Three Days in Muğla for First Timers

Muğla is not a city but a coastline. With more than twelve hundred kilometres of shore it has the longest coast of any province in Turkey, and its districts lie hours apart. The commonest mistake first timers make is treating it as a city break and trying to fit everything into one day. If you have three days, pick a base and go deep around it.

Day one, Bodrum. A Carian capital lies beneath the peninsula and its remains are spread through the centre. The three kilometre walk from the Myndos Gate to the Mausoleum, up to the ancient theatre on the slope and down to the castle at the harbour mouth tells the city's two and a half thousand years in order. The Museum of Underwater Archaeology inside the castle is worth half a day on its own; the Bronze Age cargo from the Uluburun wreck is a collection with few equals anywhere.

Day two, the Fethiye and Ölüdeniz line. Start at the Lycian rock tombs above the town, move inland to Kayaköy, come down to the coast for the lagoon and end the day in the cold water of Saklıkent canyon. About eighty kilometres, but kept in that order the day flows by itself.

For day three there are two options. For quiet, Knidos at the tip of the Datça peninsula; for activity, the channel, rock tombs and beach of Dalyan. Each wants a full day, so do not combine them.

When to come: July and August are both hot and crowded. May to June and September to October give the same sea far more comfortably. Late February is almond blossom season in Datça, an entirely different Muğla.

Getting around: there are two airports, Dalaman and Bodrum, three hours apart; choose your flight by region. The minibus network between districts is good but infrequent, and anyone wanting to see the coast properly needs a car.