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 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, restaurants and a few bar/cafes. Today the town is expanding out from this traditional centre, but the character of the Old Town and harbour remains unchanged.
Kalkan itself has a man made pebble beach, but is better known for its 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.
Like much of Turkey, Kalkan is surrounded by historical and geographical sites. Pinara, Patara, Xanthos, Thlos and Myra cover ancient settlements from the Byzantine, Roman and Lycian periods to name but a few. The river gorge at Saklikent and famous beach at Ölü Deniz are all less than an hour away.
Above all Kalkan is 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, once the favourite summer resort for wealthy Turks has now 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.
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 16km 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, Yali and Caretta Pensions also offer bathing from their sea landings and sun bed hire.
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.
Many well known tour operators offer holiday packages to Kalkan throughout the tourist season which runs from late April to the end of October. Operators specialising in Kalkan are Simpson Travel, The Discerning Collection, The Turquoise Collection and Thompson/TUI and Monarch Holidays have a small number of Kalkan hotels in their brochures. Most of them also offer the alternative of flights only.
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.
Charter flights are therefore now available into Dalaman airport all year round, although a full service from all major departure airports starts from April through to the beginning of November. Alternatively, direct scheduled flights are available with Pegasus from Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester airports and with Turkish Airlines and British Airways from Heathrow and Stansted. You can also fly with Easy Jet to Istanbul and Dalaman direct.
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 110GBP return from Dalaman and 140GBP return from Antalya per car. Mini bus transfers are also available for larger parties. Many holiday makers are now also hiring a car at the airport and driving themselves.
Dalaman to Kalkan transfer time is typically 1.5-2.0 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 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.
For many foreign nationals including the UK the tourist visa is now purchased online prior to arriving in Turkey and is valid for multiple entry/visits up to 90 days. Visa should only be purchased through the legitimate website. Currently it is still possible to buy your visa on arrival but it is more expensive and this service may be withdrawn at any time. 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. 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.