If you need a long vacation and if your country has very few or no alternatives for swimming, then Turkey is a good option.

Turkey has four seasons and in summer it is really hot. Even for Turkish people who are used to live in this beautiful country, it is very difficult to bare this weather in big cities but luckily there are many places where one can swim in the clean and clear waters and enjoy the sunlight instead of suffer torture of the hot weather.

The country is surrounded by water and the biggest, the most important city of Turkey Istanbul has a long coastline as well but unfortunately you can not swim in Istanbul any longer.

Travel Tips

Istanbul used to have very nice beaches but almost fifty years ago. There are still some beaches but it is not recommended to swim any more.

In short; we can say that it is better not to swim anywhere in Marmara Sea and Black Sea because Marmara is not clean enough and Black Sea is dangerous.

The best options are Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

The best city in Mediterranean area is Antalya. Antalya has many small towns with lovely and sandy beaches.

The city center of Antalya is very good for families with children. There are more than five hundred five-star hotels with all-inclusive meal options and with many special features for kids.

For young people, there is a place called Olympos with tree houses and bungalows. The prices are very reasonable in Olympos.

In Aegean area of Turkey, the best cities are Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, Cesme and Kusadbasi.

In Fethiye and Marmaris, you can find very few Turkish people while in Bodrum and Cesme, the majority of the visitors are Turkish. It is good to know that the prices in these two popular town are considerably high. The accommodation is expensive, the food is expensive but most beaches are free.

The night life of Bodrum used to be more animated but recently as many Turkish people started to prefer Cesme, the best night life is in Cesme now but Bodrum is still fine.

Lastly, Kusadasi is an option but to be honest it does not have the best sea of the country. But it has its advantages The prices of the nice hotels with lovely pools are affordable. It is very close to Izmir which is a beautiful big city of Turkey. It is very close to the most important historical towns such as Ephesus, Pryene, Miletus, Dydima if you are also interested in cultural tourism and daily tours in Ephesus.