One of the highlights of my stay in Kaş was the boat trip around Kekova, a large region on Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline that includes Kekova Island as well as the Kaleköy and Üçağız villages. We booked our tour via Larsoy Travel & Tourism Office which cost us 125TRY each for a full day tour which included lunch on the boat.
On the day, we were picked up from the tourism office at approximately 10am before being dropped off at Kaş Harbour where our boat departed from. There were about 15-20 of us on the boat which was quite comfortable in terms of space. There were plenty of sun-beds on the upper deck for the sun-worshippers to lie on, or for those who prefer some shade there is also a lower deck. For someone who doesn’t normally sunbathe that often, I quite enjoyed it on the boat as there was always a nice breeze that helped to balance out the heat – don’t forget your sun protection!
We started with a brief stop at a bay for a short swim in the beautiful turquoise waters – for those of you who aren’t strong swimmers or are wary about swimming in open waters like myself, there are life-jackets and noodle floats available on board to use. Remember to bring along your snorkeling gear if you fancy discovering more of what lies beneath the clear blue waters. They also served some çay (tea) and biscuits after the swim which helped warm us up.
Our boat then navigated towards the depths of history where we had a glimpse of the city ruins that were submerged two-thousand years ago due to earthquakes. The remains of the sunken ancient city were visible below the waves, and whilst it is possible to boat or kayak around the area, swimming and under-water exploration has been banned since 1986 as part of a series of measures to protect the lost city’s heritage.
We were dropped off at the charming fishing village of Kaleköy village for about an hour where we climbed to the top to explore the ruins of a historic fortress, built by the Knights of Rhodes partially upon ancient Lycian foundations (10TRY entrance fee to castle). We enjoyed some pretty spectacular views from above before tucking into some tasty homemade ice cream on the comfortable veranda at The I Am Here Cafe. Local hand-crafted souvenirs sold from the stalls were much cheaper than back in Kaş, and it’s always nice to support small local businesses.
After another refreshing dip in the clear blue waters, lunch was served buffet-style, which included some BBQ chicken, freshly grilled at the back of the boat. There was even an ice cream man that arrived by boat with his freezer for anyone that wanted to purchase something for dessert.
We stopped by a couple more bays to swim and had a little peek in a cave before heading back to Kaş Harbour where we were then transported back to the office around 6pm.
Group tours like this are generally cheaper but you also have the option of hiring a private boat tour where you can discuss and plan your own itinerary with your captain – I’ll definitely be looking into this on my next romantic getaway.
I’ll be writing up a round-up of my top things to do in Kaş soon, so remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date! In the meantime, why not check out my post on my favourite restaurants in Kaş here.
The Cheekster, signing out x
