Turkey
Fethiye
Our first stop was Fethiye, and before the sail I honestly had no idea what to expect. It’s a beautiful seaside town with a huge marina, and even though it’s packed in summer it never felt overcrowded. This was back in 2022, so it’s probably more popular now.
Story time So, we landed in Dalaman pretty late and didn’t reach Fethiye until around 2 am. We were already exhausted and of course, we had to haul our suitcases up a steep hill. Wow, poor girls. And then out of nowhere this massive hog comes sprinting past us. Legit sounded like a horse coming at us. I mean, what the hell? Couldn’t make this up. Had to be there. Anyways, we had a sail booked for the next day, a 7 night sail for just $500, meals included. It seemed too good to be true, but it turned out to be legit. We booked with SAILNSTAY, though it’s definitely more expensive now, tripled in price. The people on board were boring af, an American family of 9, but we had a cool Aussie couple, and a gay Kiwi guy. The food was mostly vegetarian for breakfast and lunch, but dinner had some meat dishes like whole fish. There was a language barrier with the crew, and the captain was a bit weird towards the end. Our boat always docked in the middle of nowhere at night, which was a kinda shit because what do we even do? We joked about jumping off board. But despite all that, the sail was honestly incredible. Our first stop was Butterfly Valley, and it was something I’ve never seen before. Unforgettable (mostly because I got knocked out by a boat). We cruised from Fethiye to Kas, passing the Sunken City of Kekova and ancient ruins along the way. The Sunken City of Kekova was cool, it’s an underwater site with visible remnants like houses and staircases dating back to the 2nd century AD. We spent our days in the Mediterranean, trying water sports, watching sunsets while goats roamed the mountains. Swimming with turtles and hand feeding them watermelon was easily one of my favourite days. But by day four, it was feeling a bit too long so we got out of it by saying our grandma died.
Antalya
Antalya was pretty underwhelming for me, I probably wouldn’t go back. It’s a beautiful place for sure, but my friend and I didn’t have the best time there. Every day we had to deal with at least one creepy old man or boys group who wouldn’t leave us alone. It got to the point where it was really frustrating, so we decided to cut our trip short and fly to Vienna. We ended up missing Istanbul and Cappadocia, but looking back it’s wild how it all played out. We never planned to go to Vienna yet somehow we ended up finding my friend’s lost suitcase at the airport after weeks of it being MIA. A weird coincidence, but very lucky.
Antalya has a laid-back vibe. We mostly chilled at Konyaaltı Beach, tanning and ordering so much food to our day beds. The bazaars and markets had heaps of souvenirs, spices, textiles, and designer bags. The shopkeepers were relentless. We ended up getting roped into buying magic tea. Nothing magic about it.
One of the more memorable experiences was booking a Turkish Bath (hammam). These have been a part of Turkish culture for centuries. You start by warming up in a sauna, then get an intense scrub to remove dead skin. I didn’t realise nudity was common, so when it was my turn for the scrub I was a bit caught off guard. Afterward, you get a massage for relaxation but I had a bit of a panic attack when they started rubbing my bare chest for what felt like forever. Didn’t expect this. After that, you rinse off, cool down, and chill in a lounge area. I sat there trying to process the whole experience. Definitely an unforgettable moment.