Things to Do in Datça

Knidos, at the extreme western tip of the Datça peninsula (70 km from Datça town), is one of the most dramatically situated ancient cities in the world — a 4th-century BC Greek city perched between two harbours at the junction of the Aegean and Dodecanese seas. The ancient city held Praxiteles’s Aphrodite of Knidos (the first free-standing female nude sculpture), which ancient writers described as the most beautiful statue ever made; the original is lost but the city walls, theatre, temples and harbour moles remain. Access is by boat (90 min from Datça) or a dirt road.

Eski Datça, 3 km from the modern town, is a preserved Ottoman-Greek stone village of whitewashed houses, almond trees and geranium-filled courtyards. The village produces Datça’s famous almond oil, almond paste and almond-based sweets. In February, almond trees bloom throughout the village streets. Several converted stone houses operate as boutique guesthouses — this is Datça’s most atmospheric accommodation area.

The Datça peninsula has over 60 named bays (koy), most accessible only by boat or footpath. Palamutbükü (20 km west of Datça town) is the most famous — a long pebble-and-sand beach with transparent turquoise water and a handful of simple beach restaurants. Mesudiye Körfezi(Orhaniye bay, east of the peninsula) is a shallow lagoon famous for walking to the sand spit at low tide. Blue cruise gulets from Marmaris and Bodrum anchor at these bays in summer.