If anybody has got any info on beaches and places to visit please can you let me know.

Dear JackDusty

Also a great place for families and certainly not over developed and over crowded, is the small quiet village of Cirali. It has a great beach with very clean water and not packed with lounge chairs. Also at the south end of the beach is the ancient city of Olympos to explore. Cirali is also the home of the "Chimeara" ( Yanartas - meaning " burning rock ") Cirali also makes a great home base as you can easily visit or do daily trips to neighbouring areas like Kalkan, Fethiye, Simena, Patara, Antalya, Termessos and many more.
Do a google search for more info or you if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Caretta

Got to ask and I know this is off topic but with the name jackdusty are you in the RN??

Answer to Bryn - I used to be left 2004.
Thanks very much for the reply about Kalkan much appreciated.

John

Any members going to Belek (Cornellia Deluxe Hotel specificaly) in the first 2 weeks of June . From the few hotel revues i have read, i understand that the resort is predominaintly made up of Russian /German visitors. Not that it bothers me, i met some nice people in Fethiye last year, from Berlin. But it Would be nice to hear from anybody going to Belek around this time

OOPS! SORRY

Should have been a new topic not a reply to this one
hey i am new at this

forgive me[/b]

Intending to book to come here in May, can anyone tell me of the journey time to Fethiye from Kalkan and the regularity of Dolmus ?? Also, my wife is a culture vulture and so, in addition to Saklikent Gorge and Cirali are there any other places of interest please ?? We have done Ephesus, Pammukale and Dalyan River Boat Trip.

Kalkan is about 70km from Fethiye. The dolmus takes about 1.5 hours, and they leave roughly hourly, if I recall correctly. Faster by taxi or car, obviously.

Nearby places of historical interest abound: see

http://www.lycianturkey.com/ for details. The ones I enjoyed were the Greek theatre at Kas, ruins at Patara & Xanthos, the amazing tombs at Myra, and the collection of sites (BC through to Byzantine) at Kekova/Simena/Kale.

Kalkan is a pretty good base if you like wandering around ruins.

- Tony -

Tony, thanks for responding so quick, the info you provided was perfect as my wife likes to look around old ruins. We will be noting all the recommendations made in this discussion. The holiday is now firmly booked and now we look forward to this new experience, an area of Turkey we've not visited before. The previous closest to this area was when we stayed in Hisaronu but whilst there it was too hot to travel anywhere, though we did manage to get to Ephesus & Pammukalae.

Hi all, just back from Kalkan, my first trip to Turkey, specifically to view the eclipse, but more of that elsewhere.

I have to say, first impressions, I was a little disappointed with Kalkan. It didn't help that I drove from Dalaman and it was already going dark when I left the airport.

My apartment was on the Kalamar bay side, and I'm glad I had a car! I'd hate to have to walk into Kalkan every day!

The amount of roadworks and building was phenominal(?) For those who have been, I couldn't beleive the main street entering the town downhill from the petrol station. It was like a dirt track! Sure they were laying these little blocks on the street/road but what was there before?
Elsewhere, piles of cement, sand, bricks etc were common. Even at 10pm on Sunday, not only was the barber doing a roaring trade, but builders, plasterers, painters were hard at work. Some of the small streets were impassable on foot even with care.

At one stage, returning from a restaurant, I encountered a pile of bricks in the middle of the road - no lights, no nothing. And the car coming the other way wasn't about to slow down either!

At Kalamar bay, huge complexes of villas and apartments were being erected - bang, hammer, drill all day and well into the evening. No chance of a lie-in either.

I found myself blocked in one morning, intending an early start, by yet more block-paving laying in the street I had to climb to reach the main street into Kalkan. It was impossible to get the car out. But with a little persuasion, mounds of cement, stones and bricks were grudgingly moved to one side to allow me to pass. When I returned, I had to park some way from my apartment, and dreaded the next day when I would have to lug my case etc over wasteland to the car to get to the airport. Fortunately, the following morning, somebody had done a little excavating to get their car upto their apartment near mine and I quickly took advantage.

Not much in the way of shops and restaurants was open, I think the bank was even closed, but the PO was open so I could change my money. Virtually all the boats down at the harbour were in dry dock for renovation - another source of noise and dust as they ground away at the old paintwork and slapped on new paint by the gallon.

I ate at Ali Baba's the first night and was so impressed that I ate every night there. I think I almost became one of the family. I fancied a chinese meal but that too was closed.

I must say all the dogs were very friendly but the cats more timid.

I went to Patara, Xanthos, Kas, Myra, Olympos, and of course Side for the eclipse. All excellent for antiquities but Olympos was very overgrown and would be a lot better if some vegetation was cleared.

Wild tortoise crossing the road (under my supervision) was nice to see and some very interesting birds round the various ruins.

Getting up into the mountains on my last day, reaching the snow-line, was rewarded by excellent views.

Blue, sunny skies all week, no rain, and a very dramatic eclipse added to the enjoyment and, yes, I eventually warmed to the Kalkan 'building site'. I'm sure it will all have been cleared for the start of the season.

The downside of the popularity of Kalkan - the building works
Its a lot different in season. By law all building work has to stop so this time of year is a mad rush. I hope that it hasnt put you off returning sometime, during the season when its so totally different. And isnt Ali's great? We eat there a lot, always treated well and enjoy meeting the locals

Has anyone stayed at the Allegra in Kalkan? It looks great on the website but I can't find any reviews of the hotel. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

There are a few reviews on http://www.nisanyan.net but only one in English!

We are going out on May 18th, can anyone supply us with good reasonably priced places to eat, especially where the locals go. This is to do with the on going aspect of possibly relocating to Turkey at a future date.

Choice was limited in March, but after eating at Ali Baba's the first night, I didn't bother with anywhere else. The food was good, especially being a vegetarian, and it was well patronised by Turkish people and quite a few ex-pats. I always (so they said) received a complimentary Nescafe at the end of the meal. Price for one was about 12-14 TL but that was without meat of course.

Has anybody been there recently My wife is wanting to have a Tukish massage whilst we are in Kalkan in Aug and I saw on an earlier post that they do them here
Has anybody been there recently and can tell me if they still do
Many Thanks
John

mrmoonlight, thanks for your response, I have noted that other people have said about Ali Babas and so, we will give it a try. Jackdusty, whilst I am in Kalkan next month, I will make an enquiry for you and pm when we get back. Just to confirm, you DO mean Turkish Bath which comes with the massage don't you !!

Hi Cruisecontroller. thanks for the reply. yes I do mean a massage as well, I think my wife will think it will be very soothing
Hope you have a good time next month and look forward to hearing all about it

John
Roll on 07 Aug 2006

Has anybody been there recently My wife is wanting to have a Tukish massage whilst we are in Kalkan in Aug and I saw on an earlier post that they do them here
Has anybody been there recently and can tell me if they still do
Many Thanks
John

Theres not a traditional hamman but one of the Tapastry hotels does the bath and massage. If you want a "traditional" hamman then you need to go to Kas

Kalkan has over 100 restaurants, ranging from cheap and cheerful to "swish". The food and service is good in them all. Everyone I know has at least four or five favourites and you rarely hear of complaints. Ones that are regularly recommended are the Korsan and the Korsan Fish Terrace, Aubergine, The Old Trading House, Ali Baba's, Tomato and Sofra's. Our personal favourites are the Alternitif Atlantis, the Albatros and Adam's. You will be spoilt for choice.

Hi JoanH, welcome aboard or should it be abroad ?!!? Many thanks for your recommendations, I will note them down and look them up when we get there.

Does anybody know what the journey time is between Kalkan and Olu Deniz please. Reason I ask is that some friends of ours are staying there.