Fethiye

Is Fethiye safe?

Yes, for an ordinary holiday. Fethiye and the resorts around it have little serious crime: Eurostat counts about 2.1 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people across Muğla province in 2024, a little below Antalya, and attacks on visitors are rare. The risks are the ones you choose or drive into: the province's roads, the sea, and the paragliding flights off Babadağ that draw many visitors here in the first place. The coast also has a long earthquake record.

This page covers Fethiye district: the town and harbour, Çalış beach, the hill resorts of Hisarönü and Ovacık, Ölüdeniz and its lagoon below Babadağ, and Göcek. About 187,000 people were registered there at the end of 2025, with many more in summer. We score Fethiye 73, the same as Bodrum and Marmaris.

Paragliding from Babadağ

Babadağ, the 1,965-metre mountain above Ölüdeniz, is counted among the world's best paragliding sites, and it is busy. Anadolu Agency reported 233,314 flights from it in 2023, an all-time record, and 7,117 in the nine days of the June 2024 Kurban Bayramı holiday alone.

Most flights end without incident, but crashes happen, and when a glider hits the rocks they are often fatal:

• In August 2026 a tandem glider fell onto rocks shortly after taking off from Babadağ, killing the pilot and his Chinese passenger (Evrensel). An investigation was opened.
• In October 2026 a 37-year-old Russian visitor on a solo training flight died after a hard landing on rocks (Yeni Asır).

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says paragliding is an extreme sport, that British nationals have died or been seriously injured paragliding in Turkey, and that landing areas may be in public places, so people on the ground should keep clear. Our score does not include paragliding, since it is a choice rather than a risk of being in the town; our paragliding page scores the sport itself. If you fly:

• Book with an established company and ask how many tandem flights the pilot has done.
• Check that your travel insurance covers paragliding by name, and read the exclusions.
• Do not fly in strong wind.

Roads and rented bikes

Muğla's roads are the factor where Fethiye scores worst. TÜİK recorded 154 road deaths and 7,193 injury crashes in the province in 2025, about 14 deaths per 100,000 residents, half as high again as Antalya's rate and about eight times Istanbul's. Summer visitors inflate the per-resident rate, but they also drive and ride on these roads.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary calls quad biking an extreme sport needing specific insurance, says jeep safaris have had a number of accidents, and warns that hire firms' insurance usually covers only third parties, so you may be charged for any damage and arrested if you do not pay. Mopeds need an A1 licence and a helmet. If you are not an experienced rider, take taxis or minibuses between Fethiye, Hisarönü and Ölüdeniz.

Earthquakes, fire and heat

The sea off Fethiye produced the strongest quakes on this coast in modern records: USGS lists a magnitude 7.1 on 24 April 1957 and a 7.3 the next day, both offshore, and a 6.0 south-west of Ölüdeniz in June 2012. On 3 June 2025 a deep magnitude 5.8 quake off Marmaris shook the whole province. Muğla's governor said no buildings collapsed and 69 people were affected; a 14-year-old in Fethiye died in hospital after a panic attack.

Choose a newer hotel, learn its assembly point, and in shaking drop, cover and hold on.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says wildfires happen frequently in Turkey in summer, that authorities may tell people to leave their accommodation, and that lighting fires or dropping cigarettes in woodland can bring a fine or prison sentence. It also warns of extreme summer temperatures, so sightsee and hike in the morning and carry water.

Crime, drinks and nights out

Theft is not a big problem. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's pickpocketing warning names Istanbul, not the coast. Use registered taxis with the meter on, refuse $50 and $100 notes (banks may reject them because of fakes), and be wary of strangers who offer to change money or take you to a bar.

Without a survey of Fethiye, night safety rests on Antalya, the nearest Turkish city in the EU's 2023 survey, where 80% of residents feel safe walking alone at night. The FCDO's warnings matter more: of 4.27 million British visitors to Turkey in 2025, 29 reported sexual assaults to consular staff, most in coastal resorts during the season and often by someone met that day, including hotel and spa staff. Methanol in illegally made spirits has killed people in Turkey, so stick to beer, wine and sealed bottles.

The sea and hospitals

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says people drown every year in Turkey's sea and pools. Swim where lifeguards are on duty, respect red flags, and book water sports only at licensed centres. Fethiye has a state hospital and private hospitals; the FCDO's list of English-speaking facilities includes Lokman Hekim Hospital. Treatment is billed, and European health insurance cards are not valid in Turkey.

How we scored it

Walking at night (85) follows Antalya's survey result, the method we use for every Turkish city, and violent crime (84) and theft and scams (80) rest on Muğla's provincial figures. Traffic safety (42) is the weakest factor. Natural hazards (62) reflects the earthquake record and summer fires and heat; it sits a little above Marmaris, which had two large fires in consecutive summers. Compare Rhodes for a Greek island on the same stretch of sea.