Hello! I am here with Kas and Meis Purple Notes. I don’t like to re-watch a movie or re-read a book and I do not prefer to go to the places I go very often because I believe there are lots to explore but we have little time for that. However, this is not the case for Kaş.
Although it is very small and has few places to visit, I love Kas very much. Its main square, cafes and taverns attract me even more than the sea. Moreover, you can add a trip to Meis to make your vacation more fruitful.
Let's start with praising Kas with our travel guide :)
Because of our white collars, we had to arrange our trip to KaÅŸ on religious holiday, but we enjoyed it and discovered new places. For this reason, I decided to combine this article with my previous KaÅŸ notes and introduce you more places.
KAÅž
After the 6:00 am flight, we landed at Antalya airport.
Purple Note 1: Don't be fooled that KaÅŸ is a district of Antalya. It takes 3 hours by car between these two cities. Especially if you plan to reach by public transportation, you should estimate 4 hours or more. If there is not much difference between ticket prices, try to use Dalaman Airport as much as possible. You can also get a direct transfer service to KaÅŸ from here. (We asked for you, they said a figure like TRY 70,00- per person)
Purple Note 2: If you want to do a road trip starting from Kaş and continue with Fethiye and Göcek, do not forget to stop by Kaputaş and Patara, which have a magnificent view on the road. We could not stop here this time, but we did not forget to compile a list from previous trips for you :)
WHEN TO GO?
In our opinion, you can go whenever but many places that we will list soon may be closed during winter and you may have to have limited options. So, our advice to is arranging this trip for summer or spring.
Kaş is about to become the new attraction center of the summer, as Turkish people are bored with Çeşme and Bodrum (which are most popular summer vacation places in Turkey) options and their high costs. For this reason, if you don’t like crowd and if you say that I can't bother with making a reservation two weeks before, try not to coincide your vacation with the national holidays.
ACCOMMODATION?
As I mentioned before, Kaş is a small place. We can divide it into 3 parts as Limanağzı, Çukurbağ and Kaş center. Well, if you ask which side should we prefer, you should first ask yourself what kind of facility do you want? Ultra ultra extra all-inclusive open buffet -type hotels are not available in Kaş. However, if conditions of facility and the view is important for you, there are plenty of luxury boutique hotels in the Cukurbag region with the view of Meis and room with a pool. The prices of these hotels start from TRY 300,00- per person per night. If you want such a place, you can try Cachet, which has a magnificent view and a private pool on the balconies of its rooms, which attracted my attention while looking for a hotel. I did not stay here, but you can try and share your opinions with us.
Since we do not like spending time in the hotel and like to swim at different locations every day, we prefer small boutique hotels located in the center of KaÅŸ just across the beaches. In the season, the price of these places starts from TRY 130-150 per person per night including breakfast. On the national holidays, these prices increase to TRY 200,00-.
We have been staying in the same hotel in the city center just across Derya Beach for 3 years. We still could not be free spirited about the hotels. I think we are so used to Ms. AyÅŸe replying our call with our name whenever we call.
In summary, I recommend you to stay in the center of Kas, as it is a really small city that can be visited on foot.
PLACES TO SWIM
Limanağzı
Limanağzı is a region that you can reach by paying TRY 20,00- per person for round trip with small boats from Kaş center. There are 3 places named Nuris Beach, Bilalin Yeri and Delos Beach here. We tried Nuri and Bilal. If you ask how the facilities are in terms of service and quality, we can score them as average. However, since Bilal's Place is located on the other part of the bay, it seemed cleaner to us. As far as we understand, this is the most popular one. There is a spending limit of TRY 30,00-. You can pay this money at the entrance and eat & drink this much, if you cannot spend it all, this amount remains in the business. Prices are reasonable.
2019 update: Boat prices are still same, but the spending limit has increased TRY 40,00-
We tried Delos Beach this year as well. Quality of all of them are almost the same.
Derya Beach
The number of beaches in the center has increased considerably. You can try any of these. There is not much difference between beaches in KaÅŸ in terms of price and quality. Again, in the 2019 holiday tariff, the price of these places varies between TRY 40-50 per person.
Hidayet Bay / Blanca Beach
Blanca beach serves in Hidayet Bay located on the Çukurbağ peninsula. The sea is beautiful and clear as in all of Kaş. It is very enjoyable to swim and chill there. You can sit in the shade of the olive trees and read your book. On the other hand, as this beach has become popular as time goes on, the number of olive trees has started to decrease. I also recommend that you do not go without calling the place, as it is possible to reach the center of Kaş by car or public transportation in 15 minutes. In case of not finding a place to sit, it can be annoying to come back.
As a facility, I can say that Blanca is more beautiful than the ones in Limanağzı. If you think that beaches at Bodrum and Çeşme are too noisy, Blanca is just for you. Frozen is highly recommended.
Come on, take the books and sip frozens.
KaputaÅŸ
If you see cars piled up on the roadside while continuing on the road from KaÅŸ to Fethiye and people trying to walk with their slippers clinging to the asphalt, you should know that you have came to KaputaÅŸ.
We have always provided transportation by car, KaputaÅŸ is not a good location for public transportation in hot weather. Since it is located on the road and between the mountains, we recommend you to reach here by car.
Well, we came by car, but if you say there is a queue all the way to Gocek, the only advice I can give you about parking is to arrive early. Take a look at the pictures, for this beauty it's worth the suffering.
Purple Note 3: My advice is to use KaputaÅŸ and Patara as a stop and not to spend your whole day here. There is also a facility to buy food and drink.
Purple Note 4: In order to reach Kaputaş Beach, you have to go down the stairs. That's why I suggest you leave the grandmothers at home and come. Otherwise, you can get hit with an umbrella on your head along the ladder that lies in front of you. And don’t say ‘Why didn't this Purple Notes warn us then?’
Come on, hop up…
Patara
Patara Beach is the longest beach in our country as far as we know. As you will understand when you go, it is not possible for human eye to predict the end point. When we went, the sea was a little wavy. But its beach and sand were amazing. Sun loungers are paid, but we did not ask the prices because we did not swim here. There is also a facility on the beach. Here you can take a break and have a snack. Compared to KaputaÅŸ, I don't necessarily say to see Patara, but it can be visited once.
Purple Note 5: Definitely drive to Patara. Because it is also a museum place, you go a long way after buying a ticket at the entrance to reach the beach among the historical artifacts (we bought a ticket for a car park, the price is reasonable). My recommendation is not using the public transportation since they leave you at the entrance. Don't let your brains be scalded in the heat.
WHERE TO EAT?
TAVERNS
Üzüm Kızı – Raki (an alcolic drink with Anis- special to Turkey) / Meze (Very delicious small dishes served as appetizer)/ Fantastic view
Ruhi Bey - Rakı / Accompanied by poems
Nereid – Raki / Meze
Zaika- Meat option for those who are bored with Rakı & Meze
These restaurants listed above are the most popular places in KaÅŸ. It is possible to see these restaurants if you open any travel blog or Tripadvisor. That's why we sum it up in small words. We continue to describe what is not described in other blogs as Purple Notes.
Gelos
To be honest, we discovered this place when all of those popular places we searched were full. But fortunately, we discovered. This sweet tavern on the terrace of a building in the center of Kas is worth trying.
Actually, we were surprised when we saw the spacious and distant tables, as we were accustomed to sitting in the restaurants in Istanbul and unwillingly being a partner in the conversation of the table next to us. The service and the way the customer is dealt with is also very good. The music playing in the back is the same music that I would play if I set up a Rakı table at home. I say go and try this tavern blended with beautiful music, among the mountains, with the view of Kas, with the people you love.
2019 update: Gelos has not changed and still maintains its spacious and pleasant atmosphere. Although there is not a unique taste of meals, it is still among our recommendations to drink your raki, have a chat and distract with the very enjoyable music that follows.
Purple Note 6:
As for the dishes, the appetizers with different names and familiar tastes were very nice. We tried octopus because in the comments they praised octopus a lot but it was average. I really like the dessert with tahini in casserole, but there was a little too much lemon in it. It didn't appeal to me at all 🙂 Try another dessert too.
In summary, try the meze, my friends 🙂
Oburus Momus
This cafe, which we have been coming back for two years, offers vegetarian products. Do not say that it’s not appealing to me, you must try it !! There was no flavor that we did not like, but especially if you ask for advice, the favorite meals of all are falafel and mushroom pasta (this was not the exact name, but you can understand from the menu J I leave a photo below, my friends. The famous apple pie and the cheesecake was also delicious.
We also tried the summer wine. (A very refreshing drink with red wine and soda)
2019 update:In June 2019, we came back here to check if everything was as we remembered and Oburus Momus kept its crown by enchanting us. This time, we could not eat pasta because they were out of their special mushroom, but this time we had the opportunity to try the mushroom risotto. We took it with the summer wine again.
You cannot drink rakı every day, so try this place I think you will like it very much. Oohh Im craving Oburus Momus again….
Meydan Cafe
Do not say why you suggest this place. After coming from Istanbul, while we were wandering around to have a snack next to the sea, we chose one of the cafes in the center. I like to research whether the place is good or what to eat (even after sitting or even getting up). Luckily, the hamburgers of this cafe, which we sit in, are very good. The breads and meatballs are made by the restaurant itself. Potatoes were also very tasty. If you say let's sit somewhere without thinking too much about the hunger crisis, you can take a hamburger and beer and give a break.
Bissst
This place is also located in the center of Kas. Another habit I have acquired after starting this blog was to try to visit as many places as possible during vacations. For this reason, we were fortunate to find this sweet place that looks like a tiny coffee shop. In the evening, you can lay on puffy pillows and swing your feet on the tiny roof and sip your coffee. Moreover, apart from you lucky friends who follow this blog, I have not met many tourists who know the place yet.
2019 update: With the increasing number of tourist in the Kas, Bisst has become well known, but the pleasure of sipping a cold coffee with the sun touching your salty skin is still the same.
Affagoto, (created by adding ice cream into coffee made with espresso), is recommended.
Kaş Tava Dondurması
You know, there is colored roll-shaped ice cream that you see as boomerang in a lot of Instagram stories. I don't remember the name of the place we ate because we tried it in the last years, but I can say that it is located in the main square. Just follow the people in the queue
I cannot say that you should definitely try it, but it should be tried once, as it is one of the classics of Kaş. My advice is that you do not put too much fruit, I was the victim of my greed, and I had a taste that was not clear whether it was sweet or sour. Be careful 🙂
Night Life
The nightlife in Kas is focused on Rakı-Meze restaurants. So don’t expext to find the night clubs such as in Bodrum or Çeşme. However, you can stop by Echo Bar where you can have a drink while enjoying live music. There is a street with a lot of bars located but I think you wont enjoy if you are over 20.
Manu Cafe Coctails
A café, where you can sip your cold coffee during the day, is a popular spot for the locals of Kaş. At night it is a bar that plays light electro music. Can be tried.
It is our second place after Biiist for coffee. If the handsome British barista is still there, you say hi for us. Come on, let's do a trip to KaÅŸ and if you discover new places, do not forget to leave a comment here.
Meis Purple Notes are ready as well. Do not miss out.
See youuuu