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Sunken City Kekova, Demre, and Myra Day Tour from Antalya
1 day
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About this activity
Your tour sets out in the early morning with hotel pick-up. Your first stop will be for breakfast at a restaurant with a panoramic view of Kumluca. From here the road to Kekova Harbor — coined the Turquoise Coast — is picturesque, as it is bordered on one side by the Mediterranean Sea and on the other side by small towns set against the Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey.
On arrival in Kekova, embark on a 1-hour boat trip to discover the ruins of the sunken city. The glass-bottom boat sails slowly so you can clearly see the remains of many buildings under the sea, some with stairs descending under the water. Your guide will explain the history of this ancient Lycian city so that you can imagine how it once looked. On Kekova Island search for remaining walls and doors of the monumental foundations, one of them considered to be a Byzantine church. Plenty of Lycian sarcophagi can be seen either on the island or in the sea. Don't miss the opportunity to swim in the clear waters during a break.
After the cruise, you're driven to the ancient city of Myra, famous for its rock-cut tombs and large amphitheater. You will have enough time to discover many aspects with your guide, including the Lycian necropolis.
Your final visit is to the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre. Each year thousands of people from all around the world come here to see, touch, and pray at the marble sarcophagus considered to be the original tomb of St. Nicholas. The church was restored some years ago and now serves as a museum. Admire its interior covered by relatively well-preserved frescos.
Near the church stands a local restaurant where you're served an included buffet lunch before the drive back to Antalya for hotel drop-off.
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On arrival in Kekova, embark on a 1-hour boat trip to discover the ruins of the sunken city. The glass-bottom boat sails slowly so you can clearly see the remains of many buildings under the sea, some with stairs descending under the water. Your guide will explain the history of this ancient Lycian city so that you can imagine how it once looked. On Kekova Island search for remaining walls and doors of the monumental foundations, one of them considered to be a Byzantine church. Plenty of Lycian sarcophagi can be seen either on the island or in the sea. Don't miss the opportunity to swim in the clear waters during a break.
After the cruise, you're driven to the ancient city of Myra, famous for its rock-cut tombs and large amphitheater. You will have enough time to discover many aspects with your guide, including the Lycian necropolis.
Your final visit is to the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre. Each year thousands of people from all around the world come here to see, touch, and pray at the marble sarcophagus considered to be the original tomb of St. Nicholas. The church was restored some years ago and now serves as a museum. Admire its interior covered by relatively well-preserved frescos.
Near the church stands a local restaurant where you're served an included buffet lunch before the drive back to Antalya for hotel drop-off.
Included
- Kekova boat trip
- Lunch
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Entry/Admission - Myra Antik Kenti
Not included
- Drinks
- Gratuities
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
70%
Reviews
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Nice day out of Antalya, guide was Ok, spoke English, German and Turkish. Boat trip was Good, except glass bottom wasn't what I expected? Only a couple of Windows in hull bottom ? Bus driver was a little eratic, seemed he didn't know road very well ? Myra ancient city beautiful, st Nicholas church!
The three locations were very good. The Kekova boat trip was the highlight of the tour. View, water and ruins. Perfect! The St Nicolas church in Demre was unimpressive as a structure at least to me but historically significant. Too bad its nave and aisles were crowded. A lot of russians praying next to empty St Nicolar sarcophagus touching the protective glass, so be ready for a wait to get there. Did not like the total commercialization of the area. Matthew 21:12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. and Matthew 21:13 It is written, he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers. Yeah, nothing has changed since than. The Myra rock burrial sites and the amphitheather were impressive and in good conditions so to speak, so one has a chance to enjoy the intricate rock carving. What I did not like was the small, outdated and obviously underpowered bus, which had to climb the steep mountain road from Antalya to Myra in the first gear. Seats were tight and the bus AC was doing its best but abviously it was insufficient. may be because of that the bus took some backward roads that did not look like they are frequented by tour buses, so I guess it was compensation for the not that comfortable ride since one had a chance to observe real, agricultural, somewhat poor but beatuful turkish countryside. One guide spoke turkish, german and english, he took care of the 25 english speaking part of the group. He was knowldegable and pleasant dont remember name. Another guide was russian speaking and was guiding the rest of the tour group.
This tour went to some pretty places, but I was quite disappointed. I was staying in Antalya's city center, so they did not pick me up from my hotel, but instead asked me after I called them, they did not make any attempt to contact me about this arrangement to go to a McDonalds at 6:45am where someone would meet me. There, a guide met me, who did not speak good English, and couldn't tell me what company he was from or what the arrangement was, but simply asked me to follow him. I was traveling alone, so I was quite suspicious and cautious at first, and his unawareness about the whole arrangement did not make me feel at ease. Finally, I did agree to go with him, so we walked for 25 minutes into another part of the city to wait on a busy road for a coach that I learned was coming from Alanya. When the coach arrived, I found that I was one of only three English speakers on the bus -- the rest were Russian. The church of St. Nicholas is a holy site for Russian Orthodox adherents, so these tours, I now understand are full of Russians. The main guide was Russian speaking and hardly allowed our English guide to get a word in. There were also two German speaking women on the tour who had no translator at all! The English guide was a nice man, but he was 75 years old, and knew his guide spiel, but could hardly hear and really couldn't respond effectively or manage actual conversation in English. At the end of the day, they again, had no way to return me to my hotel. Fortunately, the day before I had taken the tram out to the beach, so I was able after several rounds of re-phrasing to communicate to the English guide that I wanted them to drop me near the archaeological museum so that I could catch the tram back to the historic center. All in all, although the sites were pretty, I wish I had chosen a different tour and saved myself the annoyance of this tour.
Awesome tour. Not only were Kekova, Demre, and Myra amazing, but the scenery and landscape along the way were great as well. I would highly recommend this trip. Our tour guide was extremely friendly and was very knowledgeable about the sites. Don't forget to bring extra cash as there are small shops in Demre and Myra to buy souvenirs.
We had a wonderful experience due to the great service of our guide Mustafa. We were grouped with a German language tour but Mustafa spoke English separately to keep us informed. Mustafa was engaging and arranged for a delicious lunch as well.
Tour and Mustafa Guide was fantastic! Would definite recommend it to family and friends.