On Wednesday whilst in Turkey we decided to hop on a boat from Oludeniz over to Butterfly Valley.

We’d heard this place mentioned quite frequently and it tends to be one of the first places that comes up when you pop Oludeniz in to a Google search.

So for just 30 tlr (around £4) roundtip on a short boat trip we figured we should probably check it out. The boat you are looking for features a big sign saying ‘Butterfly Valley Shuttle Boat’

The boats run frequently, around five times a day but the times are a little unpredictable. There is a little stand on the beach, very noticeable as it’s labelled with signs for Butterfly Valley Shuttle on it so you won’t miss it. Head to this stand to buy a ticket and they’ll tell you what time the boats are at. We went for the 11am but he told us it was at 11.15, it actually didn’t leave until 11.30.

When we arrived there was a LOT of boats around. A lot of the party ships and big ones that sail all day. Luckily these left not long after we arrived, around lunchtime to head for their BBQ lunches they normally have on the boat.

We headed for the shady part of the beach as if you’ve not already gathered, Turkey gets rather hot in August! We went to swim in the sea but besides it being very choppy, there was a crazy amount of dead wasps floating around!

Upon arriving at Butterfly Valley we could tell there wasn’t much to do here. It was nice to look at on the approach but really it’s just another little beach with less to offer than the others. By the looks of things there were 2 little places to get drinks and one of them also served food. There is a large area for camping and the place has a lot more of a local feel compared to the other areas that are surrounded by tourist trap bars and restaurants.

One thing that’s cool about this place is you can pay 1TL to hike around the valley and I believe this is meant to lead you to a waterfall. It was so hot when we visited that we didn’t walk very far and we definitely didn’t see a waterfall. It would have been cool to walk all around the valley but I’m not sure August is the best month to be hiking even if you do enjoy 30+ degree heat! I have read online that the hike down into the Valley is very steep and is no longer possible to do as it has become too dangerous, but I can’t say for certain that is the case.

Sadly we didn’t see a single butterfly but besides the dead wasps, we did see a lot of other wildlife including baby chicks and these little friends:

I’d recommend visiting Butterfly Valley if you can go in the cooler months and experience the hike. If you’re just wanting to go for the beach it’s not really worth the trip. We’re glad we went so we could make our own mind up but if you do decide to visit ensure you time it right. At the time we visited there was a return boat back to Oludeniz at only 2pm, 4pm and 5pm. We went for the 2pm boat and besides us arriving at 1.55pm the boat had already left! We were extremely lucky that the boat came back for us because the thought of 2 more hours on the beach with nothing else to do was not appealing!

Have you been to Butterfly Valley? What did you think?