There are no big resort hotels in Datça, and that is exactly why people come. Instead you choose between a handful of distinct ways to stay, and the right one depends entirely on the holiday you want. Get the base right and everything else falls into place.
Datça town suits first-timers and anyone without a car. Small hotels and pensions cluster near the harbour, walkable to the market, the ferry, the beaches and the evening stroll along the front. It is the sociable, convenient choice — you trade a little quiet for being in the middle of things, which for a short stay is often the right call.
Old Datça and the villages are for slowing down. A boutique stone hotel in Eski Datça, or a small pension in a north-coast cove like Ovabükü, puts you among gardens and lanes rather than traffic. You will want a car, and you will be glad of the calm — long breakfasts, cicadas, and the sense of having stepped out of the season entirely.
For families and groups, a villa changes the maths. A private house with a pool, a kitchen and space to spread out costs less per head than several hotel rooms and gives everyone somewhere to gather — the north-coast villages have plenty, many with sea views and a short walk to a cove. If a self-catering base with your own pool is the dream, it is very much achievable here, and it is the way a lot of returning visitors now come.
Book ahead for July and August, when the good places fill months out, and consider the shoulder season for both value and quiet. Whatever you choose, stay at least a few nights in one spot rather than dashing about — Datça is a place to settle into, not to tick off.