advice for family with babies & toddlers? plus fish!

[sarahvac]

Hi there. Thanks for such a helpful site.

We are off to Kalkan in 10 days and our group of two families has one baby (6mths), a 1 1/2 year old 2 1/2 year old and 3 1/2 year old.  I''d love some advice on best beaches / beach clubs for little ones.  Also are there any parks / swings around at all? Any advice on good day trips with young children - in fact any advice full stop - gratefully received.

On a different topic I really love good fresh fish - can you buy directly off fishermen or is there a decent fishmongers. Best butchers and place for veg would be great to know

Thanks in advance,  Sarah

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=1603.0

[Chucky]

Hi Sarah,
There is a small children''s park on the Kalamar Road at the side of the Asifya Hotel. I am sure if you use the search facility at the top of the page, you will find several references to the Beach Clubs and their facilities, although I am not sure that any run "clubs for children" such as you find in larger resorts and hotel complexes. Patara Beach is short trip by Dolmus and makes a lovely day out but make sure you take plenty of sunscreen and a beach umbrella/shade with you as it can get very hot there. There is a small cafe with loungers and beach umbrellas there.
There was a thread about fish on the General Discussion section a while ago, you can buy fish at the harbour, also at the small market at the back of the old dolmus station, there are a couple of fishmongers. There are also a couple of butchers and I understand that one of them speaks quite good English. I am sure someone else will chip in with their tips for the little ones.
Joan 

[Kalkan regular]

There is now a new playground above the petrol station on the way into Kalkan and also one at the side of the town hall, just further up than Omar''s Kitchen and the Nur hotel. Not sure how good they are for such young children.

[KalkanPosh]

I LOVE Patara beach, but posted last year about the dangerous rip tides there. Just be really careful of the currents, especially with young children playing in the surf. I''m still haunted by the drowning we witnessed last May of a local youth...will never forget the wailing of his mother on the beach. Don''t mean to be grim, especially at the start of the jolly holiday season, but there''s just not the back up you would expect from the equivalent rescue services we have come to rely on (and take for granted) in the UK.

[kalkankiki]

kalkan beach is the best place for young kids, esp toward the ''kleo bar'' end where it shelves more gently in to the sea. behind the beach is a cafe, beside which is a new playground. of the others mentioned this is definately the best, mainly because it is new - the others (except the one above the petrol station on the main road!! what a location!) havent had ANY maintenance since their creation, and can have broken bottle bits in the sand so watch out.
none of the play grounds are located in a shady place, and as they are metal based not used too much on hot summer days.

[sarahvac]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. 
I have begun to get slightly nervous as the organiser of our group''s holiday - as I keep reading that this is not a good resort for families young children (why do you always find this info after you''ve booked?)
We are staying in the Kisla area, so hopefully the Kalkan Beach club, together with our villa''s pool will keep everyone happy.

Sarah

[yelkenite]

Well just to put my tuppence worth in; my granddaughter Mia has been going the past couple of years with the boss around this time of year and she has a wonderful time. She was 5 last September.   My granddaughter Layla has also gone this time - they''re out there now - and by all accounts she''s having a pretty good time too.  You have to keep your eye on them where-ever you are.  I''m sure you''ll have a great time.  Bill

[tourist]

Helo everybody!

We are going to Kalkan for the first time with our 1 1/2 yo baby on 2 June. My wife+baby+nanny will stay there for a month.  I have searched this forum for all baby-related information and there is one thing that I was unable to find:  as we will be staying in a villa, we will need safety guards/doors for the stairs - one on the 1st floor and one upstairs.   Could you please let me know where we can buy/rent them as well as other baby-safety items (door stoppers, etc.).  My son is very active and loves to explore things.   

Also, how far is the walk from Kalamar Road roundabout to the Kalkan beach?  We are taking a stroller with us and hopefully will survive going uphill back home with it.

Thank you
Eugeny

[felicity]

Hi Eugeny - welcome to our forum!  I hope you and your family have a lovely time in Kalkan.  I think stair guards might be a bit of a problem because most villas are open plan, many with windy circular stairs which are bespoke and not a standard ''stair'' width and generally wider than standard stairs - so although stair gates have some adjustment - I think they will be pushed to cope with the variations found in villas.

That said - try this link for Kalkan Concierge - http://www.kalkanconcierge.com/NurseryHire.html who rent out baby things - and if anybody can help - they should be able to.

I reckon from the Kalamar road roundabout DOWN to the beach will take you 5 mins - and on the way up - 10 mins.. LOL!   You will need to be prepared to negotiate steep kerbs, variation in road levels, cobbles and many uneven surfaces - so I hope you have a lightweight stroller and a light baby..!!

Have a wonderful time in Kalkan - your baby will be thoroughly spoiled by the turkish!!

Cheers!

[tourist]

Thank you, Felicity.

I just got the photos of the stairs and it seems be stadard width.  I have asked www.kalkanconcierge.com for info and, hopefully, they will respond.   

Cheers,

Eugeny

[tourist]

We have been in Kalkan for two days now and I must say it is absolutely NO-NO for babies unless you are on the extreme side of vacationing with babies. To start with the power cuts off several times a day and it is normal in Kalkan. Then the cold water goes off for the whole day (like yesterday) and it is normal for Kalkan. The local residents just state the fact that there is no water or power and say "well, there is nothing we can do...". Then comes the main attraction - pushing the pushchair up the hill.  No matter how fit you are you will soon get tired of such quality vacation time and hire a cab.  We are staying in the mid-hill area and it is still a good 25 min walk to the center and the town beach with a stroller. And the whole area is not stroller/baby friendly because of stones and hills and unpaved roads, etc. And the another important fact - there is no beach anywhere within the walking distance which is safe for babies. Do not go to Kalamar beach club with babies and do not listen what you are told by the agents or taxi drivers. It is a waste of time and money and the baby will not be happy. We are renting a car tomorrow and will go to Patara beach (20 min drive as we were told). This is the only sand/ baby safe beach around. We have not been there yet and I hope it will be better than what we have had so far. The worst thing is that we were not told about all these problems by the villa ownwer although he knew we were coming with a baby. The forum seems to be very mild about this topic. Just make it clear, our baby is 1.3 yo. I guess that it will be hard for any kid between 1 to 5 yo unless you live right next to the town beach (which is probably OK for 3-5 yo).

I will post my impression of "Patara for babies"after we come back tomorrow.

[felicity]

Hi tourist - I''m sorry that you are having such a difficult time in Kalkan....to be fair - I think that it has been raised several times that Kalkan is probably not the most baby/toddler friendly place to go - on several occasions and on more than 1 thread.  I know that I have posted about uneven roads, pavements and hills for pushing a buggy around (and it was on another thread...).  I guess your villa owner is not going to put you off renting from him by telling you all the negatives as I know lots of people do go with babies and toddlers and have a smashing time...human nature, I''m afraid...!!  With regard to the power cuts - but more importantly the water cuts - does the villa that you are staying in not have spare capacity holding tanks to cope with such eventualities?  Power cuts are the norm in Kalkan and many other places in the Mediterranean I''m afraid.

I agree Kalamar is NOT the place to take a baby and I guess the pebble beach in kalkan shelves too steeply too.  Patara should be fine for you - just as long as it is not a windy day and the rollers are not too big - I have been to Patara when it has been calm as a mill pond and other times when windy and big waves - so good luck.  If you are renting a car - why not take a day trip to Olu deniz and try their beach - IMHO - not as lovely sand nor as big as Patara but I understand it shelves very gently into the water (about 1.5 hours away by car). 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday in Kalkan. 

[Mrs B]

Personally speaking, the ease of accessibility to areas with small children would not even enter our mind...due to the fact that we don''t have any and have never taken any to Kalkan.
Perhaps there are others out there in our situation...maybe even your villa owner...which would explain why theres little info available.

Hope your holiday improves, it is a wonderful place to holiday. 

[littlelin]

Have just returned and the power cuts are more frequent than last year. We were told it''s because of the new road and that they''re having to move the pylons so could be the same for the water which was cut off on our first day for several hours but ok since then. Not as bad as 2006 when we had no water for 4 days.

[RosiB]

My daughter and I took her two little ones - 5yrs old and 7 months - last month. Mia has been coming with us since she was 2. As long as you''re prepared, it''s a breeze! They loved it and Mia looks forward to saying merhaba to everyone she meets!

Ros

[lj flossy]

Ä°  have a very happy 2yr old that lives in Kalkan.  He is so lucky he can go to the local beach every day and swim in the lovely clear water,play in the playground and eat in the cafe all in the same place! Yes Kalkan is hilly thats part of its charm-walk or take a cab!  Young children need to be supervised at all times anyway.  Patara is a perfect beach for children.  Ä° know plenty of babies,children that have a wonderful time here as long as you shade,feed,water and watch!

[kal1]

I too have been taking my 5 year old to Kalkan since she was a baby. We had a fence made for around the pool, stairgates, highchair, cot etc so that was never a problem. She now enjoys playing with the local kids at the playground or on the beach. We always have a great time in Kalkan.