Explore Turkey‘s 12 cleanest and most stunning beaches, offering crystal-clear waters and breathtaking natural beauty. Plan your next beach getaway with our guide to the top pristine coastal destinations in Turkey.
1) Cleopatra (Sedir Island) Beach, Marmaris
Cleopatra Beach where you will feel like you are in the heaven is one of the cleanest beaches in our country.
The beach is 16km away from Marmaris and you can reach this beach after a 30-minute sea ride from boats leaving Çamlık Port.
The first thing you will notice in this beautiful beach also known as Sedir Island Beach will be its golden sand. This sand can only be found in Egypt and the sand has hollow structure due to calcareous formation of the island.
According to legend, Egyptian Queen Cleopatra specially brough this sand from North Africa. The name of this beautiful beach comes from here. The special sand of this beach is protected and constantly watched by the security. The visitors cannot enter to this side of the beach and the special sand cannot be taken out of the island.
The turquoise sea is crystal clean. You will feel getting younger as you swim in the sea which is as calm as a pool early in the morning.
Although there are some large rocks on the beach, you can reach to a sandy surface in a short time. Walk slowly as the moss on the rocks might make you slip. You will swim in this amazing sea for hours.
We recommend visiting the beach early due to the crowd by the tour boats.
There are free toilets, showers and changing cabins on the beach. Since there is only one business, the food and beverages are expensive. But you can bring you own food and beverages to avoid spending too much money.
Sedir Island is a first-degree archeologic and natural sit area and there is Kedrai Ancient City. You must visit the ancient city when you visit the island. If you wear comfortable shoes when you visit the Apollon Sacred Area, Big Basilica, theatre and agora, you will be more comfortable on the rocky and hilly path.
2) İncekum Beach, Marmaris
İncekum beach is located right across Cleopatra Beach and it is in Çamlı Village. The most interesting thing about this place is that you will go to the beach on the back of a tractor.
You can have this authentic experience and feel like you are walking on the clouds with the golden soft sand.
The beach has crystal clear sea that becomes deep slowly. You will feel like you are in the Maldives and this is why you will enjoy swimming in the calm waters of Incekum Beach.
The beach that brings blue and green together has a shower, WC and cafes.
Since the sea is not too deep, this beach is good for children and those who do not know how to swim well.
You can have picnic under the trees. This way you can both enjoy the beach and having a picnic.
3) Palamutbükü Beach, Datça
Palamutbükü has a separate place in my heart since I first swam in these crystal-clear waters.
Although you need to drive on some curvy roads to get to this beach which is 19km away from Datça district center, you will reach to the cleanest beach on the Datça Peninsula.
Palamutbükü also has the longest coastline in Datça and the beach is pebbly. It is better to wear a sea shore.
The sea will present you a visual feast as the blue color changes as you swim.
Since the sea quickly gets deep, children and those who do not know how to swim well should be careful. You can swim for a long time since the sea is calm.
You can eat something in one of the restaurants right behind the beach.
Palamutbükü is an amazing place to swim with its dazzling blue and green color.
4) Ovabükü Beach, Datça
Ovabükü Beach which is located in Mesudiye Village 13km away from Datça district center is a peaceful place where you can enjoy the calmness.
The sea quickly gets deeper like Palamutbükü. This is why you need to be careful.
Ovabükü beach is pebbly and sandy and if you have sensitive feet, it might be better to wear sea shoes.
You can eat in one of the restaurants behind the beach and use the umbrellas and sunbeds. If you want, you can bring your own things and enjoy this place.
Ovabükü Beach is right at the heart of the nature and you will be satisfied with the green and blue.
5) Kaputaş Beach, Kaş
Kaputaş Beach is one of the cleanest beaches in Antalya and it is located between Kaş and Kalkan.
This beach is also known as Kanyonağzı Beach and it is named like this because it of the canyon structure.
This turquoise-watered beach is a sit area.
Since Kaputaş Beach is below road level, the view is movie-like. You need to go down 190 stairs to reach the turquoise sea and you don’t even get tired because of the amazing view.
The special and beautiful color of this sea comes from the white pebbles on the beach. Kaputaş Beach is pebbly and it might be best to use sea shoes.
The see is crystal clear and slightly cool because of the spring water from the mountains but you get used to it.
The sea quickly gets deeper so the children and the novice swimmers should be careful.
6) Çıralı Beach, Kemer
Çıralı Beach is between the mountains covered with green trees and it is 1st degree sit area since the beach is nesting point of sea turtles. This way the beach is clean and the environment is calm.
Çıralı Beach is pebbly and sandy. You can easily have your holiday because it is a long beach.
The name Çıralı comes from the stone burning throughout the year in Olympos and you will swim with fish in the crystal-clear waters. But the see quickly gets deep and you need to be careful.
This place is amazing if you don’t love crowd. You can bring your things and enjoy the sea and the beach for hours.
Please be careful about the sea turtles when you spend time on the beach.
7) Olimpos Beach, Kumluca
Olimpos Beach in Olimpos Beydağları Coastal National Park is right next to the Çıralı Beach.
Since this is the nesting area of Caretta Caretta, it is protected as the first degree sit area.
Olimpos means “high mountain” and you can enjoy the nature.
The beach inside Olimpos Site is pebbly.
The water is cooler than Çıralı because of the spring water.
The sea is crystal clear and calm. You can swim with the fish. You should be careful since the sea quickly gets deep.
Olimpos Beach is more crowded than Çıralı and it is preferred by the young people.
You need to bring your own things since there are no facilities on the beach. Don’t forget to bring you umbrella to avoid sun burn.
You must visit the Olimpos ancient city when you visit the island.
8) Phaselis Beaches, Kemer
Phaselis Beaches are in an ancient city like the Olimpos Beach and they are 16km away from Kemer.
These beaches are in Olimpos Beydağları National Park and ideal to cool down after visiting the ancient city.
There are 3 coves which are the North Port, Military Port and South Port of this city.
Although the first cove at the entrance of the ancient city is small, it is beautiful but pebbly. The second cove near the water arch is pebbly. If you want to swim here, you should use sea shoes.
The largest cove which you can find by following the “Beaches” sign in the ancient city is my favorite beach just like the tour boats.
This beach is sandy and you can cool down after visiting the ancient city. You don’t experience any trouble walking on this beach.
Also, there are showers in this beach. The sea is not deep and suitable for children. You can have a mini picnic under the pine and cedar trees around the beach.
9) Akbük Beach, Gökova
Akbük Beach in Gökova Bay sit area is 25km away from Akyaka district center.
You will feel rested even if the road is long and curvy.
You will swim with the fish in the crystal-clear waters of this natural wonder.
Although the beach is pebbly, the sea surface is sandy.
Since the sea quickly gets too deep, the children and those who do not know how to swim well should be careful.
The beach is surrounded by green trees and I recommend visiting this beach during week days since weekends are crowded.
10) Kabak Cove Beach, Fethiye
Kabak Cove is hidden inside a valley and it is 17km away from Ölüdeniz.
You can reach this cove with 20 minutes of walk and it is untouched because it is not easy to go.
The cove is surrounded by cliffs and the cedar and Calabrian pine trees offer a postcard-like view.
200-meter long Kabak Cove Beach is pebbly.
The water is clean and has all the shades of blue. Although the sea is a bit wavy, it doesn’t cause any trouble.
You can rest inside the peaceful nature and there are showers, WC and changing rooms.
You can go to Blue Cave next to Kabak Cove and dive in the crystal-clear waters.
11) Butterfly Valley Beach, Fethiye
Butterfly Valley is 1st degree sit area and there are more than 80 types of butterflies in it.
The valley is at the outskirts of Babadağ and surrounded by cliffs.
Butterfly Valley is 25km away from Fethiye district center and you can walk from Faralya Village or climb the rocks with rope. But these two paths are very dangerous. So, you should choose the sea way. You can arrive at the valley by taking the boats that leave Ölüdeniz in every 30 minutes.
Don’t forget to bring your sea shoes since Butterfly Valley Beach is pebbly.
300-meter-long beach has a very clean water. Be careful since the sea immediately gets deeper. The cool water will get the heat off on hot summer days.
You can walk deep inside the valley and discover the butterflies.
You can also get lessons from the diving school in the valley if you want to dive.
12) Anemurium Ancient City Beach, Mersin
The name of the beach comes from Anemurium Ancient City located at the southernmost point of Anatolia in Anamur, Mersin.
The beach in this ancient city is 6km away from Anamur.
The ancient city will make you feel like you are travelling through time and the beach is pebbly. You can use sea shoes if you have sensitive feet.
The sea is crystal clear and you can even see the historical artefacts. It is enjoyable to swim with different fish in the aquarium-like sea.
But the sea quickly gets deeper and children and novice swimmers should be careful.
You must see the open-air museum of Anemurium Ancient City. Although the excavation is still on-going, the excavated mosaics are impressive.
