Kekova Island Boat Tour

Along this stretch of the Lycian coast the sea does something unusual: it goes glassy and pale over the shallows, and from the deck you can pick out shapes on the seabed without leaning over. That is the whole reason Kekova draws people. The island shelters a long, quiet channel, and along its northern shore lie the remains of Dolichiste, a Lycian settlement that slid into the water after earthquakes in the second century. Staircases, foundation walls and doorways still run down under the surface.

The sunken city is protected, so nobody swims or dives over it. You look at it from the water, slowly, which is honestly the better way to take it in. On the shore opposite, sarcophagi with heavy ridged lids stand half in the sea, and above the hamlet of Kaleköy a small castle keeps watch over the channel. Bring a polarising lens if you have one, or simply good sunglasses, because the glare off that water is fierce by midday.

This is a boat day rather than a walking day. Around six hours are spent on the water with several swim stops in sheltered bays where the depth drops away from clear turquoise into deep blue. There is a sun deck for drying off, a drinks bar, music, and fresh seafood lunch served on board rather than in a queue at a shore restaurant.

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in air-conditioned transport, with a professional English-speaking guide
• Entrance fees, bottled water and insurance are covered
• Departures are arranged from Antalya marina as well as Kemer, Side, Alanya and Kaş
• Children under seven travel free, which makes this an easy choice for families

If your idea of a good holiday day is swimming three or four times, eating fish with your feet still wet and watching a coastline that has been lived on for 2,500 years drift past, this fits. If you would rather walk through ruins and read inscriptions up close, a land-based Lycian day will serve you better. Either way WeCare handles the door-to-deck part: you are collected at your hotel and returned there, with no meeting points to find and no hunting for the right pier.