About Altinkum
 Ask
anyone who has been here...once you have sampled the unique delights
of Altinkum, you will want to just keep coming back... and back...
and back. There are families who have been coming to Altinkum year
after year, often several times a year.
What is it about the resort that makes it so popular?
The answer is a simple one - it is the innate charm, friendliness and approachability
of the local people who will go out of their way to make your holiday that little
bit special. Many holidaymakers find that they make friends for life in Altinkum,
and that the resort becomes a home from home.
So what can you look for if you come to Altinkum on holiday.
BEACHES
Altinkum is split into three principal 'beach' areas - First (Main) beach,
Second and Third Beaches.
The First Beach is the focal point for the resort, being the
most accessible. Its long promenade gently curves around the
bay, encouraging romantic couples of every age, family groups,
gaggles of flirtatious boys and girls, to stroll up and down
this sociable avenue. The many bars and restaurants provide ideal
stop off points to sit and watch this strolling world. From left to right,
and up into Dolphin Square, the choice of eateries is plentiful.
 Sunbeds and umbrellas can be hired daily on the beach. Place yourself in front
of your favourite restaurant and the waiters will bring your drinks out to
you. With drink and food vendors parading the length of the beach at regular
intervals, you won't have to move all day.
At night, the promenade comes alive with the fusion of traditional Turkish
folk music played live in many of the bars. Turkish and Western pop and dance
music seeps out onto the street from several of the nightclubs that stay open
till the early hours of the morning. Yet a little further up the promenade,
the evening becomes more tranquil and sedate, with a number of restaurants
and bars creating a much calmer ambience - an ambience where quiet contemplation
of the fantastic views across the bay are interrupted only by your waiter refilling
your glass.
The beach here is long and broad and sandy. During peak season Turkish and
English families share the expanse of beach. The shallow sea waters are dotted
along the break with young children enjoying their first taste of beach life.
Further out groups of gossiping men cool off in the salty waters that reach
no higher than waist height for a good hundred or so metres.
The Second Beach is tucked away behind some of the larger hotels and apartment
blocks. Small yet perfectly formed, it is fed by its own many neighbourhood
bars and restaurants.
The Third Beach is located away in a small inlet a little further round the
bay from the main resort. There are a couple of now infamous restaurants right
on the beach that also provide a free bus service that will take you back to
you own apartment.
There are many more small coves and bays dotted up and down this particular
bit of coastline. For those with a sense of adventure, you could hire a car
and suss out your own little beach - you'd probably find a few 'undiscovered'
gems that would give you peace and solitude hour after hour if that is what
you wanted.
As you grow familiar with Altinkum, you will also get to know other resorts
and areas associated with the town. Here are just a few...
Didim/Yenihisar - this is the main town that
feeds the holiday resort that is Altinkum. Didim is a busy, thriving
year round town which also houses the now famous Saturday market.
Yesilkent - is a small vllage right on the tip
of the peninsula. Leave Altinkum with the sea on your right,
and you enter Yesilkent with it on your left. It is made up of
principally large traditional Turkish villas set in quiet, mature
residential streets that are closed to most traffic. Gentle,
charming, minutes to the beach, Yesilkent is ideal for those
looking for peace and quiet, yet with the liveliness of the resort
just a short bus or taxi ride away.
Mavishehir - another small, very traditional
Turkish holiday village, with its own beach, park, market and
café life.
Akbuk - a long, sprawling resort that hugs the
coastline south of Altinkum for several miles. There are a number
of great sea food restaurants and pide (Turkish pizza) places
that have uninterrupted sea views. Many say that Akbuk is following
fast in Altinkum's wake in terms of tourism and property investment
and development.
NIGHTLIFE
Altinkum comes alive at night. The bay glistens with the lights of its many
attractions. Whether you are coming in a large family group, as a couple looking
for a tranquil romantic setting, or as a gang of girls and/or boys looking
for some lively fun, Altinkum has something to offer everyone.
The town has developed and grown to cater for all tastes. At one end of the
long promenade is the main selection of night clubs and live music bars. Generally
open to the night air, western pop music and traditional Turkish live music
spill out into the streets cheek by jowl, causing even the most un-rhythmic
of passers by to jig along to the beat. Most of these clubs will stay open
till the early hours of the morning, until the last people leave. And, we must
stress, this is no Falariki, with comatose lager louts passing out in the street!!
The nightclubs of Altinkum are about the music, and the dancing, and enjoyment
for people of all ages.
If things get a little bit too loud for you, then you can also move out of
this area a little further up the promenade into Dolphin Square, where street
cafes and beachside restaurants entice you to join them with their own individual
style of charm.
Altinkum evenings are fantastic for children. The restaurants and bars will
welcome your little angels with open arms. No matter what age the children,
no matter how late the hour, the kids are king.
FOOD and DRINK
 Altinkum has an excellent reputation for its food, with many restaurants catering
for both Turkish and English tastes. The fact that Altinkum is very much a
resort for Turkish holidaymakers as well as westerners guarantees that genuine
Turkish cuisine is in plentiful, value for money, supply.
Grilled meats and salads, hot and cold mezzes, pides and lahmacuns served piping
hot straight out of the clay oven, traditional dondurma (ice cream), lamb and
chicken based casseroles... such is the tantalising array of Turkish dishes.
Eat them with the local wine, or even better with raki, the national aniseed
based alcoholic drink similar to French pastis or Greek ouzo - by the end of
such a meal you will certainly be in your holiday mood.
And if you find yourself yearning for a traditional roast dinner come Sunday,
then some of the restaurants here do one which is better than the offering
in many English pubs!!
If you are a fan of donor kebabs after a tipple or two, then the taste of a
proper one here in Turkey will make you wonder what you've been chomping on
all these years. Your true donor will taste infinitely better. Head up to Didim
main town and go to one of the local lokantes. We can guarantee you will be
coming back year after years just for one of these donors.
If you head out of Altinkum in a hire car, check out some of the roadside restaurants.
What they lack in interior design, they more than make up for in taste and
quality. Look out for çöp ?i? - mini lamb or beef kebabs barbecued
fresh over an open charcoal grill and served with grilled onions and tomatoes,
and a fresh green salad drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, and traditional
pitta bread. These kebabs are usually eaten with ayran, a yoghurt based drink.
Kuzu tandir is a succulent lamb dish where the lamb I has been cooked for many
hours in a Tandoori oven. It comes out so tender it almost cried as it falls
off the bone.
LOCAL ATTRACTIONS
 The Temple of Apollo is the main historical attraction for Didim and Altinkum.
Within striking distance you also have the ruins of Miletos and Priene.
Less than two hours away is Ephesus, Turkey's primary tourist attraction and
one of the most remarkable examples of ancient civilisation. A trip taking
in Ephesus, the Virgin Mary's house, and the local town of Selcuk and its castle
makes for an ideal day out.
A little further afield (about three and a half hours drive) is Pamukkale -
renown for its calcium deposits embedded in the side of the hillside - a snowy
scene if ever there was one!
Kusadasi, Bodrum, Bafa Lake, Akkoy village... there is no end to the places
to visit using Altinkum as your base.
For something a little more lighthearted, a large Aquapark is just 10 minutes
outside of the resort. There are boat trips, fishing trips, diving courses,
water sports galore, horse-riding...everything you can expect to make your
holiday as varied and relaxing as possible. |
