Turkbuku

The bay is naturally rocky and shallow with sea-grass meadows. Rather than build a sand beach, the village developed the wooden jetty culture in the 1990s — clubs lay sun-beds on jetties extending 30 to 80 metres into deeper water where you can dive straight in. The water is gin-clear and the sea-grass beds are protected as turtle and sea-horse habitat.

Not really — Turkbuku is essentially a couples village with a deep-water entry culture. Families with toddlers are much happier in Bitez (15 minutes south) where the bay shelves shallow. Families with older teenagers love Turkbuku for the beach-club scene.

Yalikavak is bigger, more international, more super-yacht-and-luxury-hotel focused. Turkbuku is smaller, more design-hotel-and-beach-club focused, more Istanbul-domestic in clientele. Yalikavak feels like a Mediterranean luxury resort; Turkbuku feels like a boutique members club. We send our quietest clients to Yalikavak and our most fashionable to Turkbuku.

In July and August, yes — Maca Kizi and Pasha sell out their jetty sun-beds 7 to 14 days ahead on Saturdays. We pre-book your beach club entry as part of any Turkbuku package and can reserve a specific jetty position (front row, behind the bar, end-of-jetty) on request.

Yes. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises normal travel. Turkbuku is small, well lit, and the late-night buzz is concentrated on the beach clubs which have private security. Taxis are reliable and English is spoken at every venue we use.