Göltürkbükü (Türkbükü), Gündoğan and Torba: Pine Bays and Wooden Jetties

Cross the narrow neck of the peninsula just six kilometres north of Bodrum Town and the landscape changes immediately: arid southern scrub gives way to dense, fragrant forests of Calabrian pine (kızılçam) and olive trees reaching right down to the water's edge. Along this north-eastern shoreline, comprising Torba, Göltürkbükü and Gündoğan, there are almost no wide sand beaches; instead, swimming happens from wide wooden jetties and sundecks (iskeleler) built on pilings over deep, glass-clear emerald water.

1. Torba Bay (10 minutes north of Bodrum Town, Closest & Calmest)

Because Torba is sheltered inside a deep, almost landlocked bay just ten minutes by dolmuş from downtown Bodrum (and right beside the new main intercity bus terminal), its water stays mirror-still even when wind ripples the outer Aegean. On the eastern headland of the bay stands a well-preserved circular 4th-century BC Lelegian / Carian stone tomb, while a continuous waterside footpath links boutique pine-shaded hotels, a free public municipal beach and peaceful seafood piers.

2. Göltürkbükü (Gölköy + Türkbükü, 25 minutes north)

Formed by the union of two neighbouring fishing villages, quiet, reed-lined Gölköy on the eastern curve and glamorous Türkbükü on the western curve, Göltürkbükü is often nicknamed the St-Tropez of Turkey. A narrow, car-free wooden boardwalk winds right along the water's edge beneath bougainvillea and tamarisk trees. By day, plush white mattresses line the wooden iskele decks extending out over the bay (where yachts tender guests ashore for lunch); at dusk, the boardwalk crews lift the sunbeds and set out white-linen dinner tables with lanterns directly over the water on the exact same wooden piers.Tip: for relaxed, mid-range dining and easier access to the water without high minimum spends, stick to the eastern Gölköy end of the bay or the municipal public beach deck.

3. Gündoğan (Farilya, Between Türkbükü and Yalıkavak)

Sitting in the bay immediately west of Türkbükü, Gündoğan (ancient Farilya) is where Turkish families who have summered in Bodrum for forty years go to avoid the crowds. It offers a long, flat public waterfront promenade, a sandy public beach, early morning fishing boats selling red mullet, and a hike up to the rock-cut Byzantine monastery cells and 500-year-old cheese-making caves of Peynir Çiçeği Mağarası.