Kekova Sunken City Guide: Boat Tours, Kayaking & Tips - Turkey travel guide, tips and tour insights | My Turkey Adventure

Kekova Sunken City Guide (Boat Tours, Kayaking, Map)

✓ Last reviewed: 29 September 2026 — Verified and updated by İlyas Bayrak, licensed Turkish guide (licence 070867), with the My Turkey Adventure editorial team. Prices, opening hours, transport fares and visa rules reflect the latest 2026 guidance. Kekova Sunken City: An Expert Guide to Turkey's Underwater Wonder Quick Answer: The Kekova Sunken City is a submerged Lycian settlement near Kaş, best viewed from a glass-bottom boat or sea kayak. While swimming directly over the protected ruins is forbidden, tours from Üçağız, Kaş, or Demre include swimming breaks in beautiful nearby coves. I reach Kalekoy/Simena Castle only by sea; the path up to the world's smallest ancient theatre inside the castle is extremely steep, with smooth, polished rock underfoot. I insist on shoes with non-slip soles for this climb. Swimming and diving above the remains of the ancient city of Lyrnate in Kekova, submerged by an earthquake, are prohibited under conservation laws; they can only be viewed from a boat. Swimming is permitted around Simena Castle. As a guide on this coastline for over fifteen years, I can tell you that few places capture the imagination like Kekova. Here, history is not memorialized in a museum. It sleeps just beneath the surface of the impossibly turquoise water. Known in ancient times as Dolchiste, this Lycian port town was shattered by an earthquake in the 2nd century AD, causing its waterfront homes, stairways, and harbor to slide gracefully into the sea. Today, as we glide over its ghostly remains, we are not just sightseeing. We are peering through a window into a lost world, a poignant and beautiful reminder of the power of nature and the resilience of history along Turkey's magnificent coast. Explore with a local expert → Browse our private antalya tours or build a Signature Made itinerary . Visiting Information Opening Hours The site is a protected waterway. Boat tours typically operate from 08:00 to 19:00 daily, especially from April to October. Official t

Moments from our tours

Travellers gathered on the deck of a boat beside the coast.
Travellers gathered on the deck of a boat beside the coast.
Travellers seated together beside the waterfront with boats and hills behind them.
Travellers seated together beside the waterfront with boats and hills behind them.
Guests swimming with flotation rings in clear turquoise water.
Guests swimming with flotation rings in clear turquoise water.
A traveller on a boat overlooking a sheltered bay at sunset.
A traveller on a boat overlooking a sheltered bay at sunset.
Travellers kayaking across a calm coastal bay.
Travellers kayaking across a calm coastal bay.
A traveller and pilot beside their paragliding equipment at a launch area.
A traveller and pilot beside their paragliding equipment at a launch area.