A sheltered turquoise lagoon under a 1,960-metre mountain, and one of the most photographed stretches of coast in the Mediterranean. Also the world's most popular place to paraglide.
They're fifteen minutes apart and people conflate them constantly.
Ölüdeniz is the lagoon and the beach strip — beautiful, busy, and where the paragliders land all afternoon. Fethiye is a working town with a marina, a proper market and far better restaurants. Hisarönü and Ovacık sit on the hill between them and are cheaper, livelier and have no beach at all. Most families book Ölüdeniz or Çalış; most couples do better in Fethiye or one of the quieter bays.
A lagoon, a mountain, and boats.
A protected nature reserve with a small entry fee. Calm, shallow and impossibly turquoise. Go early — it fills by ten.
Off a 1,960m mountain, landing on the beach. Tandem flights all day, and among the best sites in the world for it.
A steep-sided valley reachable only by boat, with a waterfall walk inland. Day trips from Ölüdeniz.
A day around the bay from Fethiye harbour with swim stops. Cheap, relaxed and the best value day out.
A stone ghost town of 500 abandoned houses, left after the 1923 population exchange. Half an hour inland and quietly moving.
An eighteen-kilometre canyon you wade through in icy water. An hour east, and the best escape from the heat.
Beach, town or hillside — three different holidays within fifteen minutes.
The beach and the strip. Beautiful and busy, and where the paragliders land.
A working Turkish town with the best market and restaurants. No real beach — Çalış is the nearest.
A long shingle beach with sunsets and a water taxi into Fethiye. Calm and good value.
Up the hill, cheaper, and busy with bars. No beach — you'll shuttle down to Ölüdeniz.
May to October, with the shoulder months noticeably more comfortable.
July and August are hot — 34°C and above — and Ölüdeniz beach is packed. May, June, September and October give 25–30°C, warm sea and space. The Lycian Way and the gorges are far better walked outside high summer. Most of the coast closes down from November.
4h 15m to Dalaman (DLM), seasonal from most UK airports April to October.
About an hour to Fethiye and Ölüdeniz. Longer to some of the outlying bays.
Turkish lira. Cash for markets, boats and the lagoon entry.
Dolmuş minibuses run constantly between Fethiye, Çalış, Hisarönü and Ölüdeniz, and cost very little.
We'll pick between the lagoon, the town and the hill, and write the payment plan out in full.
The lagoon genuinely is. It's also busy from mid-morning in season — go early or late and it's a different place.
Only if you want bars and low prices and don't mind a shuttle to the beach. It surprises people who assumed it was coastal.
It's a long-established commercial operation with thousands of tandem flights a season. Weather cancellations are common and sensible — book early in your stay.
Fethiye for scenery, boat trips and value. Bodrum for a smarter, more polished holiday. Fethiye has the better landscape by some way.
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
12 nights · Jul–Oct · from £3,099pp
11 nights · Jun–Oct, Dec–Feb · from £1,799pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
