Where are the best spots to go diving in Greece/Turkey? I
am not so much concerned with goregeous beaches--for me the
ideal would be a beautiful, relatively uncrowded spot with
good diving nearby. And if it happens to be on a logical
crossing route from Greece to Turkey all the better.
Bodrum: Would you say it's a must see even if you don't
care much aboout partying? It does sound like fun but I'm
on a tight schedule and a tight budget... What are the must
see spots if I have only a week-10 days on the western
coast of Turkey?..
Thanks, all advice appreciated!!
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Well, unfortunately most of the diving centers (European
Diving is one company) are located in the touristy towns
like Kusadesi, Marmaris, Fethiye, Oludeniz, etc... Other
than the crusader castle and the square plot where the
Mausoleum used to be, there's not much keeping a traveller
in Bodrum. I would recommend going to Cappadocia because
you could spend a week easily there, but your schedule
probably doesn't allow it. Pamukkale is worth a day trip
although it's nowhere near it's glory days, Ephesus is a
good day, Kas is nice, Olimpos was very cool, Fethiye is a
tourist town, ditto with Marmaris. Oludeniz is the crown
king of tourist spots that I came across so you may want to
avoid it unless you want to go paragliding instead of
diving (highly recommended but not cheap). Hope some of
this helped.
My partner has done some fun diving (Galapagos, Great
Barrier Reef), but didn't find it in Crete. Out of
Iraklio, you can book diving trips in Agia Pelagia. Not
very interesting, but will do to keep your ticket up to
date. Its the Paradise Dive Centre, mobile # 094-690152 or
try 094-644906.
The best area for diving in Turkey is Kas, followed by
Marmaris, and then Fethiye. Although each town is fairly
touristy, there are a number of companies offering fully
inclusive diving trips.
With ten days, you can visit the western and south western
coast, and see a lot. The area between Kas and Fethiye is
full of interesting ancient ruins and unspoilt areas.
I am the captain of Pinar 3, a traditionial Turkish gulet
running budget cruises from the port of Fethiye.
We run a 3-day fully inclusive budget cruise to either the
bays of the nearby secluded, peaceful 'twelve islands' or to
the famous ╓lⁿdeniz Blue Lagoon and Butterfly Valley
Butterfly Valley is a nature reserve area with stunning
waterfalls and scenary, so called Butterfly Valley from the
thousands of butterflies found there.
Between Fethiye and Kas, you will pass through the pretty
coastal town of Kalkan or travel further onto Myra and Demre
where Saint Nicolas (Father Christmas) was Bishop.
From Kas or Demre you can visit Kekova, the ancient sunken
city by daily boat trips. Also en route is Patara where you
can see the ancient city on the beautiful white sand beach.
Using Fethiye as a base, you can visit all the other nearby
sites - from famous rock tombs, to Kaya village (an old
Greek ghost town, also possible to visit from one of the
cruises), Saklikent Gorge, or over to the blue lagoon and
beatiful beach at Oludeniz and maybe paraglide from Babadag
(the highest mountain close to the sea in the world for
paragliding, around 50/60 pounds). There are excellent
hikes and walks all around the area, between Oludeniz and
the ghost town.
If you take a short trip to Dalyan you can watch the turtles
on the beach or visit the mudbaths at Dalyan. At Koycegiz,
stay in the excellent Tango Pension by the shores of the
lake and take a tour of the lake, taking in all the sites.
So in fact, you can combine a diving trip, maybe a boat
cruise and some siteseeing easily in ten days and well
within the tightest budget.
Please feel free to email me if you need any more
information.
For further information on cruises
with links to Fethiye see my website on
http://homepages.go.com/~captainbulent/backpackers.html
Although Bodrum is a pretty spot I wouldn't include it in a list of must-see spots in Turkey, and it's probably the least interesting town I've visited there (though the food is good). Especially if you're coming from Greece, since Bodrum's whitewashed buildings tumbling down hills towards the sea makes it look like a lot of Greek spots.
On the west coast of Turkey, Ephesus/Selcuk is a must-see. Be at Ephesus when it opens first thing in the morning if you want a few moments of peace (though tourism in Turkey this year is down so far....).