Day Trip From Fethiye – Sarıgerme Beach

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In January 2011, we took a few winter photos of Sarıgerme Beach and, since that date, until recently, we’d neither looked at that blog post nor been back to Sarıgerme.

When my dad was here in October, that changed. It changed because he’d been earwigging on the plane over to here and had heard a guy saying they were going to stay in Dalaman at the Hilton.

“Has Dalaman got a seaside and a Hilton Hotel,” was one of my dad’s first questions when we saw him. “I’d like to see them when we hire a car.”

Well, we’ll confess to be being completely ignorant as to the existence of a Hilton Hotel but we guessed the place where this chap must have been going for his holiday was Sarıgerme.

So, on one of the days we had a car, off we went to Sarıgerme…

‘Sarı’ means ‘yellow’ and ‘germe’ means ‘stretch’ so the name of this beach is clearly apt.

It is a beautiful stretch of sand; tiny grains, almost powder-like between your toes, and sun loungers set back from the sea, with boardwalks between bed and water.

We’re in turtle nesting territory here so loungers are carefully placed.

We were heading towards the end of October when we revisited Sarıgerme, but this year’s summer has stretched into autumn and it was still very much swimming weather.

The sea can get a tad choppy here – perfect for the water sports on offer – so different areas are sectioned off for swimming.

And, at the end of the beach where we visited, there’s a platform for diving, like these beach goers were doing.

And good for them; it was a scorcher of a day. And so, if you are a beach worshipper and you are a worshipper of sandy beaches, then, like Iztuzu Beach or Patara Beach, Sarıgerme is going to be great for you.

But we must confess; behind this idyllic stretch of sand, Sarigerme is just not our bag. We did indeed find the Hilton and passed lots of other ‘holiday villages’ as we drove around the resort looking for the Hilton.

If you’ve got kids and you need a beach holiday where beach, big hotel, pool, kids clubs and activities are right at your finger tips then yeah, Sarıgerme is the place for you.

But if you want somewhere where you can amble to the nearest town or village to capture a bit of daily Turkish life, you might struggle here.

There is a little ‘village’ with restaurants, bars and shops selling various souvenirs but it’s more of a set up to cater for the people in the resorts.

Again, perfect if that’s your dream sort of holiday…but one person’s dream destination is another one’s nightmare.

You can decide that one for yourself.

But this is all about Sarıgerme as a day trip – and just look at it.

Fethiye’s beaches are shingle and pebble (we prefer a pebbly beach) but if you do fancy a day at a sandy beach, you’re not going to go far wrong here, are you?

And there’s bound to be a cafe or restaurant in the village that takes your fancy when it comes to food o’clock.

On our previous two visits to Sarıgerme, we’ve driven straight down to the beach and, at the entrance gates, there’s a pathway and little play areas for the kids.

And there’s a charge for entry to this part of the beach, too. Facilities such as snack bar and the play areas are what you get for your fee.

This is the route we’ve taken in the past and as it’s been winter, we’ve never had to pay anything because the only other living being there has been an angry looking, barking dog which has turned into a cute, playful fluff ball by the time you get near enough to give it a stroke and say hello.

This time, because my dad wanted a nosy at the Hilton Resort, we took a left instead of driving straight through and this brought us to the hotel and also the far end of the beach.

This is where the photos above are taken from and there was no official entrance area.

Maybe this changes in high season and, as we were only there on a ‘look-at-a-hotel-and-take-a-few-photos’ mission, we didn’t feel too guilty.

There are sun loungers and umbrellas at this end so there’s possibly a charge for those…but as you know, we’re not beachy people and my dad certainly isn’t a beachy person.

We admired the scenery – it’s worth your admiration – breathed in the sea air, and then ambled back to the car and took off for our next destination.

Fethiye to Sarıgerme – Useful Info

• Fethiye to Sarıgerme by car takes approximately 50 minutes.
• Head along the D400 and take the turn off for Dalaman Airport. As you drive along the airport road you’ll see Sarıgerme signposted on the right hand side. Take this turning and it’s around 10-15 minutes along that road to the beach.
• To get there by bus, you need to take the bus to Ortaca from Fethiye Otogar. Change at Ortaca and take the dolmuş to Sarıgerme. Fethiye to Ortaca is 50-60 minutes and then Ortaca to Sarıgerme is around 20 minutes.
• If you are driving and don’t want a full day at the beach, you could always combine it with a visit to other places around the Dalaman area such as Dalyan, Lake Köyceğiz or Akkaya Garden Restaurant. If luxury cruisers and marinas are your thing, Göcek is also another pleasant stop off en route back to Fethiye.

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