Villa Holiday in Kalkan
Kalkan is an historic town and lies along the gorgeous Lycian Coast. Flying into Dalaman, our private transfer took around 1 hour and 30 minutes. It is a totally charming area, with the rental villas sitting high in the hills giving breath-taking views of the bays below and the majestic Taurus mountains as a backdrop. There is a beautiful mosque close to the harbour and we could hear the Call to Prayer every morning as it echoed around the town.
The quaint harbour is full of wooden gulets and small fishing craft bordered with waterfront restaurants and beach. After dusk, the winding streets which are full of traditional houses, fabulous restaurants with roof top terraces, small boutiques and local shops offering hand-made items, teem with people being enticed by the wonderful aromas of the local eateries. Kalkan dining is so memorable, the views, setting sun, friendly attentive service, and of course the food and drink! The Blue Terrace, Kalamaki, Trio and LAL are all highly recommended! If you don’t fancy dining out every night then why not take-away?! Most fast-food restaurants deliver to villas and you can order anything from Pide (like a cheesy pizza!), pasta, kebabs, burgers, guvec (casserole), salads and desserts such as baclava and sutlac.
Our stunning 4-bedroom villa (Villa Sapphire) was perfectly located for the sensational views although quite a hike uphill in the summer! However, the local taxis are very reasonable… ranging from £3 down to the local store, to £6 depending on where you want to be. The local Dolmus (shared minibus) is the most cost-effective way of getting around Kalkan and the surrounding areas. They will take you to places such as Kas, Patara, Kaputas beach and Xanthos. There are also apartments to rent in the Old Town which is just a 3-minute walk from the beach. I would generally say ‘no high heels’ though as the whole area is very hilly. If you need accessibility then there a couple of hotels down at the harbour on the flat so it is possible to visit the town and still get around. Alternately you could book the gorgeous Likya Residence and Spa – a sublime adult-only boutique hotel with amazing views and an award-winning restaurant but again this is a fairly hilly area of Kalkan too.
Beach clubs are popular… in fact there are about a dozen within close proximity to the harbour. We chose ‘Zest’ which is a new club and is accessed by complimentary water taxi from the harbour. This family friendly beach club provides direct access to the sea from various platforms and also has a large swimming pool on the terrace surrounded by sun loungers. There is an excellent restaurant onsite and the cost was around £30 per person for the day plus lunch.
We also took a full day boat trip along the coast with family run Eylul (Captain Ramazan). The tour included a wonderfully freshly cooked lunch plus afternoon tea and cake and the boat had plenty of seating / beds with or without shade. We anchored at 3 different bays and were able to snorkel in the azure blue sea. We even had a little ‘shopping at sea’ retail therapy time! Relaxed atmosphere, first class service and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
One experience I would say not to miss is a traditional Turkish Hammam! We chose the Elixir Hotel where Nur & Hakan operate a Turkish Spa. Laying on heated marble slabs, we opted for the starter package which consisted of a body and heel scrub, foam wrap, hair wash, massage and clay mask – all for £45 which we all thought was extremely reasonable for this wonderfully relaxing experience.
Thursday is market day and we were recommended to pop down for breakfast where the locals cook pancakes with savoury or sweet fillings for you and squeeze fresh orange juice along with Turkish tea – all served within the colourful and busy market place where you can buy anything from hand cream to spices to knives to 'designer' clothing!
Kalkan enjoys typical Mediterranean weather with long, dry, hot summers and short, cool winters. If you are not keen on hot weather, I recommend traveling in May/early June or September/October, as the weather is cooler in the evenings and pleasantly warm during the daytime. In fact we were lucky as temperatures reach almost 30 during our week in early October. I wouldnt say this was a family friendly resort - more appealing to a girls holiday, couples or a group of friends that could hire one of the larger villas.
Call me for a chat if you think Kalkan could be your next destination of choice!