Incekum Beach, Alanya

Incekum is the one I send people to when they want nature rather than noise. The name itself means fine sand, and the beach earns it, a soft golden shore at Avsallar that shelves so gently you can wade a long way out while the water stays shallow and warm. What lifts it above the other family beaches is the forest. A genuine stand of umbrella pines grows right down to the sand, so you can lay a towel in the resinous shade, picnic under the trees, and step from the cool of the wood into the warm shallows in a few paces. On a still morning the air smells of pine and salt, and the bay glows a soft turquoise.

That gentle shelving water is the heart of its appeal. It warms early in the season, stays calm in typical summer conditions, and gives small children and nervous swimmers a long, safe feeling paddle, though no beach is ever a guarantee and you should keep watch near the water. The shade matters too, because the Turkish coast bakes in midsummer, and a forest you can retreat into is worth more than any parasol. For a slow, green, restful beach day, Incekum is the calmest choice in the Alanya area.

Be honest about high summer. Avsallar has grown into a resort strip, and in July and August the hotels fill and the shallow water draws families in numbers, so the central sand can be busy and the sunbed rows dense. Even then the length of the beach and the depth of the forest spread people out far better than the central town beaches. Come in the shoulder months or early in the day and you get the bay close to its quiet best. Anyone after a lively scene or a polished club should look elsewhere, to the central beaches by the castle, while for sheer space the long eastern sweep of Keykubat is the alternative.