Turkey – Türkbükü or Göltürkbükü

Turkey’s most stylish hideaway, Türkbükü (or Göltürkbükü), is a small bay about an hour’s drive away from Bodrum’s city center.  This popular destination attracts a sophisticated crowd from both Europe and Istanbul.

What I liked about Türkbükü was the peaceful atmosphere, quaint hotels and the laid-back atmosphere. Most hotels have their own jetty and restaurant for their guests, although these are also made available to the public. You can rent a sun bed for the day, have lunch and watch the comings and goings of the insta-holics and day-trippers. To me this confirms that the days when a simple camera as a must have item in the beach bag are gone. I loved the look of the Maca Kizi hotel – a good possibility for next time.

An amazing array of beach clubs take up the prime property on the beachfront and run shoulder to shoulder for about a kilometer along the coastline. These offer sun beds, towels and lunch at an extra cost and competition between them is fierce! The charming beach managers will try to entice passersby in to look around and get their business. Most of the beach clubs offer their own individual setup and deal for the day. Prices will differ from club to club, which enables you to find your comfort zone.

We strolled along until we found the beach club that we liked, an easy-going club called “Chia”. We chose this spot because it was situated in a position where we could feel a slight breeze coming off the sea – perfect in such hot conditions. As the day rolled on, we had a delicious thin-based pizza, accompanied by shots of Raki which we sipped with lots of ice.

For me, Turkey is hassle-free and lets you get away from the influx and hordes of holidaymakers. I found this far more relaxing than Greece, which tends to be on overdrive in August and very crowded. Therefore Turkey is a super Summer destination.

At around 5:30pm it was time to move on and watch the sunset from a different point of view. We had dinner arrangements at Zuma in Yalıkavak – a completely different buzz socially! There, we were bedazzled by the spectacular sunset and while watching this, I realised that I could not have wished for anything more as the day replayed in my mind.

Turkey is paradise.

QueenB!……..Abuzzing off