Well with summer finally in full swing here in
Turkey I’m going to now tell you all about one of my favourite things to do in
Turkey and one of most travellers true highlights of their time when travelling
in this beautiful country.
One of the most popular things to do is cruising
along the beautiful Mediterranean coastline of Turkey (often called the Turquoise Coastline) on a traditional Turkish
gulet. Beautiful old wooden boats, of all standards that are decked out with
cabins for your bags and bathroom needs and huge deck areas with sun lounges,
sun beds and places to sit around eat, drink and dance! All you need to do is
hop on board and then it’s just chilling out, swimming, sunning and seeing some
amazing sights along the way. I have been out on these cruises over twenty five
times and feel like I could take off again tomorrow and still love it as much I
did the first time.
The cruises go in both directions between Fethiye,
where I am based, and Olympos. No matter what direction you go in you get to
see the same things along the way. The beautiful Butterfly Valley, where I
can’t promise that I’ve seen any butterfly’s in the valley, but the waters are
some of the bluest I have ever seen and it still makes me go WOW every time I
see it. You then cruise past one of the most photographed beaches in Europe –
Oludeniz. You cruise past and anchor down one end where the Blue Lagoon is
located. The scene of the original Brooke Shields Blue Lagoon movie, it’s a
body of protected water that if you enter via land you have to pay an entrance
fee, but from the boat you can swim over rocks and into the lagoon for a quick
look for free. At the end of that day you then anchor down at St Nicholas
Island, where after looking through the ruins that scatter the island you get
to enjoy one of the best sunsets of the trip from atop of the island.
The next day you then wake up in a bay that the
water is so clear you can the bottom of the ocean although would need scuba
gear to get there. You then cruise along to one of my favourite places in
Turkey – Kas. This little town is covered in bougainvillea plants; cobble stone
streets and beautiful Ottoman homes. It’s the best place in Turkey for silver jewelry
and if you can handle the heat of the place, then walking through all the
silver shops and stocking up is well worth it.
The last day, or first, depending on which
direction you come from, you get to visit the Sunken City. Once part of the
island across from where it now lays, many centuries ago an earthquake hit and
sunk this part of the City into the ocean. What you can see is steps leading
down into the ocean, door frames opening out onto open water and sunken house
foundations. You then get time in the picturesque Kekova. A tiny small fishing
village that has been left unspoiled over time. You can enter the castle
grounds that sit on top of the island for sweeping views over the ocean you
have just come from or you may just want to hunt down the restaurant that has some
of the best the home made ice cream in town. That night you get to go to a
nightclub/bar in the middle of nowhere called Smugglers Inn. A little wooden
shack that’s grown over time to be a three levelled dancing party haven.
The time in between the sites are spent in
beautiful swimming bays and you can wake up every morning and dive off the boat
for a quick dip whilst breakfast is being put out. The cruises are a highlight
of my time in Turkey and as I said earlier, I really could go out there
tomorrow and do this all over again, week in, week out.
People always ask me what my favourite things are
to do in Turkey. Well this easily makes my top 3!!
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| Butterfly Valley |
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| Sunset over St Nicholas Island |
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| Sunken City of Kekova |
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| Stunning Kas |
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| Blue Cruising |
