Didim

For those of you  that love to lounge about on the beach all day and soak up the sun then Altinkum is definately the resort to be in. Altinkum translated stands for golden sands and it is easy to see why it was named this. The names of the beaches however are not so original and one may be quite confused as to which is 1^st beach, 2nd beach or 3 rd beach so here is the lowdown.

1^st beach is located at the bottom of Ataturk Boulevard which is the main road into the resort. It is classed as a blue flag beach however do not always assume that a life guard is on duty. A small charge is made for sunbeds, and sunbathers may very often find themselves approached by locals with a variety of items for sale from Coca Cola to Perfume!. There are some areas of the beach which are backed by restaurants so leaving your towel on the sunbed and disappearing for a refreshing drink is quite the norm. Be aware however that in the heights of the season everyone heads to this beach and finding a space to lay your towel is not possible. The beach ends at the harbour area where all the daily boat trips leave from  and at night time this area livens up to be bars and nightclubs.

2^nd beach is a small beach to the left of 1^st beach and once again is backed by restaurants that turn into family bars at night time. It is sometimes called Tuntas beach due to the hotel located there. Hiring a pedalo, jet skis or a taking a ride on a banana boat is cheap and fun however be aware to check your insurance policy will cover you for any accidents involved with watersports. Turkey is of course a muslim country so for those ladies that like to go topless just take a quick look around to see who are the other  sunbathers on the beach. This might prevent a few strange looks and not going topless will also be  participation in sustainable tourism.

3^rd beach has to be the most famous beach of the area due to the 55 million dollar marina that is being built close by. Due to open in summer 2009 the Altinkum  marina will  have a yacht club, heliport for the rich and famous to land helicopters direct on the site, a capacity for 623 berthed yachts and 600 yachts in dry dock, and a swimming pool. The marina will serve mainly yachts of 75 - 150 metres long, such as mega-yachts which are increasingly in popularity on the Aegean and east Mediterranean seaboard. There will be also a shopping centre, supermarkets, yacht equipment shops, a fitness centre and sports facilities, banks, a petrol station, restaurants and a cultural centre. The marina will also crucially have ferryboat management for cruises to the Greek islands of Kalimnos, Kos and Leros. Close by to the Marina is the beach which once again hosts a wide range of watersports and a marina club. Many tourists from the neighbouring five star hotels will venture to this beach and you will find restaurants there offering a daily pick up service to pick you up from your apartment or hotel for the day.

Article written by Natalie Sayin of Turkishsweethomes