Kalkan
Kalkan borders on the idyllic, a village of a couple of thousand, far enough away from the main resort areas to be inaccessible to those who don't want to travel more than 45 minutes from the airport, but still reachable in 2 hours from Dalyan and less than 2 from Antalya. The road in each direction is fairly pretty anyway and as long as your transfer is air conditioned you'll enjoy the ride.

The town itself is centered around the little harbour, where the fish comes ashore in the morning and the boats leave for the beaches and bays with their load of snorkel equipped day trippers. There are also opportunities to take 2 or 3 day cruises from Kalkan, giving you the chance to experience a night or two on a boat without having to fork out for a private charter. Back from the harbour is an old town, bazar area where you'll find restuarants and carpet shops, as well as places to buy the essential sun block and cold drinks.

Kalkan is accessible by bus from most places, if you're flying into Dalaman or Antalya then you can either make your own way or arrange for a transfer with a tour operator.

Fethiye
Fethiye balances the attractions of a bustling resort town with the functionality of a working regional centre. Arrival at the bus station may give you the impression that you've come to the wrong place with no evidence of the sea, hotels, restaurants or any trappings of the tourist industry but a 5 minute taxi or dolmus ride into town will begin to reveal the place to you in it's true colours. Fethiye's strength is in it's role as a base for exploring the surrounding coastline and countryside. You'll find a good range of shops, eating places and accommodation and excellent transport services to surrounding attractions. The harbour area makes a pleasant place to spend the evening and the pedestrianised old town is appealing and a reasonable place to shop for souvenirs.

If you're there early enough in the day you might want to consider the 12 islands boat trip, a nice way to see the bay and an opportunity to seek out the quieter beaches and coves only accessible from the sea. As usual with boat trips, the smaller the group the better your day and the more flexible your itinerary.

Fethiye's nightlife is working hard at catching up with Marmaris and Bodrum but it has a little way to go yet. You may or may not find this a blessing. You shouldn't have a problem eating or drinking until late but clubbing opportunities are limited.

Marmaris
Marmaris is as classy as the southern coastal towns get. This is where Those of us with 40m floating sports cars like to keep them in the winter and the amount of money that comes into this town in the season has enabled it to develop with a degree of restraint and taste that has made it the envy of the wannabee marina towns from Izmir to Antalya. It can be a real eye opener to wander around the 'big' marina of an evening, lubricated with a couple of beers, and watch the other half at play.

If you're already in Turkey Marmaris is well served by the ever dependable inter city bus network and can also be reached by the little coast buses that will bring you in. There are some spectacular views from the roads in this part of Turkey and it's probably worth taking a car for the day and spinning up and down for a while, something with no roof is more fun, if slightly expensive, and you can always pretend that you live here.

Accommodation here is slightly pricey but, depending on how choosy you're feeling you'll probably find something. As always, when you're looking for somewhere to stay you'll be glad if you travelled light. The Interyouth Hostel, now located in the bazaar itself, provides reasonable value and is a good source of information for diving and other tours.

Hisaronu
Hisaronu exists to service the tourist trade and is popular with domestic and international tourists. There are a few people here, like Jeanette - owner of the Rainbow restaurant - who can still remember when there were only 3 hotels here but things have changed a little since then and rapid growth in the last decade has led to a bustling, and sometimes confusing collection of tour operators, hotels, pensions and shops.

Hisaronu, and the Fethiye area in general, are blessed with a rugged and beautiful landscape, the potential of which for activity holidays (and holiday activites) is just being realised. Hisaronu is special because its location means that you can paraglide in Oludeniz one day, canoe down the Xanthos river to Patara the next, paintball in the pine forests of Kaya Koyu and still take an overnight trip to the classical ruins of Ephesus. The area is nice if you just want to relax on the beach or by the hotel pool but to get the most out of your trip you ought to consider moving around a little bit.