Kalkan is located on Turkey’s south west coast, between the towns of Fethiye (87km to the west) and Kas (27km to the east)
It belongs to the region of Antalya, which is also the name of its regional centre, located 200km away.
Situated on Turkey’s beautiful south west Mediterranean coast, between the towns of Fethiye and Kaş, the small town of Kalkan is nestled at the foot of the Taurus Mountains in a beautiful bay. The bay faces almost due south with two notable islands at its entrance known as “mouse and snake”. The town is situated on a steep hillside which ensures that almost all properties have a sea view from some level.
The heart of Kalkan is its Old Town, a maze of small cobbled streets winding down to the harbour. The streets are lined with many old Greek and Turkish buildings covered with bougainvillea, occupied by small boutique shops, an array of quality restaurants and bar/cafes. In recent years the town has expanded out from this traditional centre, reaching further up the mountain side and around the bay, however the character of the Old Town and harbour remains unchanged.
Kalkan itself has a popular shallow man made pebble beach, but is better known for its private beach clubs and proximity to the famous beaches of Patara and Kaputas cove. The beach clubs are private rock bathing platforms with intimate café/restaurants, just a 5 minute water taxi ride round the bay. The waters around Kalkan bay have a Blue Flag award for cleanliness and are ideal for all forms of water sports. Learn to dive at one of the diving schools or simply charter a small boat and its crew for the day. The famous 17km sandy beach at Patara is a 15-20 minute car drive away and is protected due to the nesting of the loggerhead turtles. Kaputas cove is a 5 minute drive in the Kas direction and has become incredible popular in recent years. Just have a look at Instagram tags for Kaputas and you will get the idea.
Like much of Turkey, Kalkan is surrounded by historical and geographical sites. Pinara, Patara, Xanthos, Tlos and Myra cover ancient settlements from the Byzantine, Roman and Lycian periods to name but a few. The river gorge at Saklikent, famous beach at Ölü Deniz and Butterfly valley are all less than an hour away.
For its visitors however Kalkan is perhaps most famous for its high quality but reasonably priced restaurants. With over 100 to choose from, there is something for everyone. Most popular are the roof terrace restaurants of the Old Town where you can sit and watch the sun set overlooking the sea but there is a range of restaurants to suit all budgets and tastes.
It is no surprise therefore, that Kalkan, has become internationally renowned and is developing as a cosmopolitan town. The beauty of the location, the weather and the friendliness of the local people attract visitors back time and time again. In recent years the town has seen an upsurge in Turkish visitors and Turkish buyers looking to escape the cities and the recent problems of Covid.
Kalkan has a pebbly man made beach to the east side of the harbour, but is more renown for its beach clubs around the bay and its proximity to Kaputas Beach and the famous 17km sandy Patara beach. Beach clubs can be found in the harbour, at Club Patara, Komurluk and Kisla on the east side of the bay as well as in Kalamar Bay to the west. A number of small private sea front hotels such as Villa Mahal, Kulube, Yali and Caretta Pensions also offer bathing from their sea landings and sun bed hire. The beach clubs have a dailly fee for the sunbeds and umbrellas between 30TL and 100TL (2021 prices).
If lounging around the pool is more your style, then you will be pleased to know that most villas and apartments have private or shared pool facilities. A number of hotels will also allow non hotel guests use of their pools and sun beds for a small daily fee. Hotels with particularly large swimming pools are the Happy Hotel in Kalamar Bay and the Samira Deluxe Hotel in the Ortaalan area of the town.
The tourist season runs from late April to the end of October. Popular tour operators such as Anatolian Sky, TUI, First Choice, Jet2 still offer holiday packages to Kalkan. Kalkan however has very strong private villa and apartment self catering tourism, with many owners renting directly through services such as airbnb, vrbo and tripadvisor as well as local rental agents. Most visitors will therefore book their flights, accommodation and car hire/transfer independently for a more tailored holiday experience.
If you plan to travel independently, you can fly to Dalaman or Antalya airports and then transfer by private car, taxi or local coach services to Kalkan. For further information on flights and holidays to Kalkan please see our website Kalkanholidays.com.
If you are travelling independently you can arrange a private airport transfer or car hire to travel from Dalaman airport to Kalkan. A local bus service is also available via Fethiye.
Yes Dalaman is the nearest airport and in July 2006 the new International Terminal opened at Dalaman thereby increasing the capacity and service for flights all year round. The old international terminal has now been converted to cater for domestic flights, although currently all flights are arriving at the International terminal due to lower level of services from Covid 19.
Charter and scheduled flights are also available all year round to Antalya airport. In winter the availability of flights and prices may be more appealing into Antalya but the transfer time to Kalkan is longer. However many five star Antalya hotels offer great all inclusive winter deals which make a couple of nights stop over worthwhile if you have the time.
It is possible to travel from Dalaman and Antalya airport by bus, taxi or private transfer. Private transfers are usually the preferred route with costs from as little as £110 return from Dalaman and £140 return from Antalya per car. Mini bus transfers are also available for larger parties with air conditioning and free Wifi. Many holiday makers are now also hiring a car at the airport and driving themselves.
Dalaman to Kalkan transfer time is typically 1.5 hours
Antalya to Kalkan transfer time is typically 2.5-3.0 hours in summer and 3.0 hours in winter.
The opening of new Gocek tunnel in July 2006 has considerably shortened and improved the airport transfer time from Dalaman and made the route very easy to drive.
Kalkan’s weather. Kalkan is one of the hottest locations on the southern coast in summer and mildest in winter. Summer temperatures peak from the beginning of July into the middle of August and can reach into the high 30’s. From as early as March and until as late as November Kalkan enjoys day time temperatures in the low 20’s. From November until April the weather is less predictable, but cooler temperatures of 10-19 degrees are generally accompanied with sunshine, making it an ideal time to explore the area. The wettest period is usually January into mid February when heavy but short lived rain storms can be expected.
Some foreign nationals still require a tourist visa on arrival to enter Turkey which is valid for stays of up to 90 day in 180 days. UK visitors no longer require a tourist visa. Visa should only be purchased through the legitimate website. If you wish to stay in Turkey for longer periods it is possible to apply for a residents visa – please see our Living in Turkey FAQ’s section for more information.
Kalkan has a number of private doctors and dentists and Fethiye a variety of public and private hospitals. For our European visitors health care is not covered under the EHC1 as in the European Union and private health cover is necessary. However the standard of private care is excellent and generally significantly cheaper than European private hospitals. Doctors in Kalkan and in Fethiye are used to dealing with foreign patients and many hospitals have a special foreigner liaison officer to help with any communication problems and insurance paperwork.
If you are looking to relocate to Kalkan then you should read about joining the government SSK healthcare system as a resident.