The Lycian Way East
- Walk the eastern section of Turkey’s Lycian Way
- Experience an authentic, less-travelled side of Turkey
- Explore the ruins of Olympos, dating back to 300 BC
- Amazing views over turquoise seas from Cape Gelidonya’s lighthouse
- The sleepy village of Simena, accessible only by foot or boat
Gallery
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive at Antalya Airport; included transfer to accommodationArriving at Antalya Airport, included transfer to your hotel (approx. 30 min) in the heart of the old city of Antalya, Kaleici. Take a wander round the bustling alleyways and markets, explore some of the historic monuments or visit the old harbour. Antalya has many dining possibilities for this evening.
A small elegant hotel built in the 18th century. Featuring floor mosaics, individually decorated rooms, and a garden decorated with fragrant flowers, this hotel also has a perfect location in the heart of Kaleici.
After a 1 hour 30 minute transfer to Tekirova, today’s beautiful coastal route takes you past several beaches—some of them you walk along, others you look down on from above with magnificent vistas. You are never too far away from an impromptu dip in the clear blue-tinted water. Although you will bump into the occasional intrepid walker, you often have the trails to your self except for the echoing birdcalls, the chirruping crickets and sound of waves breaking on the sand and the rocks below.
Dropping down through shaded pine forests to the beach at Cirali, the path narrows and becomes a little more technical, with some care required on the loose rocks. After the final crest, you descend to a long sandy beach and from there it is just a short walk to your beachside hotel.
Ascent/Descent: 655m/655m
Odile Hotel is an excellent hotel located in Cirali that offers two large and one children's swimming pool. It also has a beautiful botanic garden and air conditioned rooms with a refrigerator. The hotel features 24 hour front desk, baggage storage, and currency exchange.
You have the morning to enjoy the area, and the beach. At lunchtime you have a transfer up to Ulupınar village where you can enjoy a fresh trout lunch before walking back down to the coast. Along the route you will pass by the eternal flame of chimera, said to be the home of the mythical half-goat, half-snake fire-breathing monster of Greek legend. Take the many steps up to the chimaera flame which has been burning for over 2500 years, where the mountain appears to be on fire.
Ascent/Descent: 200m/455m
Odile Hotel is an excellent hotel located in Cirali that offers two large and one children's swimming pool. It also has a beautiful botanic garden and air conditioned rooms with a refrigerator. The hotel features 24 hour front desk, baggage storage, and currency exchange.
A fairly challenging walk up and over Moses Mountain today, but well rewarded with beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Zig zag uphill through shaded forests to a pass at 700 metres, before heading down through pine woods on a winding path to the quiet village of Adrasan.
You can expect to see goat herders and their herds, crisp pine forests, wildflowers and beautiful views.
Dinner is included at your accommodation this evening.
Ascent/Descent: 713m/718m
A small family-run hotel offering cosy rooms, a garden with lemon and orange trees, and a beautiful poolside bar to enjoy an afternoon drink.
Starting at the Papirus hotel this lovely short walk takes you along the long and open beachfront of Adrasan, busy with small cafes and bars and locals enjoying the beach and offers a chance to recover from yesterdays tougher walk. Adrasan is a fantastic swimming beach. You will then rise up a wide track, and then onto a narrow and winding footpath that meanders through the pine forests to the small clifftop lighthouse before returning the way you came.
Ascent/Descent: 116m/118m
A small family-run hotel offering cosy rooms, a garden with lemon and orange trees, and a beautiful poolside bar to enjoy an afternoon drink.
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the whole trip, today’s walk takes you around Cape Gelidonya, via its famous lighthouse, down to the small pirate harbour of Melanippe. Views of the sparkling turquoise sea accompany you the whole way.
A picnic lunch is included for you today.
From the Melanippe Harbour you will transfer inland to the small, sleepy village of Beymelek. The local family who are your hosts here are a delight and a delicious home-cooked Turkish dinner awaits you! Much of the food is grown on the premises
Ascent/Descent: 871m/853m
Taş Evleri is located in the quiet village of Beymelek (meaning Archangel), which lies at the foot of the Taurus Mountains at an altitude of 50 m above sea level. It overlooks the turquoise waters of the Beymelek Lagoon, famous for blue crab production, and has the ancient remains of Issıum Fortress nearby.
Transfer to Demre to visit one of three sites. The Myra Roman theatre & rock tombs or the Church of St Nicholas (the original Santa Claus who was bishop of Myra) or the Roman harbour at Andrisake Roman harbour which is now a wetlands.
There are some shops to buy refreshments, and then a short transfer to the start of the walk at Kapakli. You will pass the exquisite ruins of Istalda, huge monolithic sarcophagi and monuments crumbling in the dusty forest. You will also have plenty of chances to swim. You will finish as you walk directly to the coast and the pretty village of Simena. A tiny hamlet of stone-built cottages garlanded in flowers, it is only accessible on foot or by sea. A small Genoese Castle sits atop the village, giving great views across the Kevova Straits. After time to explore the castle a 4pm a boat transfer will take you to your accommodation in Kaleucagiz.
Ascent/Descent: 42m/166m
Baba Veli Pension is situated in a peaceful fishing village, right by the water, and features beautiful views of the sea and Kekova Island. Each room is provided with air conditioning, sea views, a balcony and a seating area. Currency exchange and laundry services are also available within the hotel.
After breakfast, you will be transferred back to Antalya (3h) for onward travel connections.
This trip has a carbon score of 10kg per person per night, meaning it’s one of our best trips! For comparison, a carbon count of 10kg is equivalent to 18 lattes. Here at Macs, we pride ourselves on being a responsible travel company and continue to adopt, develop and innovate ways to positively impact the environment. Find out more information on how we've carbon counted our trips.
Other Information
Is it for me?This trip is perfect if you would like to experience a more authentic, less-travelled side of Turkey. The days are slightly longer than on the western section of the walk but remain closer to the coast. You will stay overnight in welcoming family-run hotels and guesthouses offering delicious home-cooked food.
Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!
Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&Bs, inns, and guesthouses.
Solo Travellers, Families with Teens
The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years
This walking holiday is graded moderate. On some days there are significant elevation gains and losses and therefore you should be a regular walker and have a good level of fitness to gain full enjoyment from this tour.
It should be noted that the terrain in Turkey is quite rocky and stony. Some trails are smooth, but you may need to negotiate this uneven terrain from time to time, so you will need to be pretty sure-footed and have good balance. We recommend walking poles for this tour and using walking shoes or booots with good ankle support.
The weather in Turkey is normally hot and sunny for the most part, so it's important to carry plenty of water and to have sun protection and a sun hat with you. Some sections of the route offer very little in the way of shade and water refill points are infrequent at best.
There are some narrow sections with a moderate (2-5m) drop on days 2 and day 7. However, only the most serious sufferers of vertigo are likely to find this challenging.
You will stay in family run guesthouses, and hotels, usually of a 3 or 4* standard. In most cases all of the accommodations have a swimming pool.
Single Rooms & Solo Walkers
If you require single rooms within your party we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable. This tour is also available to solo walkers. In most cases single rooms will be a double for sole use, but this cannot be guarenteed.
Meals
Breakfast is included each morning. A picnic lunch is included on day 6. On other days you can buy lunch from a local shop or cafe before you leave or ask your accommodation if they can prepare a picnic for you. Two dinners are also included - one in Adrasan and the other in Beymelek. On other days you may eat at your accommodation or there are plenty of local restaurants to choose from.
The Lycian Way is an official long-distance trail and is way-marked with red and white painted signs. On this tour you will be following the Lycian Way for the most part (although you do follow other paths too) and we will provide comprehensive route notes and maps. You will also have access to the Macs Adventure Smartphone App enabling you to follow the route using your phone’s GPS so using this combined with the provided route notes and maps means you should have no problems finding your way.
- Accommodation in en suite rooms in charming hotels and guesthouses on a twin share basis
- Daily breakfast
- 2 dinners
- 1 picnic lunch
- Access to maps, GPX tracks and daily route information with the Macs Adventure smartphone navigation app
- Antalya Airport transfers at the start and end of the tour
- Transfers as per your itinerary
- Door to door baggage transfers as per your itinerary
- All your trip documents including a detailed information pack provided digitally through your online Macs “My Account”
- Telephone support from our offices and local partner in the event of a problem
- Travel insurance (required) and personal equipment
- Lunches and dinners aside from those that are shown in the inclusions
- Drinks and snacks
- Any additional transfers or public transport required to shorten the walks or skip a stage
- Turkish visa and any applicable visa fees
- Additional nights before, during or after the tour
- Option to visit the Sunken City en route to accommodation on
- Room upgrades
You can start this trip on any day between April to May and from September to October. As it gets so hot in Turkey during the middle of summer, we do not recommend this walk in June through to August.
Time of Year
You should expect a warm Mediterranean climate with usually clear, sunny days from March right through to around September, although rain is possible at any time of year. In March the spring is starting to arrive and the amount of rainfall is lessening. It's a good time to go walking before the temperatures in Turkey start to The springs months offer warm sunshine, fewer crowds, and pleasant walking conditions. May is when most wildflowers are coming into bloom. The autumn months are also a favourable time of year, boasting cooler weather and a striking landscape made up of autumnal colours. In autumn, you can also expect some thunderstorms, normally in the afternoon or evening. It's worth noting that the earlier or later in the year you choose to travel the higher the likelihood of rain (October-March is when the rainfall is more likely). Also before May and in late October some local shops, and restaurants may have reduced opening times or have closed for the winter. If the accommodation has a swimming pool these will normally be closed prior to June and after September.
The best airport to fly into is Antalya Airport which is served by low cost airlines, such as Easyjet and Thomson and also regularly scheduled airlines, such as Turkish Airlines.
On arrival at Antalya Airport, you will be provided with a transfer to your first night’s accommodation. You will also be transferred back to Antalya Airport on the last day.
The distances and ascents/descents are approximations of the recommended routes. Please be prepared by packing all the necessary items, for example, sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.
Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes and a day pack. Walking poles are recommended as the terrain can be quite rocky. A compass is also recommended.
We suggest you book as soon as your plans are finalised as the accommodations do fill up quickly. However, we will always try our best to accommodate your plans.
This walking holiday is graded moderate. On some days there are significant elevation gains and losses and therefore you should be a regular walker and have a good level of fitness to gain full enjoyment from this tour.
You will need good walking shoes/boots, comfortable walking clothes, waterproof jacket and trousers, a daypack, warm clothing in the early/late part of the year and hats etc during the summer. We supply a detailed packing list with your information pack.
The Lycian Way is nice walked anytime between April and June and then in September and October. July and August are generally too hot for alking. A favourite time is in spring when the flowers are blooming but it is also nice in October when it has started to cool down.
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