Trip of the week: a swimming holiday on the Turkish coast
Feel like ‘a mermaid who has stumbled on Atlantis’ during this week-long adventure

If you’re used to swimming lengths at your local pool, the idea of covering several kilometres a day at sea might seem “daunting”. But on one of SwimTrek’s guided group trips on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, chances are you’ll not only manage it, but enjoy it too, says Orla Thomas in The Times.
The week-long itinerary shadows the Lycian Way, a coastal walking trail that connects several former strongholds of the ancient Lycian civilisation, including the village of Kas, where SwimTrek’s guests stay in a pleasant hotel.
The sea is wonderful – a “vivid blue-green that sparkles invitingly beyond pale shores”, and still balmy in the spring and autumn, when the trips run. Swimmers are divided by speed into groups, each with its own safety boat, so that everyone can go at their own pace.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Swims begin and end on the group’s main boat, a traditional gulet with “top-notch” catering, including plenty of Turkish mezze. There are generally two each day – morning and afternoon – totalling 3km or 6km, depending on the trip chosen. One route passes over the city of Aperlai, which was founded in the third century BC and later abandoned, then pushed beneath the waves by a series of earthquakes.
Floating over its ruins, you feel like “a mermaid who has stumbled on Atlantis”, and afterwards, you can explore parts of the city that remain on land, scattered across a hillside. The swims get more challenging as the week goes on, culminating in a 3km crossing to the Greek island of Kastellorizo.
The trip is “innately social”, with optional dinners out a nice way to get to know your fellow swimmers. There is no attempt to foster a competitive spirit; everyone celebrates each other’s achievements. And swimming with a group is curiously uplifting; as your mind “switches off” and time “flutters away”, you get some inkling of how dolphins might feel in their pods.
Six nights half-board from £1,160pp, based on two sharing (swimtrek.com)
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very moment
The Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add up
The Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?
Today's Big Question Commission of Inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more