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How to Hike the Lycian Way: The Best Guide on on the Internet (2023)

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Juliette

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Congratulations, you’ve decided you want to hike the Lycian Way in Turkey! This epic thru-hike is bound to creep up to your top spot on favorite hiking and outdoors experiences and that’s why I’ve put together the most comprehensive guide on how to hike the Lycian Way on the Internet.

As of now, I’ve hiked the Lycian Way 3 times-none of them full-thru hikes. I spent about a week each time hiking different sections of the route and I plan to hike the full trail this April of 2023-hopefully I’ll see you out on the trail!

On my first hike I had difficulty finding real valuable information about how to hike the trail, and I ended up getting lost and found and lost again-so much it’s shameful. You can read more about my experience here. While getting lost is 100% my fault, I realized there’s a need for up-to-date information on the internet. That’s why I’ve put together this guide to help you hike the Lycian Way successfully and effortlessly-and hopefully you won’t end up hiking on a cliff in the middle of the night like I did.

Gelidonya Lighthouse

Ovacik to Faralya

Wild Camping

Lemon Cafe in Kirme

Olympos Ruins

Hiking to Adrasan

Swimming on the Lycian Way

Cirali Beach

Gozleme

Wild Camping

Kayakoy Ruins

Oludeniz

Pirate Bay

On the Trail to Kayakoy

Wild Camping

Gelidonya Lighthouse

Wild Camping

Related Sources:

How to Hike the Lycian Way?

This blog post covers all of the up-to-date information on how to hike the Lycian Way from my own personal experience, and from research done through my hikers’ network. Look below for the table of contents where you can find all of the relevant information to help you plan your next adventure on the Lycian Way.

Table of Contents:

Map of the Lycian Way

Map of the Lycian Way route from Fethiye to Antalya in Turkey.

What to Expect on the Lycian Way

The Lycian Way is a 500km trail through southwest Turkey on the coast of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. The path goes through the ancient region of Lycia, a roman/greek city-state from the late bronze age. That’s what makes this trek so special. It’s not only packed with beautiful, epic views, but it is home to many ancient ruins from this time period. It’s one of the few hikes in the world where you can be deep in the forest and all of the sudden find yourself inside massive ancient city ruins.

Besides the beauty and rich cultural heritage, the Lycian Way offers stops in quaint Turkish villages where locals are hospitable and happy to share and interact with travelers. It’s a rare day on a thru-hike where you do not go through charming villages and eat local food, most days you’ll go through several.

On the Lycian Way you should expect to find stunning natural views, fascinating ancient history, and hospitable new friends who will offer you amazing local food. This is what makes the Lycian Way so great, it’s more than just a hike through the woods-it’s a cultural experience.

Thru-hiking or Day Hiking on the Lycian Way

The full 500km takes over 40 days to hike from start to finish, but you don’t have to take a month out of your life to enjoy this epic trek.

Personally, I enjoy taking sections a week at a time because there’s so much to see, but if you don’t have the time you can opt to hike just for a day.

With thru-hiking there’s a lot more skill and planning needed, but it is definitely do-able for a first time backpacker.

The trek has some hard sections, and some easy sections-which I’ll go over later, but all in all a basic level of fitness is enough.

If you’re a first-time backpacker the Lycian Way is the perfect hike to start with for the following reasons: the hike is not very technical, there are natural springs and places for water, you walk through towns at least once a day, and you’re never too far from civilization.

Going Solo or Hiring a Guide on the Lycian Way

On my three trips on the Lycian Way, every group of foreigners I see is with a tour or a guide. While I prefer to go solo for reasons of freedom, ease, and budget, it’s still a very viable option to go with a company.

If you’re not going solo, there’s two options:

  1. Hire a personal guide
  2. Book through a tour company

Personal Guide

With a personal guide, you will be 100% of the time with someone who will walk you along the trek, tell you about the history, point out interesting facts about the area, and will negotiate with locals for you. The downside is this is the most expensive option.

Tour Company

If you book a tour company, they will not accompany you on the trail.

What the company will do is transport your bags from hotel to hotel each day, so you only have to hike with a day pack. The company will arrange your accommodation each night, which will take a lot of hassle out of trying to plan your trip. Of course this means you have to get to each location at the end of your trek, and you don’t have the freedom to go as you please. However, you will be moving a lot faster because you are carrying less weight.

This is a great option for people who have a little extra money to spend, and don’t want to worry about where they’re sleeping for the night or carry extra weight with them.

Going Solo

I always go solo because the Lycian Way has so much to offer and I always find something off the path I like to explore. Sometimes I’ll even meet a friendly person in a town and end up drinking cay and having a chat for a few hours. I love this freedom on the Lycian Way, and I find myself always pushing back days on my itinerary so I can enjoy the moment.

The best part of the Lycian Way is that it is 100% possible to camp along the trail, certain sections more than others, but it’s not difficult to find a spot. Wild camping is completely legal in Turkey if you can find a space. The trail has sections throughout suitable for camping and they are marked on the app TrailSmart. This makes it easy if you’re packing a tent and food to just settle in any place you find beautiful. If you enjoy this kind of freedom, I recommend going solo on the trail.

Best Time of the Year to Hike the Lycian Way

The season for hiking is typically April-May and October-November, due to weather. Summer is boiling and winter is pretty cold.

The first time I hiked the Lycian Way was in July!!!! I was absolutely melting. The only way I could beat the heat was to hike as early as possible, find shade to take a nap during the day, and hike in the evening. This had me doing a bunch of night hiking, but it was possible and I enjoyed my trip.

To read more about my experience on the Lycian Way click here.

The upside of hiking in July is no one was on the trail. We had the trek to ourselves, restaurants all alone, and campsites with peace and quiet.

If you’re determined, hiking in the summer is possible. I would just plan to go a lot slower and carry a lot of water with you-many of the natural water sources dry up in the summertime!

Helpful Apps and Navigation on the Lycian Way

You MUST get the application TrailSmart.

Do not think about hiking the Lycian Way without TrailSmart. This is from personal experience!

Learn more about how to use TrailSmart here.

Along the Lycian Way, there are red and white paint markers on rocks and trees that mark the path. However, the path is full of markers at the time the trail is clear, and then right when you’re looking at a fork in the road, they’re nowhere to be found. I’ve gotten off the trail so many times on the Lycian Way, if I didn’t have TrailSmart I’d probably still be out wandering the forests of Southwest Turkey! I mean, not really, but TrailSmart has been a lifesaver.

TrailSmart has a free and paid version. The paid version allows you to use the maps offline, and I definitely recommend it. It’s less than 10 dollars and worth the money.

TrailSmart shows you the distance from point A to point B, elevation, current water sources, and places to camp. It’s an absolute essential if you’re doing a thru-hike, especially if you’re going solo.

Learn more about the people who make TrailSmart!

Food, Water and Accommodation on the Lycian Way

There’s two options for accommodation on the Lycian Way:

  1. Stay in hotels, glamping, or bungalows
  2. Bring your own tent

I recommend doing a combination of both, here’s why:

The typical itinerary for a thru-hike, will have you arrive in a small town each night. This makes it possible to stay in different hotel/glamping/bungalow locations. However, if you will not be bringing your own tent you MUST do your research and book well ahead of time.

A lot of the hotels that are right on the Lycian Way are prime locations and are usually fully booked. If the prime spots are taken, you may be tempted to find an open hotel in the area, but this can force you to walk uphill for miles in some places. If you’re going to book, make sure you know the exact location of the hotel so after a long day of hiking you’re not desperately searching for the location of your accommodation.

My Recommendation

I recommend bringing your tent and staying in accommodation because there are many beautiful and unique bungalows that have amazing energy to recharge and enjoy. It’s a shame to miss out on these beautiful stays, especially in Kabak.

Taking your tent also allows you to budget so you’re not paying a hotel price every night, but more importantly it gives you freedom to take each day at your own pace and enjoy the scenery around you.

If you’re planning to stay in accommodation every night, I recommend checking the price of a tour company-they’ll book everything and take your bags from one hotel to the next so your pack is lighter and you’ll travel faster.

Here’s a recap:

  1. Hotels/glamping/bungalows
    • Pricey
    • You may have to walk longer each day
    • You’ll walk faster without a tent
    • Book ahead of time
    • Better to go through a tour company
    • But-really beautiful accommodations in some places
  2. Camping
    • Budget-friendly
    • Freedom
    • Very heavy/You will walk slower

Food

Now let’s talk about food on the Lycian Way. On the popular sections of the trail, you will definitely walk through a town at least once a day(there are some parts of the trail there are no towns). However, some stores are better stocked than others.

If you see a well-stocked store, buy your food then: do not count on the next store you encounter to be as well stocked.

Most stores will have snacks, bread, vegetables, fruits, and water. This is great because you’ll have fresh food and be able to diversify your diet instead of just eating camp food, but I would not put 100% of my trust in these stores to have all your food needs.

When I hike the Lycian Way, I typically will bring my own camp-food and buy some fresh produce or snacks at the store to enhance my meal.

Restaurants

The towns you walk through will often have restaurants, which are delicious. The specialty of this area is gozleme(a hearty pancake). You can order all kinds of gozleme: with cheese, with meat, with potatoes, or spinach. The list is endless.

Whenever you walk through a town with a restaurant, stop and eat! This is a perfect time to meet other hikers and indulge in the local cuisine.

Water

Water is relatively easy to find on the Lycian Way, especially during the hiking season(April-May/October-November)

There are natural springs scattered throughout the trail which will be marked on TrailSmart.

You can also buy water from the general stores of towns you cross on your path.

If you are hiking off-season do not rely completely on natural springs or general stores. Pack your own water, and refill every chance you see an open store or a gushing stream.

This is another reason why I recommend the Lycian Way to first time backpackers because you will be able to restock your food and water everyday. Wondering how much water or food to pack for a backpacking trip can be a challenge for most first time backpackers.

What to Bring

What to bring on the Lycian Way will depend on if you’re doing a day hike, a thru-hike with only accommodation, or a thru-hike with camping and accommodation.

For Thru-hikers:

  • Backpacking Backpack: For long-distance hikes you’ll want a backpack with back support and something comfortable for your shoulders on long walking days
  • Rain Jacket: In this area of Turkey, it’s common to rain in the months of April-May and October-November, so you’ll want to protect yourself and pack from the rain.
  • Tent: A tent is a necessity for some sections of the trail, or if you’re not booking accommodation ahead of time
  • Sleeping mat: A sleeping mat is recommended for comfort on the trail
  • Sleeping bag: Even though this trail is hot during the day, night’s are often pretty cold and you’ll need a sleeping bag for 60F degree weather.
  • Pillow: A camping pillow is definitely recommended for comfort on the trail
  • Water Bottle: You’ll need a water bottle or a camel pack for refilling your water on the trail.
  • Food: Even though you’ll be able to buy food along the trail, do not rely on this for all your food needs. You’ll definitely need to bring some camp food with you
  • Hiking Boots: You’ll need hiking boots with ankle support on the rocky incline and declines of this trail!
  • Turkish SIM Card: You’ll definitely need a SIM card to navigate map applications and be able to call someone in case of emergency

Routes on the Lycian Way

The following are links to the different routes on the Lycian Way. Each bullet point is one or two days on the trail starting at 0, the optional starting point, with 1 being the official starting point.

Click each link to learn more about that particular section of the trail.

I have not hiked every section, so you will see the sections I have hiked are a lot more detailed. I will continually update this information after my subsequent hikes on the Lycian Way.

I’m planning a full-thru-hike in April 2023!

Scroll down to find my recommended itineraries.

0. *Optional Start Kayakoy-Oludeniz 7km

1. Ovacik-Faralya 15km

2. Faralya-Kabak(Coastal Route) 9km

3. Kabak-Alinca-Gey 16km

4. Gey-Bel-Belcegiz 9km

5. Belcegiz-Gavuragili 4km

6. Gavuragili-Patara Beach 6km

7. Patara-Akbel 33km

8. Akbel-Kalkan 11km

9. Kalkan-Bezirgan 10km

10. Bezirgan-Gokceoren 16.5km

11. Gokceoren-Pinarbasi 20.5km

12. Pinarbasi-Kas 8km

13. Kas- Bogazcik 19km

14. Bogazcik-Simena 16.5km

15. Simena-Myra Ruins 23km

16. Myra Ruins-Alakilise Ruins-Belos Ruins-Finike 39km

17. Finike-Karaoz 29km

18. Karaoz-Gelidonya-Adrasan 18km

19. Adrasan-Cirali-Olympos 16km

I have a two recommended Itineraries for the Lycian Way, which one is right for you will depend on what kind of trip you’re planning.

If you want to have an action-packed trip on the Lycian Way full of hiking, camping, swimming, and relaxing in some of Turkey’s coolest hippie beach towns, I recommend the following two hikes:

1. Hiking from Ovacik to Kabak on the Lycian Way (THE EASY HIKE)

Learn more at this link

Total Distance: 24km

Total Days: 2-5 days

Difficulty level: Easy

What to Expect

This hike is perfect for people who want to experience the Lycian Way without too much trouble and spend the last few days relaxing and partying in a hippie beach town. There are no ancient ruins on this trail unless you opt for the optional starting point, Kayakoy.

Do I need a tent?: No, a tent is not necessary, but it will provide you with more freedom and budget-friendly options.

This section of the Lycian Way, will take you from the official start point of the trail to one of the coolest hippie beach town in Turkey.

You’ll start this trek at one of the easiest points to navigate to on the Lycian Way. Finding the start of the trail is much easier here than at any other point on the Lycian Way, because you are a few minutes by taxi from a popular destination in Turkey and all the local people/taxi drivers will know exactly where to direct you. Some other starting points on the Lycian Way can be very difficult to find, and you might end up paying a lot of money in taxi fare to reach the trail.

Kabak

On this trek you’ll be able to see beautiful views of the Mediterranean, walk through quaint villages, wild-camp, and finish your trek by relaxing in Kabak, a beach town with charming bungalows and plenty of recreation.

Kabak has bungalows and camping places for everyone, with swimming pools, bars, dancing, yoga, and delicious homemade meals. Most places here are priced very reasonably, including dinner and breakfast in the fare. You can find anything from bungalows with gorgeous sea views to hippie camping places where you can set up your tent or rent one of theirs.

2. Hiking from Karaoz to Olympos on the Lycian Way (THE HARD HIKE)

Learn more at this link

Total Distance: 34km

Total Days: 4-7 days

Difficulty Level: Hard

What to Expect:

This section is perfect for people who are passionate hikers that want to experience a challenging yet beautiful trek, visit the historical sites of Lycia, and finish their hike relaxing on the beach near the ancient pirate town of Olympos.

Do I need a tent?: No, a tent is not necessary, but it will provide you with more freedom and budget-friendly options.

This section of the Lycian Way is one of the most difficult due to its steep elevation changes, but it is one of the most rewarding.

The hike will take a bit of time to navigate to the start of the trail in Karaoz. You will start in a beach town with plenty of accommodation to stay in, hike to a lighthouse built on historic grounds, trek through the forest along the cliffside with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean, and finish off by staying in the beach town of Olympos, once an ancient city of Lycia.

There will be more opportunities to swim on this section of the trail, but the hiking will be more rigorous. You will pass through three beach towns, with accommodation and restaurants, so you can camp or book a night in a hotel.

Olympos

You will end your trek in Olympos, which is a town full of hippie camping places, Airbnb, and ancient ruins that are incredible to explore. The ruins lead right onto the beach where you can swim or enjoy a drink on the sand.

Want a Visual Aid? Check out my Video on Youtube!

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