Kalkan public beach There is a pebble beach to the left of the harbour which has been carefully and attractively extended, where loungers etc can also be hired at a reasonable price if required.
Some parts of the bay are freshened here - cooled by several natural underground springs.

Swimming and water sport opportunities are available locally.

There are stunning beaches in the immediate vicinity. 

Kas Tomb

Patara Beach is a 45-minute journey by local dolmus [there is quite a walk after the bus stop] or 10-15 minute by car or taxi ride, and is regularly featured as one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful and undiscovered beaches.

The only building on its entire 18 kilometers of sand is a small café. The only real signs of civilization are Lycian, with the crumbling ruins of the ancient port of Patara and Letoon scattered along the coastline. Watch out for the winds, though, which probably managed to submerge an entire ancient city in sand in no time at all.

Traditional meal in Bezergan

Some very nice Lycian ruins are a short stroll away, as Patara was once an important port city of ancient Lycia.  The beach is closed after sunset as it is one of the few places in the world where the endangered Loggerhead turtles come to lay their eggs. 

This year entry tickets to the national park are for a single day, rather than for a week.  The cost is around 2 TL (approximately .85 GBP) per person.

More more information and pictures of Patara Beach,
visit Lycian Turkey site here.

Kalkan Beach Clubs and Swimming Pools

Kalkan has five very popular beach clubs (reached by shuttle from the harbour) - the Mahal, Kalamar, Likya, Patara and Yacht Club beach clubs. These are wonderful platform beaches and gardens cut into the bottom of the mountainside. They offer everything from swimming and sunbathing to bar facilities.  If you'd rather spend your day relaxing by the pool but your hotel or pension hasn’t one, there are several hotels in Kalkan with excellent pools open to the public. 

Boat trip from Kalkan Bay

Kalkan Water Sports

Near the beach clubs water sports are abound with jet skiing, water skiing, parasailing, Ringo and Banana.

Scuba Diving

Kalkan is an popular place for scuba diving due to its crystal clear waters and the fact that the area is known as the number one place for scuba diving along Turkey's coast.  It has several dive sites including islands, reefs and wall with a huge variety of marine life (including groupers, sardines, moray eels, turtles, stingrays, barracudas, sea bream, rainbow wrasse, damsel fish, bonita, sea mullet, starfish, octopus, dolphins, nurse sharks, squid, mackerel, etc.)  Lessons for beginners through advanced.  Contact the Kalkan Dive Centre for further details - see their website at www.kalkandiving.com

River Canoeing

Enjoy an exhilarating day river canoeing on the nearby Xanthos River.  Experienced river guides take you downstream on a journey across ancient Lycian lands of lush nature, ending at Patara beach for a swim. A fun family day with a BBQ picnic lunch along the way, as well as a very enjoyable mud bath!  Eniqure at a local tour agent about this activity.

Relaxing Mud Bath

Salikent and Xanthos This is a contrasting day.

Xanthos was Capital of Lycia and the grandest of Lycian cities. Dating to the 8c and surviving up to the 12c. Until the Persian invasion it was an independent state. When the people of Xanthos, who had bravely tried to defend their city, realized that they could not repulse the invasion, they first killed their woman and committed mass suicide by throwing themselves into the flames. About 80 surviving families and people who immigrated there rebuilt the city, but a fire which broke out about 100 years later razed it to the ground. In spite of this, the city was again rebuilt. Xanthos has some excellent ruins, just thirty minutes from Kalkan.