Muğla, Turkey
The peninsula's west coast, where the sun sets behind the Greek islands and a large marina anchors the seafront.
A sample of the properties we quote here. Tell us your dates and we shortlist the right ones for you.
Akyarlar beach, southwest peninsula near Turgutreis
A large beachfront ultra-all-inclusive on Akyarlar beach near Turgutreis, known for its water park and extensive family facilities.
Kadıkalesi beach, near Turgutreis
A wellness-focused resort set in large seafront gardens at Kadıkalesi near Turgutreis, known for its spa and well-being programmes.
Akyarlar shore, near Turgutreis
A five-star all-inclusive on the Akyarlar shore near Turgutreis, a longstanding family-holiday favourite on the southwest peninsula.
We quote these and many more. Prices depend on dates and board — the quote is free and there is no payment on this site.
Turgutreis is the main town of the western half of the Bodrum peninsula and the second-largest settlement after Bodrum itself, roughly 20 kilometres from the castle by road. It takes its name from the sixteenth-century Ottoman admiral born here, whose statue stands at the end of the promenade. Unlike several of the bays on this coast, it is a town that works all year: a Saturday market that fills several streets, a bus station, banks, dentists, hardware shops, schools, and a seafront walk close to two kilometres long with a large marina anchoring the southern end of it.
That has two practical consequences for a holiday. Everyday prices — a coffee, a short taxi hop, a plate of grilled fish away from the water — are visibly lower than in Yalıkavak or Bodrum town, because the people who live here have to be able to afford them too. And the place does not empty out the week the last charter flight leaves, so a late-October stay still has open bakeries and a functioning high street rather than the shuttered feeling you get in a purely seasonal bay.
Turgutreis faces west across a channel dotted with Greek islands. Kos sits to the south-west, Kalymnos further out, and the low outline of Pserimos in between. The whole seafront is therefore a sunset-facing terrace, and that is the single thing the town is genuinely known for. Between May and September the promenade fills for an hour before dusk, the cafés along it price accordingly, and the marina breakwater is the spot people walk out to for the last of the light.
The same geography brings the wind. The meltem blows down the Aegean from the north-west through July and August, and the west coast takes it head-on. In practice the mornings are usually calm, the breeze builds from around midday, and by mid-afternoon the sea in front of the town has a real chop on it. If you are a sailor, a windsurfer or a kitesurfer this is exactly why you came. If your holiday is built around floating on an inflatable ring with a book, you will be happier in a sheltered bay such as Bitez or Ortakent, or you will learn to swim before lunch and read after it.
The promenade strip is where most of the mid-range hotels sit, along with the apart-hotels and the cafés. It is flat, it is walkable, and you can reach the marina, the beach and the restaurants without ever getting into a vehicle. The trade-off is noise from the road behind and, in July and August, a promenade that is genuinely busy from six in the evening onwards. The marina end is quieter and better kept, with the D-Marin berths, a handful of smarter restaurants and the ferry pier.
Three or four blocks inland the prices drop noticeably and the buildings become small pansiyons, family-run three-star hotels and apartment blocks let by the week. You lose the sea view and gain roughly a five to ten minute walk to the water. For a family that intends to spend the day at the beach and the evening at a restaurant, this is where the value is on this whole coast.
Fifteen to twenty minutes south of Turgutreis are the peninsula's proper sand beaches. Akyarlar has soft sand, shallow water and a steady side-shore breeze that has made it the kitesurfing corner of Bodrum. Bağla and Karaincir are longer, sandier and less built up, with beach clubs rather than a town behind them. Several hotels here are all-inclusive four-stars aimed squarely at families, and they are the closest thing this peninsula has to the Antalya resort model.
Ten minutes north, Kadıkalesi is a quiet run of low buildings behind a shingle-and-sand beach with an old fort on the point. Beyond it, Gümüşlük is the fishing village where restaurant tables are set out on the stones and the sunken walls of ancient Myndos lie a few centimetres under the water at Rabbit Island. It is the best evening out within easy reach of Turgutreis and it closes early, which is the point of it.
Turgutreis has the densest concentration of mid-market family hotels on the peninsula, and it is one of the few parts of Bodrum where genuine all-inclusive exists in any quantity. That is a real distinction. Most of the peninsula sells bed and breakfast or half board and expects you to eat out; here you can find four-star properties with a pool, a kids' pool, an animation team and a full board or all-inclusive package, which is why families who want predictable costs end up on this coast rather than the north one.
Indicative rates start around 55 EUR per person per night. Realistically, 55 to 75 EUR in May, June or October buys a solid three or four-star with breakfast a short walk from the sea. Around 90 to 120 EUR moves you into a well-kept four-star with a sea view or a proper all-inclusive package at one of the southern beach hotels. Above roughly 150 EUR you are into the small number of five-star properties with their own beach platform, and in the first three weeks of August the same rooms can be close to double their June price. Half board is usually the sweet spot in the town itself, because you will want at least a few dinners on the seafront.
You fly into Milas-Bodrum Airport (BJV), which lies inland near Milas on the far side of the peninsula. The drive to Turgutreis is roughly 55 minutes, making it one of the longer transfers on this coast — Bitez is about 42 minutes and Bodrum town around 40. There is no rail link, and the public bus from the airport goes to Bodrum otogar rather than to Turgutreis, so it means a bus and then a dolmuş with luggage.
We are a travel agency based in Antalya. Airport transfers inside Turkey are the one part of this we operate ourselves, with our own vehicles and our own drivers, and have done since 2016. Accommodation is different: we price it with partner agencies, so the hotel side of your trip is a request and a written proposal rather than a checkout. There is no payment on this website.
May and early June are the best combination of price and comfort: the sea is around 21 to 23 degrees, hotels have opened, and nothing is crowded. Late June to mid-September is hot and dry, often in the mid-thirties, and the meltem takes a real edge off it on this side of the peninsula — one of the few genuine advantages Turgutreis has over the sheltered bays in high summer.
The first three weeks of August are the peak in every sense: everything open, everything full, the road over the hill to Bodrum backing up in the evenings, and rates at their highest. September is arguably the best month of the year here, with the sea around 26 degrees and the crowds thinning after the first week. October stays swimmable and is much cheaper, though hotels start closing from around the middle of the month. November through March the beach hotels are shut, the marina keeps ticking over, and the town returns to its residents.
Be realistic about the town beach. It is a narrow strip of coarse sand and shingle divided between the municipal section and a run of beach clubs, and it is adequate rather than beautiful. If a wide sand beach is central to your holiday, book a hotel with a shuttle or plan on regular short trips to Akyarlar, Bağla or Karaincir. What Turgutreis does have is clean, clear water and a very long walkable seafront, which is not the same thing but is worth something.
Eating is straightforward and good value: fish restaurants along the marina, kebab and pide places on the inland streets, and a Saturday market that is one of the largest on the peninsula and sells produce, cheese, textiles and knock-off everything. Day trips are easy. The ferry to Kos leaves from Turgutreis harbour in season and takes around half an hour if your visa situation allows it. Boat tours run to the small islands off the coast. Bodrum town, with the castle and the underwater archaeology museum, is a 30-minute dolmuş ride, and Ephesus is a long day trip roughly two and a half hours north.
Families do well here, particularly with children old enough to swim, because the all-inclusive stock exists, the town is flat and walkable, and the everyday costs are low. Couples who want the smart end of Bodrum — a designer marina row, a hillside villa, a beach club with a guest list — will find Yalıkavak and Türkbükü better suited, and Turgutreis quite ordinary by comparison.
Skip Turgutreis if you have toddlers and want long, flat, calm shallows all day, because the afternoon wind works against you here; Bitez and Ortakent are the honest answers to that. Skip it if you want to be able to walk to a serious nightlife scene, which is over the hill in Bodrum and Gümbet. And skip it if the ancient world is your reason for travelling, because the peninsula's own ruins are modest and the great sites are all day trips.
Send us your dates, the number of people, and whether you want all-inclusive or would rather eat out. A consultant will price it with our partner agencies and come back with options, normally within one working day. The quote is free and it does not commit you to anything. If you are also weighing up Bitez, Gümbet or Yalıkavak, say so and we will compare them side by side before quoting.
This is the part we run ourselves. A driver meets you inside the terminal with your name on a sign and takes you straight to your hotel door, at a price fixed before you fly.
Roughly 55 minutes by road from Milas-Bodrum Airport (BJV), which makes it one of the longer runs on the peninsula because the airport sits inland on the opposite side. There is no train, and the airport bus goes to Bodrum bus station rather than Turgutreis. We operate these transfers ourselves with our own vehicles and drivers.
It is windier than the sheltered bays, and that is the honest trade-off for the sunsets. Mornings are usually calm; the meltem builds around midday in July and August and the sea gets choppy by mid-afternoon. Sailors and surfers love it. If you want flat water all day, Bitez or Ortakent will suit you better.
Yes, and that is unusual for Bodrum. Turgutreis and the beaches just south of it hold most of the peninsula's genuine all-inclusive four-star stock. Elsewhere on the peninsula, bed and breakfast or half board is the norm. Tell us if a full all-inclusive package matters and we will only quote properties that actually offer it.
Narrow, coarse sand mixed with shingle, split between a municipal stretch and several beach clubs. It is usable rather than impressive, and the water is clean and clear. For proper sand, Akyarlar, Bagla and Karaincir are 15 to 20 minutes south by dolmus or taxi and are worth the short trip.
May, early June and the second half of October. Sea temperature in May sits around 21 to 23 degrees and in October still around 23 to 24, while rates can be well under half of the August peak. Avoid the first three weeks of August if price matters, because domestic demand fills the whole coast.
Not if you plan to stay in town, since dolmus minibuses run frequently to Bodrum otogar and along the coast. A car helps if you want to reach Akyarlar, Bagla and Gumusluk on your own schedule or move around the peninsula daily. Parking on the seafront in August is difficult, so factor that in.
It works well for children who can already swim, thanks to the all-inclusive hotels, the flat walkable town and low everyday costs. For toddlers who need long shallow calm water all day, the afternoon wind counts against it. Bitez and Ortakent are the more comfortable choices in that specific case.
Send your dates, party size and board preference. A consultant prices it with our partner agencies and returns with options, normally within one working day. The quote is free and non-binding, and there is no payment on this website. If you proceed, the partner agency issues the booking and voucher, and we can add the airport transfer we drive ourselves.
Rates here move a lot between low and high season, so we quote each request individually rather than publish a number that would be wrong most of the year.
Free, non-binding, answered by a person.
