The town of Altinkum is situated on the Aegean coast of Turkey, 56 miles north west of Bodrum airport. It is positioned in a lovely bay backed by some gently, rising hills. Although relatively small at present, the resort is fast growing as its popularity increases. The resort front is entirely pedestrianised. Altinkum has mainly British patrons, although it is very popular with the Turkish during peak season (The Turks all have a 2 week holiday in August). There is also a town centre about a 20-25 minute walk from the resort seafront and is primarily used by the locals. The town centre also has a selection of shops and restaurants,

 

The Beaches: The friendly beach resort of Altinkum is located on the north of the Bodrum Peninsula. The name of Altinkum translated means "Golden Sand" - what an appropriate name! There are 3 main beaches in the resort. They all slope gently and are very safe for families with children. The main beach curves round the beautiful Altinkum Bay creating two further beaches at either end of the town. You can lie and soak up the sun on a sunbed or stay cool under an umbrella, both of which are in plentiful supply and at a reasonable cost (2 sun beds with sun umbrella cost £5.00). There are a wide variety of watersports located at the end of main beach including, Jet Skis, Water skiing, Windsurfing, Banana Boat Ride, and, for those who think that holidays should be at a more sedate pace, Pedalos. The quietest of the three beaches is "Third Beach" which has four bars to choose from.

 

Weather: Below is a table showing the Avg Max Temp at Altinkum over the last 30 years (from WorldClimate.com)

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
C 14.7 15.1 17.3 21 25 30.5 33.4 33.1 30 24.9 20.1 16.3
F 58.5 59.2 63.1 69.8 78.3 86.9 92.1 91.6 86 76.8 68.2 61.3

Shopping: The main resort shopping centre is Dolphin Square, near the centre of the resort front. There are also a large number of shops on the seafront. All the shops are open late at night when the area becomes its liveliest. This is your opportunity to pick up a real bargain, especially if you are good at haggling! If you fancy designer clothes but can't normally afford them then many good copy designer items are on sale. If you are looking for jewellery then you will find that the quality of the gold here is excellent with the prices much cheaper than in England.

When shopping for provisions, there are two main supermarkets -GIMA and MIGROS, which caters for most people's tastes, having a wide variety of well-known food, toiletries and kitchen goods. Gima is located between the seafront and the town centre and Migros at the start of the town centre.

Entertainment: There is a great selection of restaurants to choose from in Altinkum - from fantastic Turkish dishes to traditional English food. However, most international cuisine is catered for here. Most prices are shown in Sterling and many restaurants and shops are happy to accept payment in Sterling. There are numerous bars where you can sit and just watch the world go by. If you fancy a boogie, there are several discos and in the height of the season the resort is very lively. You will find many bars serving snacks, all reasonably priced, throughout the day.

Public transport: The local buses, which are mini buses (dolmus), are very cheap and run regularly around Altinkum. There are also good transport connections from Altinkum running regularly to Kusadasi and Bodrum. There is a daily ferry service to Bodrum where you can catch a boat to Kos or Rhodes, if the fancy takes you.

Places to see; Altinkum is in a fantastic location for those wanting to have both a beach holiday and a chance to explore historical sites. You can catch the local dolmus, which regularly operates through the resort to Didim, only 4 kilometres away, and visit the 3000-year-old Temple of Apollo. Further afield are the famous ruins of Ephesus. This site made up one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and houses the temple of Artemis, goddess of fertility. Pamukkale is one of Turkey's natural wonders, a steep hillside covered with a series of chalk-like waterfalls. If you want to indulge, you can bathe in the thermal pools nearby.

You can visit here 

If you love travelling by boat, then why not take a boat trip to visit nearby bays and go snorkelling. There are many beautiful bays to visit along with the joy of swimming in the crystal clear waters.

For the kids (that includes most mums and dads!!) there is Aqua Park, just north of Kusadasi, which is the largest in Europe. You won't need to mortgage your home to spend a great day here!

with grateful thanks to http://www.btinternet.com/~tony1028/altinkum.html for the use of this article.