I would vote for Kalkan. Some who have been going there for many years would no longer call it small (there are many villas reaching up the hill behind), but the resort itself is compact and pretty is not the word. It's just gorgeous. If you like plenty of choice in restaurants (many rooftop), lovely people, cobbled (but steep!) streets, old houses and flowers everywhere then this would suit you. The onus is on relaxation but there are still bars to relax in and shops to mooch around, plus it's well placed for trips.

My choice is Datca. Just over 2 hours from Dalaman, transfers readily available from there. Search Datca hotels on google. It's a small harbour town situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

You can easily find flights Manchester to Antalya..from A couple of places from Antalya I recommend are Cirali, Kas, Ucagiz ( Kalekoy ), Patara and Kaya koyu near Fethiye. this my presonal favorite being Cirali...

however Patara and Kaya koyu near Fethiye and kalkan are better reached from the Dalaman airport...Kas is right in the middle of both so transfer times can be longer..

Çıralı is an agricultural village in the southwest of Turkey in Antalya Province. It is close to ancient ruins of Olympos and Chimaera permanent gas vents. It is about 1.5 hrs from the Antalya airport

It is a very small rural village located just over an hours drive southwest from Antalya and boasts a beautiful 4 km secluded beach, the ruins of Olympos, the flames of the Chimaera / YanartaÅŸ, as well as being a protected area by the WWF for the nesting of the Caretta or also known as the Loggerhead Sea Turtles.

Also nearby to Çıralı is the Ulupınar region, which is rich in rivers and creeks. Cirali / Çıralı is one of the last unspoilt natural areas along the Antalya coastline.

KaÅŸ is a small fishing, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist town it is relatively unspoiled.

Patara (Lycian: Pttara), later renamed Arsinoe was a flourishing maritime and commercial city on the south-west coast of Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey near the modern small town of GelemiÅŸ, in Antalya Province. It is the birth place of St. Nicholas, who lived most of his life in the nearby town of Myra (Demre).

Kaleköy (literally "Castle's village" in Turkish; ancient Lycian: Simena), is a village of the Kaş district in the Antalya Province of Turkey, located between Kaş and Kale, on the Mediterranean coast. Kaleköy faces the island of Kekova, and can be reached only by sea.

The village lies amidst a Lycian necropolis, which is partially sunken underwater. Kaleköy is overlooked by a Byzantine castle, built in the Middle Ages to fight the pirates which nested in Kekova. The castle contains a small theatre.

Kaya Koyu is an old Greek settlement 13km from the city centre. Kaya or Karmylassos was home to a sizeable Greek community until the population exchange treaty signed in 1923 between Turkey and Greece.

You can see my photos and the historicals sights in and around Antalya plus other places in Turkey at these pages;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/sets

I would also say Kalkan, we are off there in jost over a weeks time, It is very hilly but the views are lovely. If find getting back to the hotel is too much, I get a taxi - joys of getting old. I do manage most of the time.

The ride to Kas along the coast road is one of the best views ever,

It is just a different type of holiday compared to Icmeler which I also love, We stay in a small hotel where the majority of guests are return visitors, everyone seems to get on with eachother which makes the holiday even better. Roll on the 9th.h

Barbara

Cirali is somewhere that I must visit - Caretta's posts have led me to looking up pics and info and it appeals greatly.

I also plan on visiting Akyaka at some point. A bonus there is that it is right on a beach.

Gumusluk is also lovely, it is a small pretty fishing village about 45 minutes from Bodrum airport

We have done a couple of day trips to Akyaka and wished we had stayed longer. The sea is really warm there, very safe for children,

The restaurants are a lot cheaper than Marmaris and Icmeler.

Trouble is that there does not seemto be many tour operators that go there. Thomson used to but it does not appear to now.

Barbara

Smaller operators go to Akyaka, which I find a bonus as that means that there isn't likely to be hoards of holidaymakers there. I know Anatolian Sky go there for one, who also do the resorts like Kalkan etc.

Also, with a smaller operator you are quite likely to get private taxi transfers which is always a plus.

I haven't booked a holiday with a large tour operator in years - and if I were to go to Kalkan again (I will!) I will probably do it DIY now that I'm familiar with it.

it is very easy to book accomodation and transfers to akyaka independently Have a look at http://www.akyaka.com or http://www.turkuaz-guide.net (look under Gokova)
both will give you an idea of this lovley village

Thanks for that.

We book the hotel direct and they arrange a private trasnsfer to Kalkan but could not get through to a site for Akyaka, I wanted to know what was available e,g, hotel and apartments. We did speak to a couple when we was there who said they never ever book accomodation, just turn up and find a place then. They did say a name of a hotel which in their view was the best there, I cannot remember what it was called.

I will have a look at the website for Akyaka, thanks.

Barbara

Dalyan
Kalkan
Kas
Akyaka
All beautiful

if you want to go somewhere really small you may be better off doing a diy holiday if the big companies don't go there

if you want to go somewhere really small you may be better off doing a diy holiday if the big companies don't go there

Well said I agree !!!

Cirali is somewhere that I must visit - Caretta's posts have led me to looking up pics and info and it appeals greatly.

I do hope one day SandC you can visit and I hope that you liked my photos

ive lived in turkey for many years now...Alanya..and have travelled a lot to other parts of Turkey...however for peace in a quiet rural/seaside resort you cant beat the Çirali area.
but i dont think that it will be included in operators such as Thomsons s there are no large hotels here...or discos...or hassle!

and Turunc of course...

Hisaronu Koy - just outside Marmaris

If you want really quiet peaceful hisaronu koy on the bozburun peninsula, you will probably find Chelsea boy either asleep under a tree or herding goats