Olympos, Turkey

Turkey is a great place for a beach holiday in the Mediterranean and a nice place to get away from the package tours is Olympos. This comprises of a collection of complexes of wooden bungalows and tree houses that are a magnet for young Turkish people and Australian backpackers. There is a beautiful (if a little stony) beach and to get to it you pass through the ruins of the ancient Greek port of Olympos.

We stayed at Bayrams Tree houses for two weeks. They are not really tree houses but they are very nice little wooden huts. Some of them dorms, some are bungalows with en suite shower and toilet.

The best bit is the Orange grove. This is a place to hang out under the Orange trees, to eat meals, drinks from the bar. The Turks play backgammon and smoke water pipes while the Australians Skype their friends back home using the free wifi. There are elevated wooden platforms with carpets and cushions for hanging out.

For the adventurous there are excursions, several places running diving trips with boats out of Kemer or Ardrossan, leisurely 4 day boat cruises, rock climbing or kayaking trips etc. There are also the "eternal flames" for an evening trip.



Of the "tree house" places we liked Bayrams as it is quite close to the beach. There is a free shuttle bus, but its just more convenient, and it has an informal more relaxed and less commercial feel. The people are really friendly and helpful and we had a bungalow with two rooms a double and a twin for two adults and two children for about 100 pounds a night including breakfast and dinner. The food is great for vegetarians and probably ok for meat eaters too.