Taking Time For The Water Taxi

This article was written for Fethiye Times by Steve Parsley

No matter where you live, it’s easy to get sucked into a routine.

You get up, have breakfast – and so it begins. You may not do exactly the same every day, but there’s still probably a pattern which feels comfortable.

It’s not that you don’t want to do anything different. It’s just doing the “normal” stuff is usually enough to fill your day. Sometimes you’ll make the effort, of course, perhaps to accommodate time with friends and family. But, generally, we tend to be creatures of habit and a break from the usual routine requires planning or effort and, let’s face it, it’s often easier not to bother.

Take the trip from Fethiye to Çalış as an example. There are plenty of ways to complete it; by car, by bicycle or electric buggy, on foot along the Kordon, or even by dolmuş. Each is a practical method and usually a simple A-to-B exercise – although the views across the bay make it a little more enjoyable than your average plod through a grey cityscape.

But devotees will already be indignantly demanding the inclusion of another option – the water taxi.

It’s true, it’s by no means the speediest. The boats run every half an hour, if you miss one, there’s a little while to wait for the next one. The trip itself is also a little over half an hour so a round trip is going to take up the best part of the morning or afternoon.

That’s probably not great if you’re a fan of routine who feels that squandering so much time is an extravagance.

An experience

But then perhaps that’s the point. Maybe the water taxi shouldn’t be viewed simply as a method of transport but more as an experience to be relished.

It’s not about getting there but being there. It’s an opportunity to sit back, soak up the sounds of the gentle chug of the engine, the water hissing along the keel, a chance to witness cormorants performing their disappearing acts, to watch kingfishers darting among the reed beds, the sunlight dancing on the sea… In other words, all the things many of us probably left our native shores to enjoy.

Admittedly, it’ll cost a bit more than a dolmuş; currently, a one-way ticket is 100TL*, purchased in advance from the ticket office at either end.

But then, in a currency many like to use as a yardstick, it’s less than the price of a bottle of Efes – a small price to pay for an opportunity to touch base with the Mediterranean, perhaps peer into yachts owned by affluent Russian oligarchs and wave awkwardly at passengers aboard other water taxis heading on the return trip.

Something else to bear in mind is that each vessel and its captain are members of the Çalış Co-operative, which also operates the day boats which run the trips out into Fethiye Bay. In other words, your 60TL isn’t just going into an individual’s pocket but helping to cover the costs of an operation that provides jobs for dozens of people through the summer.

If you’re visiting Fethiye, a water taxi trip is certainly something to add to the itinerary – perhaps supplemented by a stroll along the Kordon or Çalış prom and lunch or dinner at one of the many cafes and restaurants.

But, even if you’re a resident – new or long-term – the water taxi still provides the opportunity for a little indulgence in the sort of life everyone back at home probably thinks you enjoy on a daily basis anyway. So, why not enjoy it – at least once in a while?

*prices correct at time of publishing

This article was first published on 30 June 2020. Last updated on 9 April 2024.