In today’s blog post I invite you to join us our small Gocek Tour that Arife and I decided to do spontaneously on a hot summer day sometimes in August 2017.
Gocek is a small town located about 50 km from Kayakoy. Gocek is known for its beautiful marinas and coastline. It’s surrounded by mountains and stunning scenery, boats and archipelago of beautiful islands, and the place is a real magnet for sailors. However, you don’t have to be a sailor to enjoy the flair of this pristine town of the Lycian coast. I would always recommend spending an afternoon or an evening in this place.
Thought about Gocek
After waking-up early (as I usually do), I did my routine checks on our property before heading to the backer. I had a pretty relaxed walk as the village was still half asleep.
Back home we had a wonderful breakfast on that nice summer morning and were about to figure out what to do. Our minds were wandering between spending the day at the beach, go diving, go paragliding, and so on. However, we were not very keen on these activities on that very day. Basically we just wanted to chill in some different places. So we decided to spend some time in Gocek, which is an ideal place to relax. Finally we got ready and jumped in the car after a “hard decision-taking process”J.
Gocek, not far from Eden Villas Kayakoy
The relatively short drive to Gocek is one the advantages you have here. The car trip is also very easy and pleasurable. In fact, from Kayakoy you head to Fethiye center and just follow the signs leading you to Dalaman (Airport). Fom Fethiye it can take roughly 25 minute drive.
Once you leave Fethiye and enter the highway, there again signs will indicate directions to Dalaman. Just follow until you reach the town of Gocek. After passing the sign indicating “Gocek” take a left turn as soon as possible and just follow the road leading you into Gocek. Parking places are found easily. As Gocek is very small, you can walk to the center within a few minutes.
Promenading in Gocek
Once we reached Gocek, we chose to park on the West-side of the town (just a habit). And the first thing we do is to head straight to the harbour and walk along the different marinas. I can never get enough of the sceneries like the beautiful boats and a multitude of nice cafes and restaurants along the pedestrian zone. My advice to you when you first come to Gocek is to do the same thing at first; before even thinking to have a drink or a meal, just have a walk through the town in order to absorb the particular atmosphere that you will experience. Gocek is a small but very diverse world. Gocek is a mix of stunning marinas, posh villas, beautiful boutiques hotels and picturesque small buildings. But off course one of the main attractions are the Motor yachts and sailing boats moored along the jetties. Just the fact of gazing at the different type of boats takes to an imaginary journey.
Eating and drinking in Gocek
After enjoying our walk on that day, an intense feeling of thirst made itself noticeable and it was time for us to seat down, relax and have a cold drink. So we stopped at a place called “Sea Shell Café & Restaurants” to have some water and cold natural orange juice. The location is great and the personnel very friendly.
We later on walked to “Güverte”, my favourite Bar-Restaurants to enjoy a nice cold beer directly on the waterfront. I love the setup and the fantastic service of this Bar-Restaurant. The place is located on the west-side of Gocek harbour, near Skopea marina. Each time I go there, I stay at least 2 hours. I mostly stay longer than that because I don’t fell the time passing.
Another similar place close to the Güverte is Dice Bar-Restaurant. It has a pretty Garden area at the water font and a jetty with realxing areas on the end of it.
I heard positives talks about a restaurant, a bit set back from the waterfront, called “The Kebab Hospital”. I personally never tried it however lots of people love their kebabs and mezze starters.
As I told earlier Gocek provides a multitude of Bars and restaurants (from basic to posh) and almost each one of us can find his little favourite “place” in this town.
Leaving Gocek
After spending some very good times in Gocek it’s time to return to our sweet home. On the way back, between Gocek and Fethiye, we stopped at a small parking area located high above sea level. There is a man there selling snacks and drinks from his old food car. So once again we didn’t miss the chance to have a Turkish tea with breath taking views on the bay of Gocek. It is a perfect way to finish a tour.
Wish you enjoyable times wherever you are and hope to meet you soon
Oliver
