We Explored Türkiye’s INSANE Coast in a Van! 🇹🇷

We Explored Türkiye’s INSANE Coast in a Van! 🇹🇷

For the next three days, we are exploring Turkey’s stunning southern coastline with this camper van. With beach, sunsets, ancient ruins, and gorgeous campsites, we are super excited to explore the Turkish Riviera, despite literally not knowing that Turkey had a Riviera or what a Riviera even was a week ago when we saw pictures like this and this. We immediately booked two tickets south to Antalya, rented a van, got some groceries, and for the first time on this channel, we are doing van life. And as you’ll see later, we are definitely not experts. Wyatt, there’s no turning back if you go this way. I can’t go that way. There’s too many cars. Fine. That’s your only option. But before we do any adventuring, we’re going to give you a full tour of our home base for this trip. A 2011 Citroen jumper converted van. Welcome to our tiny home on wheels. The first thing we do before we enter the caravan is put our shoes on this very convenient rack over here. There’s two indoor lights, two outdoor lights, a switch that controls these two measurements for the water tank, and finally a switch that controls the water pump. We have this stove. It is a gas stove, and we control the gas actually in the back. And then we have a couch behind me that actually can be converted into a table space. Then there’s a skylight as well. The kitchen is stocked with a ton of storage space and a fridge and also a sink with running water. Then to my left, there is a bathroom. It was really nice to not have to go outside and pee last night. And then all the way at the back, you have the bed. The bed is snug for me and Wyatt both, but it’s actually fairly big considering we’re in a camper van. So we got this window right here, which has been very nice. Tons of natural light in this van. This right here is an outdoor shower. And here is the black and gray water. So this thing just comes out. And this is full of all our fun stuff. That’s our van. Let’s go explore the Turkish Riviera. Our next plane of attack is to drive an hour and 18 minutes west to Demre, which is this town that has really interesting tombs that are on the side of a cliff. It looks like it’s going to be a great day. We’re trying to get the nice weather. while we got it We were driving and we actually saw a painted Turkish flag on the side of a mountain. Super cool. Oh, my word. I see the Maya Tombs. And they look epic. Let’s go check out Demre’s caves. Yes. It looks so cool. Oh, whoa. So behind me are the Myra rock tombs, which are gorgeously carved on the side of a cliff. And they were built in the 4th century BC by the Lycian people who ruled this area of Turkey during the that time. And Demre was actually called Myra at that time. So that’s why it’s called the Myra Rocks. It’s so pretty. It’s like they’re carved into the cliff face. Apparently that’s because the lion people thought that the dead deserved homes of their own. So they’re kind of like little mini cliff houses, but super well preserved. And there’s like nobody here, as you can see. Nuts. You’re not actually allowed to go in them, but you can like walk below them. And that right there is the insanely well preserved Roman amphitheater. Yeah. This theater obviously had plays, announcements, like from the emperor. Like crazy stuff was happening right here. And it can hold 10,000 people. This amphitheater crazy. You don’t often get somewhere this old that’s this big. That’s this well preserved with this few tourists. Unless you’re in southern Turkey and then you have the tombs right near them. I know. Come on. I think the tombs are just as cool. Yeah, true. We’ve somehow joined a third grade field trip With this few tourists. It’s so much bigger from down below. I feel like I could just. Ahhhh, opera sing. Cool stop, right? Very cool stop. €13 a person. Expensive, but worth it. As soon as we entered Demre, there were so many greenhouses everywhere. And apparently we looked it up and these greenhouses can plant tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, melons and strawberries. It’s literally like the whole city is just covered. Okay, now we have one more stop here in Demre. This is a old church, St. Nick’s Church, otherwise known as Santa Claus. I never thought I’d see a Santa Claus here in Turkey. I love it. So The Church of St Nicholas was built in the 6th century over the burial site of the 4th century Bishop St Nicholas. And he was known for his generosity. And he’s actually the figure behind Santa Claus. So he’s literally the OG Santa Claus. Who knew that the origin of Santa Claus is in modern day Turkey. And it’s like such good weather. Which does not feel like it should be Santa Claus time right now. Turkish Santa. That is a cute dog. Well groomed. Oh, nice. So Patara Beach. One of the longest beaches in Turkey, spanning 18 kilometers or 11 miles. That’s a long beach. And you can feel how vast and expansive this sand is. There’s room for everybody. Oh, my word. I love it. And the ocean waves, the breeze. Wow. What is that sand doing on your booty? Do I have sand on there? Yep. Did I get it? You still got a little something there. Pretty cold. Very refreshing though. It was getting kind of hot. Oh, big wave. Do you see a cat in the sky because I do. Oh facing the other way? Yeah. With its tail up? Yeah. I was also seeing a duck. Like the tails as the face. Okay. We got clouds rolling in. So, time to go back? Potential rain. So yeah. Let’s head back. 152 lira, 2 scoops small. Okay. Gonna get some ice cream. Come here, come here. Oh, okay. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay. Come here, come here. Never gonna get the ice cream. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Perfect. Never gonna get the ice cream. This is lovely. Wow Stop, yes? Maybe. Yes. Come here, come here. Test, test. Yes? Teşekkürler. Okay No tricks? No tricks? Okay. Teşekkürler. Extra, extra, extra, extra. Yeah. Okay. I’m never going to get it. Okay, thank you. Oh, we got it. There you go. Bye bye. I don’t want to trust you. Thank you. Thank you. In Turkey, gelato is called Dondurma. And they do that trick thing that you just saw. That was so annoying because I wanted it so bad, but it was really funny. Pistachio and vanilla. Perfect for this, like, beach, hot, turkey, Southern Riviera day. Let’s go. Good, right? I normally just get chocolate, but Wyatt got pistachio. It tastes really good. Alrighty That’s- I didn’t want ice cream. That was gonna be mine, wasn’t it? Mhm. Is it gonna be? No. And now it’s time to head to the Patara ruins. After Patara beach, we are now at the Patara ruins, also built by the Lycians. Like the caves earlier. They look really big. Look pretty fun. Let’s check them out. Yay. So the Lycian League was one of the world’s first examples of democracy. I didn’t even realize that one of the first was in Turkey. I know, right? Crazy. That writing was written 2500 years ago. Looks like modern day Greek. It’s actually, its own language. Yeah. You can even see like Roman letters. Like the Q. Look at how straight those lines are. And like how well preserved that is. But let’s go check out the assembly hall. Let’s do it. Absolutely nuts. It’s so cool to be walking through history, you know? Yeah. The sounds here are awesome. So you have, like, tons of birds chirping, and then there’s a call to prayer in the distance. I object. I don’t know if this was a courtroom love. Oh. I like the thought, though. Okay, let’s put it to a vote. Who is going to subscribe to Wyatt and Reyka? Raise your hand. I. I am. Yay. Yeah. You killed it. You killed it. They’re gonna subscribe right now. Man, they really like their amphitheaters here huh? I know. I mean, they were super popular. They were kind of a staple in the Roman Empire, weren’t they? I absolutely love turkey. Has sort of everything. Has ancient ruins, has food, has hammams, beaches beaches, mosques, cool mosques. Mosques. Man, like, what doesn’t it have here? Cool churches, churches. Santa Claus. Santa Claus. Thoughts on Patara as a whole? Awesome. I mean, they got the beach, they got the ruins, they got the ice cream man that teases you. What more can you ask for? What a fun little ancient city. You could say it was Patar-adical. Or Patar- awesome. I like Patar-adical better. Stretching a little bit. Pretty funny, I think. After parking on a narrow highway, it was time for the one, the only, Kaputas Beach. Thank you. Have a good day. Nestled between dramatic cliffs at the mouth of a deep canyon, Kaputas was without question the most photogenic place we visited on the Turkish Riviera. I mean, just look at it. If we weren’t still dripping from our swim at Patara beach, we easily could have stayed for hours. Turquoise water crashing against golden sand, framed by those orange rock walls. Pure magic. This is kind of the kind of place I was expecting when I was thinking Turkish Riviera. That being said, Reyka did have a thought about the entry fee, so we paid 100 lira total to get into the beach. And while it is gorgeous on the ground and it’s not expensive to get in, personally, I would have been totally fine not paying the money and just looking up from afar. Yeah, totally. But it is very pretty, though. Looking for a good rock? Yeah. We left at the perfect time because it just started to pour down rain. Yeah, it’s, like, coming down. And with the sun beginning to dip, we made a quick grocery store stop. Just parked the van. We’re going to stop here at Migros and get some groceries to cook a little bit of dinner tonight. The rain is still coming down, but it’s letting up a little bit. So nice. Turkish grocery store. Pretty nice. Lot of broccoli. And then wandered past a peaceful little harbor. There are some nice boats here. Good haul. And then came the quest for a campsite. The first one we tried closed for the season. Yeah, it’s okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. The second, a total fiasco. The second campsite was right in the heart of Kaş. Being crammed between jagged mountain rocks and the sea makes for some breathtaking views, but it’s not exactly ideal when you’re driving a 20 foot long van. Google Maps did us zero favors. It directed us down a one way street, which, surprise, we couldn’t actually drive down. Locals started shouting, waving us off, and suddenly we were inching our way down this sliver of a road parallel to it that barely counted as a street. Wyatt because there’s no turning back if you go this way. I can’t. I can’t go that way. There’s too many cars. I didn’t think we could make it down. And we were deciding what to do and cars were stacking up behind us. Fine. That’s your only option. Okay. We’re gonna be fine. This is fine. Kaş, this town, beautiful. Not van friendly. That was so horrible. We did not want to go through any of that again. So we left Kaş and drove to the next campsite, which was about an hour away. I’m gonna turn all this into dinner tonight. Let’s do it. First thing, open that up. Little salt, little pepper, then some beans. This is what came out of it. How does it stack up? Really good. I was so hungry. I feel like this is what you see when you are on social media and someone’s like, van Life. You know, they’re doing a fun meal in a cool place with a view. It’s very exciting. Hello. How are you? Good, good. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, of course. My name is Arif. Arif, do you want some blueberry? No. Very good. He just came in. Wyatt’s like, you want some? Picked up the bread, got his own peanut butter. Love our Turkish friends. They’re so outgoing here. Some of them will escape, but most of them will stay in there, I’m hoping. All right, that’s plenty. I call that. Okay. Okay performance. We got popcorn. Good morning. Morning. Now time for morning oatmeal. You guys, look what I just found at the campsite. Little chicks and their mama. Absolutely adorable. Oh, wow. Teşekkürler. I feel like these kind of mornings are what Van life’s all about. Going slow, enjoying the views, meeting friends, trying some Turkish coffee. Cok lezzetli. Cok lezzetli. Cok sert. How is the bathroom? There were bugs everywhere. I know a lot of bugs, right? It was like something straight out of a nightmare. Like, I’m not even joking you. It’s just bugs. I’m definitely gonna miss this view, guys, but it’s time to go. Van life. Loving it. Brushing my teeth on the bed. It’s kind of nice to have the sink right next to the bed, right? It is and then there’s the trash can right here. Hey, you don’t even have to get out of the bed. Nope. That’s like prime Reyka. Yeah, I was gonna say perfect conditions. Shaving outdoors. Works pretty well. Thank you. Good times on holiday Cool. You ready to hit the road again? Let’s do it. Burning daylight. This is gonna be the coolest park spot that we’re ever gonna have. This is crazy. It’s gorgeous. Look at this. Wow. The blue water. It’s like turquoise. Yeah. And then we’re parked right over there. Insane. Man look at that water? Why is nobody here? Why is nobody here? There’s, like, a fisherman down there and nobody that way. Underrated. All right. Well, I cannot come to a beach and not swim in it. Especially when you have a campsite like this. And here is Reyka. And I’m just going to be sitting and enjoying this amazing view from the bed. It can’t get any better. The ocean is so close. So Google Maps is saying this place is called pebble beach, and it’s really close to the town of Demre, which we went to yesterday. And this has got to be one of Wyatt’s and my favorite spots. spots in the entire trip. And unfortunately, it is the last day we’re here. But we’re just trying to soak it up and take advantage of the amazing day. Water felt so good. I just wish we had more time. Tonight we’re trying to make it through Antalya, which has a lot of traffic, and it’s about one or two. So we’re going to hustle now to get through it by, like, four. It is extremely convenient when you can go to the bathroom in such a desolate place like this. Let’s go. All right, here’s the moment of truth. Will Wyatt and the van make it back up to the road? Let’s see. Can you tell me when the coast is clear? Yep. The bus is gonna pass, and then you’re free to go. Okay? Did it. Now I gotta get back in. Nice. We did it. Let’s go. Made it to Antalya. Parking there. Beautiful sunset. I actually have to go. This might be tmi, but I have to go number two. And the mosque doubles as a public toilet, so that is where I’m going. Perfect. Squatty potty success. Just cleaned up the mats. Just did a big old deep clean. Yep. Man, look at that sunset. That is nuts. Slept great our last night in the van. Just packing up. I’m going to take an Uber to the airport. I was honestly quite worried about van life just because there was a lot to think about. But this was a great van to take us on this journey because it was easy, it had everything and I really didn’t have to worry too much. Other than campsites, but we made it. Alrighty. Well, this is it. It was just lovely, guys. Like, having our own private base when we’re just on a beach somewhere was pretty dang cool. Yeah and that’s the end of our Turkish Riviera road trip with the van. Yeah. So let us know what you guys thought in the comments below. Subscribe if you want to see more videos like this. But take care, guys. Thanks for watching. See you next time.

Yup, we are doing Vanlife y’all. In this Türkiye vlog we are exploring beaches, ruins, and enjoying life in a van on the Turkish Riviera. It’s a really fun video and we had a blast making it. Please let us know if we should do another vanlife adventure in the comments 🙂
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Who are Wyatt and Reyka?!

If you’re new here, hi! 👋

In 2021, we were two college sweethearts from Ohio with degrees in hand and no real plan—so naturally, we booked a six-week trip to Mexico. We ate a disturbing number of tacos, failed spectacularly at surfing, and posted a few videos so our moms wouldn’t worry.

Then we moved to Spain to teach English and spent weekends in places like France and Portugal. Somewhere between missing trains and butchering Spanish, we realized… yeah, we want to do this forever.

Fast forward a few years: dozens of passport stamps, plenty of travel hacks (and mistakes), and somehow we’re still at it—exploring our beautiful globe.

We know how lucky we are, and we don’t take it for granted. Thanks for following along—subscribing to this YouTube channel is the best way to keep up (and make our moms proud). 🥹💛🌎
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro – Turkish Vanlife! 🇹🇷
0:37 VAN TOUR! 🚐
1:59 Demre Ruins 📜
5:41 Santa Clause in Türkiye?! 🇹🇷🎅🏻
6:57 Patara Beach, Ice Cream and Ruins 🍦
12:52 INSANE Kaputaş Beach! 🏝️
14:15 The vanlife struggles… 😩
15:43 A Beautiful Camp Spot 😍
19:58 Parked on the Beach!! 🏖️
22:47 Last Night in the Van.. 🚐
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We Explored Türkiye’s INSANE Coast in a Van! 🇹🇷
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#turkey #antalya #vanlife