recommendations for the turquoise coast

BTW, Sarikinarya is a she not a he.

1) Aspendos Theater: A bit east of Antalya so perhaps off your route. This ancient theater has enjoyed constant use and maintenance since it was constructed so it is in amazing condition and perhaps the best example of a free-standing Roman-style theater in the world.

2) Sunken City of Kekova and island of the same name: Beside the modern village of Kaleüçağız about 10 km east of Kaş. Besides the ruins, the sea is especially beautiful. Swimming/kayaking/diving is now allowed away from the ruins.

3) Demre (Myra): A few km further east of Kekova. Home of Santa Claus for years and some outstanding cliff-cut tombs.

4) Kaputaş Beach: About 15 km west of Kaş near the west end of the most beautiful seaside drive in Turkey. This little beach is incredibly beautiful. Only some road-side parking and no services save a Turkish family that brings cold drinks/fruit/umbrellas/etc. down the cliff-side staircases. The reasonably frequent buses along that road will drop you off and pick you up.

5) Patara Beach: About 10 km west of Kalkan. This is a long, sandy beach that is protected from development. There is only one service area near the eastern end of the beach just past the village of Gelemiş. Even a short walk from the service area will find you nearly alone. There is even a decent ancient city to explore as well.

6) Xanthos: Ancient city a few km north of Patara. Great views, reasonable ruins and nearly deserted, but may be difficult to access via public transportation.

7) Paragliding at Ölüdeniz: A few km SE of Fethiye. Ölüdeniz is utterly overrun with package holiday goers but paragliding there is awesome! There is also paragliding in Kaş.

Absolutely great advise.. i dont know if my destinations are within your coverage but my favorite favorites are Gocek, Bozburun (i recommend Karia Bel Hotel), Cirali..

Hee hee ,yes I am defo a she :)
Adrasan west of Antalya is lovely,mainly Turkish visitors,unspoilt and not over developed.
I guess you know about the famous tree house lodgings at Olympos don't you?
Aside from the rock tombs at Demre also take a look at the important wetlands site there if you enjoy bird watching.
If you stop off at Kalkan at all then take a local bus(c.20 minutes) up to the hill village of Üzümlü to see a bit of real untouristy village life.
At the other end Sarıgerme very close to Dalaman airport.There are a few huge holiday village type hotels there but if you stay in the old village itself it is lovely and only low key tourism as most of those at the holiday prisons(LOL) don't leave their hotel grounds.

One comment of yours that I failed to address: That coastal area of Turkey is so well-known and well-traveled that there is nothing (except ever changing accommodation/restaurant options) you won't find in a good guide book.

But, as Sarikanarya mentioned the vast majority of holiday makers in the area are there for the sun and beach at their (often) all-inclusive resorts/hotels. Many others are spending time in their holiday homes. What this means is that there are lots of excellent sites with relatively few visitors.

thanks for the advise - will definitely use it... cannot wait! :-)

hi again,

I've looked online for buses but cannot find any information - I don't want to be too rigid but need to have some idea as time is limited. So for instance, I'm leaving Antalya on 7 June (am) and fly from Dalaman on 14 June (am), so doing the route swampeastmike suggests for instance, will it be possible just to turn up at the bus stop/ station and catch pretty much any bus that plies this area, or are they much less frequent and will need some proper planning?

cheers,

Adam

See this page. Sorry but I can't find an English page. Anyhow it is from the bus company "Batı Antalya" which is definitely your friend when moving along the Lycian coast between Antalya and Fethiye. As you can see, they have very frequent service. In addition to their formal stops, they will either drop you off or pick you up anywhere along their route.

That is the old web site.here is the new up to date one.Once you key in date and destination etc. a new window will open up which has English :)
http://batiantalyatur.com.tr/

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