Gazipaşa Airport → Kargıcak Transfer

Gazipaşa Airport to Kargıcak transfer

Kargıcak is one of the places that makes a Gazipaşa ticket worth hunting for. The village lies 25 km west of GZP, and most people landing here for it are heading to the same kind of address: a flat or a villa somewhere up the slope, taken for a season rather than a fortnight. Coming from the east you meet its far end first — the wall of Cebelireis mountain behind, terraces of citrus and greenhouses stepping down towards the highway, then a short strip of beach below. On the mountain road above the village lie the stones of ancient Laertes.

The road out of the airport is the memorable part of this transfer. The access road drops off the plateau to the D400 and turns west, and what follows is the most twisting stretch of this coastline: one headland after another, the sea a long way down on your left, plastic glinting over the banana terraces. Reckon on 25 km and about 30 minutes. The bends are the only thing that governs the time here: there is no town on the way big enough to queue, so the half hour holds in August as reliably as in February. After dark the bends ask for a steady pace rather than a quick one.

• From GZP you reach Kargıcak at its eastern end, so say where the building stands in relation to the village centre — an east-side address is reached before the car enters the village at all.
• Half an hour of curves straight off a flight is easiest in the front seat for anyone sensitive to bends, and it is over before it becomes a problem.
• The lanes climbing away from the highway are steep and narrow in places, so mention how high up the slope you are staying and whether a large van has ever reached the door.
• Kargıcak's beach lies below the highway and most of the flats above it, so a sea view and a seafront address are rarely the same thing — check which one you booked before giving directions.