Kas Islands

Off the tip of the Kaş peninsula lies a scatter of small, mostly uninhabited islands that sailors know as the Kaş Islands: among them Kovan Adası, Bayrak Adası and Sıçan Adası, along with Gürmenli Island, grazed only by a handful of wild goats. To the south, across open water, the Greek island of Kastellorizo — known locally as Meis — is visible on a clear day, a reminder of how close the Turkish and Greek coasts run in this corner of the Aegean.

The islands are best known among divers. Sıçan Adası, the closest to Kaş harbour, has shallow reefs suitable for beginners as well as a sunken aircraft used as an artificial reef, while the waters around Kovan and Bayrak drop to depths favoured by more experienced divers, who find amphorae, moray eels and schools of fish among the rocks. Currents and depths vary sharply from one island to the next, so most visitors explore them with a local skipper or dive operator rather than alone.

Because they sit only a short run from the harbour, many charter guests anchor here for the afternoon, breaking up a day of sailing with a swim stop before returning to Kaş by evening.