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.
Subscribe to 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)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The World of Tim Burton: a 'creepy, witty and visually ravishing' exhibition
The Week Recommends Sprawling show at the Design Museum features over 600 exhibits from across the directors' five-decade career from early sketches to costumes and props
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 31, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: October 31, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
6 exciting homes for athletes
Feature Featuring a rock-climbing wall in New York and a basketball-tennis court in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Wild Robot: animated adventure is 'warm, funny and wise'
The Week Recommends 'Sharply written and richly detailed' adaptation of Peter Brown's best-selling book
By The Week UK Published
-
Francis Bacon: Human Presence – a 'stirring, splendid' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Riveting' show at the National Portrait Gallery explores the artist's 'wild' portraits
By The Week UK Published
-
Robert McCrum shares his favourite books on sport
The Week Recommends Writer and editor picks works by Nick Hornby, David Goldblatt and others
By The Week UK Published
-
The Story of a Heart: a 'heart-rending' account of two children and one heart
The Week Reccomends Dr. Rachel Clarke's 'finest book yet' blends the 'arresting and the informative"
By The Week UK Published
-
Oedipus: Mark Strong and Lesley Manville star in 'devastating' production
The Week Recommends Robert Icke's modern adaptation of the Sophoclean tragedy is 'riveting' from start to finish
By The Week UK Published
-
Is The Office Australia a reboot too far?
Talking Point The latest version of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's mockumentary feels like 'a bad case of déjà vu'
By The Week UK Published