Kalkan on a budget

[Slushpuppie]

I've been coming to Kalkan with my daughter for the past 8 years and as a single Mum, I've always had to watch the pennies, so thought EK members might like to know how we manage to have a great holiday with lots of fun for £600 for two weeks, that's not including flights but does include accommodation. We always find an apartment with big pool not too far from the centre.  This year we stayed at the Melissa apartment which we found on Owner's direct, just behind Cafe Vita on Kalamar Road, so easy walk into Kalkan.  Very big one bed apartment, all amenities. Lovely people who own it, (they took us to Tlos on one day) and so nice that we are happy to spend quite a bit of time there. Breakfast at home every day, then either at the pool or walk into Kalkan to the beach or the minibus to the beach just outside Kas with water slides - found all info on EK, so thanks for that.  Lunch was usually Toasted sandwiches and soft drinks - about 15 lira for two or we took our own snacks. . Every third night we had a meal out, went to Foto's place for Pizza, Cafe Vita (their prawn skewers are amazing) ,  Moonlight Terrace restaurant on Kalamar Road, best view in Kalkan, genuine mum's cooking, perfect Turkish food, set dinner (with lots of choice) 25 lira per person,   Yaz cafe, also on Kalamar road, a little bistro type place, real Turkish food,good prices and of course Merkez, where we had the best ever moussaka.

Daughter carried out an exhaustive survey of Milk shakes and chips in Kalkan, milk shake results, top 3 - Merkez, Cafe Vita, Cafe Leon, ,  Best chips, Cafe Vita.

We took the bus to Saklikent and had a perfect day, had another day in Kas, again on the bus, Went to Fethiye and did the big market then the beach and spent a hot afternoon swimming before coming back on the 5p.m. bus, and then went back to the apartment and had a barbecue - bought the ingredients at the butcher in Kalkan. Discovered Turkish sausages, perfect for breakfast and lunchtime snacks - ate masses of fresh salad, fruit and vegetables and bought lots of t-shirts and hoodies in the market to keep the 13 year old happy throughout the winter when she's missing Kalkan.

As always all the Turkish people we came into contact with were wonderful to us. We love this place so much and having a small budget has never made a difference to our enjoyment.  Back home now and have already rebooked the apartment and started planning our next trip

[misty]

Hi Slushpuppie great review and well done on the budget Kalkan is not the an easy place to holiday on a budget but you have cracked it.........

[antler]

Slushpuppie, that was a brilliant report on how to spend £600 including accommodation. Thanks for taking the time & effort to report back. I am sure you have given many people something to think about and they will benefit greatly from the information you have given.

Well done & thanks

Antler

[lorilou]

Thanks Sushpuppie,
That is good reading - last year we too gave the thumbs up for Cafe Vita's chips & skewers (and value), we stayed quite near to it off the Kalamar Road so also found it a blessing if we fancied a 'quiet' night nearer base ... but I wanted to say thanks in particular for offering a report on a few other eating places i saw last year (but was mostly pulled down to the harboutr lights) ... Moonlight Terrace sounds fabulous!

Your encouragement to use the bus service is great - fantastic way to do a day out. I'm sadly ignorant of how the bus service works - my biggest adventure last year was the dolmus to Patara! Am assuming you went up to the bus station - or are there services from the town?
Glad you both had a wonderful time. I cant wait!
L

[Joules]

You can find details of Kalkan bus services on KTLN http://kalkan.turkishlocalnews.com/portal/component/content/article/52-bus-coach-services/2131-bus-coach?directory=53

[cocoamanchester]

Hi,
I also think it was a fantastic report.  I would like to see Saklikent.  Am travelling on Friday with 2 children and we also don't have a huge budget.  Thanks for the thread on bus routes.  The bus mentions departing around 10.30 and leaving around 4.  Is there enough to do all day with 2 children? Never been to Kalkan before but like to travel independently so the bus sounds good.
Am also planning to visit the water slides near Kas.  That sounds like a good day and a good opportunity to see Kas at the same time.
Any info re travelling to Saklikent greatfully received!!!!!!

[lorilou]

Thanks Joules for the bus information - a great help.
My 'do' list is getting longer ...

[kalkan4eva]

well done, slushpuppie. You could teach us all a thing or two about budgeting

[Will]

Thank you for your great recommendations slushpuppy.  It's way too hot here to cook at the moment, so we've been looking for well priced and new to us, restaurants.

 After reading your post, we have been to Yaz and loved it.  Simple Turkish food with very laid back staff and a great location, for us the bonus is we can park virtually outside but the hit of the year has to be Moonlight terrace Restaurant, where we had our best ever Kalkan meal, totally authentic Turkish cooking by the owners Mother -yes, she's real and we met her!!
Now one for you for next year.  Reading your report it seems you don't go down to the harbour because the restaurants are a bit pricey so next year, try Bade, opposite the Fener (lighthouse Cafe) It's owned and run by the same guys who run Fener and the food is great, service ultra efficient and charming and it's half the price of the popular harbourside restaurants but has all the atmosphere and charm and if you are at the harbour or beach do try Fener Cafe, great location, very good food and most reasonable prices.  you can pop in for a coffee, milk shake for your daughter, ice cream, beer, or full blown meal. We usually go there for lunch 2 or 3 times  a week .

We'll let you know about other good, low budget places as we find them.

Will

[Charlie]

Hi Slushpuppie, great report.  Could you please post a link to the Melissa apartment you stayed in.  Much appreciated.

[baklavabuddy]

I tried Bade tonight, Will is right, very nice food and lovely staff. One to try

BB

[lorilou]

Hi BB & Will - I know that Will said Bade is opposite the Fener lighthouse cafe - assuming (forgive blondness) that it's down on the harbour - is that right?
Thanks
L

[Kalkan regular]

Yes it is. Walk along towards the beach and it is on your left.

[Slushpuppie]

Hi Charlie

Here's the link for the melissa apartment we stayed in

http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/turkey/tk1841.htm

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

[lorilou]

Thanks for that Kk Regular!
We'll give it a try!
L

[vickiah7]

Just joined this forum and find all the information so helpful. Will be coming to Kalkan next year for the second time and would like to know how to book the Melissa Apartment. Slushpuppie, Can you tell me where it is in Kalkan and is it on any of the holiday booking sites?

Wonder if anyone has experience of flying into Antalya. We have found good flights and will book if the transfer time is reasonable and the journey not too hair raising (I'm not keen on heights so might have to keep my eyes closed for the entire journey if the road is scary)

[lorilou]

Hi vickieah7, here is the link to the apartment that Slushpuppie posted:
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/turkey/tk1841.htm
Sorry cant help you with the experience of flying into Antalya though - Dalaman is the usual airport for this area of Turkey I believe - fairly easy from there ... 'course I may be corrected by someone better informed shortly!....
Another one bitten by the Kalkan bug! Us too ....

[Charlie]

Slushpuppie the apartment looks perfect and a great price too, thanks for that. 
Vickiah7 the transfer time from Antalya is 3.5 - 4 hours.  From memory it is around £180 in a car for the return journey.  Dalaman is around 1.2 - 2 hours and approx £110 for the journey.  Hope that helps.

[Will]

Hi Vickiah7

If you are thinking about a flight into Antalya, provided your flight arrives between approx 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. you could consider the option of taking the local bus service from Antalya to Kalkan.  From the airport you take a taxi to the bus station (Otogar in Turkish) which costs about 25 lira for up to 4 people.  This stage of the journey takes about 25 minutes.

Then you ask one of the bus station officials for 'Kalkan Otobus lutfen'  - 'Kalkan bus please'

Buses to Kalkan run hourly, on the hour and there is a published timetable which is quite accurate.  The buses take about 4 hours and it is a safe and reliable service.  You don't have to book in advance and you pay on the bus.  The cost at the moment is 20 lira per person.  There is plenty of room for luggage and the driver will help load bags.

So you can do an Antalya/ Kalkan transfer for one person  for approx twenty pounds, less if there is more than one travelling.

You would not need to speak Turkish to be able to do this and the bus travels through stunning scenery so the journey is interesting and there are several short stops so you can visit the loo, buy drinks etc.

We do this journey regularly as we do find that Antalya airport has a better range of flights and better prices.

Regards

Will

[amber]

I have flown ınto Antalya a few tımes and come down to Kalkan on the bus,ıts a long journey but cheap and very easy.Take care that the plane doesnt come ın too late for the last bus (sorry I dont know the tıme) or you wıll have to pay to stay overnıght ın Antalya.