Looking from the French windows of our room onto the beach, I watched the day slowly coming to life the next morning. Sun-seekers laid claim to the sunbeds, and the boats set out on their daily cruises to the nearby islands. Jet skis were zigzagging across the deeper waters, and paragliders were flying high above the sparkling sea of Marmaris. This beach is definitely a big attraction for those who enjoy watersports and beach activities or just relaxing on the beach.

This Post is part of 15-day motorbike ride from Lebanon to Bulgaria across Turkey and back.
Use the links at the end of the post for more insights about this adventure, the challenges 
and achievements

After grabbing some breakfast, we couldn’t resist the lure of the beach, and that’s where we went. A cold beer on a hot beach was really all it took to make us happy—at least for Ronnie and myself. Chantal had her mind set on something else, and yes, you guessed it…shopping!

Although it wasn’t the most beautiful place we’d ever seen, Chantal and myself had a weak spot for Marmaris as we’d spent our honeymoon here in 2013 (click here to read more about Marmaris). We were familiar with the beach, the restaurants and the market, and we knew the best things to do there. From all the activities and trips we’d done on our first visit to Marmaris, which included visiting the travertine terraces of Pamukkale, taking a safari trip, having a Turkish bath, helping out at a local traditional dance show, and visiting Daylan turtle beach as well as the ancient ruined city of Kaunos, our favorite and authentic experience was definitely the boat cruise.

The boat cruise is the best

We’d already found one of the best boat cruises and booked a full day at sea. The boat was somehow similar to the one we’d taken in Bodrum, but the scenery and the stop-offs of the cruises here were more appealing to us. We departed from Marmaris Marina at 9 o’clock that morning.

We spent a fun, relaxing and joyful day on the boat, hopping from island to island and from beach to beach. We swam, we sunbathed and we made some friends on board, sharing a few bottles of Effes on the way. We visited some of the best bays and islands such as the famous Paradise Island, some caves including the Phosphorus (wish) Cave, the Aquarium and the Green Sea Bay as well as Kumlubuk and Turunc beaches. Taking a Marmaris boat trip and exploring the turquoise sea, visiting some of the isolated bays and cruising in between the green islands is a wonderful experience. The boat dropped us off in the evening at around 6 pm, and we went back to the hotel for a short rest.

Later that evening, we took a walk to the Marina and had a really delicious seafood platter at the Aquarium Kitchen/Café. At first glance the place looked expensive, but the prices were surprisingly reasonable and the menu catered to all tastes. After a relaxed dinner at the Marina, we headed off to the party zone of clubs and bars. Not exactly party animals; we do like having a few drinks with some good music and fun in a place with atmosphere. We chose one of the bars that had a live band playing rock music that ranged from classic rock from AC/DC and White Snake to some alternative music from bands such as Radiohead and Pearl Jam. We rocked until almost 1 am, and left as the band was playing some Turkish rock songs, which sounded good to our ears.

Read the whole adventure, day by day. Click on the links below

1. TAKING THE FERRY BOAT FROM TRIPOLI, LEBANON TO MERSIN, TURKEY
2. THE ROAD IS OURS: DESTINATION CAPPADOCIA
3. UP AND ABOVE CAPPADOCIA
4. THE ROAD TO ANKARA
5. CROWDED ISTANBUL
6. FROM WHEAT FIELDS TO SUNFLOWERS AT THE BULGARIAN BORDERS
7. A PROMISE IS A CLOUD; FULFILLMENT IS RAIN
8. WEATHERED IN VARNA
9. LONG ROAD TO A SECLUDED BEACH HOTEL
10. THANK YOU BODRUM FOR THE BREAK!
11. THE BEACH IS CALLING! MARMARIS
12. ON THE ROAD AGAIN
13. BACK TO SQUARE ONE
14. HOW DID IT ALL START?

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