Patara Beach

Patara is a long, undeveloped strip of sand at the western end of the Turkish Mediterranean, roughly eighteen kilometres of it, with dunes behind rather than hotels. The beach lies inside the same protected area as the ruins of the ancient Lycian harbour city, so you drive past a colonnaded street and a theatre half buried in sand to reach the water. Loggerhead and green turtles nest along the sand in summer, which is why the beach closes between sunset and morning from May until autumn, and why building stops several kilometres inland at Gelemis. There is one wooden cafe block and a line of sunbeds near the access point, then nothing at all for hours of walking.

What you actually see

• The dunes - shifting sand ridges running behind the whole beach.
• The ruins on the way in - colonnaded street, theatre and gate, half sanded over.
• The empty end - kilometres of sand with no structures on it.
• Turtle markers - fenced nests along the tideline in summer.

When to go

May to October for swimming, with June and September the most comfortable. The beach is closed from sunset until eight in the morning through the nesting season, so sunset visits are out. Wind picks up most afternoons and drives sand along the strip; mornings are calmer, and the ruins are best walked before the heat builds.

Honest expectations

There is almost no shade, and the walk from the car park to the water is long and hot. Sunbeds and the single cafe cluster at one point, so the beach is either crowded or entirely deserted. The sea shelves gently, but the afternoon wind can build surf and blast grit. The ticket is charged per person and rises in season.

Nearby

Kalkan, the Xanthos valley and the western coastal path.