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Antalya is by far the largest city along the Turquoise Coast and well worth considering as a base or at least spending some time in.

Also worth exploring are the flower-filled Karaalioglu Park and adjacent 14-metre tower, Hıdırlık Kalesi, which dates to the first or second century AD and was originally built as a mausoleum, morphing naturally into a watchtower and lighthouse.

In 67 BC, the Roman general Pompey brought Side under the control of Rome, marking the beginning of its second period of ascendancy. Side became a major commercial center in Asia Minor through its trade in olive oil and established itself as a slave-trading center in the Mediterranean.

A national park since 1973, the Köprülü Canyon spans over 35,000 hectares and encompasses a 14-kilometre stretch of the turquoise Kopru River, which snakes from the foothills of the Taurus mountains through an unspoilt valley of tree-clad bluffs.

The Grand Kusadası Bazaar is also nearby. Officially the second-largest bazaar in the country, after Istanbul’s, it’s a must-visit for fans of shopping or those who want to experience some classic Turkish retail culture.

Nestled snugly between the sparkling clear waters of the Aegean Sea and the soaring mountains behind, the ultra-spacious five-star Ramada Resort by Wyndham Kusadası & Golf—along with its neighbouring sister hotel, the Ramada Resort Hotel & Suites—offers an ideal base for exploring this idyllic part of the Turquoise Coast.

Sirince, which means "cute" in Turkish, seems to be the perfect name for this idyllic hilltop village just a 30-minute drive from Kusadası.

Iztuzu is one of the region’s most stunning natural beaches, with five kilometres of golden sand, a photogenic backdrop of pine-forested mountains and not a hotel or restaurant in sight.

Göcek is an upscale harbour town located between Fethiye and Dalyan.

If you’re interested in history, the Fethiye Museum hosts an incredible collection of artefacts spanning the Bronze age all the way up to the Roman Period, including the ‘Trilingual Stele’, which bears identical inscriptions in Greek, Lycian and Aramaic and was key in deciphering the Lycian language.

Saklıkent Canyon—sometimes referred to as “Hidden Valley”— is situated on the border of Antalya and Mugla states, around 50 kilometres from Fethiye in the Mugla province, and a 20-30 minute drive from Kalkan.

There are two ways to access the valley. One is to take a boat from Ölüdeniz, which passes some wonderful coastline, and either spend the day enjoying the beach or hike up to the village of Faralya at the top.

Another stunning destination close to Butterfly Valley, albeit with a very different atmosphere, is Kabak.

Patara is also famous throughout Turkey and beyond for its 18-kilometre-long and 500-metre-wide natural sandy beach.

Liberty’s newest hotel, Signa, has outdone the rest of them in the swimming pool department, with no less than sixteen options for aquatic fun, ranging from family-themed waterparks to adults-only pools for a quieter time.

The Sundia by Liberty Ölüdeniz, established in 1997, has become one of the more prominent hotels in the area.

You’re a fan of chilled-out beach-bumming with a side option of convenient luxury? Then this is the place for you.

Kusadası has an impressively long history that stretches back to 3,000 BC when Lelegians and Carians established a colony here to take advantage of the mild climate and fertile plains to grow olives, grapes, figs and more.

Comprising not one but two contiguous national parks—the coastal Dilek Peninsula, founded in 1966, and the adjacent Büyük Menderes Delta National inland area, founded in 1994—this section of the Turquoise Coast is an oasis of tranquil coastline and abundant forest filled with flora and fauna.

Covering some 27,598 hectares between them, the parks have long been a popular destination for Turks and tourists alike thanks to their beautiful bays and beaches and natural terrain that mixes lagoons and wetlands with canyons and valleys, revealing a wonderland of flora and fauna.

The trail is named after the Lycians, an ancient people who built a series of formidable cities along this part of the coast, fabulous relics of which can still be seen today, alongside remnants from the empires that preceded and followed them.