Akyaka keeps its slow-town, low-key beach charm on Gökova Bay

Akyaka, a small town on the eastern end of Gökova Bay, retains a slow-paced, slightly ramshackle feel that contrasts with many of Turkey’s more polished beach resorts. The town’s beach, jetty restaurants and pine-fringed bays remain low-key and largely visited by domestic tourists.

The atmosphere is shaped by Akyaka’s status as one of Turkey’s “slow towns” and the architectural legacy of the poet-architect Nail Çakirhan, who retired there in 1971 and built a house blending traditional Ottoman design with local materials. Others followed his lead, producing streets of elegant houses with wood-carved balconies and bougainvillea rather than modern glass-walled boxes.

The lack of big all-inclusive hotels means visitors come for fish restaurants on the Azmak River, hikes through the Akyaka orman and the town’s unhurried beach culture. The writer returned for a longer visit in 2022 and describes staying at the İskelem Otel, a small hotel a few minutes’ drive out of town where sunloungers are swapped for linen-clad tables and candlelight on the jetty at dinner.

Akyaka is also a major watersports destination: thermic winds blow across the gulf from May to November, rising in the late morning and usually between 15 to 18 knots (all key factors, apparently), and about 10 minutes’ drive out of town Akçapinar Beach fills with kitesurf flags and learners.

Key Topics

Culture, Akyaka, Gokova Bay, Iskelem Otel, Nail Cakirhan, Akcapinar Beach