Türkiye · Lycian coast
The Lycian coast, Göcek to Kekova
Seven nights from Göcek — twelve sheltered bays, Kaş, and the sunken city at Kekova, in the least developed water in the Mediterranean.
7 nights · Round trip from Göcek
This is the route that makes the case for Turkey. It runs east from Göcek along the Lycian coast, away from the meltemi and into water where the archaeology is unfenced and half of it is underwater. Pine forest comes down to the shoreline the whole way, and the bays are deep enough that a boat can lie in most of them regardless of what the wind does.
The route, day by day
Day 1
Göcek
Board and move no further than one of the twelve bays — Bedri Rahmi, with the painted fish on the rock, is the usual first night and is forty minutes away.
Day 2
Fethiye
A short leg to the bay, the Lycian rock tombs cut into the cliff above the town, and Ölüdeniz round the headland if the day allows it.
Day 3
Kalkan
East along a coast with almost nothing on it. Kalkan is a hillside of white houses over a small harbour, and the rooftop restaurants are the reason to be ashore at all.
Day 4
Kaş
The most agreeable town on this coast: a Lycian sarcophagus in the middle of the street, Greek Meis a mile offshore, and diving on submerged ruins straight off the boat.
Day 5
Kekova
The sunken city — a shoreline of half-submerged stairways and foundations that slid into the sea in the second century. Protected, so you look and swim rather than land.
Day 6
Üçağız
The village behind Kekova, with a Lycian necropolis on the headland and a bay that stays flat whatever is happening outside. The night people remember.
Day 7
Göcek
The run west, broken at one of the twelve bays for a last swim before the boat comes in.
Worth knowing
- Göcek to Kekova and back is a genuine week — the same route one-way to Kaş suits five nights
- No yacht is based in Turkey: the boat is positioned from the eastern Mediterranean, so book earlier
- The Lycian coast sits south of the worst of the meltemi, which is why this route runs east rather than north
- Dalaman airport is half an hour from Göcek
- Kekova is a protected area: no landing on the sunken remains, and the crew know the limits
Where this route goes
Yachts that sail this route
Itineraries
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