Shooting its way out into the scintillating waters of the Aegean Sea, Bodrum is the beating touristic heart of Turkey’s Mediterranean seaboard. Set over the ancient city of Halikarnassus, the modern town is awash with glitzy cocktail bars, fashionista cafés and yacht-peppered jetties, touting an energetic nightlife, oodles of ubiquitous seaside pursuits, and no mean share of historical ‘must sees’.
If it’s partying you are after, then be sure to head for the town’s eastern seafront, where a curving sandy beach gives way to a lively spread of bars, pubs, cafes and super clubs. Food wise, the whole town is peppered with great places to sample super-fresh seafood, earthy Ottoman fare and the famed Turkish kebab, with fine-dining joints and holes-in-the-wall abounding right the way from Bar Street in the east and the glitzy harbour in the west to the cobblestone backstreets of its unassuming villages in between.
And when it’s time for a dose of culture, your Bodrum tour guide will point you to the exhibitions at the Underwater Archaeology Museum, or perhaps an exploration of the looming castle complex and concomitant ruins of the iconic and wondrous ancient Mausoleum nearby.