4 Days Fethiye Holiday: 12 Islands Boat Trip and Sea Kayaking at Kekova (Group Tour)

Highlights of the 4-Day Fethiye 12 Islands and Kekova Kayaking Tour

Short on time but keen to experience the best of the Turquoise Coast? This four-day stay in Fethiye packs two of the region's most rewarding outings into a relaxed long weekend: a day on a traditional boat among the islands of the Gulf of Fethiye and a guided sea kayaking excursion over the drowned ruins of Kekova. You stay three nights at a hotel in Fethiye, with transfers from and to Dalaman airport or Fethiye bus station, and the programme is family-friendly as long as children are comfortable in the water.

The boat day leaves Fethiye harbour in the morning and visits four to six bays and islands depending on conditions. At Flat Island the water is so shallow that it is perfect for young children and hesitant swimmers, while Cleopatra's Bath invites you to snorkel near the boat or look at the remains of the old bath house. Dockyard Island preserves the ruins of an ancient shipyard and of a settlement abandoned after the 1957 earthquake. Lunch is cooked on board, and the rest of the time is yours for swimming, sunbathing on deck and enjoying the scenery of pine-covered hills dropping into the sea.

The second excursion heads east along the coast to Kas and then to the kayaking base at Ucagiz. After a briefing on basic paddling, you glide over the clear water of Kekova Bay, where an island town built by the Lycians and later the Romans slipped partly beneath the sea after earthquakes. Rock-cut tombs, the outlines of half-submerged baths, an old harbour and the ruins of a Byzantine church all come into view, and a short climb leads to the castle above the village of Simena for a panoramic view. Kayaks, safety equipment, a professional guide, transfers and lunch are included, and both excursions depend on weather and seasonal conditions.