The Blue Lagoon in Turkish Oludeniz is a very beautiful place that’s famous all over the country. Quite often, it’s the photos of the Blue Lagoon that you can see in various brochures and websites luring people to visit Turkey. The Blue Lagoon is located nearby a small village of Oludeniz on the shores of two seas – the Mediterranean and the Aegean. These 2 seas merge somewhere around Oludeniz village. Although quite often I’ve heard Oludeniz called the Aegean turquoise coast. The turquoise coast – it nothing but the truth! The local water is clear and if nice turquoise shades. A part of the Blue Lagoon continues Belcekiz – the city beach in Oludeniz. But admission to the beach is free, unlike to the Blue Lagoon territory, because the lagoon is a nature reserve.
Quite often, you can see photos of the Blue Lagoon from a bird’s eye view, because there is another no less famous place in Oludeniz – Babadag mountain. It’s from it that paragliders fly and make stunning photos of the Lagoon from the air. I flew a paraglider as well. And I both saw the Blue Lagoon from above and took no less beautiful photos. From above, you can see that the lagoon is really blue. But is it really so? Indeed, they often write on the Internet that the lagoon is so-so and is not worth visiting. But you know that everyone has their own impression of the place. Of course, we decided to check whether it is really the case, or the Blue Lagoon is really a paradise and a must-visit?
The Blue Lagoon in Turkey — how to get there
From Fethiye
You should take any dolmush minibus to Oludeniz. All minibuses that go to Oludeniz stop at the city beach. Then, you need to turn right (facing the sea) and go about 100 meters. You will reach a ticket office, where you should buy an admission ticket. The fare is 5 liras.
From Oludeniz
You should go the city beach, turn right when looking at the sea and walk to the ticket office with admission tickets.
From Ovacik or Hisaronu
You should also take a dolmush minibus to Oludeniz and get off at the city beach in Oludeniz. Then turn right to the ticket offices. The fare is 3 liras.
The Blue Lagoon in Turkey on the map
The Blue Lagoon in Turkey — price and opening hours
The Blue Lagoon in Oludeniz is a nature reserve. So, you’ll need to pay an admission fee. Admission price is 7 liras for an adult and 3.5 liras for a student. You will need to provide a supporting document.
For some reason, it was said nothing about children. However, we saw children up to about 7 years entering free of charge. After paying, you will get a token for a turnstile. Then, you’ll need to walk about 100-150 meters to the beaches.
All the paths are paved with paver blocks. You will be surrounded with coniferous trees. It’s a magnificent place, especially if you turn around and see high mountains rising behind you.
The Blue Lagoon beaches
Yes, you’ve heard it right – in the Blue Lagoon you can swim at different beaches. The main beach is the one located in the lagoon itself. The local water is greenish, and the descent into the water is long, since here it’s quite shallow. This beach is perfect for families with children. There is plenty space for them to splash and play in the water.
Indeed, surrounding nature is very beautiful – the Blue Lagoon is surrounded by high mountains. There are no waves here, since the lagoon is almost hidden from the sea. It was about this beach that I read many contradictory reviews on the Internet. To tell the truth, they were all negative. Yes of course, I can agree with them to some extent. Because the Blue Lagoon name doesn’t correspond to the green color of the water on the beach, which seemed even muddy to me.
Another problem is covering of the beach. In photos from the air, it seems that there is light sand everywhere. But that not the case – the Blue Lagoon beaches are covered with small pebbles, which some people find quite uncomfortable to walk on. Numerous sun beds forming 3 and even 4 rows, standing just half a meter from each other and very close to the water make you feel like in an anthill. It’s quite uncomfortable.
But there is a small area where you can bring your towel and umbrella, which is an advantage. There are also 2 cafes where you can have quite an affordable and delicious meal.
But I found the beach itself quite inconvenient, since the water was muddy. The water is more transparent even on the city beach of Oludeniz. Besides, there was a lot of people crowded on a small area. By the way, in the water I didn’t feel that there were many people. The swimming area was much broader that the beach, totally stuffed with sun beds with umbrellas.
What is the second beach, you may ask? The second beach located on the Blue Lagoon territory is a continuation of Belcekiz – the city beach in Oludeniz. I liked it much more. Furthermore, I can compare it with the islands we visited in the Philippines in El Nido. But it took us too long to get there. Just imagine – the Blue Lagoon beach in Turkey, in Oludeniz, which is accessible. You can here every day you want!
The water on this beach is so turquoise that you feel like diving in it right away. Unlike the beach in the lagoon, the water here is crystal clear and transparent. Quite a bit away from the shore, you can swim in the surprisingly blue sea. It feels like you are swimming somewhere far away in the open sea.
You can swim to the rock that you see in the photo. My husband swam, but I didn’t. Some people reached the rock, climbed on it, and jumped into the water from it. You can also see a kayak. Here, you can do water sports for a very reasonable price. Kayak rental costs only 30 liras per hour. At first, we also wanted to go kayaking, but decided to do it next time here. This time we just enjoyed the sea and the beautiful view around.
Here, you can also rent a sup-board. This is a surfboard with a paddle, on which you can sail standing wherever you want. The conditions are just right here – there are no waves. The price is just the same as for a kayak – 30 liras per hour. We wanted to try out all sports next time. We really liked this beach. But unfortunately, we didn’t come here anymore. We had only few days left and wanted to see other beaches around Oludeniz.
What conclusions can I draw about the beaches? The best is the beach that continues Belcekiz – the city beach of Oludeniz – and is located on the Blue Lagoon territory. At the same time, be sure to swim in the Lagoon itself, so that you can understand where you like it more.
In the photo above, I marked the Blue Lagoon places I liked the most with arrows. You can go from one beach to another. The distance is insignificant, and it will take you just 5 minutes. We spent the whole day in the Blue Lagoon. But if you want to leave the lagoon at a hot lunch time and then go back, you won’t have to pay for admission again. The ticket is valid all throughout the day.
I concluded that the Blue Lagoon in Turkey is definitely worth visiting to get your own idea of spending vacation here. And this trip to Turkey was the first that three of us took – we had a baby and celebrated his first half a year together in Turkey.
We enjoyed ourselves in the Blue Lagoon – swam a lot in silent water, had lunch at a cafe on the beach, had our whack of sunbathing. I wish you to visit this wonderful place too – the Blue Lagoon in Oludeniz. This is really different, uncommon Turkey, and we really enjoyed spending time here.
Hotels in the Blue Lagoon Turkey
Along the Blue Lagoon coast, there are a few hotels that have their beaches at the Blue Lagoon.