Turkish Riviera Road Trip Part 2 – Kaş

After having spent 3 nights in the Turkish tourism capital Antalya, it was time to move on to quieter and less touristic places along the coast. Our next destination was the picturesque village of Kaş with some interesting stops along the way. I have learned about this village by reading blogs online. It is not a very popular tourist destination and there aren’t lots of accommodation options. However we managed to find a very nice apartment close to the pedestrian area. We were welcomed by an awesome sunset and this surely contributed to our positive impression of this charming village. Driving from Antalya to Kaş is one of the most rewarding roadtrips you can do; beautiful beaches, mountains, valleys, greenery and several towns and villages along the way.

Below is an overview of the complete itinerary of our road trip:

Full Road Trip along the Turkish Riviera

Antalya – Kaş

Kaş is quite remote and getting here is not so easy, maybe this is why it is not very popular with tourists. The drive from Antalya takes around 3 hrs and around 2 hours are required to reach Fethiye. These two cities are where the closest airports are located. Driving here for a day trip is not very recommended as you would end up driving for most of the day. It would be a better idea to spend a night or two in this village.

Below are some things to do in Kaş and nearby places that you can visit:

Olympos Ruins in Kumluca

We haven’t actually made it to the ruins of Olympos as we arrived at the moment when the valley got flooded! Getting to the ruins involves driving along a valley and just when we arrived it seemed that somewhere else it was raining very heavily and the water levels got high enough to make it impossible to go through the valley. We were lucky enough to arrive after the water level rose since there were several people who actually got trapped on the other side of the valley and could not make it back with their car. As we were there, several cars attempted to cross the river and some got stuck in the middle (First photo above)! My advice; watch out if you are crossing the valley with your car! If the weather is not promising I would leave out this place from the itinerary. If you are interested to know more about the ruins in Olympos, check out Slow Travel Guide Blog.

Views along the way

You will be tempted to stop very frequently along your way as most of the drive from Antalya to Kaş involves driving along beautiful beaches like this one! However the drive is long and winding so I would recommend stopping only a few times otherwise you will never make it to Kaş. The stops I would recommend are to view the beaches of Papaz Koyu and Pirate Beach. If you have some extra time you can include a step in Demre as well. However we were determined to get to Kas before sunset and opted to skip Demre.

Kaş centre

This is why we wanted to get to Kas before sunset 🙂 This is by far our favourite place from all the ones we visited during our 10-day trip in Turkey. It is so picturesque! Wooden balconies, bougainvilleas (some of which even blooming in January), restaurants serving genuine fish and seafood, only a few tourists, fishing boats, children playing in the main square of the village! This village had everything we were looking for and even exceeded our expectations. It was meant to be just a stop along the way and we did not know how lovely it would be. There is actually few information online about Kaş. I would recommend spending more than one night here if you want to take a good break from the overcrowded Antalya. This village seems to keep all its characteristics and it felt like stepping back in time.

Kaputas Beach

This is another one of the numerous small beaches you will sea along your way. This beach is located 25 minutes west of Kaş. All these beaches are characterised with the turquoise waters and white sands. It was beautiful even if we visited on a gloomy day. In summer I believe this beach can get quite busy, however there are several other beaches where you can swim if you are visiting in summer.

Kalkan

We have already made up our mind for a trip next year to Turkey and this is where we will probably stay. We would like to try out a different type of holiday! Kalkan is a seaside town with a couple of shops and restaurants and several holiday villas facing the Mediterranean coast. They are particularly affordable if you are a group, but there are also options for smaller families. Below are some examples of holiday villas in Kalkan and as you can see, they are very luxurious yet affordable. I am posting some examples of holiday villas in Kalkan should you wish to take a look 🙂 Prices for the below villas range from Eur 140 to Eur 400 per person for 7 days in September.

Beautiful holiday villas in Kalkan

The above are just examples as there are several options to choose from with different prices. Get in touch to get your trip in the Turkish Riviera planned!