Suluada vs Kekova: Turquoise Swim Day or Sunken City?

Every Suluada cruise sails from Adrasan harbour. Your pickup point only changes the road leg, never the boat. From the Side region a vehicle collects you in the 05:30–06:00 window; the boat leaves Adrasan at 09:40 and docks back at 16:00. Door to door, that is around ten hours, with a minimum age of 6 on this departure.

In between comes the reason you came: swimming breaks at the island and the bays around it — the twin beaches, the Love Cave, the sheltered water of Domuz Bay. Where conditions allow, tender boats shuttle guests from the anchorage to the bay. Lunch is cooked on board: grilled fish or chicken with pasta or rice, daily Turkish mezes, seasonal salad, then fruit and Turkish tea. There is no shop on the island, so bring what you need.

From further west, the Antalya departure covers central Antalya, Kemer and Beldibi with an 08:30–09:00 pickup window and a day of roughly twelve hours. It sails Tuesday and Thursday all year, plus Saturday from April to October — not daily, and we would rather say so now. Our Suluada boat tour guide has the full picture.

Kekova is a protected stretch of coast and island near the villages of Üçağız and Kaleköy, well west of Adrasan. It is famous for the partly submerged ruins along the shoreline — staircases and foundations of an ancient Lycian settlement that subsided into the sea after earthquakes — and for the small castle standing above the village.

The vibe is calm and archaeological. Boats move slowly along the shore, the water is glassy and clear, and the interest is largely in what you can see beneath and beside you. The interest there is archaeological, so it tends to be looked at more than swum in, and the coastline is village-quiet rather than resort-busy. Whatever access rules apply are set locally — put that question to your operator.

What we will not do is invent Kekova's prices, timetables or operators — those are not our product, and guessing would break the only rule that matters here. Ask whoever runs the trip you are considering.

What you do. Suluada is a swim-first day: multiple stops, long stretches in open water, snorkelling and floating. Kekova is a look-first day: shoreline, ruins, photographs, a village castle.

Where it is. Every Suluada boat leaves Adrasan, which sits between the Antalya resorts and the Lycian west. Kekova is further west again, so from Side, Belek or Alanya it is a noticeably longer road journey — a point worth weighing if you dislike early starts and long transfers.

The water. Suluada's bay is the postcard: white sand under turquoise, which is exactly why the Maldives nickname stuck. Kekova's water is famously clear too, but it is clarity for seeing history, not a beach day.

Cost clarity. Ours is fixed and public: €40 per adult from every pickup point on the coast, €30 for children 4–10, infants free, booked free online and paid on the tour day. Compare that with whatever Kekova quote you have in front of you — see our price page for exactly what is and is not included.

Choose Suluada if you want to swim, snorkel and lie on a bright bay; if you are travelling with teenagers or confident swimmers; if you have one boat day in your holiday and want it to be the turquoise one.

Choose Kekova if ancient sites move you more than beaches, if you are already staying in the far west near Kaş or Kalkan, or if you prefer a quiet, slow, sightseeing pace on the water.

Doing both? Put them on different days — they are long days and nowhere near each other. And if you want a much shorter, calmer, freshwater alternative closer to Side, read Suluada vs Green Canyon. Curious whether the nickname holds up? Suluada vs the Maldives answers that plainly. Still deciding where to start from? Side or Antalya compares both departures.