Most boats start at the Sunken City. We start at the far end and work back — so you swim in empty bays all morning and reach Kaleköy once the day boats have gone home. Aboard Poseidon 07, from Çayağzı harbour in Demre.
Osman Cengiz was born in 1962 and has worked the water at Çayağzı since 1985 — day tours, charters and blue voyages from Antalya to Bodrum.
He knows the coves, the winds and the currents of this coast the way other people know their street, and he guides in Turkish, English and German. His wife Gülsüm cooks everything that comes out of the galley and holds a captain’s ticket herself. Their son Cengizhan is the boat’s second captain. Between them they have handled every kind of day at sea, and nobody who steps aboard Poseidon 07 is treated as a ticket number.
The boat
One boat, eight ways to spend a day on it. Every trip leaves from Çayağzı harbour in Demre, and tea and cold water are included on all of them.
Private tours are priced per boat. On the full-day tour the price covers a group of six, with a set charge for each guest after that, up to twelve — the exact figures are on the card. The shared day tour is priced per person. Lunch is cooked on board and included on the full-day and shared tours. Message us with your dates and group size and you will get a straight answer, usually within the hour.
Full day · private The whole archipelago at your own pace, the boat yours alone, and thirteen stops with no time limit at any of them.
₺25.000 for up to 6 guests · +₺750 per extra guest · max 12
Full day · shared The same coast and the same kitchen, shared with other guests and priced per person — lunch included.
Chicken set menu ₺1.500 · fish menu ₺1.700 · ages 0–8 half price
Full day + evening The full thirteen-stop day, then sunset and dinner cooked on board — back at eleven, and never more than six of you.
Prices are per boat unless marked per person, and are reviewed each season.
Kekova weather and the best time to visit The short answer: June and September are the best all-round months, July and August are the hottest and busiest, and October is the one most people underestimate. Here is why.Kekova is small enough that every boat visits the same places — what changes is the order. We go the other way round, which is why our swimming stops are empty when everyone else’s are full.
We leave the yacht harbour at ten and slow down off the beach, where a freshwater spring runs into the sea and loggerhead turtles come in to feed. Swim with them, or photograph them from the deck.
A quiet, clean bay to start the day in — tea on deck and the first proper swim, with nobody else at anchor.
Through the strait, past Aşırlı Island and its wild goats, with the water changing from blue to green beside you.
We drop the hook in the most sheltered corner of Gökkaya. Swim, sunbathe, or do nothing at all.
The ruins of a Byzantine church stand on Kişneli Island to port. The captain tells you its history from the deck as we pass.
Past İkizler bay, Burç Castle comes into view. We slow right down for photographs and the story behind it.
A kilometre and a half along the Lycian and Roman ruins of Simena, at the slowest speed the boat will hold and as close to shore as we are allowed. Swimming is forbidden here, so this is the one stop you watch rather than swim.
Anchor among the ruins. The stonework underwater here is from the same period as the Sunken City, and you are allowed to swim over it. Lunch is served at this stop.
Famous for how clear it is, and quiet by this hour because most boats have already turned for home.
About an hour ashore. Climb to the castle, swim out to the Lycian tomb standing in the sea, walk the village lanes, and eat the homemade ice cream.
One of Kekova’s most isolated bays — clear, calm and almost always empty. A last long swim.
The last swim of the day, in the softest light it gets. Tea, coffee or a plate of fruit on deck while nobody is in a hurry.
Back alongside in Çayağzı, at the same quay we left from in the morning.
Times are a guide. The captain may adjust the programme and the length of each stop for weather and sea conditions — and because this is a private charter, the day can be reshaped around what your group feels like doing.
Poseidon 07 is a 14-metre wooden motor yacht, licensed for a maximum of twelve passengers and crewed by the family that owns her.
On a private charter the whole boat is yours: upper and lower deck both open to you, all day, with sun on one and shade on the other. There is a wide foredeck laid with kilims for sunbathing, a shaded aft deck with a full-size dining table, an inside saloon, one master cabin, a toilet and a shower. A fridge keeps whatever you bring cold, there is a Bluetooth sound system you are welcome to take over, and a swim ladder off the stern. Wi-Fi runs on board and there are sockets to charge your phone, and for the water there is a kayak and two snorkel sets you are free to use. Life jackets in adult and child sizes and full safety equipment are on board on every sailing. Osman and Gülsüm run her between them — there is no outside crew.
Poseidon 07, her bays and her kitchen — photographs from recent seasons.
Lunch is cooked on board and served at anchor — chicken, fish or köfte, with mezes and salads, then fruit and çay to finish. It is the reason a lot of guests come back.
We anchor at Tersane and eat there, with the ruins under the water beside the boat. Tea and coffee run all day at no charge. On a private charter we do not sell drinks on board — bring whatever you like, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, and there is no corkage of any kind; the fridge is there for it. On the shared day tour other drinks are available to buy on board instead. Nothing about the day is rushed to fit a schedule: if the group is still swimming, the boat waits.
Every stop on our route, and why it is worth the time we give it. Weather →
The Lycian town of Simena, sunk by earthquakes in the 2nd century. Staircases, walls and storerooms lie just under the surface for 1.5 km.
A village with no road in. A Lycian sarcophagus stands in the shallows, a crusader castle sits above the roofs, and the ice cream is homemade.
The old shipyard bay. Underwater stonework from the same era as the Sunken City, and here you are allowed to swim over it.
The clearest water in Kekova, and quiet late in the day once the day boats have started back.
Wide, sheltered and green-blue, reached through a strait watched over by the wild goats of Aşırlı Island.
A sea cave the boat can enter. Cool, echoing and a favourite stop on the winter route.
One of the most isolated anchorages on this coast — clear, calm and usually empty.
Our home harbour, where a freshwater spring runs into the sea and loggerhead turtles come in to feed.
Twelve guests, one family running the boat, and a route designed to keep you away from everybody else.
Empty bays in the morning, Kaleköy once the day boats have gone.
Licensed for twelve, so there is always deck space and a seat in the shade.
Osman on the helm, Gülsüm in the galley, Cengizhan as second captain.
Message the boat on WhatsApp. No middleman, no commission, no hidden extras.
Reviews left on Tripadvisor by guests who sailed with us.
The best day of our whole Kekova holiday. The boat was spotless, the crew so helpful, and they looked after our little daughter so kindly. Tersane Bay, the Sunken City and Gökkaya Bay were all worth it, with lovely swimming breaks along the way.
Osman and Gülsüm made us feel like family from the very first moment. Beautiful bays all day, wonderful grilled fish and mezes, and drinks that kept on coming. We have already recommended it to all our friends.
An unforgettable day with an extremely professional crew — historic ruins, stunning nature, swimming and snorkelling, and a delicious lunch on board. Highly recommended.
Everything guests usually ask before booking. If yours is not here, send it to us on WhatsApp.
Message the boat directly. We usually reply within the hour, in Turkish, English or German.
