The Blue Lagoon
Beaches & Lagoon · Ölüdeniz, Fethiye, Türkiye
The Blue Lagoon is the sight that made Ölüdeniz famous — a shallow, near-enclosed pool where a sandspit curls back to trap the sea, leaving water so still it shades from pale jade to deep turquoise. That stillness is also where the resort's name comes from: Ölüdeniz means 'dead sea' in Turkish, for water that stays glassy even when the open coast is rough. It sits inside the fenced Ölüdeniz Nature Park (Ölüdeniz Tabiat Parkı), which keeps the shore undeveloped: imported sand and sunbeds, pedalos and paddleboards for hire, pines behind and Babadağ rising straight up across the bay. The lagoon has almost no current, so swimming is calm and safe — ideal for families and weaker swimmers. There's a small park entrance fee; the water is at its most vivid in the morning before the light flattens.
Getting there: Inside Ölüdeniz Nature Park at the south end of the beach; small entrance fee.
Tip: There's a small entrance fee to the Nature Park. Go early — by midday the beach fills up and the light goes flat on the water.