The Sunday Times April 30, 2006
Ten secret islands in the Mediterranean
An uncrowded island, a beach to call your own - in the Med? In summer? It can be done, says Jeremy Lazell
There are a thousand and one ways in which you can ruin a Mediterranean holiday, but choosing an island with more tourists than tide marks is probably the most effective.
Luckily, with nearly 3,000 islands to choose from, it is still possible to find an island escape that does exactly what it says on the tin.
SOVALYE, Turkey
Pronounced “chevalier”, after the renegade knights-turned-pirates who hid here in the Middle Ages, Sovalye is the only inhabited island of the Twelve Islands chain in the Gulf of Fethiye — and, being closest to the harbour, is ignored by the main tour-boat operators.
It has no cars, no roads, just a shady cross-island footpath past sandy beaches and shingle bays. Best way to explore? By canoe or snorkel, floating above spectacular sunken mosaics and other Lycian remains.
As for nightlife, there is a tiny beach bar at the northwest tip of the island, but as there are never more than 22 guests on the island at any one time, entertainment of the non-stargazing variety requires a 10-minute boat ride to Fethiye.
Expect to see: nobody, nothing — rooms look out over the Lycian coastline, away from the bright lights of Fethiye.
Where to stay: there’s only one hotel on the island — the newly redesigned Ece, with a horizon pool and 11 exquisite rooms, each with floor-to-ceiling picture windows staring out across the gulf.
Bookings are only possible through Exclusive Escapes, which has seven nights, B&B, for £500pp, including all watersports, flights with British Midland from Heathrow to Dalaman and transfers.
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