Driving west along D-400 past the city, you will find multiple beach areas where you can pull off and enjoy a day at the sea a little away from the crowded public beaches. If you desire to hang out at the beach all day with friends or family and also find space close by for a barbecue or picnic, Büyük Çaltıcak is an ideal, albeit costly, place to stop.
This paid entry park features a large stretch of open rocky beach, cabanas, and camping areas. Here you will find plentiful parking and picnic tables that allow grilling nearby. Büyük Çaltıcak offers guests beach volleyball, a market, a café to purchase food and drinks or to rent beach chairs and umbrellas.
The highlight of our time on the beach was the large floating “island” out in the water to where our kids could swim, jump, or dive. It wasn’t fancy with slides or play areas, but it allowed our kids to have a “pool” experience in the sea, and they loved it.
The real advantage to this kind of place is the freedom you to commandeer a picnic table for the day back behind the beach and share meals with family and friends. If you plan to grill, you will need to bring your own portable grill. Most public beaches don’t allow grilling, so this being allowed means you can enjoy a well-planned, all-day event. We never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome, but this beach park seemed to be mostly full of Turks not tourists.
Interestingly enough, the water did seem a little dirtier than some of the public beaches we have visited because there was some trash (mostly masks and wipes, unfortunately) floating around. But it was not enough to ruin our experience and could have just been that day.
In summary, if you are looking for a place to comfortably picnic or barbecue, swim at the sea all day long without being surrounded by tourists, and don’t mind paying a per person fee, give Büyük Çaltıcak a try.
Location: Liman, 07130 Konyaaltı/Antalya, Turkey
Entrance Fee: Per Person: 9TL
Motorcycle: 18TL
Automobile: 27TL
Minibus: 244TL