Yalıkavak & Sandıma Village

Village / Town

On the peninsula’s northwest tip: a glamorous marina, quiet coves and the melancholic beauty of Sandıma’s abandoned stone village.

Once a quiet fishing town living off sponge diving and tangerine groves, Yalıkavak is today one of the most sought-after stops on the Bodrum peninsula. Its palm-shaded promenade leads to Yalıkavak Marina, where the world’s finest yachts moor and the row of cafés and boutiques along the water makes it one of the chicest spots to watch the sunset as the evening breeze carries the sailboats home.

Just above the town rises Sandıma, a village far older than the resort below. Abandoned when its residents moved down to the shore to found modern Yalıkavak in the mid-20th century, its roofless stone houses have become a silent open-air museum where light pours through empty doors and windows. Wandering among the ruined walls, with the peninsula wind at your back, is a quiet journey into the past — a favourite of photographers and sunset lovers alike. The windmill hill and the untouched coves of the nearby Küdür Peninsula offer a further playground for those who love to walk in nature.