"OLUDENIZ" Top 5 Page for this destination Fethiye by datapanik

Oludeniz (meaning Dead Sea) refers to the sheltered lagoon which has one of Turkey’s most beautiful and most popular beaches surrounded by high mountains. These days it also seems to include the nearby Belcekiz beach resort where there is a lot of tourism development in the form of hotels and bars. Fortunately the development of the area around the beach is restricted to low-rise villa style hotels so that the stunning views of the mountains around the bay have not been spoilt. However, not quite so subtle is the development of the beach front restaurants and bars which pander to the needs of the English package tourists who seem to make up by far the greatest percentage of the tourists here. It is both hilarious and rather sad to see restaurants competing to offer the biggest Full English Breakfast while showing Premiership football matches on big screens. But there will always be tourists who are reluctant to break out of their comfort zones and experience local food and customs. Oludeniz has also become, over the last decade or so, a very popular location for paragliding. It’s great fun to watch their descents from the mountains to the beach.

• Pros:Stunning scenery, great climate and superb sea for swimming
• Cons:Too many 'Full English Breakfast' type tourists!
• In a nutshell:A very beautiful place teetering on the edge of tourism overdevelopment