One Week on Turkey’s Lycian Way Trail: The Ultimate Guide

“So I heard about this hiking trail in Southern Turkey…”

The conversation with my friend Ruth began as many do, with grand ideas of places to visit and experiences to have. But as we perused photos of the sweeping green cliffs and blue Mediterranean waters along the Lycian Way, we knew this trek was bigger than just an idea. A few months later our flights were booked, our bags were packed, and off we went to spend one week hiking along Türkiye’s longest trail. 

The Lycian Way has been called one of the world’s most beautiful hikes, but is still seemingly undiscovered in comparison to its more well-known cousins like Spain’s Camino de Santiago. We were excited to get off the beaten path (quite literally!) and discover what the Lycian Trail was all about. 

However, as the Lycian Way is still relatively off the tourist trail, we struggled to find a lot of information about what exactly we were getting into. Where would we stay along the trail? How much food would we need to pack? How far could we get with only one week to hike?

So after successfully winging one week along the Lycian Way, I’m here to share all the details of our trek so that you can go in at least a little more prepared than we were! I’ll break down each day we spent on the trail – from the nitty gritty of what we spent to exactly where we stayed along the way. 

Looking for practical details of the Lycian Way? (Think packing lists, weather info, and more!) Check out my post on everything you should know before hiking the Lycian Way. 

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Lycian Way Video

Want to follow our trek along with us? Check out this video I made of our one week along the Lycian Trail!

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Introduction to the Lycian Way

The Lycian Trail is a 540km (335 mile) trek along the southern coast of Türkiye, through the former home of the ancient Lycian Civilization. Beginning in Fethiye, the trail stretches along the Mediterranean coast, passing through everything from Lycian ruins and mountain villages before culminating in Türkiye’s bustling seaside city of Antalya. 

The Lycian Way is a fairly new route, constructed in the mid-1990s by British expat Kate Clow. These days, nearly 30,000 people set out on the trek each year. While it generally takes around 30 days to complete the entire trail, there are many sections perfect for week-long stretches, or even day hikes! 

A Quick Note on Costs in this Guide

It’s important to note that at the time of writing, the Turkish Lira is currently experiencing one of the most rapid rates of inflation seen in years. 

We trekked the Lycian Way in March 2023, so the accommodation and food costs outlined in this guide were true for our trek at that time. We found costs along the trail to be slightly higher than we’d anticipated based on articles we’d read. The same could be true for this post in a year (or even a few months!) based on the current fluctuation of the Lira, so please use this as a general guide but take each cost with a grain of salt. 

All that said, hiking the Lycian Way is still an extremely budget-friendly way to travel. If you’re looking to keep costs as low as possible, prioritize camping along the way and pack your own meals rather than eating at restaurants. I’ve included plenty of information on where to camp and eat along the way, so let’s get into it!

Day 1: Fethiye to Olüdeniz – 23km

The Lycian Way trailhead begins in Fethiye, a quaint coastal city on the banks of the Mediterranean. We’d arrived in Fethiye the day before and spent an evening relaxing in town so we’d be fresh for the hike in the morning. We stayed the night at the Orka Boutique Hotel – our biggest splurge of the week at 1600 TL total ($67.84) but worth every penny for the balcony with views of the harbor. 

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option in Fethiye, we also stayed at the Otel Denizyıldızı at the end of our trip and enjoyed it just as much. It also had complimentary breakfast, and only cost 1000 TL total ($42.39)

QUICK TIP: Fethiye is a popular costal tourist spot for a reason! I highly recommend designating a few days at the beginning of your trip to explore all the city has to offer, from paragliding over the Mediterranean to kayaking over crystal clear waters.

From Fethiye to Kayaköy

The trailhead for the Lycian Way begins just outside of town beside the Fethiye Castle. You’ll have to walk along the road for a bit, before the trail branches to the left into a dense forest. Admittedly we weren’t off to the best start – the trail was a little hard to distinguish at first – but thankfully we’d downloaded the area on Maps.me, which helped us stay on track. 

The path eventually led back to the road, which we followed down to the town of Kayaköy, our first stop of the day. This town is notable for its abandoned village, once home to a largely Greek Orthodox population before they were forcibly removed in the 1920s. Years later, a major earthquake hit the site, leaving the buildings crumbling within the valley. You can read more about the story of Kayaköy here. 

We’d packed food for lunch, so we stopped outside the ruins for a lunch break. The Lycian Trail continues up the hill through the ruins, so you will have to buy an entrance ticket to pass through. As of March 2023, the ticket cost 50 TL ($2.12) each, cash only.

From Kayaköy to Olüdeniz

The trail continues uphill for a while, before flattening out with stunning views over the sea. This was my favorite part of the trail that day, even despite the impromptu hailstorm we found ourselves caught in! 

The trail eventually leads to the beachside promenade of the town of Olüdeniz. There are plenty of hostels and hotels along this strip (click here to view prices!), but we had our minds set on a campsite we’d heard of in the town proper, just up the hill. Or so we thought. We ended up trekking nearly an hour up an extremely steep and busy road into town, an unfortunate way to end a long day of hiking. I highly recommend taking a minibus up into town instead.

We stayed at the Aydede campsite, a great spot run by a local tour operator named Yasin. It cost us 250 TL ($10.60) to pitch our tents, and included breakfast and hot showers. After the hailstorm, I would have paid thousands for a hot shower! 

Yasin was kind enough to give us a ride into town in his Jeep, where we relaxed and grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant called Memo. I highly recommend it – their owner was extremely friendly and their pide was delicious and well priced. We stopped by an A101 grocery store on the way back to camp to pick up some additional food for the next few days and then walked about 15 minutes back to camp for a good night’s sleep. 

We didn’t expect the second hailstorm that night, but well, that’s a whole other story!

Day 1 Statistics

Day 2: Olüdeniz to Kabak: 23km

After warming up from our cold night out in a hailstorm with complimentary breakfast at our campsite, it was time to hit the trail again. Technically, the official start of the Lycian Way begins here in Olüdeniz, just 5 minutes from our campsite! 

From Olüdeniz to Kirme

The trail begins wide and flat, but soon turns and continues uphill for quite some time. It’s not an especially steep grade, but there isn’t any break from the incline so take your time! The trail eventually flattens out in a small village – though it’s hard to say if it’s a village or not, as every building seemed completely empty.

Beyond the village, the trail continued onward along the base of a stunning snow capped mountain. I think this was one of my favorite sections of the trail – the landscape was stunning with the snowy mountains one way, stunning coastline the other. 

The trail eventually leads to the town of Kirme where we stopped for a cup of tea at a spot called Lemon Cafe. We also ate our packed lunches here, and took some selfies with the friendly owner! 

From Kirme to Kabak 

From Kirme, it was onwards towards the Butterfly Valley, one of the most photographed spots along the Lycian Way. The trail passes along the ridge of the valley with beautiful views down over the turquoise water and sweeping cliffs. There are actually plenty of campsites and hotels in this area if you want to call it a day here.  

We decided to continue onwards towards Kabak Beach, which required a bit of uphill scrambling over the next part of the trail. There are a lot of alternate routes in this section that also lead to Kabak Beach, but we ended up getting a little lost after passing through the town of Faralya. Luckily, we wandered out to the main road, where a friendly man named Ahmed picked us up and drove us the rest of the way to Kabak!

From the main road through Kabak, there are many smaller roads that branch off leading to campsites and accommodation. We decided to stay at Shiva Camp – in part because it was only 500 TL ($21.19) for our own private cabin and breakfast, but also because the views were unbelievable!

After settling in, we headed back up to the main road for a bite to eat in town. We grabbed some Turkish pancakes at a spot called Kabak Misafir Evi and then headed back to our cabin for a warm, hail-free night. 

Day 2 Statistics

Day 3: Kabak to Gey – 20.5km

Day 3 began with a delicious Turkish Breakfast at the Shiva Camp, where we admired the views (and snuggled with the friendly dogs there!) before we continued on our way. 

From Kabak to Alinca

The trail first led us down and across a long strip of sandy beach before turning uphill again through a forest. The uphill was long, but the views along the way were worth it. 

While this part of the trail was well marked, there was one short rocky section with a pretty nerve-wracking drop on one side. We also stumbled upon a small pop-up cafe along the trail, complete with honor-system çay (tea)

The path eventually led to the small town of Alinca. We’d hoped there would be a mini-mart as our food supply was a bit low, but as Alinca is off the main road, it was hardly more than a few homes overlooking the Mediterranean. There was however one small home, “Hassan Camping” which had dry goods for sale as well as a few hot meals on a menu. We figured we’d stop for a hot meal and some snacks as we planned to camp that evening. 

Here’s the sitch – we inquired about some of the dry goods and ordered some fresh gozleme (Turkish pancakes) and were quoted a price of 250 TL ($10.56). We incorrectly assumed this was for both the dry goods and the pancakes, but we later found out it was just for the dry goods. Admittedly, we probably wouldn’t have purchased what we did if we’d known – the price was quite steep for what we got and we ended up paying an additional 150 for the pancakes later. Since we only had limited cash, this ended up getting us a bit of trouble later on (keep reading to find out how!)

I still recommend this spot – the owners were hospitable and the pancakes had spring onions grown straight on the porch outside, but just be sure to clarify the prices of what you’re purchasing beforehand. And maybe stock up on a few more snacks somewhere earlier on the main road to avoid this situation altogether! 

From Alinca to Gey

From Alinca, the trail continued along a stunning descent into the valley and through lush farmland. There were plenty of places in the valley to stop and camp, but we continued uphill until the trail joined with a quiet road into the town of Yediburunlar (Gey), nestled high in the mountains. By the time we reached Gey, the elevation had contributed to a significant drop in temperature, and we opted to stay at the Dumanoğlu Pansiyon as we simply didn’t have the correct gear for such a cold night.

The pension cost 600 TL ($25.35) for the night and included dinner and breakfast. We were also served Turkish dolma – vine leaves stuffed with spiced rice that officially top my list of favorite foods I tried in Türkiye!

Day 3 Statistics

Day 4: Gey to Patara: 25km

Our fourth day of our week on the Lycian Way was a special one for us, as it’s the day we met our trail dog, Eddie. You can read his story here. 

We knew we had a lot of kilometers to cover today, as we hoped to make it to Patara Beach and visit an ATM in town. We were running low on cash due to a few unexpected expenses (AKA overpriced dry goods and homestays to avoid freezing!) and knew we didn’t have enough for another homestay if temperatures dropped again. 

From Gey to Bel

The first part of the trail passed through terraced farmland with beautiful views along the way. The trail briefly joined back up with the road, before branching off for a long, relatively even section through more farmland. There are plenty of Lycian ruins along this part of the trail, so keep an eye out. 

After a few hours we reached the town of Bel, where we riskily bought a Coca Cola with some of the last of our cash and stopped for a lunch break. Bel is home to a few homestays if you’re looking for a shorter hiking day. 

From Bel to Patara Beach

Outside of Bel, the trail continues over terraced farmland before steeply descending down to sea level. We were honestly unprepared for how difficult this descent would be – while going down is typically easier on the lungs, this spot was tough on the knees! We took our time as the ground was fairly uneven and eventually made it to sea level where the path flattened out once again. 

At the end of the descent, we encountered a small village, where we had the option to continue through the woods, or walk on the quiet road towards Patara Beach. We opted for the road as it led directly to our intended campsite that night and I am so glad we did. We only spotted 2 cars in our entire time walking the road and the views of the sea and upcoming sandy beach were absolutely stunning. 

We’d spotted signs for the Patara Green Park campsite all day, but we quickly learned camping there wouldn’t be possible – apparently it’s been closed for years, and no one has bothered to take down the signs. Luckily, right up the hill there was another campsite – Likya Garden Life, a total hippie-dippy spot complete with a giant Buddha head in the middle of the campground. And they took cards (a miracle along the Lycian Way!)

We took that as a sign that we could sort out getting to an ATM the next day and paid 2000 TL for a private cabin, with breakfast and dinner included. It was the highest price of the week, and I’m not entirely convinced it was worth it. The pros: the food was the best we had all week, and the site was a 5 minute walk from the beach and some nearby ruins. The cons: the showers weren’t hot. We were there during low season and the site was still a bit under construction, so I assume they’d have this sorted by peak hiking season.

Visiting the Pydnai Ruins

Ten minutes up the road are the Pydnai Ruins, an abandoned Hellenistic fort from the Lycian era. If you opted to take the forest path to Patara Beach earlier the Lycian Way actually passes through these ruins, but we took a separate visit to them since we’d gone an alternate route. 

Patara was once the largest city of the Lycian Civilization, so this was just the beginning of an abundance of ruins we’d soon be spotting along the sandy Patara coast.

Day 4 Statistics

Day 5: Patara Beach Day – 21.8km

According to Maps.me, the Lycian Way continues across Patara Beach towards the town of Gelemis, with a small river crossing in the middle over the Esen Stream. We had been warned by the owner of our first campsite that the river was not currently passable due to high flooding, and that even if we found a boat to take us across, the price would be steep. 

With all this in mind, we decided to take an alternate route through the town of Kinik, not only to finally visit an ATM but also to explore some notable Lycian ruins along the way. 

From Patara Beach to Kinik

It is certainly possible to walk from Patara Beach to the town of Kinik, but rather than spend all day walking paved roads with our heavy backpacks, we opted to take a local minibus into town. The bus stop was a five minute walk from our campsite where we caught a bus into town for only 20 TL ($0.85) each. 

The bus dropped us at an intersection just outside of Kinik, where we walked 10 minutes into town and finally refueled at an ATM. From town, it was another 10 minute walk to the ruins of Xanthos, where we were thankfully allowed to leave our bags at the ticket office while we explored. 

Visiting the Xanthos Ruins

Tickets to the Xanthos Ruins cost 50 TL ($2.12) each and are worth every penny. Xanthos was once the largest city of the Lycian Civilization, a hub of arts, culture, and trade not only for the Lycians, but later for many civilizations who conquered the region, including the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. 

Xanthos is also home to a number of notable pillar tombs, most often used for important members of Lycian civilization. Visitors can still explore these pillar tombs – just follow the trail up the hill and you’ll soon see the landscape dotted with tombs dating back to the 4th century BCE!

From Kinik to Gelemis

From Xanthos, we decided to follow the road back to the trail in the town of Gelemis. The walk started pleasantly through the town of Kinik, but soon turned into a thin sidewalk nestled between a busy road and numerous tomato farms. 

It was not exactly pleasant, so we soon stopped at a bus stop to rest for a moment while we checked to see if any buses passed through. Not even 2 minutes later, a tomato farmer named Hatam had pulled up beside us, offering us a ride to Gelemis. We happily obliged. 

Hatam dropped us in the center of Gelemis, a small beach town with a distinctly hippy vibe. We wandered around for a bit inquiring about the prices of a few homestays, until we found Medusa Bar and Camping – which for only 350 TL ($14.82) for our own private cabin was a steal. They also had a kitchen onsite where we could cook meals and during the summer months are a great place to grab a drink. 

After we’d unpacked our things in our cabin, we headed out to explore the beach and ruins of Patara. We followed a trail out to the Patara Sand Dunes and then relaxed on the beach for a while. On our way back, we walked along the main road back to Gelemis. It was quite a bit quieter than the earlier road, the only person we encountered was a friendly farmer who asked to take photos with us! 

Back in Gelemis, we stopped for a bite to eat at Patara Gözlemi Evi, which true to its name had delicious gözleme (Turkish pancakes) and some killer manti.

Day 5 Statistics

Day 6: Gelemis to Kalkan – 22km

Our final morning of hiking began with some fresh bread from a supermarket in town, which we happily enjoyed on the front porch of our cabin at Medusa Camp. From there, it was onwards towards Kalkan. 

The trail continued on outside of Gelemis, but was actually more of an unpaved road than a donkey trail. Luckily the road was fairly quiet, but we did see a few cars pass by – most notably, a group of old Turkish men who were clearly buzzed on Rakı at 11AM! 

The trail was a steady uphill at first before reaching a beautiful viewpoint over the Mediterranean. From here, the trail continued downhill into a small town. While the road was wide it was steep and the footing uneven – one fellow hiker we encountered on the downhill slipped and twisted his wrist during this descent! 

The trail then continued through the town. It was a little hard to follow exactly on Maps.me, but if you stick to the main road through town you’ll be heading in the right direction. Outside of town, we once again followed the unpaved road along the coastline, until we could see across the inlet into our final destination – Kalkan! 

While we could see across the water to Kalkan, we were still only about halfway from where we’d started. We passed through a quaint neighborhood before the trail branched off the road and followed the coastline. There were multiple trails marked on Map.me, all leading to Kalkan, but we opted for the upper trail, as a fellow hiker had labeled the lower “Dangerous Rockslide – avoid!” We figured it was better to be safe than sorry. 

The upper trail continued over the Delikkemer Aqueduct, a Roman-era aqueduct, and then uphill over the mountain, with beautiful views of the farms of Yeşilköy below. Eventually, the trail met up with the main road into Kalkan. We actually crossed the road and continued into the town of NAME, where we caught a minibus into Kalkan for 10 TL each ($0.42). From the central bus station, we walked about 15 minutes to the hotel we’d booked for the night, the Papermoon Hotel.

Papermoon cost 1400 TL ($59.27) not including meals, but luckily the center of town was a short walk away. We grabbed some kebab in celebration of completing a week on the trail.

Day 6 Statistics

Day 7 – Return to Fethiye

On the final day of our one week on the Lycian Way, we returned to our starting point of Fethiye. We opted to spend a day relaxing in Fethiye, but you could certainly go all the way to the Dalaman airport for your return flight on this final day. 

Here are a few ways to get from Kalkan to the Dalaman Airport:

Public Buses from Kalkan to Dalaman Airport (DLM)

Always the budget traveler, we decided to use public transportation to return from Kalkan. There are 10 daily buses from Kalkan to Fethiye, though I recommend an early start if you plan to make it all the way to the airport. The bus costs 77 TL each ($3.26)

The journey takes about 90 minutes and drops you at the Fethiye bus station. If you’re planning to go all the way to the airport, this is where you’ll also catch the airport bus, which operates 7 times daily. The bus schedule varies throughout the week, so check out the photo below for daily timings. The airport bus costs 80 TL each ($3.39)

Private Transfer from Kalkan to Dalaman Airport (DLM)

The most efficient way to travel between Kalkan and the Dalaman Airport is via private transfer. Here’s a highly recommended transport service offering custom pickup to make your journey as smooth as possible. 

Finishing Up

After one week hiking the Lycian Way, we were tired and sore, but with a feeling of accomplishment that can’t be beat. 

The Lycian Way certainly isn’t the easiest trail you could attempt in Türkiye, but it’s also no Everest – a perfect in-between for those seeking an attainable challenge. Add on the stunning scenery, the Turkish hospitality, and the many cups of çay along the way, and it’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

I hope to return someday and attempt to hike the entire Lycian Way. In the meantime, the one week I spent on the trail will stay with me forever. I hope this guide helps you plan your week-long hike along the Lycian Way, so you too may make memories that last a lifetime. 

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