Calis Beach Holidays

Calis Beach shies away from the best-known stretches of Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline, in a sheltered bay that’s dotted with teeny, tree-freckled islands. It gets high praise for its XL seafront, but the supporting cast of countryside, sightseeing spots and city lights deserves a big hand, too. When you’re not sunning yourself on the sand, you can take daytrips beyond the surrounding mountains, or hop on a hydrofoil for a nose around the Greek island of Rhodes.

This place shares its front-row seat to the Med with one of Turkey’s big coastal hitters – Fethiye. Peek around the headland, and you’ll see the lively city’s primed for an exploring sesh. The scenic way to get there’s by water taxi – they set off from Calis Beach’s shoreline, and plonk you close to the old town, Paspatur. Quirky souvenir shops, energetic bars and haggle-happy market stalls set the tone here, and some of the architecture’s good enough to have you doing double-takes.

To visit Calis Beach without hitting the seafront’s like going to a gig with earplugs in. The shoreline’s a sand-and-pebble double-act, and unravels for more than two miles between Fethiye and Kargi. It’s followed step-for-step by a long promenade, which is furnished with a bunting-style string of cafés, bars and restaurants. Bag a beach-facing table late in the afternoon, and you’ll be in pole position to watch the sun set over distant hilltops.