Sunshine, amazing food and wonderful locals are the first three things that come to mind when I think of my trips to Turkey. Hisaronu, a resort village in Fethiye on the Mediterranean coast, has always been one of my favourites, with its seemingly never ending strip of restaurants serving food from all over the world and an abundance of quality hotels. It has had me running back three summers in a row and so I had to share my favourite activities in this top holiday hot spot.

Jump in a jeep Safari

On the first day of our last holiday we took an excursion in an open backed jeep and went to a popular natural reserve waterfall park which sells fresh trout in the restaurant from the local fish farm. In the height of summer, it’s a perfect place to get some rest bite from the sun. It’s shaded and surrounded by the sound of a cascading waterfall. If you’re brave enough you can take a dip into the ice cold natural pool as the water drifts down from the mountains. The jeep tour then took us up the mountain to go white water rafting and we ended our day at the local mud baths which left our skin silky smooth. Get your water guns ready as there could be a water fight at any time, especially with the locals along the way “ready and waiting”.

Take a boat trip

The coast of Turkey is incredible with so much to discover. I strongly recommend you take a tour boat excursion. Our trip visited some of the best local highlights, including thermal springs, small blue bays where you can snorkel over the remains of a sunken ancient city.  The boat tour guide also pointed out the Lycian Rock Tombs, carved into the cliff face on Fetihye’s coast.

Forgot your lunch? No problem, your boat tour guide will recommend an excellent local restaurant. There are also small boats which come up to the big tour boats to sell amazing fresh food which you must try. They sell barbecued freshly caught crab, crepes with all kinds of fillings and your favourite ice creams and lollies.  

Sunbathe at the Blue Lagoon

Just a short Dolmus (bus) ride away is the sensational Blue Lagoon in Olu Deniz. The calm waters filled with beautiful sea creatures is always the favourite part of my trip. My best memory at the Blue Lagoon has to be when we rented a pedalo for an hour, we discovered the entire lagoon and had a giant turtle swim next to us which was incredible. Get there early to make sure you snap up one of the prime position sunbeds, you will then have a day of sunbathing with your feet dipped in the cool water.

Check out the local entertainment

My favourite local bar in Hisaronu is Talk of the Town which puts on a drag comedy show but it certainly isn’t for the faint hearted. The team at TOTT put an amazing show on packed full of terrific dancers and different scenes. The comedy they put on is outstanding and the entire room is in hysterics.

This blog is just a taster of Hisaronu. I guarantee you and your family will be busy visiting tonnes of new places and trying new foods and experiences.

Research local customs

One last thing – don’t forget to tip the staff in restaurants! It is customary to leave a 10% tip of your total bill. The people who served me were so lovely and went way beyond my expectations so I felt I had to tip more as they made my experience so memorable.

So memorable, I am going back again for the fourth time this year!

Find out more about Turkey in ABTA's 2018 Travel Trends report by visiting: abta.com/traveltrends2018.