THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN KAS, TURKEY
While the resort-y metropolitan feeling city of Antalya is the most visited, Kas is the gem of the beach towns along the Riviera.
Kas’ small cobblestone streets are alive all day and night-in the best way. There isn’t anyone outside of the stores constantly trying to sell you something, but instead just people sitting outside drinking their tea, and talking with friends. I have been to some really amazing little beach towns both on the Mediterranean and around the world, and Kas is undoubtedly my favorite so far.
Below I have gathered my favorite things to do in Kas, and in the areas around town. Whether you are there to explore for two days or to relax for five, there is plenty for everyone to do.
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EXPLORE THE OLD TOWN
With the colors, flowers, cobblestone roads and the overall vibe of Kaş, it feels like you might as well be somewhere like Greece.
In the main part of the old town, you will find the cutest clothing stores, coffee shops, souvenir stores, and much more. In the mornings the town is much quieter, but through out the day as it gets more lively it does not get too overwhelming at all. Every night of the week in the summer the town is awake until the early hours of the morning, with everyone just out relaxing, drinking, talking, and dancing to music.
Small little jewelry stands line the streets, along with fresh juice stands and so much Turkish ice cream. Though it is smaller, there is so much to see and do.
The 4th Century BCE King’s Tomb
KAPUTAS BEACH
Going to Kas you will hear mixed reviews on Kaputas Beach, some will tell you how fun and beautiful it is, some will tell you that it is too crowded.
Though there are much more beautiful beaches along the main coastal road that are quiet and untouched all around Kas, Kaputas is fun not only because of the beautiful views over the beach, the cliffs to jump off, and the clear blue water, but because of the people watching and happy atmosphere.
Kaputas is around a 25 minute drive west of Kas, and it is a perfect length of a drive to get a moped for, if you do not have a car.
ANTIPHELLUS AMPHITHEATER
I did not get any pictures of the amphitheater (Antiphellos Theatre) because I had only went at night to sit up top and look at the shooting stars with the lights of the town on the water across the way.
Though it is a restored version of the original, it is so absolutely unreal to think about people sitting there and looking out at the same mountains and same sea thousands and thousands of years ago. Sitting there under the stars is a feeling that I will never ever forget.
In the mornings, people run yoga classes, and through out the evening people still go to play music, again like people did all of those centuries in the past. It is a sweet feeling knowing that people have somewhat always been the same in ways like that throughout this whole existence.
PATARAS BEACH
If you are going west out of town to Kaputas Beach, you might as well keep going past the town of Kalkan to Patara, and visit Patara Beach. Patara has amazing ancient ruins, and unreal sand dunes further west down the beach. The little town of Patara is lovely as well.
Visiting Patara Beach and the dunes at sunset was one of my favorite memories from my time in Turkey. And driving back to Kas after dark with all of the windows down with the warm summer air, blasting music, with all of the twinkling town lights on the hills, and the sea and the tiny islands below is one of my favorite memories of all time.
Patara Beach Dunes At Sunset
VISIT KASTELLORIZO, GREECE
Located just one mile off the coast of Kaş, Kastellorizo is a tiny little Greek island that you can swim to from the shores of Turkey if you were that determined. Kastellorizo is a beautiful spot to hit even if it is just for one evening to grab drinks and dinner.
The old town on the island is a perfect mix of Greece and Turkey, and being so small and almost unknown to most foreigners visiting the Mediterranean, it is not crowded and overwhelming like a good amount of the other islands. There are also crazy blue caves as well!
There are multiple ferry rides to and from Kastellorizo daily, that again, will only take you about 25 minutes, and cost you around 20 Euros.
Along with that option, there are multiple small boat companies that you can charter a private ride over with, that will be much quicker and more fun, but just a little more pricey. You can find these small companies in the main marina and in the small tourism offices both in the center of town.
VISIT THE ROCK TOMBS
Along with the King’s Tomb in the center of town in the street, there are some tombs built into the cliffs and rocks in the city as well.
All of those hundreds of years ago, people used to bury loved ones up high in tombs carved into the mountains because they believed that being elevated up there would attract a winged creature to take them up to the next life.
These tombs have stayed intact incredibly well through so much history, and it’s just so unreal to see the old writing etched into the stone, I really am never going to be able to comprehend history like that for as long as I live!
There are lots of beautiful old rock tombs all around the area along the Lycian Way, most famously including the Tomb of Amyntas in Fethiye, and the old rocks tombs in the ancient city of Myra, around 1 hour east of Kas towards Antalya.
A DAY TRIP TO THE SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH AND THE ANCIENT CITY OF MYRA
The Saint Nicholas Church Ceiling Fresco, Demre
Out of my weeks spent in Türkiye, one of my favorites, if not my favorite, little adventure was out to Demre from Kaş to visit the Saint Nicholas church. Visiting the old church had been on my list of things to hit here since I started planning my trip, and though it is small, it was seriously so beautiful and mind bending.
Though Türkiye has such fabulous (and cheap) bus systems, I would recommend getting a car or scooter and making a day/half day trip out to Demre, along with the ancient city of Myra that is only minutes away. It is very possible to hop on a bus to adventure around, but in true Turkish fashion, the bus times are not always too scheduled and it would be much less walking and much less stressful to have the convenience of a little car to bounce around in. But if need be-it will do!
Demre is around 45 minutes east of Kaş, and the ancient city of Myra is just down the road from the church.
There are really no words to explain the church and how insane it feels to walk the halls inside, if you are interested in history and the history in this region of the world especially, this is one of the best little spots that you can visit.
TURKEY’S MUSEUM PASSES:
If you are planning on spending a good amount of your time in Türkiye visiting ruins, historical sites, museums-all of that good stuff, getting a museum pass card is a great idea to consider.
If you think that you will spend over 3500₺ ($125 USD) on all museums and archaeological sites, the museum card allows you free entrance for everything over 15 days all around the country for that 3500₺. There are also specific museum card options as well, like the Istanbul pass, Cappadocia pass, Mediterranean pass, and Aegean pass
You can learn more and purchase a pass HERE.
ABANDONED WATER PARK
Pictured above in the Kastellorizo section: on the northern part of the peninsula, there is a huge, beautiful waterpark/resort(?) on the cliffs that has just been completely abandoned. This is such a beautiful sunset spot, with the best view of Kastellorizo. There was a good amount of people watching the sunset there as well.
THE SUNKEN CITY OF KEKOVA
The sunken city of Kekova (or Dolichiste) is an ancient city of the Lycian people on the island of Kekova that has partially sunken into the sea over the hundreds and hundreds of years.
There are a number of boat tours that you can take to see the island, and you can even book one with Sole n’ Blu to make it easy another option is kayaking around the island, which I think is even better to see the history up close!
VISIT THE MARKET/BAZAAR
Right by the center of town, across from the main road out to the peninsula is the big Friday market filled with the most colorful fresh fruit, vegetables, candy, nuts, and so many Turkish towels, knock-off designer, and more.
Kaş is one of my favorite places on this earth after my visit, not only because of how good of a time I had here and how great my summer was this year, but the Mediterranean is my favorite region at this point in my life, and this little corner of the sea is so magical in every sense of the word. I have so much more to write about Kas, so there will be much more info coming your way eventually!
THINKING OF TRAVELING TO KAS? DO IT.
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