Datça Peninsula (Turkey's Aegean/Mediterranean coastal areas) in April?
February 22, 2014 6:03 PM Subscribe
My best friend and I are considering a trip to the Datça Peninsula (coastal western Turkey) in mid-April. We are looking for a safe, warm, relaxing beach trip on a budget. Is Datça where we want to be?
My best friend and I are hoping to come together from opposite corners of the world (literally) in mid-April for a warm and relaxing beach vacation.
Neither one of us is wealthy and we're trying to keep the airfare burden even, so we decided that Europe/Africa would be where we concentrated our search.
There's a relatively quiet corner of the Turkish coast called the Datça Peninsula that could be a good place to go judging on what's available over the internet, as it's described as not too touristy nor too rough and the surroundings are beautiful.
Our concerns: whether it'll be quite warm enough in mid-April, whether Turkey is safe enough right now (and oh man, trust me when I say our families won't let us go unless it's safe), and where we would stay. Any comments about those specific concerns would be welcome, along with any comments regarding the details below.
Of note:
-We would only be able to stay for ~5 days
-Only one of us is a US citizen (and thus would have to get an e-visa under the new rules)
-I'm familiar with the US State Department travel warnings for Turkey and will be passing them on to my friend (safety is a big concern for us, because of the next bullet point)
-We're two women in our late 20s and one of us is a Person of Color (not the same color as most Turkish people). If this is going to be a problem--we want to be comfortable in a swimsuit on the beach but we're also relatively modest dressers outside of that--please let us know now
-By budget, I mean under US$1000 for airfare (one of us coming from the US, one of us coming from SE Asia). It looks like the pensions and boutique hotels are relatively reasonable, so housing is less of a concern but recommended places to stay are most welcome
-Also welcome: recommended cities to stay in or away from
-I don't think we'd be into a Blue Cruise
Ultimately our question is this: is Datça where we want to be in mid-April for a beach vacation and if so, can you recommend places to stay/things to do?
My best friend and I are hoping to come together from opposite corners of the world (literally) in mid-April for a warm and relaxing beach vacation.
Neither one of us is wealthy and we're trying to keep the airfare burden even, so we decided that Europe/Africa would be where we concentrated our search.
There's a relatively quiet corner of the Turkish coast called the Datça Peninsula that could be a good place to go judging on what's available over the internet, as it's described as not too touristy nor too rough and the surroundings are beautiful.
Our concerns: whether it'll be quite warm enough in mid-April, whether Turkey is safe enough right now (and oh man, trust me when I say our families won't let us go unless it's safe), and where we would stay. Any comments about those specific concerns would be welcome, along with any comments regarding the details below.
Of note:
-We would only be able to stay for ~5 days
-Only one of us is a US citizen (and thus would have to get an e-visa under the new rules)
-I'm familiar with the US State Department travel warnings for Turkey and will be passing them on to my friend (safety is a big concern for us, because of the next bullet point)
-We're two women in our late 20s and one of us is a Person of Color (not the same color as most Turkish people). If this is going to be a problem--we want to be comfortable in a swimsuit on the beach but we're also relatively modest dressers outside of that--please let us know now
-By budget, I mean under US$1000 for airfare (one of us coming from the US, one of us coming from SE Asia). It looks like the pensions and boutique hotels are relatively reasonable, so housing is less of a concern but recommended places to stay are most welcome
-Also welcome: recommended cities to stay in or away from
-I don't think we'd be into a Blue Cruise
Ultimately our question is this: is Datça where we want to be in mid-April for a beach vacation and if so, can you recommend places to stay/things to do?
Yeah that part of the world is not bathing suit weather in April.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:41 PM on February 22, 2014
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:41 PM on February 22, 2014
Response by poster: In no way would either of us consider 16C to be warm weather (it's 26C here tomorrow and 28C where my friend is).
That's one reason why I mentioned it as a concern (I'd already looked up the average temps but didn't have the context): if it's sunny with no wind and maybe 22C we can laze around the beach and relax, but 16C with clouds is not so much beach weather for us.
posted by librarylis at 8:10 PM on February 22, 2014
That's one reason why I mentioned it as a concern (I'd already looked up the average temps but didn't have the context): if it's sunny with no wind and maybe 22C we can laze around the beach and relax, but 16C with clouds is not so much beach weather for us.
posted by librarylis at 8:10 PM on February 22, 2014
I think there are better places to beach, but Turkey is awesome! The whole coast is great with lots of non-beach things to do. Lycian rock tombs, paragliding, gorges, Efes. Inland there are even better sights. Cappadocia was fantastic. My wife and I did a 5-week road trip around Turkey and loved every minute. We never felt even a little unsafe, but Konya was very Muslim, which made us feel a little out of place (no booze, headscarves on every woman).
If it's beaches you want why not meet in Se Asia? Indo, Phillipines, Thailand?
posted by karst at 10:58 AM on February 23, 2014
If it's beaches you want why not meet in Se Asia? Indo, Phillipines, Thailand?
posted by karst at 10:58 AM on February 23, 2014
Response by poster: I don't want to over-comment, so I'll throw this in here then leave off:
-Unfortunately, we can't meet in SE Asia in April/May because I'll be traveling there in July and she lives there. Beach alternatives in either Europe or Africa (we were also looking at Lamu Island in Kenya) also welcome--but probably through MeMail so as to hopefully keep this question helpful for future Mefites.
-We're looking to move the trip to May so if y'all have any insights about the area and didn't offer because of weather, please do. We'd love to know where you stayed, any side trips you enjoyed, that kind of thing.
posted by librarylis at 7:31 PM on February 23, 2014
-Unfortunately, we can't meet in SE Asia in April/May because I'll be traveling there in July and she lives there. Beach alternatives in either Europe or Africa (we were also looking at Lamu Island in Kenya) also welcome--but probably through MeMail so as to hopefully keep this question helpful for future Mefites.
-We're looking to move the trip to May so if y'all have any insights about the area and didn't offer because of weather, please do. We'd love to know where you stayed, any side trips you enjoyed, that kind of thing.
posted by librarylis at 7:31 PM on February 23, 2014
« Older What are good "screentime" guidelines for my... | Driving from Pittsburgh to Austin: if you had to... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
There is really very little to do there other than the beach and you need a rental car for sure.
Those areas of Turkey are very accustomed to western tourists. You won't feel weird or underdressed.
As far as places really the only developed area at all is Datca itself.
Its all very low key.
posted by JPD at 6:34 PM on February 22, 2014