Beaches & Things To Do

The nearest beach is Gemiler beach at the end of our valley, with Gemiler Island just about a mile offshore. There are wonderful views of this stunning coastline as you approach the beach over the pine-clad hill. Because it is away from the tourist centres, Gemiler is usually quiet in the week, although it gets busier at the weekends with the locals.

The famous beach and Blue Lagoon at Olu Deniz is only about 15 minutes’ drive away. This is the one you always see on the TV ads for holidays in Turkey. The waters of the Blue Lagoon are invariably calm and lap quietly along the edge of a very gently sloping shore making this beach ideal for toddlers.

The spectacular unspoilt 16km beach at Patara is about an hour’s drive from the villas. The ancient ruins at Patara are also worth seeing. If you take a day out to do a jeep safari they usually visit Patara.

There is also a beach at Calis with lots of bars and restaurants overlooking the sea. That is about half an hour from the villas, or you can reach it by ferry boat from the promenade at Fethiye. Calis beach is a delightful spot to watch the sunset.

Kaya Köy
It is a pleasant 1km flat walk from the villas to the village of Kaya Köy. This delightful traditional Turkish village has three small shops for essential supplies, about a dozen restaurants ranging from authentic local barbeque “lokantas”, to more sophisticated Western style cuisine. Generally the food is excellent and at low, low prices. Also at Kaya Köy you will find the famous deserted Greek “ghost” village of Karmylassos.

Fethiye
The ancient and bustling harbour town of Fethiye is 7km from Kaya. For those without a car, the dolmush to Fethiye stops almost outside our gates, and runs there 4 times a day.

Several of the largest casinos reopened final month together with Winstar World Casino, Riverwind Casino, Grand Casino, CrazyTime Casino, Lucky Jet and Osage Casino. The method is laborious but extraordinarily important so that we are able to sort out the nice from the dangerous.

Fethiye’s busy centre provides the holiday maker with a combination of essential shops and services such as supermarkets and banks, plus a myriad of streets in the “old town” providing souvenirs, leather, gold and carpets, as well as many restaurants, bars and dancing clubs. The magnificent natural harbour, one of the biggest on the Mediterranean, has a wonderful promenade dotted with bars and restaurants and is a relaxing place to enjoy a beer, some good food and to watch the world go by.

Hisaronu
Just the other side of the low-lying mountain ridge you will find Hisaronu, our closest “town”. Hisaronu is a lively place for eating, drinking and shopping, and is known for its night life with many clubs, bars and restaurants. Catering for all tastes, it is very continental, offering some traditional Turkish cuisine as well as Indian, Chinese, Italian, French and of course English. There are lots of shops selling everything from clothes to gold and open all hours!

Olu Deniz
7km in the opposite direction from Fethiye is the famous beach resort of Olu Deniz, packed with hotels, bars and restaurants. If the idea of having a meal or a drink at a place looking out onto a beautiful beach appeals to you, then this is the place to come. Olu Deniz is known for its famous beach and Blue Lagoon which is featured on all the TV adverts for holidays in Turkey.

If you only do one thing when you are on holiday at Kaya Vadi, we would definitely recommend you take a boat trip on a traditional Turkish wooden gulet. The best trips run from the promenade at Fethiye where you will find many gulets lined up offering “12 Island Cruises” .Typically the price is only about £10 per head including lunch, and you cruise the stunning coastline, stopping at various islands for swimming and snorkelling – a wonderful and inexpensive day out.

Another fun day out for all the family is to go on a Jeep Safari. Some safari companies will agree to bring your jeep to the villas at Kaya Vadi. You can choose to drive yourself or have a driver. All the jeeps go off in convoy and usually visit various archaeological sites, Saklikent for lunch, the river mud flats (which the kids love!), a carpet-weaving factory and the stunning beach at Patara. The drivers are all comedians and make this day good fun for everyone.

There are numerous other activities including:-

• Horse riding from Hisaronu
• Diving – one day intro, or 3 day PADI course
• Paragliding from the top of our local mountain and land on Olu Deniz beach
• Take a microlite flight from Hisaronu or from Olu Deniz beach
• Quad bike tours
• Paint balling
• Sailing or windsurfing
• Mountain bike hire
• Scooter or motorbike hire
• Aqua-parks at Hisaronu and Calis

In our valley next to the main village of Kaya Koy is the famous deserted Greek “ghost” village of Karmylassos. The story of this village and why the Greeks were forcibly removed in 1923 has been dramatized in Louis de Berniere’s book “Birds without Wings”
( he also wrote “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”).

Well worth a stroll round the atmospheric churches, school and cottages, and the children will enjoy seeing the human bones in the ossuary! Don’t miss the spectacular sea view from the top of the ridge.

If you like walking, drive or take the dolmush to the end of our valley and then take the 30 minute walk to the ancient monastery (“Af Kule”) which is literally hewn out of a cliff face. This is a great place to take a picnic looking out over the Mediterranean, but not suitable for very young children or the infirm. Our owner/manager will be pleased to give you Directions.

There are wonderful archaeological sites all over Turkey. Our favourites, within an hours’ drive, are Armintas’ Tomb in Fethiye, Pinara, Xanthos, Tlos, Letoon and Cadianda. If you take a jeep safari you will probably visit one or two of these. Further afield, you can take a two-day excursion to visit Ephesus, the Virgin Mary’s House and the amazing lime formations at Pamukkale.

Another great place to visit is the gorge at Saklikent. Here you will find icy rivers rushing through a narrow cleft in the mountains. There are many restaurants built out over the waters which makes it a relaxing, cool place to have lunch while dangling your toes in the water. You can combine a trip to Saklikent with a visit to Tlos and/or Xanthos. Alternatively take a jeep safari which will take you there for lunch (check the itinerary before you book).

Other ideas include taking a drive along the stunning coastal road to the pretty little harbour towns of Kalkan and Kas. Or take a day-trip from Fethiye on the Hydrofoil to the Greek island of Rhodes.