Kalkan with Teens & Tweens

With A'levels looming, I made a promise to my daughter (who am I kidding? It was a thinly veiled bribe) that if she pressed on down the home straight towards those last exams, we’d reward her – and a friend or two – with a summer trip to somewhere they could all let their hair down. Conditional on the effort being put in. Completely unenforceable, of course.

“Sorry, you haven’t spent enough hours on your chemistry
this week – holiday’s off.”

“Ok Dad. Not sure I want to go to uni anyway.”

My canny 12-year-old son got wind of the deal and made it clear that he wasn’t going to stand by and let this happen without a suitable slice of the pie. If his sister was going to be lolling about by day and out on the tiles by night, he would need a friend to stave off the tedium of spending endless hours alone with the parents. And truth be told, he’d tapped into a moot point. Not quite at the bottom of the pecking order (that’s the dog, he doesn’t get to go anywhere) are my wife and I. We also needed to fit into this one-size-fits-all holiday somehow.

How then, to meet the tricky brief of complicated needs – nightlife for the cocktail-guzzling 18-year-olds, water sports for the thrill-seeking 12-year-olds and peace, quiet, fabulous food, and (call me old-fashioned) more than a brushstroke of cultural interest for the parents? Not to mention uninterrupted sunshine for all.

Step forward, Kalkan.

Kalkan Harbour

We’d visited some years ago and stayed at the Kalkan Regency hotel; a gorgeous and incredibly welcoming flop-and-drop destination that served our needs with two younger children perfectly. And the more we thought about it, the more a stay in Kalkan made sense now, as we browsed through a selection of dreamy villas that would both accommodate us all and, more surprisingly, fall within budget.

Unfortunately, the days of cheap holidays in the Eastern Med are long gone. I remember visiting Greece for the first time in the late Eighties and having change from 50 drachmas at the end of the (admittedly budget) week. But Turkey – even the upmarket Turquoise Coast – still offers very good value for money.

Kalkan Regency penthouse

Kalkan Regency

What it doesn’t lack is opulence, and our villa, The Korsan Kuzey (below), felt positively palatial for the needs of a mere seven guests. The views out to sea, whether from the vast terrace and infinity pool or from the various balconies serving the bedrooms above, were to die for. There was so much space we almost didn’t know what to do with it. I’ve stayed in whole apartments smaller than our en suite.

Korsan Kuzey

Below the pool, we wandered down towards the sea via our own boardwalk leading to not one, but two decked platforms, the first shaded with an out-door kitchen (no need to trek back to the villa for a beer) and the second ideal for unadulterated sun-worship, fishing, paddleboarding or diving straight into the gin-clear water teeming with marine life.

Korsan Kuzey decked platforms

Korsan Kuzey decked platforms

Indigo Beach Club

Kalkan has unquestionably expanded in recent decades, but thankfully not in any high-rise or faceless way. Friends who’d revisited recently after a 30-year gap commented that Kalkan was as charming as ever – a larger version of its former self, but with its character intact. The proliferation of swish beach clubs is both a marker of the development and a clever way to retain its elegant feel. No rammed beaches, just well-spaced, impeccably served bars and eateries with direct sea access and one modest bill to pay when you leave. Our favourite beach club was Indigo, which we enjoyed free entry to as part of our Simpson Travel villa booking.

Doubtless, one of the joys of being there is to simply browse the warren of lanes that amble down towards the harbour. This is the Old Town, with an eclectic array of boutique shops, restaurants and shisha bars gently competing for your custom. There are deals of all sorts to be done too; you may have heard that Kalkan is a mecca for those in search of a ‘genuine’ fake Rolex or replica football kit for a fraction of the price of the real thing. You heard right. However, these shops and stalls are not the tacky sideshow you’d perhaps imagine them to be. I rather enjoyed the irony of having spent a blissful few hours exploring the wondrous ruins of the Lycian city of Patara (a short taxi ride away) only to find myself haggling over a knocked-off PSG kit with the word Mbappé on the back 50 minutes later. Let’s just say our luggage was a fair bit heavier on the way home. As indeed was I!

Kalkan, famous for it's exceptional food

Kalkan Old Town

The food, whether you are plant-based or dedicatedly nose-to-tail, is exceptional. Kalkan is famous for its rooftop restaurants. The splendour of these places only reveals itself when you have climbed the stairs and emerged out into the balmy evening air for a sumptuous supper, under lantern light and gazing at the stars reflected in the twinkling bay before you. On all sides you will see diners at other venues enjoying their similarly elevated spots, and you can’t help feeling as though you must have slipped past the doorman and up to a private members’ club in the sky.

Kalkan rooftop restaurants

Kalkan is tantalising in the breadth of its appeal. Until relatively recently, it was inhabited by Greeks and named Kalamaki. The architectural influence can still be seen, but the five-times daily call to prayer is an atmospheric reminder that this is very much Turkey. It is cosmopolitan, but also bohemian, and with just a hint of the push-and-pull of a bustling street market thrown in for good measure. Add the dawn-to-dusk sunshine, phenomenal cuisine and the clearest water you will ever swim in (don’t miss the complimentary trip along the coast on the traditional gület boat) and you have a heady mix of ingredients, amongst which there is something for just about everyone to enjoy. 

PS Exams passed and uni place happily accepted! Though I’m not sure Kalkan can take all the credit.

Timothy Watson is an actor and regular Simpson Traveller.

Three (more) good reasons to visit Kalkan

Every Simpson Travel holiday to Kalkan includes three blissfully relaxing experiences that capture the spirit of this wonderful location, with our compliments...   

ALL KALKAN HOLIDAYS