Tree Houses, Kabak – Views, Food & Relaxation

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We had friends here recently and when we suggested doing something…and then they suggested going to Kabak…happy days! This time, our overnight stay was at Tree Houses, Kabak.

If you follow this blog a lot, you’ll know we’re big fans of Kabak Koyu. A place to go and chill out away from the rest of the world.

One night away, preferably without internet, and you’re ready to rock and roll again with all that life has to throw at you. It’s that kind of place.

Tree Houses, Kabak

We’ve stayed at a few places over the years in this paradise of a valley. The views from the Olive Garden are stupendous.

An overnight stay closer to the beach at Chakra Beach was blissful. And the very chilled out Sultan Camp, in the heart of the valley, is, well, very chilled out and great for the budget traveller.

This time, a quick search online threw up Tree Houses. They had availability, it was a good price, never heard of it before – but let’s book it anyway…

We hired a car to take us first to Kabak – lunch at the Olive Garden, and then we would get to Tree Houses later.

The last time we went to Kabak with these same friends, it was by dolmuş and one of them wasn’t feeling too comfortable about the heights and sheer drops along the route from Ölüdeniz.

After parking up at the Last Stop (the end of the road and the turning point for the dolmuş drivers) we called the Tree House number and they told us to wait there while they came to pick us up.

This was one of the perks we noticed when we booked Tree Houses – service to and from the accommodation.

As we weren’t too sure where Tree Houses was, and as it was a roasting hot day, a free lift rather than a hike down the hill was just the ticket!

4-Wheel Drive

A few minutes later, the 4-wheel drive arrived complete with competent driver. Then, 20 (hairy) minutes later, we were at Tree Houses reception, checking in.

If you know Kabak, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the ‘track’ that leads down to the valley.

“I feel like I’m on a ride at Alton Towers,” was the comment of our white-knuckled friend as we jiggled and jolted ever downwards through the forest.

The Rooms At Tree Houses

Relieved to be on terra firma, we listened as the guy on reception gave us the ins and outs of Tree Houses before Barry dared to tell him what we’d done.

Okay, what I’d done.

Again, regular readers will know my party piece of leaving various things everywhere.

We’d survived the journey down the mountainside to Tree Houses only for us to realise that I’d left our bag – containing all toiletries, swimwear and clothes – at the top of the hill. (Barry’s job was to carry our gadgets bag and he’d stuck to his responsibility perfectly well.)

“No problem,” said the guy. “We’ll take you back up for it.”

Wow, if ever you’re gonna be immediately happy staying somewhere, it’s times like these. Except dealing with that journey again quite so soon was a tad too much for my nerves.

So poor Barry went off alone with the driver, right after we’d checked out our room.

That’s our bungalow, there, on the left. We’d booked a room with ‘partial sea views,’ but another wow moment was awaiting us once we got inside.

You can’t help but have your ‘compare-and-contrast’ head on when you’ve stayed at a few camps in the same place.

Each Kabak camp has its own personality and its pluses and minuses. For space and amenities, our room at Tree Houses was right up there.

Happy Campers

Don’t forget, this is camping. Yet, our room at Tree Houses had everything we could want and a bit more thrown in besides.

A large double bed; en suite shower room complete with hair dryer, shower gel and a lovely moisturising hand soap; towels and slippers; a TV and air conditioning.

What more could we ask for? We were more than happy…and then we opened the door that went out onto the balcony…

Oh Kabak, you’re so beautiful! Not a partial sea view, at all, but a view of the whole bay and the beach below. Mmmm, how lovely was it going to be waking up early in the morning and opening our door to sit in the cool shade, looking out across Kabak Koyu and breathing in the peaceful air before heading for a leisurely breakfast.

But first, rather than wishing the day ahead away, it was on with the swim gear and straight off down to the beach for a dip in the sea.

Tree Houses apparently give you a lift down to the beach but we already had our bearings. For us, Kabak is all about being a part of the valley.

You lose that chilled out, other-worldly feeling if you’re being fetched and carried everywhere. So, off we went down the hill, and 10 minutes later, we’d hit the beach.

Kabak Beach

Wherever you stay at Kabak, you’ll be part of a different world. It’s an arty place. And all along the beach, there are pebble designs and pebble cairns.

A lot of the younger crowd don’t even bother to stay in any accommodation, preferring to crash out on the sand. No sunbeds, no umbrellas; just a beach and the refreshing sea.

Thirsty and hungry people, never fear, though. Sea Valley Bungalows has its bar and beach restaurant at the beach entrance. A dip in the sea for us, dry off in the sun for ten minutes and then the reward of a cold beer.

As with other camps in the valley, our Tree Houses accommodation included evening meal for that night as well as breakfast the following morning.

No food at the beach for us then, as we didn’t want to spoil our evening feast. We’ve never had bad food in Kabak and we were hopeful Tree Houses would live up to this trend.

First of all, we had to get back up there, though. A ten minute walk downhill in the sun meant an inevitably longer walk uphill back to Tree Houses.

Ahh, but now we had our bearings, you see. We were just a tad further up the valley from Sultan Camp.

So Sultan served as a great pit stop as we sat on their new lofty terrace, enjoyed another cold drink and waited for the sun to dip behind the rugged mountains, letting the heat give way to pleasant coolness.

Time to press on. A few minutes later, we were back at Tree Houses and showering before our evening meal.

Food Time At Tree Houses, Kabak

We mentioned before that the guy on reception gave us the ins and outs of staying overnight at Tree Houses.

One of the tips he gave us was, although evening meal was to be served between 8 and 10pm, that 9pm – once the sun had completely set and dusk had fallen – was the best time to dine.

This is Kabak; we’re on the side of a mountain in dense forest…naturally, the valley’s resident insects love to join diners at food times.

Once the sun has given way to darkness, however, it’s just you and the food…give or take a mosquito or two…

Buffet Time

A huge buffet was laid out for evening meal. No pics, unfortunately, because we were more than happy to heed the advice of our host and wait for darkness to fall.

Dishes such as traditional Turkish musakka, green beans in olive oil, more beans in the form of barbunya pilaki, a whole range of yoghurt meze dishes and other meze such as Antep Ezmesi and pasta salad.

There was rice, homemade chips, beetroot…too much to mention – and remember, to be honest – and all completely delicious.

What do you love to see on your Turkish breakfast plate? Mmm, favourite meal of the day for me. And, as it was daylight, I was armed with camera and certainly not disappointed in the Tree Houses breakfast!

Again, a buffet was laid out. It was a case of fill your plate, eat, go back for more, eat…and, if you’re not ridiculously full, go back for more besides.

A complete selection of hot and cold Turkish village breakfast goodies as well as cereal for those who wanted a lighter start to the day…or a cereal starter before further indulgence.

Variety

On the morning we ate breakfast at Tree Houses, hot foods in the bain-marie were two varieties of börek (sigara böreği and a cheese & mushroom börek that we just couldn’t leave alone), cocktail sausage and salami in a tomato sauce (always love to see this at breakfast time in Turkey), boiled eggs and omelette with cheese.

Plate already full so a return, later, to get the cold foods.

Cold foods were five varieties of Turkish cheese, rocket, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, four types of olives, four different cereals, homemade jams, tahin and pekmez, cake and watermelon, chunks of fresh bread and a toaster should you fancy your bread toasted.

Just all so lovely and all enjoyed by the pool, overlooking the bay. We’ve gotta say, the Turkish food at Tree Houses was exceptional and the management are acting on reviews, too.

We’d read criticism that there was no tea and coffee at breakfast time and it had to be paid for.

Well, that’s changed and we helped ourselves to multiple cups of çay (Turkish tea) and coffee at no cost.

Enjoying The Views Of Kabak From Tree Houses

After a long, lazy breakfast, just enough time to chill out on our balcony and remind ourselves why we love Kabak so much before checking out. Barry was reading but it was enough for me just to sit and stare out to sea – and take photos.

Our bungalow at Tree Houses was lodged onto the steep mountainside on stilts and trees and shrubs surrounded us.

It all made for good photo framing and, once we got our eye in, it was great wildlife-spotting territory, too.

Crickets crawled both deftly and clumsily between the upper leaves and branches of the trees around the perimeter of our balcony.

So lovely to watch, up close and personal, as they went about whatever business they were doing.

As Kabak becomes more popular, reviews for camps and places like Tree Houses include criticism that ‘there were insects, it was hilly, the journey down the hill was perilous.’ Yes to all three of those because this is Kabak.

All three of those is not the fault of anywhere you stay, however.

It’s Kabak. It’s a steep (vertical, in places), forested valley with accommodation that clings to mountainsides.

It’s a place to hike, to chill and enjoy nature.

We share the space with insects – and lots of other wildlife, too – some of it cute like this little cricket and some not-so-cute, like hornets.

One person’s paradise is another’s worst nightmare. You’ll know which category you fall into.

This is Kabak and Tree Houses is right in the heart of the valley. We loved it there and can’t wait to go back…

Tree Houses, Kabak – Useful Information

• Tree Houses is in the Kabak Mahallesi (neighbourhood) of Faralya.
• It is also known as Tree House, so if you’re looking for it online, they are the same place.
• Tree Houses have a service vehicle to take you to your accommodation from the top road. Just give them a call when you arrive. Alternatively, you can hike down the hillside – set off from the last dolmuş stop by following the Full Moon Camp signposts and continue downhill. You’ll come to Tree Houses after around 20 minutes.
• The Tree Houses service vehicle will also take you back to the top of the hill when you leave. If you are arriving by car, you will need to leave it at the top of the hill as, apart from camp vehicles and the public service dolmuş, other vehicles are not allowed – we would guess for safety reasons and because there is nowhere to park, either.
• If you are arriving at Tree Houses in the height of summer, we would recommend going to Kabak by dolmuş from Fethiye, via Ölüdeniz, just because it can be difficult to find a space to leave your car in high season.
• The price you pay for accommodation at Tree Houses also includes your buffet evening meal and breakfast.
• Bungalows are en suite and air-conditioned and some have sea views.
• There’s a good-sized swimming pool and two bars – one by the pool and one terrace bar with comfortable seating. All drinks prices are very reasonable.
• You can book a stay at Tree Houses in Kabak via Booking.com.

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