Diving report Turkey- Kas

[divingHeidi]

01.06.06 till 12.06.06 (Part 1)
We just returned from a fantastic diving- holiday form Kas at the South Coast of Turkey.:blinking:

Hereby our diary from a relaxing holiday

Our Flight:
Transfer to Kas: We flew from our home base in the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul with Airarabia and had to take in Istanbul another flight to Antalya with Turkish airlines.
At Antalya Airport we were picked up by the driver of the hotel and it was a long (3 hours) drive, but it was a beautiful scenery as we drove through the mountains to Kas.
The Location Kas: (pronounced by the Turkish as Kash)
The village of Kas is not so easy to reach, but I am sure that this is also the main reason why this place is not spoilt and is still authentic, friendly and not over-crowded with mass-tourism.

Where we stayed:
Hotel Begonvil: There are no big Hotels in Kas, only smaller ones, which gives Kas this nice and cozy atmosphere. Kas is a small town by the sea and the mountains.
We stayed in a cute small family hotel called Begonvil a little bit up the mountain managed by a very friendly Swiss- Turkish couple.

Our dives:
Sirena diving club organized our hotel, transport and of course the diving.
I had found the contact details on their web-site and straight away Rico got back with answers to all my questions.
I did a total of 8 dives and enjoyed the dives very much.
The Mediterranean Sea was clear (visibility up to 30 m) and had many life:

 

[divingHeidi]

(Part 2) We just returned from a fantastic diving- holiday form Kas at the South Coast of Turkey.

we saw huge turtles, several octopus, Spanish dancer, many star fish, big groupers, Rare Snails, Brasses, Trigger-Fishes,
Also we did a ship wreck and an airplane wreck dive.
Sometimes we were like in an underwater museum as we have seen also many old amphorae or Turkish vases or (some over 1000 years old and more .. ) under water.

The dive team was very professional and friendly, they always made sure everybody was happy from beginners to advanced divers.
Omar and Tugba were our dive guides who could see many small fish, anemones, objects, we certainly would have missed without their guidance.
Hakan the owner of Sirena was also always there for us as was Arzu in the office.
In the evening we would often sit all together (divers and the Sirena diving team) in front of the Sirena Office having a nice cup of Turkish Apple Tea on their terrace.
Unfortunately my husband Juergen was less lucky and was sick our whole holiday (he had bronchitis) and couldn’t join the dives or even join on the boot,
But he felt integrated in the local village as he would sit in the local beach club and play back Gammon with some Turkish friends he made.
I was lucky to fond some nice buddies, I really enjoyed diving with you Bettina, Tugba and Gulcin.
Sirena’s Diving Web-site: www.turkey-diving.com

Definitely a trip we will repeat soon (with my husband joining the dives this time) and we would recommend to all!!!
I will make an album in the SB (once the Photo Gallery is running again of course...), which you can see, enjoy….

 

[mikerault]

Excellent report! Makes me want to go there! How was the food? I really like Turkish foods and of course Turkish coffee (thick, strong and sweet!) and a bit of ouzo of course!

Mike

 

[divingHeidi]

Excellent report! Makes me want to go there! How was the food? I really like Turkish foods and of course Turkish coffee (thick, strong and sweet!) and a bit of ouzo of course!

Mike

Yes, Mike.
The food was excellent, I didn't have one meal that was not good.
I love the Turkish food, it is like somewhere between the Greek and Lebanese food.
And it is al very fresh and homemade, many vegetables, fresh fish and seafood.
I get hungry again thinking of it

 

[Jamdiver]

Excellent report Heidi, Turkey looks like a very beautiful country both above and below water

 

[jamea]

Excellent report Heidi
You made me reschedule my next holiday. Good diving + Good food = me so happy

 

[divingHeidi]

Excellent report Heidi
You made me reschedule my next holiday. Good diving + Good food = me so happy

Hi Jamea,

Glad to hear you liked my report and yes it is worth rescheduling your holiday! We will certainly go back there soon!

 

[frogoutofwater]

Hi divingHeidi:

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. We're planning a "long weekend" sidetrip from Istanbul to somewhere on the Turkish coast for a mini-dive holiday in September. Kas sounds lovely. Could you please tell me more about Sirena, in particular, what was the condition of the boat like? (One of the reasons I'm asking is because I seem to recall than in response to your earlier query, you got a recommendation for Sirena but the person who gave the recommendation made a negative comment about the boat.) Did you rent your gear and, if so, was it well-maintained? What about the dive crew? Were they careful, professional and did they show respect for the dive environment and marine life? Finally, it's a silly question, but I hate mosquitoes - what was the mosquito level like while you were there? Thanks.

PS - I seem to recall that you were interested in diving in Oman earlier this year but had difficulty getting information. We did a week's worth of diving in Oman this spring and loved it. Send me a note if you'd like some more information.

 

[divingHeidi]

Hi divingHeidi:

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. We're planning a "long weekend" sidetrip from Istanbul to somewhere on the Turkish coast for a mini-dive holiday in September. Kas sounds lovely. Could you please tell me more about Sirena, in particular, what was the condition of the boat like? (One of the reasons I'm asking is because I seem to recall than in response to your earlier query, you got a recommendation for Sirena but the person who gave the recommendation made a negative comment about the boat.) Did you rent your gear and, if so, was it well-maintained? What about the dive crew? Were they careful, professional and did they show respect for the dive environment and marine life? Finally, it's a silly question, but I hate mosquitoes - what was the mosquito level like while you were there? Thanks.

PS - I seem to recall that you were interested in diving in Oman earlier this year but had difficulty getting information. We did a week's worth of diving in Oman this spring and loved it. Send me a note if you'd like some more information.

Bonjour Frogoutofwater:

Sirena diving Center was great. Their boat was fine, not new, but in good condition and comfortable enough.
Yes, I did get a response to my earlier query, saying that the boat was not the newest, but as I said, the condition was very fine to me!
I rented all the gear and all their stuuf was good and well maintained: Scubapro and Mares and less than 1 year old,
The dive crew was very careful, professional and did they show respect for the dive environment and marine life. They will always send a dive guide with you, make different groups depending on your level. Also they are very punctual and extremely friendly. I wouyld go back to Kas and Sirena any time.
And we had no mosquitoes at all, but it was only June, I have no odea about mosquitos there. I don't think so.

We are going next week to Oman, to Muscat the Dalamnyat Islands for 3 days, is that also were you dived? Or did you go to Musandam? As I live in Dubai, Oman is only a 2 or 4 hours drive away, so we just love it out there.

I will also send you a PM.
Salut.
Heidi (je parle aussi Francais parce que je suis Belge)