Hi! My husband and I are thinking about a short summer vacation. Six nights in Turkey (two nights in Istanbul, 3 in Kalkan and back to Istanbul for one more night), or six nights in Sicily. The idea is to have a nice time chilling in the sun.
I am leaning towards Turkey and my husband towards Sicily. Can anyone help me decide?
Thanks!
PS: Second time in Istanbul. We plan on enjoying the hotel pool by the Bosphorus--no sightseeing.

I've been to Turkey (but not Kalkan) and to Sicily, and I think Sicily is considerably hotter than most of Turkey in the summer, but I am not sure -- and maybe that doesn't matter to you!

You also don't say what you are looking for in Sicily. If the idea would be an urban buzz plus a pristine beach, then your best bet is probably Palermo and one of the Aeolian islands. Otherwise, Sicily has almost no destination beaches. Most people headed to Sicily are focused on the abundance of historic sights, and only secondarily on beach time.

Finding a great hotel in Palermo with a pool would be a challenge. If you don't want much sightseeing, maybe Taormina plus an Aeolian island would fit the bill.

Turkey has, I am sure, changed a great deal since I was there more than a decade ago, but in general, Sicilian culture is much more open and gregarious, and its food and wine is much more varied and developed than in Turkey (and I very much like Turkish food).

You might give some consideration to Genova (or Rome) plus a beach in Sardegna. Or Nice and a beach in Corsica.

Unless you are traveling on miles and points, or coming from someplace else in Europe, your itinerary seems like a very expensive jaunt for a week of suntanning, plus a lot of time in airports and planes.

I would choose Sicily (been to both Turkey and Sicily) and stay in or near Palermo for both access to the beach and many restaurant choices. In case of rain there will be plenty to do in Palermo as well.

<< Unless you are...coming from someplace else in Europe >>

Anne's profile states she's in Chester, England so not a long flight to either Turkey or Sicily.

Ah. Then both destinations begin to look more affordable and less exhausting!

Thank you so much for your responses! We were in Istanbul for the New Year and there's a direct flight from Manchester that was really a breeze. In Sicily we were thinking of doing a bit of sightseeing, mostly staying at the beach the hotel has (Villa Sant'Andrea in Taormina), and doing a couple of boat trips to take in the scenery. I'll read a bit more about the Aeolian islands. I'll look into Sardinia, too.
Kalkan has no beaches, but it has a nice hotel and it's a good point from which to visit other coastal towns. I am vegan, so Turkish food is a plus for me--plenty of dishes I can eat!
Thanks again! I just moved to the UK after 8 years in Washington, DC, and I feel at a bit of a loss planning vacations this side of Greenwich! I'll let you know what we decide and how it goes!

Why Kalkan rather than Kas?

I spent two days in Kas, and have added it to my list of favorite places.

Small fishing village, park car and walk, some good shops, good restaurants, nice harbour.

We stayed at a small hotel about 5 min walk from centre. Our room overlooked Med, which was about 20' away. No window, just a large opening with the view. Go to sleep with sounds of ocean. Hotel had no beach, but ladded and diving board over ocean. Dinner/breakfast served on open air platform overlooking ocean.

Apart from walking town, we did a day long cruise out of harbour. Glass bottom boat, it hugges coast so could see amphoras on bottom, staircases from long ago ports, and Lycean tombs along coast. Lunch was provided at small island, where could also see few shops. Also, there were 2/3 swim stops, where boat stopped offshore and we swam from it.

Because Kalkan has this hotel, which is one of Fodor's choice hotels for the area: http://www.villamahal.com/#reviews. We'll rent a car, so we can drive to Kas for the day, as I think they are not far from each other.

West of Kas is our 'secret' beach. Can't miss it, about 5-10 mins out. There is a pull-over where tour buses sometimes pull over so people can take pictures. Turquoise that you can't put into words. We saw it and stopped on our way to Fethiye.

If you spent a night and did boat tour, worthwhile. Our hotel was Kas Otel.

In September and October I spent 3 weeks in Sicily (Palermo and Aeolian Islands) and 5 weeks in Turkey (Istanbul, Kas, Cappadoccia, etc., including a visit to Kalkan from Kas) Both were absolutely delightful. I'd been to the Aeolies and Palermo twice before, but this was my first visit to Turkey.

Note that both visits were in the fall, not the summer, so the temperatures were moderate; many times I reminded myself that these were places I would not want to visit in the summer--way too hot. But if you just want to get some beach time and aren't interested in sightseeing, the heat might be your friend.

The Aeolian Islands are one of my favorite places in the world--Sicily at a slower pace, gorgeous, beautiful swimming, fun boat trips to the other islands, wonderful Sicilian food. My favorite islands are Panarea and Salina. IMPORTANT CAVEAT: Do not try to go to either in July or August--especially not August. Panarea, for one, is reputed to be overwhelmed by rich and not-so-rich Europeans with big yachts and the party-all-night philosophy. May, June. and September are lovely, though. The islands are fairly easily reached from Taormina if you are staying there (via boat from Messina or train to Milazzo and boat from there)--but definitely worth more than an overnight. Personally, I would skip Taormina and head straight for the Aeolis. You can also reach them by boat from Palermo in the summer (about 3 hours).

Kalkan was lovely (though, like Michel_P, I preferred Kas, where we were based). Kalkan has lots of resorts, good restaurants, easy access to other areas--Kaputas beach, between Kalkan and Kas, is great--brilliant sun, boating, warm water. I got tired of Turkish food after a while but found it delicious and interesting for the first couple of weeks.

Either place would be wonderful. My choice would be Sicily (the Aeolies), but that's my personal preference. Why not try one this year and the other for your next holiday?

Thank you Aprillilacs for such a thorough response! We've decided on Turkey (I think it will be less hot than Sicily) and will book our tickets tomorrow. We'll leave Sicily for a less hot and crowded time.
I'd like to ask you a couple more things: How long is the drive between Kas and Kalkan?
Do you think Kalkan would be a good point from which to drive to Oludeniz for the day? Which were your favorite beaches? I want to go to Patara and Kaputas, but I'd love to hear about your faves.
Thank again!!!

You'll love the Turquoise Coast. Kalkan to Kas is about 30 minutes and a beautiful drive along the coast. We did go to both Patara and Kaputas and recommend both. The other beaches we went to were pebble beaches close to Kas--good swimming, but the pebbles, of course, aren't great for sunbathing. We went to Kekova twice--once by jeep where we took a kayak trip to the sunken city (arranged through one of the many tour agencies in Kas), and another time by boat from Kas harbor. Swimming in the cove near the sunken city was priceless! I think you may be able to book at boat trip to Kekova directly from Kalkan, or you can drive there yourself.

We did not get to Oludeniz so I can't comment on that.

I wrote about our time on the Turquoise coast in my blog entries from October 2011 at http://aprilaroundtheworld.blogspot.com, in case you're interested. Have a great trip!

Thanks a lot aprillilacs!!! I'll check out your blog as well!