Datça

By car

Datça is located 70-80 km west of Marmaris. The road from Marmaris (road number: D400) is the only way to arrive overland.

By bus

Although it’s possible to find direct bus services from main centres of the country, such as Istanbul during summer months; in the rest of the year your best bet is to arrive at Marmaris first, then transfer to another bus bound for Datça there.

By boat

There are ferries from Bodrum, arriving at the port on the northern coast of the peninsula. From there, Datça -which is on the southern coast of the peninsula- is a 10-15 minutes drive away.

It is easy to get around between the town centre and Palamutbükü by taking the frequent buses.

Knidos

(Tekirburnu Mevkii, Apr-Oct 08:00-19:00 Nov-Mar 08:00-17:00 daily, 10 TL) was an ancient Greek city on the highly scenic tip of the peninsula, 38 km west of Datça past the village of Yazıköy. Ruins here include among others a Roman era sundial, the stairs of the circular temple that had the Aphrodite of Knidos as its centrepiece (these stairs form the only remaining bits of this once hugely famous house of worship), and a fully excavated amphitheatre that overlooks one of the harbours. Cape Deveboynu, the steep hill topped by a lighthouse facing the ruins, used to be an island connected to the mainland by a causeway built by the Knidians (now a low lying sandy isthmus), thus creating two harbours out of the severed channel — the smaller one to the north, which has a narrow opening to the sea, was used by Knidians for mooring their navy, while the larger harbour to the south was where the trade ships anchored. Turkish geographers usually consider the Reşadiye Peninsula to be the dividing line between the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean proper, making Knidos one of the few places where you can watch the waves of two seas at the same time.
There are two minibus services daily running to Knidos from Datça (check their timetable with the drivers), as well as excursion boats sailing out of Datça and Palamutbükü (less frequently from the latter), which let their passengers to debark for about an hour at the site, which is just about sufficient time for a quick tour of the ruins and a quick dip at sea. The road leading to the site is not the best highway around, so you may want to park your car and take public transportation instead, although this is obviously the less convenient option if you want to take your time in the ruins.

Datca Yacht Club

The town (and the peninsula) is famous for its almond trees, and a local dessert made of almond and dried figs is remarkably tasty, so you may consider buying a few packages.

• Cafe Inn

  phone: +90 252 712-94-08
  address: Atatürk Cad. 51
  A small cafe with limited but great food options. Beer, wine and limited cocktails such as G&T are available. Outdoor sitting with a superb view of Datca bay. Casual, easy-going place with friendly owner working on the premise.

• Iskandil Apart Hotel

  phone: +90-505-822-14-35
  address: Palamutbükü, Datça
  A small family-run hotel close to the beach and the town centre. All air-conditioned guest rooms include self-catering kitchenette, satellite TV, balcony, private bathroom, and free Wi-Fi.

Telephone code of the town is (+90) 252.