The seaside town of Kaş (pronounced Kaash) is a true Turkish delight! We visited for a wonderful week in September 2022, with this stop one of our absolute favourites. The town is located on the Mediterranean coast along the stunning Turkish Riviera. We were blessed with incredible weather (~30 degrees every day) and some of the clearest waters we have ever seen (rivalling Vis Island Croatia and Himare’s beaches in Albania).
The decision to visit Kas came after a strong recommendation from Tess’s friend when we were investigating where to stay along the Turkish coast. Unsure if the town was worth the effort to get to, we arrived and within the first 30minutes knew we had made a great decision! Bougainvillea line the streets, and the cute old town winds down to a picturesque little harbour. The outdoor terraced restaurants hum at night, and the cafe culture is excellent. Read on for our top things to do when visiting Kas, our favourite swimming spots and much more!
Top things you MUST DO when you visit Kas
- Swim in some of the clearest water in the world! No joke! The water in Kas was stunningly clear and very warm! Jump in off the rocks, or head to one of the many beaches close to the town, or out of the town. Check out our top swimming spots below!
- Explore the picturesque Kas old town: The old town is located adjacent to the harbour, with streets winding up the small hill behind. The town is quite small, but charming. Explore the boutique shops, grab a drink, or enjoy the great selection of restaurants.
- Walk around the harbour: The Kas harbour sits at the centre of the town, and is worth a wander around. One of our favourite swimming locations sits at the edge of the harbour.
- Enjoy the beautiful terraced cafe’s and restaurants around the harbour: As you wander around the harbour, you’ll see a number of restaurants and cafes lining the left side. We particularly enjoyed Oburus Momus. Read below for more cafe and restaurant recommendations
- Walk along the picturesque Beyhan Cenkci Cd. promenade towards Incebogaz Cinar Beach: We enjoyed the views along the promenade that snaked out of the town. It’s around a 1km walk to the beaches, and is an excellent place for a slightly longer walk (or run like we did).
- Have dinner or a drink in the old town at night: The old town comes to life in the evening, and is definitely worth checking out. We particularly enjoyed the restaurants, cafes and bars at the top of the old town hill, with the street of Suleyman Sandikci Sk. lined with cute terraced restaurants.
- Enjoy the excellent coffee culture in Kas: We were pleasantly surprised by the number of great cafes in Kas. Read on below for our top recommendations.
- Try some amazing vegetarian food (some of the best of our trip so far): We aren’t vegetarian, however we do enjoy limiting our meat intake at times. In Europe, getting healthier food options can be hard, therefore we have tended to gravitate towards vegetarian options at times. Kas had some excellent vegetarian cafes and restaurants (see below for our picks).
The BEST Swimming Spots in Kas:
- Swim off the rocks along Necipbey Cd: Climb down the set of stairs located opposite Linckia and you are greeted with stunning blue water. Navigate the rocks to the little ladder and jump in. The water is warm, calm, and you have the place almost to yourself. This was one of our favourite places for a swim in Kas. This swimming spot is also located adjacent to Leymona Beach Bar.
- Incebogaz Cinar Beach: Located around 1km out of the town, this beach is worth the walk. Boasting beautifully clear water, arrive early if you want to secure a spot on the sand. We visited multiple times, making it our regular ‘post run’ swim spot.
- Jump in off the rocks at the end of the harbour: Head to the end of the harbour and you will find a little set of stairs leading down to the water. This was a great spot to jump in for a quick swim. If you’re lucky, you might also see some sea turtles around here like we did on one occasion. We spoke to a local who mentioned it was a common occurrence in parts of Kas. This swimming spot is opposite the lighthouse and adjacent to the beach club. You can also find it just before you reach the popular Kucuk Cakil beach (small pebble beach).
Others: there are many other excellent beaches to swim at around Kas. Particularly, if you head 2-3kms up Beyhan Cenkci Cd. you will be greeted with many opportunities to swim off the rocks, and at little bay beaches. Some of these have beach clubs, whilst others are more remote. Additionally, boat tours run from the Kas harbour to some of the more popular beaches outside of the town, however we didn’t do this during our stay. Another option close to the down is Deyra Beach, located just at the end of the harbour, not far past the spot we enjoyed jumping in.
Great places to eat and drink in Kas:
Best coffee in Kas:
We sampled a few, and can happily say Linckia was the best coffee shop in Kas. We visited daily, and loved the coffee as much as the little outdoor terrace. This was also located 1 minute walk from one of our favourite swim spots in Kas.
Another great coffee option is Biiisstt, located near the harbour. This cafe had a great deck with views of the harbour, and dished up a decent coffee as well.
Fika Cafe offers a cute outdoor garden, quality coffee, good brunch options, and lovely service.
Sit and grab a coffee at Godo Cafe, one of our favourites in Kas. Located at the top of the main street, this is the perfect spot to enjoy a coffee and relax.
FOOD in KAS:
There’s heaps to choose from in Kas. We were definitely impressed with the cute outdoor terraces and restaurants that lined the harbour and the narrow alleys leading away from it. Our favourites included:
- Oburus Momus: This restaurant sits just off the harbour, with a delightful garden shrouded in trees and bougainvillea. The food is all vegetarian/vegan, with the falafel bowls a particular treat.
- Pisekar: Another vegetarian restaurant (there’s lots of great vegetarian options in Kas) that hit the mark! The smoked tofu burrito was excellent. We also loved the Japanese noodle soup and their salad bowls.
- Bijout Boutique Cafe: This gorgeous restaurant offers great seafood and meat options. Situated in the heart of the old town, Bijout offers ‘home cooking’.. literally. The restaurant is a couple’s kitchen, which sits open-plan onto the gorgeous garden area. Book a spot in the garden and enjoy the excellent food.
- L’Apero: This French-style restaurant and bar sits at the very top of the main street. At night there is a wonderful vibe around, and we loved sitting out the front, drinking a wine, and enjoying a French dessert.
- 2000 Restaurant: This isn’t fine dining, but it’s cheap! We wandered past a few times wondering why this unassuming place was so busy. On our final night we tried it and were blown away by the prices, with meals between 30-70 TRY (1.5-4 euro/$2-6 AUD).
Other things to do in Kas:
- Scuba diving is very popular with many options in Kas. The water is incredibly clear, making it likely excellent for scuba diving.
- Hire a moped and explore the coastline, including less popular beaches.
- Visit the greek island Kastellorizo by boat: Yes, you can visit a Greek Island only a few kilometres off the coast of Turkey. It costs around 30 euros from what we could tell. We were tight on Schengen days so we didn’t visit, but it looks beautiful and is somewhere we would love to check out if we return.
- Paragliding, kyacking and more are also possible in Kas.
- Boat tours to the sunken city and other beaches along the riviera.
Want to stay in Kas? What to know:
How long should you stay in Kas? As long as you can! We loved our stay! Our visit to Kas was for 8 nights, and we found this the perfect amount of time to relax, recharge, and enjoy the town. We acknowledge for some this length of time may be excessive, but we would encourage you to stay for at least 3-4 days, particularly due to the 3+ hour transit time from Antalya.
How to get to Kas: Kas is located on the Turkish Riviera, around 190kms from Antalya old town (~3hrs and 15-30mins by car) or 200kms from Antalya Airport. It is only 1 hour and 30 minutes from the also popular Fethiye. We took a private transfer from Antalya to Kas, organized through our accommodation which coast around 1700 Turkish Lira (~$135 AUD). We did investigate a bus, which is reported to take over 5 hours. After some previous rough bus rides, we decided against this, but it may be an option for budget conscious travellers.
Accommodation in Kas: There are many excellent places to stay in Kas, including some right on the waterfront. We stayed in a whole apartment in the heart of Kas (see here). This was within 5 minute walk to our favourite coffee shop, swim spots and more. We didn’t stay here, but were recommended to stay at Kas Otel. Its location, combined with a deck to jump off directly into the ocean makes it appear like a pretty decent option. If you are looking for alternative accommodation in Kas, take a look here or check out the map below:
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Diane
September 16, 2022 at 10:55 pm
Well, this looked like a true delight indeed!!
Great find!!
Greek island next time sounds like a great idea too!!
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