has wonderful natural beauties as well as history. At the beginning of the beauties that nature bestows here comes Oludeniz. Most of the holidaymakers going to Fethiye prefer this place for the sea. Because it is famous for the beaches that resemble the beaches of exotic islands in the Far East.

Oludeniz Beach (Blue Lagoon) is one of the most popular beaches in the world. Besides, Belcekiz Beach and Calis Beach are fabulous places that come to mind in Fethiye. White sand and turquoise sea are waiting for you there …

You can explore the small and calm coves by getting around.

• Katranci Beach: One of the quiet beaches
• Butterflies Valley: Only available by boat
• Kabak Bay: Only available by boat
• Kidrak Bay: Calm beach famous for its sand

 

Things to do at Fethiye

Deep-blue seas, long and wide sandy beaches, green valleys and hillsides make Fethiye an ideal place for nature sports. Following activities are some of the activities for an unforgettable holiday experience. You can find more at Top Attractions page.

• Paragliding – Babadag
• Trekking – Lycian way
• Horse safari
• Jeep safari
• Diving
• Sailing
• Water rolling
• Parasailing
• Water skiing
• Windsurf

 

Nightlife

Fethiye is a town known for its nightlife. The places that stand out with their night fun are generally bar and nightclubs in and around Hisaronu. In Fethiye, you can happily find any kind of entertainment you want.

The fact that the district is not too crowded like Bodrum makes sure that nightlife is not too expensive.

In particular, bars can even arrange campaigns to attract customers. Nightlife can go crazy in Fethiye as it is in other touristic destinations. The fun continues until the dawn.

 

What to Eat

The best meal in Fethiye, where you can find all the flavors of the Mediterranean, is undoubtedly the seafood. You can certainly find many kinds of food in holiday paradise Fethiye. But we recommend you to try menus prepared with fresh fish from the sea in the restaurants there. Apart from that, you can eat local specialties of meat and vegetable dishes in the village restaurants near the antique cities. In particular,  “Kara Kovan Bali (Black Hive Honey)” is a unique taste and highly beneficial for the body.

Here are some of the local flavors:

• Seafood meatballs
• Hazelnut calamari
• Calamari kokorec
• Calamari stuffing (Kalamar Dolmasi – local name)
• Blue crab on the grill
• Meat stew
• Tingil Soup (local name)
• Yumurta Bohcasi (local name)
• Legen Boregi (local name)