Our 2012 trip to Kalkan - preview

[tuppy]

In 3 hours we will be setting off for our second visit to Kalkan! Very excited!!

Here is a list of things we plan to do, restaurants we want to try etc and when we return we will update with a review of everything.

We have booked the transfers through Adda, used them last year and no problems at all.

Staying for the first 10 nights in the Sun Elite Apartments (5 minute walk from town) and then the last 4 nights in Villa Iona (Kalamar Bay area) we think it will be good to experience both sides of Kalkan and see the pros and cons of each.

Lasy year we only used kalamar beach club but this year we want to try others including Palm Beach and Villa Mahal.

Beach days out to Kaputas (pancakes are calling!) and Patara (coolbag full of efes for the sunset!).

Love boat trips and although the Sea Bella was great last year we want to try something with a little more going on this time so will do the sunken city and possibly a Dalyan trip.

Really want to try the paragliding and possibly some quad biking along patara.

We did Tlos and Saklikent Gorge last year and although they where great will probably give a miss this time.

Restaurants we want to try are:

Gironda (table booked for our Anniversary tomorrow night with live music)
Agora
Ramis
Corner (prawns to die for last year!)
Sade
Trio
Kalamaki
Korsan Fish Restaurant
and Gourmet

....also Hunkar Ocakbasi and Chillies for dinner with some deserts from the gorgeous patisserie store

Our apartments are close to Cafe EV which we have heard good things about and also the new Migros supermarket which should be handy.

The thing that took our breath away last year was the amazing smell when we got out of the taxi on arrival, wonderful flowers and warm air!

Only 12 hours until we get it all again! 


Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10105.0

[Lizilu20]

Wow Tuppy, sounds like you've got a good action plan going there. If you're anything like us though, the best laid plans go to waste! We've been saying we will go to the beach clubs and sakklikent for the past four holidays and still not acheived our ambitions!
Hope you manage to fit in all your plans and have a wonderful holiday. I'm looking forward to reading your holiday report already. 

[HolmfirthNicky]

Have a fab holiday Tuppy! Look forward to your report!

[Firecat]

Crikey tuppy you're organised! I haven't got any further with my planning than 'get into taxi at airport, arrive at villa, throw case into bedroom, open bottle of wine, sit by pool and gaze out to sea with smile on face'

[tuppy]

Well we have been back for a week or so now and it’s about that time when all you can think about is TAKE ME BACK!

We had the best 2 weeks holiday ever this time around.

The Sun Elite apartments where fantastic, perfect location with a good pool and amazing views over Kalkan Bay. Apartment 3 is up for sale now…. if only I could find that spare 100k I had lying around! Our second week was spent at Villa Iona in Kalamar Bay and I almost don't want to say how beautiful it was for fear of it getting booked up next year! Truly amazing in every way, 5 star luxury in a really peaceful, tranquil location with views out over Kalamar that literally took your breath away each morning! Club Lycia look after both of these properties for a really nice guy call John. I know you have strict advertising bans on her but I have no connection whatsoever with the owners but would definitely recommend you check them out on the usual sites for that somewhere a bit special to stay!

We tried a couple of different beach clubs this time, found Palm Beach to be good. Its only a quick boat taxi from the harbour and the staff are great and the food it good. We found Villa Mahal beach club not so good. Awful boat ride out on a terrible old boat with a driver who thinks it’s funny to crash into things....it’s not! The beds we had didn’t get any sun until well after 12pm and the staff seemed arrogant and not at all interested/attentive. We only stayed 2 hours and still got charged 10 lira for each bed! Lesson learnt!

We visited Kaputas beach which was fab! They are now renting out sunbeds and cushions along with umbrellas and of course the delicious pancakes served by the old lady sat in the shade! We learnt from our last trip that Kaputas is so much more fun if you take a pair of beach shoes with you for clambering in and out of the sea with!

We booked the Kekova sunken city boat trip through Club Lycia who we found to be very helpful throughout our holiday. The trip itself was worthwhile if only for the chance to see the turtles popping their heads up to say hello! Didn’t much like the 2 hours in a mini bus to get there but was a good day out all in all.

I’ve read somewhere about the safety aspect of paragliding in Kalkan and i will post a more in depth review in the specific thread but all i will say is think twice about who you book with and hold tight on your way up the mountain!

Our favourite restaurant was hands down Trio. We had initially been put off the harbour restaurants after a bad experience at coast and most people saying that the prices were too high but without doubt Trio consistently served the best food we have eaten in Kalkan and maybe anywhere in the world! Order the mincemeat borek to start, either the grilled jumbo prawns or the chefs’ signature steak for your main and finish with some lemon cheesecake and honestly you will be in heaven! We ate there 3 times during our stay and will be back for more next year!

We also liked gourmet who served amazing food that seemed to have a Japanese twist running through some of it. They serve a little sushi for free to start and i don’t know exactly what he does to the steaks to make them so tasty but they really where to die for! Another great dish from here was the Kurdish botan kebab - wonderful!

We ate at gironda twice, first time was really good and cocktails although pricey are really nice and sitting in the courtyard was very romantic. Food was good, not amazing but good and on the second occasion we were made to feel a little left in the dark as they had a few large groups in.

The not so good where Kalamaki, nothing wrong with the food as such but they cram so many tables in on such a small terrace that it really does feel intrusive and like you are eating with strangers. Agora we maybe just ordered the wrong things but my lamb curry was poor and the steak was average. Corner restaurant continue to serve fantastic food but really could do with a few lessons in service. They are nice enough staff but before you've had a wiff of your starter they have your main meal, dessert meal and coffee waiting for you! Probably an exaggeration but they do need to chill out a little!

We had some really nice take away meals from Hunkar Ocakbasi whose Adana kebabs are the best i have tried and we also had some really good breakfasts at Cafe EV who do a full English with all the proper ingredients!

The dogs all seemed really chilled out during the day this year, quite a lot of barking on a night but once you have the windows and doors closed it’s not really noticeable. I actually have/had quite a bad fear of dogs but this time around managed to stroke a couple that guarded our apartments for us - brave!!

Kalkan is now our clear favourite over any other holiday destination, the thought of going back to package holidays in hotels with studio rooms, 2ft balcony’s overlooking a car-park and entertainment teams that get on your wick are long gone now. Organising everything yourself i think gives you added peace of mind and I am yet to see an apartment or villa in Kalkan that i wouldn’t be happy staying in.

Thanks again to an excellent forum, such a wealth of knowledge on here that really helps enhance your holiday experience!

[alisonh]

Great report tuppy, sounds like you had a fantastic holiday. Glad you enjoyed Palm Beach Club, our favourite and I have to agree about Mahal - haven't been for a couple of years as we thought standards were slipping.  Also pleased to hear that sunbeds are now available at Kaputas, obviously more comfortable - I just hope it doesn't change too much. Completely agree about going back down the package holiday route - we first discovered Kalkan in 2007 and will be back for our 11th visit in October. We have stayed in some fab apartments and haven't been anywhere else since - maybe one day but not yet!

[HolmfirthNicky]

Great report Tuppy, glad you had a holiday. Well done you on stroking a couple of the dogs as well!!! Kalkan just gets under your skin doesn't it, we've just come back from a week in Calis beach and whilst we had a good relaxing week we were just comparing everything to Kalkan!!

[Bob & Jayne]

Yes I second that holmfirthnicky, fab report Tuppy.  I was reading it and just imagining we were there right now.  I have to agree about Mahal beach club, the boat was somewhat old, and we actually left after an hour as we pitched up on the resident sun beds, but didn't actually know at the time, and when we were asked to move there were no free ones available in the public area! Just bad luck though, because people have said that it is really nice there.  Our favourite beach club was in fact the Kalamar Beach Club, had the best day there.  Glad you had a fantastic time though, and that you are returning next year.  We have just booked our flights yesterday for next year, cannot wait.  303 days to go!

[Babs]

Thanks for the report Tuppy.....was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms from my daily fix of holiday reports....its all been a bit serious on here lately!
Was thinking of send a post asking....is anyone there??
More trip reports please all you lucky people in Kalkan.....have almost exactly a year to wait till our next visit!

[Firecat]

Aw it's lovely reading reviews like that! Puts me right back in Kalkan it does    I agree with you on two counts Tuppy - 1) there is nowhere quite like Kalkan and 2) who wants to book a package when you can bag a flight and choose from such an amazing array of privately rented accommodation? And well done on the dog front - the Kalkan street dogs are by and large a big bunch of slobbering, tail wagging softies. I had a resident dog at my villa in September and he was no trouble, a real pudding of a dog, but one day someone cut through the olive grove behind my property and he growled and barked. As I was holidaying alone I cannot tell you how reassured I was by his presence. Had that been an intruder I would have been alerted - and the intruder would have high tailed it outta there - this was a BIG dog!! 

[Lizilu20]

Fab report Tuppy, I just love reading holiday reports. We really must try a beach club or two next year. Looking forward to reading about the paragliding. I don't have the nerve but my 15yr old daughter would love to have a go. I keep saying "NO"!!! She thinks I'm a spoillsport, but I'm just being a protective mum who values her life too much to consent!!
I can't wait to be sitting in a rooftop restaurant again eating  delicious food and sipping a chilled glass of wine as I watch the sun dissapear behind Kalamar bay!!
Roll on 316 days!!!

[Pompeyalbie]

Good read Tuppy, I too will look forward to reading the review of the paragliding as I have a hankering to do it when we go out on the 5th. I need to read of someone's experience before I make my mind up. How did you book it? via an agency or direct?  Also has anyone done a quadbike excursion? I was looking at it yesterday and wondered if I'd get Mrs P out on one, she is a bit of a speed freak so can see her screaming around the sand hills.

[Mrs Enjoy Kalkan]

Thanks for sharing the report Tuppy, looks like you have got the bug like the rest of us !