Karacaören, Turkey

MedSailors Diary Part One: Karacaören, Kas & Kalkan

. September 26, 2016 .
Last week, I spent 7 days sailing the western coast of Turkey with Med Sailors. You’ll have seen from my relentless Instagramming and Snapchatting (it was way too pretty not too) last that last week I spent my days sailing along the southern coast of Turkey with Med Sailors. Prior to this trip I’d barely rowed an inflatable dingy, let alone help sail and stay on a yacht, so I was brimming with excitement and anticipation of a brand new experience and couldn’t wait to set foot on to our boat.

Running only to a minor delay, we hopped in a taxi outside Dalaman airport and made it to Fethiye marina bang on 3pm – just in time for set off. On board we were introduced to our amazing crew members, Lead Skipper Charlie and Guest Manager Alex, and then the rest of the guests Jess, Tory, Alan and Lauren (three Aussies and a Kiwi) and I knew straight away we were with sa great bunch and the week ahead was going to be so much fun.

We quickly unloaded in our cabin (small but cosy and with an ensuite!) and got back on deck as we set sail for our first stop, Karacaören. The first picture here was taken after we carefully (still getting used to our sea legs) scampered up to the bow of the boat to enjoy a couple of Coronas as the sun started to dip. An hour in, it was paradise from there on out.

Karacaören
We moored up in Karacaören just before sunset and jumped straight into the crystal clear water. Floats and paddle board came out and we bobbed around in the secluded bay where we met the guests from the other yacht and catamaran too.

As the sun dipped behind the Turkish hillside, Charlie and Alex brought out a brew of their special punch as we lolled around on paddle boards and enjoyed the best kind of swim-up bar. Dinner was located at the lone restaurant in the bay, a charming little wooden shack overlooking the water where I devoured some delicious mezzes and the freshest whole baked seabass. The evening ended with several rounds of ping pong (the little shack happened to have it's own table!) which inevitably progressed into beer pong, of course. It was a lovely evening filled with laughs and a great way to kick off the trip.

Come morning time, I forced myself up with a slight beer/punch induced fuzzy head to watch the sunrise from the deck of our boat. We'd docked so the boat was facing directly opposite a mountainous landscape and I watched the sky flood with hues of electric blues, oranges and pinks as the sun peeked over the mountain tips – well worth waking up early for.

Kas
After a freshly prepared breakfast by Charlie and Alex, we spent an hour or so drinking coffee and paddle boarding around the bay before setting off for our next stop, Kas. The journey to Kas was around 6 hours of sailing, but not without a couple of stops along the way. Just a short way into the journey we slowed down to admire a couple of enormous sea turtles swimming near the boat. I didn't realise that they're actually quite popular in Turkey and was even lucky enough to get up close an personal with one whilst snorkelling later on in the trip!

Six hours may seem a little long, but bobbing along the Agean in glorious Turkish sunshine was just heavenly, I read October's Vogue and a good chunk of Girl On The Train, not forgetting to take a million pictures of the beautiful surroundings too, of course. Our lunch stop was in a crystal-clear turquoise bay just outside of Kas were we devoured a delicious Spanish omelette and tuna salad before having a swim and paddle-board explore around the bay.

After our swim stop, it was just short sail into the Kas marina. This little harbour town is packed with shops so it’s a great place to pick up some traditional Turkish gifts and trinkets – I picked up a gorgeous ring and bracelet on our way into the old town. We found a cute terrace bar called Omlet Kahvalti up on the hill that had the prettiest sunset view over the harbour and served some delicious but pretty affordable cocktails. Food-wise, there’s a tonne of adorable traditional tavernas here, each serving loads of fresh fish and seafood. As a group we headed to a lovely little family run place called Ikbal, situated on a gorgeous patio we devoured some delicious dishes from grilled haloumi to stuffed calamari.

Kalkan
When we got back to the boat in Kas the evening before, most of us decided it was too warm and decided to drag our mattresses up on deck to sleep under the stars (something that we’d then go on to do every night) and woke up with the sunrise. That, and the warbling’s of the towns call to prayer of course. Charlie set sail for Kalkan around 8am as some of us were still dozing on the deck, whilst the rest enjoyed fresh coffee and breakfast on the go.

The sail into Kalkan from Kas was much quicker than the previous days journey. We arrived into the bay at about half 10 for a swim stop. The boys did some cliff jumping whilst the girls swam and explored on the paddle board. It was here we ended up messing around and got towed along on the board by holding a rope attached to our boat, as you’ll have seen on my snapchat we fell in A LOT and it was bloody hilarious.

We pulled into the marina where we then had a couple of hours to explore the beautiful town. I think Kalkan was probably my favourite. The tiny streets, pastel buildings and bougainvillea remained me a little of old town Ibiza or Mykonos. It was trinket heaven so of course I was in my absolute element, it took all my might not to walk away with a humongous turkish rug and silver lantern, so settled for a couple of pretty hand-painted coasters and earrings instead. Here I also had chance to meet with the lovely designer Olivia from Hammam and Home who’d spotted I was near Kalkan on Instagram. We had a beer in a cute little bar on the marina called Aubergine and she treated me to one of her gorgeous Turkish beach towels, you can have a nosey through her gorgeous range here.

Come lunchtime, we headed back to the boat before setting off for an afternoon of exploring at the Saklikent Gorge, but more on that in my next sailing diary post. the trip was such an incredible new and social experience and is up there with some of my favourite holidays ever – I really can’t recommend it enough. Med Sailors actually have a few spaces left on their last two Turkey trips this year, leaving on the 1st or 8th of October, so if you fancy yourself some last minute sunshine and sailing fun check out the details here. You can also see their other routes to Croatia and the Greek Islands with early bird prices for next year too, I know I’ll be returning for sure. Stay tuned for more in my next post (think waterfalls, more turtles and paragliding!) and as always, thanks for reading.

Last week, I spent 7 days sailing the western coast of Turkey with Med Sailors. You’ll have seen from my relentless Instagramming and Snapchatting (it was way too pretty not too) last that last week I spent my days sailing along the southern coast of Turkey with Med Sailors. Prior to this trip I’d barely rowed an inflatable dingy, let alone help sail and stay on a yacht, so I was brimming with excitement and anticipation of a brand new experience and couldn’t wait to set foot on to our boat.

Running only to a minor delay, we hopped in a taxi outside Dalaman airport and made it to Fethiye marina bang on 3pm – just in time for set off. On board we were introduced to our amazing crew members, Lead Skipper Charlie and Guest Manager Alex, and then the rest of the guests Jess, Tory, Alan and Lauren (three Aussies and a Kiwi) and I knew straight away we were with sa great bunch and the week ahead was going to be so much fun.

We quickly unloaded in our cabin (small but cosy and with an ensuite!) and got back on deck as we set sail for our first stop, Karacaören. The first picture here was taken after we carefully (still getting used to our sea legs) scampered up to the bow of the boat to enjoy a couple of Coronas as the sun started to dip. An hour in, it was paradise from there on out.

Karacaören
We moored up in Karacaören just before sunset and jumped straight into the crystal clear water. Floats and paddle board came out and we bobbed around in the secluded bay where we met the guests from the other yacht and catamaran too.

As the sun dipped behind the Turkish hillside, Charlie and Alex brought out a brew of their special punch as we lolled around on paddle boards and enjoyed the best kind of swim-up bar. Dinner was located at the lone restaurant in the bay, a charming little wooden shack overlooking the water where I devoured some delicious mezzes and the freshest whole baked seabass. The evening ended with several rounds of ping pong (the little shack happened to have it's own table!) which inevitably progressed into beer pong, of course. It was a lovely evening filled with laughs and a great way to kick off the trip.

Come morning time, I forced myself up with a slight beer/punch induced fuzzy head to watch the sunrise from the deck of our boat. We'd docked so the boat was facing directly opposite a mountainous landscape and I watched the sky flood with hues of electric blues, oranges and pinks as the sun peeked over the mountain tips – well worth waking up early for.

Kas
After a freshly prepared breakfast by Charlie and Alex, we spent an hour or so drinking coffee and paddle boarding around the bay before setting off for our next stop, Kas. The journey to Kas was around 6 hours of sailing, but not without a couple of stops along the way. Just a short way into the journey we slowed down to admire a couple of enormous sea turtles swimming near the boat. I didn't realise that they're actually quite popular in Turkey and was even lucky enough to get up close an personal with one whilst snorkelling later on in the trip!

Six hours may seem a little long, but bobbing along the Agean in glorious Turkish sunshine was just heavenly, I read October's Vogue and a good chunk of Girl On The Train, not forgetting to take a million pictures of the beautiful surroundings too, of course. Our lunch stop was in a crystal-clear turquoise bay just outside of Kas were we devoured a delicious Spanish omelette and tuna salad before having a swim and paddle-board explore around the bay.

After our swim stop, it was just short sail into the Kas marina. This little harbour town is packed with shops so it’s a great place to pick up some traditional Turkish gifts and trinkets – I picked up a gorgeous ring and bracelet on our way into the old town. We found a cute terrace bar called Omlet Kahvalti up on the hill that had the prettiest sunset view over the harbour and served some delicious but pretty affordable cocktails. Food-wise, there’s a tonne of adorable traditional tavernas here, each serving loads of fresh fish and seafood. As a group we headed to a lovely little family run place called Ikbal, situated on a gorgeous patio we devoured some delicious dishes from grilled haloumi to stuffed calamari.

Kalkan
When we got back to the boat in Kas the evening before, most of us decided it was too warm and decided to drag our mattresses up on deck to sleep under the stars (something that we’d then go on to do every night) and woke up with the sunrise. That, and the warbling’s of the towns call to prayer of course. Charlie set sail for Kalkan around 8am as some of us were still dozing on the deck, whilst the rest enjoyed fresh coffee and breakfast on the go.

The sail into Kalkan from Kas was much quicker than the previous days journey. We arrived into the bay at about half 10 for a swim stop. The boys did some cliff jumping whilst the girls swam and explored on the paddle board. It was here we ended up messing around and got towed along on the board by holding a rope attached to our boat, as you’ll have seen on my snapchat we fell in A LOT and it was bloody hilarious.

We pulled into the marina where we then had a couple of hours to explore the beautiful town. I think Kalkan was probably my favourite. The tiny streets, pastel buildings and bougainvillea remained me a little of old town Ibiza or Mykonos. It was trinket heaven so of course I was in my absolute element, it took all my might not to walk away with a humongous turkish rug and silver lantern, so settled for a couple of pretty hand-painted coasters and earrings instead. Here I also had chance to meet with the lovely designer Olivia from Hammam and Home who’d spotted I was near Kalkan on Instagram. We had a beer in a cute little bar on the marina called Aubergine and she treated me to one of her gorgeous Turkish beach towels, you can have a nosey through her gorgeous range here.

Come lunchtime, we headed back to the boat before setting off for an afternoon of exploring at the Saklikent Gorge, but more on that in my next sailing diary post. the trip was such an incredible new and social experience and is up there with some of my favourite holidays ever – I really can’t recommend it enough. Med Sailors actually have a few spaces left on their last two Turkey trips this year, leaving on the 1st or 8th of October, so if you fancy yourself some last minute sunshine and sailing fun check out the details here. You can also see their other routes to Croatia and the Greek Islands with early bird prices for next year too, I know I’ll be returning for sure. Stay tuned for more in my next post (think waterfalls, more turtles and paragliding!) and as always, thanks for reading.

2 comments

  1. Beautiful photos, I'd love to go on a holiday like this!
    Maddy, xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks INCREDIBLE. I've seen Med Sailors on a few vlogs and I really want to book a trip for next year! xx

    ReplyDelete

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