Ovacik Holidays

Ovacik is a sleepy village on the western rise of Turkey’s pretty Turquoise Coast, on the Anatolian Riviera. It’s set back a few kilometres from the coast, so you get a peaceful place with traditional appeal – as you’ll see from the thatched wooden houses and cedar-clad mountain scenery. Livelier Fethiye and Hisaronu are within easy reach, and just down the road you’ve also got the country’s most-photographed beach.

Ovacik is inland, but there’s a necklace of beaches around 15 minutes away by dolmus. Olu Deniz comes top of the list. Here, one side of the beach curls around a freshwater lagoon, while the Aegean laps at the other. Gemiler Bay, between Olu Deniz and Fethiye, is the swimmers’ pick, though – it’s a pebbled stretch with gentle waves syphoned off by pretty cliffs.

With Ovacik, you’re in easy reach of some great sights. Kayakoy is a genuine ghost town that hasn’t been inhabited since just after WWI – and it’s only 15 minutes away by dolmus. About 5 minutes further gets you to the striking Lycian tombs outside Fethiye. They were carved out of the rocks here some 2,500 years ago. You can even visit the Greek island of Rhodes – a hydrofoil from Fethiye harbour will take you there in just half an hour.