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The entire Datça Peninsula is full of quiet little seaside villages, beautiful coves, and ancient ruins to explore. It’s still relatively undiscovered and a fantastic place to get away from it all.
Getting to the Datça Peninsula
Getting to the town of Datça is easy by minibus from nearby Marmaris or with a major Turkish bus company from other cities. On all of my visits, I’ve rented a car and driven. The nearest airport is Dalaman Airport.
Getting Around the Datça Peninsula
The best way to get around to different beaches and villages on the Datça Peninsula is to rent a car. A car is highly recommended because public transportation is unreliable for day trips. It’s cost effective and ends up saving you a lot of time, especially if you plan to explore the villages and visit some of the attractions around the peninsula.
Town of Datça
Datça is one of those places that was once a sleepy fishing village, but is now overgrown with several blocks of holiday homes. It’s still a nice place to visit, but I would’ve preferred to see it before it was “discovered”.
There really isn’t much to see, but it’s a nice place to relax, unwind, and have fun. It’s a good place to base yourself for exploring the rest of the Datça Peninsula and easy to get to. Full disclosure: I went in the low season, so many places were closed and there weren’t hordes of people everywhere. I was happy about that, to be honest.
Datça Harbor
During my trip to Datça, we pretty much stayed around the harbor area and took walks along the seaside. It was the most enjoyable thing to do. It was fairly dead to begin with, and we weren’t keen on shopping or going to any bars. Most bars are only open in the high season, anyway.
Excursions from Datça
Activities and excursions outside of town are the best things to do during the day. Boat trips are offered to go swimming at different coves around the Datça Peninsula. It was too cold to do that during my stay, but it seems like a lot of fun. There’s a beach in town but it didn’t look very appealing.
There are also day trips to the Greek islands of Rhodes and Symi during the high season. I looked into hiring a boat for the day to Symi but it was too expensive. You can see Symi from Datça.
Where to Stay in Datça Town
There are lots of hotels and private apartments for rent in Datça town. However, after I was able to explore the rest of the peninsula for the first time, my preference would be to stay at a pension on a beach in one of the small villages.
Beyaz Konak Evleri
On one trip to the Datça Peninsula, I stayed at Beyaz Konak Evleri, which is a block of private apartments. There’s a bedroom with a living room that sleeps two and a kitchen. The service was friendly and the location is amazing – just a short walk to several restaurants and the harbor. The view is even better. The only problem during our stay was that the shower was freezing cold and the water pressure wasn’t that great. If you want to use Beyaz Konak Evleri as a base to explore the rest of the peninsula and have some civilization to return to, then it will work well for you if you have a car.
Where to Eat in Datça Town
There are plenty of options for traditional Turkish meals and international cuisine in town. We tried two places for dinner.
Betül’ün Mutfağı
Betül’ün Mutfağı (Betül’s Kitchen) is located at the end of a parking lot on the main road in Datça. I really enjoyed the home-cooked meat dishes, but the pastry dishes weren’t that great. Prices are reasonable.
Kekik
During my visit, Kekik was situated in a restored Greek house on the beach but it seems that it has since moved. It has a reasonably priced menu. We had a few meze, like eggplant dip and olives. Tyra and I shared the stuffed calamari and shrimp börek. They were both excellent but the calamari was a bit on the chewy side. Martin and Gönül each had köfte (meatballs), which they enjoyed. The fırında helva (baked helva) for dessert was the star of the meal.
Map of Datça Town
Exploring the Datça Peninsula
The most enjoyable thing to do is explore the coves and villages on the Datça Peninsula. As previously mentioned, you need your own car and can’t rely on public transportation. While driving around, enjoy the scenery. The mountains and the coves along the coast are gorgeous. Also, the roads aren’t always that great so taking your time is of the utmost importance.
On all my trips to the Datça Peninsula, I’ve driven through most of the villages and stopped in a few – namely, Mesudiye, Palamutbükü, Çeşme Köyü, and Belen. On one of my trips during low season, it was completely dead and nearly everything was shut. The locals told us even in the peak summer season, it doesn’t get overly crowded like the town of Datça or Marmaris.
In the coastal villages, you can find beautiful beaches, while in the inland villages, there really isn’t much to see or do. They’re great places to sit back and observe traditional life. However, in some places, it’s possible to buy some local products – fresh fruits, olives, olive oil, almonds, and thyme honey. I was told the village of Sındı has the best honey!
If these villages have a draw, it’s the people. We stopped for a glass of tea a few times and met some wonderful, laid-back people with unmatched hospitality. That says a lot, because Turkey is a very friendly country to begin with.
At the very end of the peninsula are the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Knidos. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Datça town. Finally, if you find yourself on the peninsula for sunset, stop and enjoy it!
Datça Vineyard
Very few places in Turkey produce quality wine, but Datça Vineyard is one of them. This winery sits atop a hill at the east end of the Datça Peninsula in the heart of Datça wine country. It was founded in 2011 and has placed in international competitions. It’s a fantastic place to stop and sample Turkish wine, and there’s also a small boutique hotel and restaurant.
Immediately inside the entrance is the tasting room. For a fee, you can sample your choice of five different wines, and the servers are happy to help you decide. I was surprised at the quality of each wine, but the blush stood apart from the rest. Tastings are free for overnight guests.
If you have the opportunity, it’s possible to take a short walk through the vineyard. Some of the fields are marked with the varietals growing in them. To be honest, there’s not much more than beautiful scenery along the walk.
Some of the features of the vineyard you might see are the processing area. On another hill in the distance, you can spot some ruined windmills.
Eski Datça
Eski Datça (Old Datça) is the historic settlement of Datça town. It’s located at the east end of the peninsula and a short drive from the modern town center. It’s a gorgeous place to walk around.
There are several little restaurants and cafes and lots of pensions to stay at, but we went just to admire the homes and peaceful atmosphere. All the homes are made of stone and beautifully decorated with colorful flowers hanging over the walls. It’s such a charming place that even the buildings in need of renovation look incredible.
The village isn’t very big at all. It’s easy to walk all of the streets in 30 or 45 minutes to see everything. One of the points of interest is the stone mosque, which is located a short walk uphill from the center.
What really caught my eye in Eski Datça were the brightly colored doors on nearly every home. I think I wandered on just about every street in search of the most beautiful door in town.
In addition to the doors, it seemed like every element of the town was beautified in some way. The extensive use of flowers hid or drew your attention away from utility poles and even utility boxes were decorated. Overall, Eski Datça is a great place to visit. I think it would make a nice place to stay for a long, quiet weekend.
Mesudiye
Hayıtbükü and Ovabükü are the seaside areas of the village of Mesudiye. They both have some lovely pensions and nice beaches to spend time at. I haven’t been to Hayıtbükü, but I’ve spent lots of time at Ovabükü.
During high season, there are plenty of places along the beach to find a chair, a meal, and some drinks. Typically, if you buy some food, you can have the chair for free. We ordered drinks and some snacks at Gülcan Restaurant, which has friendly service and a good spot on the beach.
Palamutbükü
Further west along the coast is Palamutbükü. It seems more popular and a bit more upscale than Ovabükü with a longer stretch of beach.
As in Ovabükü, you can use the beach chairs at the restaurants or hotels if you purchase some food. We spent a couple hours at Beyaz İnci, which is a hotel with beachfront. Service is friendly and efficient, and the food is very good.
Çeşme Köyü
Çeşme Köyü is a tiny village about 4 kilometers inland from Palamutbükü. It’s named for a fountain with spring water in the square. The village is full of old stone buildings and a couple ruined windmills. Life is very traditional there.
Outside Çeşme Köyü, we came upon the ruins of an old church. The land around it was turned into a Muslim cemetery.
Where to Stay on the Datça Peninsula
While there are several pensions and small hotels in the villages, most of them don’t answer emails or reservation requests in English. It is easy, however, to find a great place to stay.
Datça Vineyard Guest House
On one trip to the Datça Peninsula, we had a fantastic two nights at the Datça Vineyard Guest House. There are only a handful of rooms. The guest area is accessed via a tunnel behind the restaurant.
Rooms are clean, comfortable, and spacious suites with a bedroom, bathroom, and living area. A complimentary half bottle of wine is in the fridge and air conditioning is powerful. To top things off, each room comes with a private jacuzzi and gorgeous views of the sea.
A delicious breakfast is included in the rate. It’s served downstairs in a small breakfast room. There’s a buffet with olives, fresh vegetables, cheeses, jams, breads, coffee, and tea. A friendly woman prepares eggs to order.
Where to Eat on the Datça Peninsula
Most of our meals were in Datça town or at our hotels, but we did manage to stop for lunch on one day.
Datça Vineyard Restaurant
The Datça Vineyard Restaurant offers a menu full of international cuisine with a Turkish twist. There’s outdoor seating in the yard as well as indoor seating for those chilly or rainy nights. It’s very convenient for overnight guests as there’s not many other choices in the area.
The food and service is good, but there were often items from the menu missing. I had a pizza with sun-dried tomato, eggplant, and goat cheese one night, and fettuccine alfredo the following night. The desserts are good as well.
Hestia
You’ll find Hestia in the village of Yaka. It’s situated in an old stone house along the main road and specializes in mantı (dumplings).
I had the butternut squash mantı topped with drawn butter and walnuts, and served with a side of yogurt. The rest of my group tried a few other varieties of mantı. All of us agreed it was one of the best meals we had on that trip to Turkey.
Map of the Datça Peninsula
Datça Peninsula: One Wrong Turn, Two Perfect Days
The following is a story from a trip to Datça Peninsula with friends in November 2013.
Breakfast
Martin, Gönül, Tyra and I woke up in our hotel in Datça and jumped into the car, eager for a full day exploring the peninsula. We thought we would stop at the first place we saw to get a quick breakfast before continuing on our way.
We were in luck! There was a sign advertising fresh Turkish breakfast just 50 meters off the main road at a place called Yeşil Bahçe. After passing the sign, Martin slammed on the brakes, turned the car around, and went down the very rocky road towards Yeşil Bahçe. It was definitely a bahçe (garden) and yeşil (green), but the only problem – there was nobody there!
Plan B
Plan B: Stop at the next village.
The next village, down a steep, winding road, was Mesudiye. It was obvious there was nothing there, so we continued down towards the beach. I had researched and knew there were several pensions there. There HAD to be something open.
We followed the signs leading us to the beach, and when we reached the end of the road, Martin stopped the car. It was either go left or go right. Directly in front of us was the sea. On either path, we saw absolutely no sign of life. It was as if the entire village was abandoned.
Out of nowhere, we were startled by a car honking at us to move. As impossible as it may seem, after seeing only one car in over a half hour of driving, Martin had created a 4-car traffic jam. Where the other cars came from is still a mystery to us.
The Right Turn?
Martin made a snap decision to follow the road to the right. Pension after pension was locked up for the winter and there wasn’t a soul in sight. It appeared as if we had made a mistake. A wrong turn. Finally, we parked under a tree and got out of the car to wander around. Surely, there had to be someone. ANYONE.
A woman and her mother (probably in her 70s) rushed out of a pension, probably out of amazement that someone was actually in their village in the middle of November. Gönül asked them if there was a place to have breakfast, and without hesitation, they dropped everything they were doing and invited us to eat with them.
After a few minutes of coaxing, Gönül convinced them to let us carry a table and some chairs directly onto the beach. Martin and I were a bit uneasy about upsetting the women, but we shrugged our shoulders and started picking up the furniture.
Gönül disappeared into the kitchen while the old woman rushed off to the market to buy some bread and other food for her sudden unexpected guests. Tyra and I voiced our concern about the situation, and Martin reassured us.
“I don’t know what’s happening, but Gönül is cheeky. I’m sure she’s got the situation under control.”
Breakfast on the Beach
About 15 minutes later, Gönül and the woman, Bilge, returned to the beach carrying a tray of plates, a pot of Turkish tea, and an unbelievable amount of food: freshly made menemen, olives, bread, an assortment of Turkish cheese, yogurt, thyme honey, mashed potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, Nutella, and homemade orange jam. It was a feast. An incredible breakfast on the beach.
That wasn’t all! Once we finished breakfast, there was Turkish coffee with fresh pomegranates and mandarines. The fruit was freshly picked from Bilge’s garden. It was incredible. We decided to scrap our plans for the day and enjoy the moment as long as we could.
After reading our fortune in our coffee cups, we had a quick swim in the sea. Mind you, it was the middle of November, but the sea was calm, crystal clear, and a perfect temperature.
We returned the tables and chairs to their original location, then Bilge’s mother took me and Tyra to pick lemons off their tree. They were huge! Imagine lemons the size of grapefruits!
The Grounds
Bilge finished cleaning up in the kitchen and took the time to show us their bungalows and home that they rent out in the summer. Everything was simply beautiful. The grounds were full of flowers and fruit trees. It was a mini-paradise.
The Next Night
We paid for our meal, said goodbye, and Bilge invited us back for dinner. Gönül told her we would see how the day went and let her know. We couldn’t come back that evening, but the next night Gönül made a call and Bilge prepared yet another phenomenal feast.
When we arrived, it was much colder than the previous day. We warmed up a bit by the fireplace while Gönül again disappeared into the kitchen. Did I mention Gönül is also an amazing cook? She is.
When dinner was served, we had a table full of homemade mantı, köfte, salad, stuffed mushrooms, fries, and more.
Gönül surprised us with homemade crepes and Nutella for dessert, while Bilge offered more fresh fruits from her garden. After cleaning up, we once again said our goodbyes and headed back to Datça.
Conclusion
An unexpected detour, these two days turned into a lesson of what can happen if you just set out, follow your instincts, and hope for the best.
Getting to Gülbahar Pansiyon
To make a reservation, look up Gülbahar Pansiyon in Ovabükü and send them a message. To get there, take the main road through the Datça Peninsula from Datça town to Knidos. Turn left at the sign to Mesudiye and take the winding road down toward the beach. Follow the sign to Ovabükü, and once at the beach, turn right and continue to the end of the road.
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