There are roughly sixteen things worth doing in and around Kalkan: days on the water, places to swim, the gorge and the Lycian ruins inland, the town itself, and the evening. They split cleanly three ways, into what you can walk to from the town, what leaves from the harbour by boat, and what needs a journey out. The full list is below with that split marked against every item. And one thing worth knowing before you start: how much of it is walkable depends less on Kalkan than on which part of Kalkan you sleep in.
Things to do in Kalkan at a glance
Here is the whole field. The second column says how each one is reached from the town: on foot, by boat from the harbour, or with a journey out of town. If you are choosing between two things, read that column before you read the entries.
| What it is | Reaching it from Kalkan |
|---|---|
| A day boat from the harbour | From the harbour, by boat |
| Kekova and the sunken city | From the harbour, by boat |
| Meis, the Greek island opposite | A journey out of town |
| Watersports and diving | From the harbour, by boat |
| The town beach | On foot from the town |
| The beach clubs | From the harbour, by boat |
| Kaputaş beach and its steps | A journey out of town |
| Patara beach and ruins | A journey out of town |
| The Saklıkent gorge | A journey out of town |
| Xanthos and Letoon | A journey out of town |
| A day on the Lycian Way | On foot from the town |
| The old town and harbour front | On foot from the town |
| The Thursday market | On foot from the town |
| Lunch in a mountain village | A journey out of town |
| Rooftop dinner in town | On foot from the town |
| Bars and terraces afterwards | On foot from the town |
If your real question is how to move around, getting around Kalkan: car, taxi and the dolmuş minibus answers it. This is the whole list rather than a plan for the week, so read it as the field you choose from, not the order you do things in.
Days on the water
The harbour is where most of the good days start. This corner of the Mediterranean region is best seen from the water.
- A day boat from the harbour. The classic Kalkan day: out of the harbour in the morning, then a string of swimming stops in coves you cannot reach by road. Many run on a gulet, the traditional wooden boat of this coast. See boat trips and gulet days from Kalkan for the choices.
- Kekova and the sunken city. The longer version of the same day, further along the coast, where the boat drifts over ruins submerged just off the shore and the water is clear enough to see them from the deck. A full day rather than an afternoon.
- Meis, the Greek island opposite. The small Greek island you can see from this coast, and a day trip with a different harbour, a different lunch and a swim. The boat goes from Kaş, not from Kalkan, so allow for that when you plan it.
- Watersports and diving. The water off Kalkan is clear, which makes it a good place to learn to dive, or to get back in the water if you already have. Watersports sit alongside, from the same boats and clubs you swim from, and both are easy to arrange once you are here.
Where you actually swim
The town beach is small, and most swimming here happens at the beach clubs or off a boat. That is simply how the place works, and this part of the list is built around it.
- The town beach. A small beach at the bottom of the town, beside the harbour. It does the job for a first swim on the afternoon you arrive, and for a child who wants a swim without a day out attached, but it is not where you will spend the week.
- The beach clubs. Where most swimming happens: the clubs along the shore outside town, several of them reached by boat taxi from the harbour, or with transport laid on if you eat there. Our guide to Kalkan beaches and beach clubs compares them.
- Kaputaş. The photograph everyone has seen: a small, bright cove between high cliffs, between Kalkan and Kaş. It is reached down a long flight of steps, which decides who in your party comes and how long you stay. Read how to visit Kaputaş first.
- Patara. A long stretch of sand with the ruins of the ancient city directly behind it, so the day is a swim and a walk through history in one. Our guide to Patara beach and the ruins behind it covers both together.
Inland: the gorge, the ruins and the Lycian Way
Everything in this group is a planned day out rather than something you wander to. Pick your day and start early.
- Saklıkent gorge. A deep, narrow gorge cut into the mountains inland, walked in cold water with the rock walls closing overhead. It is the coolest place you will stand on the hottest day of the year, and a different Turkey from the coast. We cover the Saklıkent gorge day trip in its own guide.
- Xanthos and Letoon. The two great Lycian sites, the old capital and its sanctuary, close enough to each other to see in one day. Take a hat and water, and give them the morning rather than the middle of the afternoon; the UNESCO listing is deserved.
- A day on the Lycian Way. The long-distance footpath runs through this coast, and a day section of it from Kalkan is a proper walk with the sea below you. Boots, plenty of water and an early start, and not in the middle of a summer afternoon.
The town itself
This is the part of the list that costs you nothing but the walk. One thing to know about that walk: the way down to the harbour is easy and the way back up is not.
- The old town and the harbour front. Whitewashed lanes stepping down towards the water, bougainvillea over the doorways, small shops and galleries, and the harbour front itself for a coffee and a look at the boats. It takes an hour or an evening, and it is the part of Kalkan you will walk through most.
- The Thursday market. Once a week the town turns into a market: fruit and spices and textiles, and the happy clutter of it. It is the morning that reminds you Kalkan is a working town as well as a resort.
- Lunch in a mountain village. İslamlar and Bezirgan sit in the hills above the town, cooler and greener, and a long lunch up there, trout in İslamlar especially, is one of the best days on this list. Go hungry and plan nothing for the afternoon.
The evening
The evening here is dinner and a drink, not a night out. That suits the town.
- Rooftop dinner in town. Kalkan's restaurants are known for their roof terraces, tables set above the lanes with the harbour lights below, and the food is genuinely good rather than merely well placed. Our guide to where to eat on the rooftops in Kalkan has the detail.
- Bars and terraces afterwards. After dinner the same lanes and the harbour front have bars and terraces for a slow drink with a view. It stays civilised and conversational; if you want a club, this is not the town for it.
Where you stay decides how much of this list is on foot
The walkable part of this list is walkable from the town, so the real question is whether you are staying in the town. Many villas here are not. Of the 53 villas we curate in the Kalkan and Kaş area, 6 name central Kalkan or the harbour, 14 name a hill village or an outlying area, and 7 are on the seafront. From the centre, the old town, the market, the harbour and the rooftops are all a stroll: one central three-bedroom apartment we curate describes the harbour as about 10 minutes on foot, with the Thursday market and the shops close by. From a village or the seafront you trade that stroll for space, quiet and the view. Decide which trade suits your party, then choose the villa to match. See villas in Kalkan.
Frequently asked questions
Is there enough here to fill a week?
Yes, comfortably. The list above runs to sixteen items, and several of them, the boat days, the beach clubs and the days inland, are worth more than one outing. Between the water, the beaches and one day inland a week fills itself, before the evenings are counted.
How steep is the walk back up from the harbour?
Steep enough to plan around. The walk down into town is easy and pleasant, and the walk back up is not, especially after dinner or in the afternoon heat, and the return is longer than the way down suggests. If someone in your party will struggle with it, the options are on our page on getting around Kalkan.
What is there for a child of roughly 8 to 12?
Plenty, from this list alone: a boat day with swimming stops, the beach clubs, the cold walk through Saklıkent gorge, the beach at Patara with ruins to explore behind it, and the market on a Thursday morning.
Where do you swim, if the town beach is small?
At the beach clubs, off a boat, and at Kaputaş and Patara on a day out. The beach clubs are where day-to-day swimming happens here, and a boat day gives you coves nobody reaches by road. Our guide to Kalkan beaches and beach clubs goes through them one by one.
