Active / Water Sports

Kalkan, the Quiet Harbour With a Loud Hour on the Water

Kalkan keeps its engines out of the harbour and spends its speed on the open bay. Here is where the parasails and jet skis go, what the quieter boats offer, and what each one asks of you.

By Lycia Journal5 min read
Two jet skis leaving curved wakes on turquoise water

The harbour is still at the start of the morning. Gulets sit stern-in along the quay, a man hoses down a deck, and the only engine you hear belongs to the water taxi easing away from the pier by the lighthouse. Then, out past the breakwater, a thin white line draws itself across the bay. A minute later the sound arrives.

Kalkan is a town for long lunches, and its water sports are kept at arm's length. They happen on the bay, not in front of the restaurants.

An engine kept offshore

Kalkan has one small pebble beach by the harbour and very little else at sea level, so most of what happens on the water starts at a beach club. The clubs sit around the bay on decking and rock platforms, and most of them send a water taxi to the harbour pier. Jet skis, wakeboarding, water skiing, inflatable rides and parasailing run from the clubs and from the water sports centres attached to them.

Kalamar Bay is the other base, a short drive west of town. It is a sheltered cove reached by road, with kayaks, jet skis and the dive centre.

Expect noise. Sound carries over water, and on a still day you will hear the bay from the terraces above it.

A red parasail above a yellow speedboat on the open sea
A paddleboarder on clear shallow water above a pale seabed

Ten minutes under a canopy

Parasailing is the gentlest of the loud things. You sit in a harness, the boat pulls away and the canopy fills. Then the whole bay comes into view: the harbour the size of a courtyard, the roofs climbing the hill, the Taurus standing behind them. Most flights last about ten minutes, and the quiet up there is the surprise.

The operator decides whether the wind is right, and it is worth letting them. A flight that is delayed by an hour is better than one flown in a gusty afternoon.

The jet ski, and who shares the bay

A jet ski hire is measured in minutes, not hours. You are briefed ashore and taken out in the operator's area, and the sensible plan is to stay inside it. The bay is shared with swimmers, anchored boats and people on paddleboards, and a jet ski is the one craft on it that cannot stop quickly. Give everything in the water a wide berth, and the ten minutes will feel longer than they are.

Slower, and further

The gentler option leaves from the same harbour. Day charters go out in mid-morning and come back in late afternoon. You choose the coves, swim off the stern and anchor for lunch. If you want to feel a sail rather than hear an engine, say so when you book.

Boats from Kalkan often anchor off Kaputaş for a swim, which puts the best cove on this stretch of coast within reach without a single step.

Editor's picks

  • Ride the water taxi first.Take it from the pier by the lighthouse to a club and look at the bay before you decide what to do on it.
  • Fly before you ride.A parasail flight shows you the layout of the bay, and you will know where you want the jet ski.
  • Go in the morning.The sea is usually calmer and the clubs are quieter.
  • Take a day boat for the swim stops.A gulet from the harbour gets you to coves that the road does not.
  • Dive from Kalamar.The dive centre is based there, and the reefs offshore are the reason people come to the bay.
  • Keep one day for land.Patara is 17 km away, with an ancient city and a long beach. Bring your Müze Kart.
  • Finish at the harbour.Fish and meze above the water, with the engines switched off.
A speedboat towing an inflatable ride across deep blue water

Insider notes

The water taxi drops and collects at the pier next to the lighthouse. Ask the club for the last return before you settle in for the evening, because the pier is a long way round by road.

Ask whether the safety briefing is given on land and in a language you speak. A good operator will be glad you asked, and will fit your life jacket before you leave the quay. Ask too about the take-off and landing on a parasail flight: some boats launch and land you on the deck, others offer a dip at the end.

Kalkan's afternoons are slow on land and busy at sea. Plan the loud part for the morning and the calm part for after.

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How to get to Kalkan

Dalaman is the closest airport, about 1 hour 45 minutes by road. You can book a private VIP transfer or a seat on a shared shuttle minibus, hiring a car at the airport is easy, and dolmuş minibuses run between Kalkan and both Kaş and Fethiye. The harbour is where a day on the water starts. Flights from Europe and Istanbul are covered in Getting there.

Whatever you book, the harbour is where the day starts and where it ends.

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