Marmaris Holidays

Marmaris is Turkey's ultimate all-inclusive playground on the Dalaman coast, where 3.5km of beach is topped by a historic castle, fun, relaxing and beautiful by day with legendary nightlife in the evening and enough waterslides to keep the kids busy for a fortnight.

Marmaris Holiday highlights 2026 / 2027

• All-Inclusive Central - Marmaris is one of Turkey's best-value all-inclusive destinations, with resorts ranging from family-friendly four-stars to beachfront five-stars with everything from meals to waterslides included.

• Bar Street After Dark - One of the liveliest nightlife strips on the Turkish coast, with open-air clubs, karaoke bars, and cocktails flowing well past sunrise. If you want a big night out, this is where it happens.

• Beaches for Days - The seafront runs 3.5km through town and keeps going round all the way to Icmeler with its long stretch of proper soft sand.

• Castle with a View - Marmaris Castle dates back to 1522 (rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent, no less) and now houses a museum with sweeping views over the marina and bay.

• Gateway to the Dalaman Coast - Fly into Dalaman Airport, transfer in around 90 minutes, and you're set up for day trips to Dalyan's turtle beach, Cleopatra Island, and the wider Turkish Aegean.

Good to Know for your Marmaris Holidays

• ☀️ Weather - Summers hit 30-35°C with barely a cloud, and the season stretches from May right through to October. Even shoulder months sit comfortably in the mid-20s.

• 💶 Money - Turkey is brilliant value. A sit-down meal costs around £8 / €9, a beer is £2 / €2.50, and a Turkish bath with full scrub and massage runs about £20 / €23.

• 🏰 Fun Fact - Marmaris is one of the few places in Turkey where you can hop on a ferry and be in a different country within an hour. Ferries to Rhodes in Greece run regularly from the harbour, making Marmaris the only resort on the Dalaman coast with a genuine international day-trip option.

Marmaris is perfect for you if...

• You want a proper resort town that has great resorts but also has proper town bits, like a marina, a castle and a bazaar, not just a hotel and a strip of sand

• You want all-inclusive that genuinely covers the whole day, at a price that makes your wallet sigh with relief

• You would like the option of a big night out on Bar Street and the option of never going near it

• You fancy waking up in Turkey and having lunch in Greece, because the boat to Rhodes takes less than an hour

• You want somewhere big enough that a fortnight does not run out of things to do, with boat trips, a waterpark, a national park and a dozen beaches within half an hour

• You are travelling as a mixed group and need a place that works for the grandparents, the teenagers and the toddler on the same booking

What are the best beaches for a Marmaris holiday in 2026 / 2027?

Alright, sun-chasers and beach babes, if you're looking to get your golden tan in a Turkish paradise, Marmaris is that me, espresso serving up some sandy realness. Let's cruise through the beachy best of this coastal gem:

• Marmaris Long Beach and Uzunyali - The main event, running 3.5km from the marina round towards Icmeler, backed by a promenade of bars, loungers and watersports. The sunbathing areas are sanded but the water's edge is shingle, so pack water shoes and you will have a lovely time. The upside of a stony entry is water you can see straight through.

• Icmeler Beach - Eight kilometres west and the one to head for if soft sand is non-negotiable. Around six kilometres of it, pine-covered hills behind, calm shallow water and a promenade made for an evening walk. Fifteen minutes on the dolmus or the water taxi, and Icmeler has its own page if you would rather base yourself there.

• Turunc - A bay about 20km south over the headland, framed by mountains and a world away from the main strip. Pebbly rather than sandy, with Blue Flag beaches and a handful of good fish restaurants. The road there is a series of hairpins with a view at every one. Turunc is a resort in its own right.

• Kizkumu, Orhaniye - The strange one, and worth the half-hour drive. A natural sand shelf runs about 600 metres out across the bay, so you can walk into the middle of the sea and still be knee-deep. It sits in a sheltered inlet ringed with pine forest at Orhaniye, and there is nowhere else like it on this coast.

• Sedir Island, sometimes called Cleopatra Island - A boat trip out into the Gulf of Gokova to a small island with Greek and Roman ruins and a beach of extraordinary pale, rounded sand grains. The story that Mark Antony shipped it in from Egypt is a good one and it is not true; the geology says it formed here. It is legally protected, so no shoes on the sand and nothing goes home in a pocket. There are showers at the jetty for exactly this reason.

• Marmaris town beach, by the castle - Right in the middle of everything, with the marina at one end and the bazaar behind it. Not the prettiest stretch, but you can be off the sand and eating within two minutes, which on a hot afternoon counts for a lot.

What are the top hotels in Marmaris?

Whether you're after waterslides for the kids or a chilled-out couples retreat, Marmaris has hotels to match. See the full set on the Marmaris hotels page or browse our top picks below...

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best family hotels in Marmaris?

• Green Nature Resort and Spa sits in a green setting back from the beach with three pools, three children's pools and waterslides, plus enough organised activity to fill a fortnight.

• Green Nature Diamond is the five-star beachfront sister property, with a children's club, watersports, five restaurants and evening entertainment.

• Grand Ideal Premium is beachfront and central, with a slide-fed pool, a mini club and a 24-hour lounge for drinks and snacks, which is the detail parents notice.

• Julian Club Hotel is the most talked-about hotel in the resort and it has never appeared on this page. A wellness centre with a Turkish bath and sauna, a proper buffet, and non-stop activities and competitions through the day.

💑 Where should couples stay in Marmaris?

• Ideal Prime Beach Hotel has its own private beach and a spa, and is set far enough along the bay to be genuinely quiet while still being on the promenade.

• Marmaris Bay Resort is five-star, adults only and beachfront, with pine-covered mountains directly behind it and a spa built for slow mornings.

• The Beachfront Hotel is the small adults-only option right on the sand, with sea-view balconies, a private beach and an a la carte restaurant looking over the water.

• Casa De Maris is adults only at 16 and over, boutique, by the beach, and runs an ultra all-inclusive programme with a Turkish bath and sauna on site.

🎉 What are the best hotels in Marmaris for groups?

• Grand Pasa Hotel is five-star and beachfront with waterslides and several bars, and the layout suits a big group that wants to stay together.

• Pasa Beach Hotel sits next to a private beach with a strong all-inclusive package, including a late-night soup service, which tells you everything about the hours this resort keeps.

• Club Alize is a four-star that people come back to year after year for the value, the entertainment and the pool area.

💰 What are the best value hotels in Marmaris?

• Club Exelsior is budget-friendly with a lively pool, solid entertainment and comfortable apartments. Works as well for a group of mates as for a multigenerational crew.

• Golden Rock Beach Hotel is a five-star beachfront with a children's club, a spa and a full entertainment programme, and it consistently comes in under what you would expect for the standard.

• Blue Bay Platinum has tropical gardens, two pools plus splash zones, Italian dining and evening entertainment. A proper step up that still reads as value for Turkey.

• Prestige Garden Hotel has a choice of pools with waterslides, a spa, weekly barbecues and a buffet restaurant, at the sharpest price of anything on this list.

👉 All hotels in Marmaris

All-Inclusive Holidays in Marmaris

All-inclusive is what Marmaris is built around, and the reason it works so well here (besides the weather and the exchange rate) is the sheer number of hotels competing on it. The competition means you will get good prices (or great service, or both). And it's why a four-star all-inclusive week in Marmaris costs roughly the same or less than half board costs on the Spanish coast, and the food is better.

Turkey also runs a tier above the standard package, usually labelled ultra all-inclusive. This tier means branded spirits rather than local ones, several a la carte restaurants alongside the buffet, and snacks available through the day rather than at set hours. It is worth the small upgrade if you prefer to drink anything other than local beer and wine.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best all-inclusive hotels in Marmaris for families?

• Green Nature Diamond puts five restaurants, a children's club and watersports inside the package, on the beachfront.

• Prime Beach Hotel has its own stretch of sand, a pool with waterslides, a mini-disco for the children and a nightclub for everyone else.

💑 What are the best all-inclusive hotels in Marmaris for couples?

• Casa De Maris is adults only at 16 and over and runs the ultra all-inclusive programme, with a Turkish bath and sauna included.

• Ideal Pearl Hotel is adults only at 16 and over, with a poolside bar, barbecue and grill nights and evening entertainment all inside the package.

Local Lingo

Turkish is the language, and while English is widely spoken in hotels and tourist areas, a few Turkish phrases go down brilliantly with locals.

• Merhaba, mer-HA-ba, Hello

• Teşekkür ederim, teh-shek-KOOR eh-deh-REEM, Thank you

• Lütfen, LOOT-fen, Please

• Bir bira, lütfen, beer BEE-ra LOOT-fen, One beer, please

• Ne kadar?, neh ka-DAR, How much is it?

• Çok pahalı, chok pa-ha-LUH, That's too expensive (the only phrase you need in the bazaar)

• Hesap, lütfen, heh-SAP LOOT-fen, The bill, please

• Afiyet olsun, AH-fee-yet ol-SUN, Enjoy your meal

Last-Minute Holidays to Marmaris

Marmaris is one of the best last-minute destinations in the Mediterranean, and the reason is arithmetic. There are dozens of large hotels along a single bay, most of them all-inclusive and most of them pitching at the same customer, so there is nearly always something good left. Booking late here rarely means taking whatever nobody else wanted; it usually means taking a room in a hotel two doors down from the one you were looking at.

The season is long, which is what makes late booking work. Marmaris runs from May to October, so there is a six-month window rather than a fortnight, and Dalaman is served through it from most airports in the UK & Ireland by Jet2, TUI, easyJet and British Airways. More seats across more departure points means more genuinely late availability, and it means a late deal from Glasgow or Belfast is as realistic as one from Manchester.

Where the late availability actually sits. Late May, June, late September and October are when the resort has the most rooms left on short notice, and they are lovely months to be here: the sea is warm from June and stays warm into late October, and the boat trips, the peninsula villages and the national park are all better without the high-summer heat. Through the school holidays the family rooms and the interconnecting rooms go first, so if you are booking late with children, be flexible on the hotel rather than on the dates. Adults-only properties tend to hold availability longer, which is worth knowing if that suits you.

Three practical things when you book late. Lock the transfer in with us when you book the holiday: Dalaman to Marmaris is around 90 minutes, the longest transfer this airport serves, and it is not something to be sorting at one in the morning. Read the board basis properly, because late deals move between all-inclusive, ultra all-inclusive and half board and they are not the same holiday. And if there is something you have set your heart on, book it from home: the Rhodes catamaran, the a la carte restaurants inside your package and the popular boat trips all fill up, and a la carte usually needs a day's notice anyway.

Where to Stay in Marmaris

Marmaris is not one place. It is a five-kilometre curve of bay with a distinctly different holiday at each end, and the stretch you book changes the week more than the hotel does. Everything below is connected by dolmus minibuses that run constantly for small change, so nothing is out of reach wherever you land.

💑 Where should couples stay in Marmaris?

• The marina and old town put you next to the castle, the bazaar and the waterfront seafood restaurants, with the gulets lit up on the water in the evening. It is the prettiest part of Marmaris and the part that feels most like a Turkish town rather than a resort.

• Turunc, over the headland, is the escape option: a small bay backed by mountains, a handful of hotels, no strip and no crowds. Half an hour by road or by water taxi when you want the noise back.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Where should families stay in Marmaris?

• Long Beach and Uzunyali is the family end, and it is where most of the big all-inclusive resorts with waterslides and kids' clubs sit. You are on the promenade, the sea is calm, and the walk into town takes about twenty minutes or one very short dolmus ride.

• Icmeler, eight kilometres round the bay, is the calmer version of the same thing with the best sand on this coast. Quieter evenings, shallower water, and Marmaris fifteen minutes away for the days you want it.

🎉 Where should groups stay in Marmaris?

• Siteler is the Bar Street end. If the point of the trip is the night out, staying here means walking home rather than negotiating a taxi at four in the morning, and there are plenty of straightforward, cheap hotels a street or two back.

• Armutalan, on the slope behind the town, is the compromise: bigger hotels and better value for the standard, a ten-minute walk down to everything, and far enough back that you can actually sleep. It is also where the hammams and the Saturday market are.

Travel Guide - Things to do on your Marmaris Holidays 2026/2027

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best things to do on a Marmaris family holiday?

• Aqua Dream Waterpark - The biggest waterpark on this coast, with slides running from the properly frightening Kamikaze down to gentle ones for small children, plus a wave pool and a restaurant doing everything from seafood to kebabs.

• Dalyan day trip - A full-day boat trip up the Dalyan river, past Lycian rock tombs cut into the cliff face, stopping at the mud baths and finishing at Iztuzu, the protected beach where loggerhead turtles nest. The best day out from Marmaris and the one everyone remembers.

• Sedir Island - A boat excursion to a small island with Greek and Roman ruins, remarkably clear water and the famous protected sand. Shoes off on the beach, and nothing goes home with you.

• Marmaris National Park - 33,000 hectares of pine forest, walking trails and quiet bays starting right behind the town. A good half-day when everyone has had enough sun.

• The dolmus to Icmeler - Cheap, constant, and an outing in itself for younger children, with soft sand and shallow water at the other end.

💑 What are the best things to do for couples in Marmaris?

• A Turkish bath in Armutalan - The hammams are up the hill in Armutalan rather than in the old town, and the full experience of steam, scrub and foam massage is one of the best-value hours you will spend in Turkey.

• Marmaris Castle and Museum - Rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522 as the base for his Rhodes campaign, and a museum since 1991. Go up in the late afternoon for the view down over the marina.

• The marina at dusk - Gulets and yachts on the water, seafood restaurants along the front and cocktail bars with the mountains behind. The evening that makes people book Marmaris again.

• The boat to Rhodes - Under an hour on the catamaran and you are wandering a medieval walled town in Greece. Check the Schengen note in Good to Know before you plan it.

• Dinner at Selimiye or Bozburun - Fishing villages out along the peninsula, an hour of hairpins away, where the seafood is landed that morning and there is nothing to do afterwards except look at the water.

🎉 What are the top things to do for groups on a Marmaris holiday?

• Bar Street - The nightlife strip, and it is a genuine institution: open-air clubs, karaoke, drag cabaret and neon, running until sunrise through the season. The obvious group night and the reason a lot of people book.

• The bazaar - Corridors of jewellery, spices, leather and textiles behind the castle. Haggling is expected rather than tolerated, so start low, stay friendly, and remember çok pahalı.

• A full-day boat trip round the bay - Leaves from the marina, stops at swimming spots and coves you cannot reach by road, lunch included. The standard group day out and it earns it.

• Jeep safari into the mountains - Up into the pine hills behind the resort for village stops, mountain views and swimming in natural pools. Dusty, bumpy and brilliant.

• Watersports on Long Beach - Parasailing, jet skis, banana boats and the rest, all along the promenade end of the beach and all cheap by any European standard.

More Destinations

• Dalaman - Turkey's stunning southwest coast, from turtle beaches and ancient rock tombs to the Blue Lagoon at Olu Deniz and the party strip at Hisaronu. One of the best-value holiday regions in Europe.

• Icmeler - A pine-backed bay with a long sandy beach, brilliant watersports, and a quieter pace than Marmaris proper. The same coastline, with the volume turned down a notch.

• Olu Deniz - Home to Turkey's most photographed beach and the Blue Lagoon, plus world-class paragliding from Babadag Mountain. A bucket-list destination for good reason.

• Fethiye - Ancient Lycian ruins, a buzzing harbour, and easy access to Butterfly Valley and the wider Dalaman coast. Culture and nature in equal measure.

• Bodrum - The Aegean's stylish coastal alternative, with whitewashed villages, marina culture, and a more upmarket feel. A different Turkey entirely.

• Turkey - From the all-inclusive resorts of Antalya and the Dalaman coast to Istanbul's mosques and bazaars, Turkey packs in beach holidays, city culture, and some of the best-value food in Europe.