Antalya Airport to Kekova private transfer

Kekova isn't a resort town in the usual sense — it's a protected bay and cluster of villages on the Antalya coast, in the Demre district next door to Kaş, named after the small island that sits in the middle of the water. There's no strip of hotels, no beach club scene, no traffic. What you get instead is pine-covered hills dropping straight into clear water, a scatter of stone villages, and 2,000-year-old ruins you can see both above the waterline and below it. The whole area — Kekova Island, Kaleköy (ancient Simena) and Üçağız (ancient Teimiussa) — has been a protected conservation zone since 1990, which is exactly why it still feels untouched. Roads only get you so far here; the rest is boats. We're a local family business that's been driving guests out from Antalya for years, and Kekova is genuinely one of the few corners of this coast that hasn't been over-built.

The reason most people come is the Sunken City — the remains of an ancient settlement along Kekova Island's northern shore that slid into the sea during a 2nd-century AD earthquake. Stone staircases, house foundations and quay walls are still visible under the surface; swimming or diving directly over the ruins is banned since it's a protected archaeological site, but boats slow right down and drift over it so you can look straight down through the water. Directly opposite sits Kaleköy, ancient Simena — no road reaches it, only a boat from Üçağız or a roughly hour-long coastal walk. A small medieval castle crowns the hill, with a tiny rock-cut theatre tucked inside it, and the climb up rewards you with one of the best views on this stretch of coast. Down on the shoreline, a half-submerged Lycian sarcophagus is the spot everyone photographs. There are no cars in the village — donkeys still carry the loads, which tells you most of what you need to know about the pace of life here.

Üçağız, ancient Teimiussa, is Kekova's real gateway — the only village with proper road access. It's a small fishing harbour with a handful of fish restaurants and Lycian rock tombs and sarcophagi scattered right through the village, the kind you stumble on mid-walk without expecting it. Boats to the Sunken City, Kaleköy and the quieter coves leave from here, and a typical day tour runs 4-6 hours with a couple of swim stops built in. The most common route for our guests is a taxi straight to Üçağız and a boat tour the same day. Tersane Island nearby, sheltered from the wind, was historically used as a shipyard — hence the name.

Public transport barely exists out here, so using Kekova as a base and covering the surrounding sites by taxi makes real sense. Demre (ancient Myra) is about 30-35 minutes away — home to the Church of St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, plus a striking set of rock-cut Lycian tombs and a Roman theatre carved into the cliffside. Kaş is another 30-40 minutes, a livelier harbour town with dive centres, boutique shops and views across to the Greek island of Kastellorizo (Meis). Kalkan, about 45-60 minutes, is a smarter, whitewashed resort built around a yacht harbour. Further out, roughly 60-75 minutes away, is Patara Beach — one of the longest sandy beaches on the Mediterranean, right next to the ruins of ancient Patara and its restored Lycian League parliament building, the Bouleuterion. On any of these trips our driver waits and brings you back on your own schedule — no rushing between tour buses.

Antalya Airport is the nearest major airport to Kekova and honestly the real gateway to the whole region — the distance is around 160 km, roughly 2.5-3 hours along the D400 coastal road through Kumluca and Finike. It's a long drive and we won't pretend otherwise, which is exactly why a reliable, fixed-price transfer matters here more than almost anywhere else on this coast. Our driver meets you at arrivals, helps with your bags, and takes you door to door — to your hotel, your pansiyon, or straight into Üçağız or Kaleköy. The price is agreed upfront: a fixed fare confirmed at booking, no surprises at the end. The last stretch often runs down narrow village lanes that don't always show up cleanly on GPS — our drivers know this coast well enough to still get you to the door.

Kekova sits far from Antalya's main tourist strip, so relying on an airport taxi rank after a late-night landing is a gamble, especially on a drive this long. We track your flight number and wait if you're delayed, night arrivals included. For early departures we plan the pickup time together in advance, working backwards from your check-in time so you're not cutting it close on the way back to the airport.

There are no big chain hotels here, and that's the point — Üçağız and Kaleköy have family-run boutique pansiyons, small sea-view hotels and a handful of restored stone houses. Kaş and Kalkan offer a wider range of accommodation, both an easy day-boat trip from Kekova itself. Whichever village or property you're staying in, give us the address and we'll plan the transfer to your door.