- Clear sustainable travel policy
- Tourism Dispersal
- Small Group Travel
This sustainable trip through Southwestern Türkiye along the Lycian Way blends healthy outdoor activities with rich history and cultural sites.
We’ll stay in the most charming villages and towns of the Lycian Coast, lying under the Taurus Mountains. We’ll hike scented hills and visit classical coastal sites, go boating in Fethiye Bay, sea kayak to explore sunken cities, sail the Fethiye Bay, snorkel over sunken Roman ruins, and search for the fire breathing monster, Chimaera of Mt. Olympos.
Activity Highlights:
- 6 hikes ranging between 1 and 5 miles. Easy to moderate.
- Sea-kayaking 3-4 hours. Fairly easy, moderate if it is windy.
- Boating for a full day. This includes swimming breaks, lunch, snorkeling over a sunken Roman Bath and hiking to the ancient site of Lydea, and meeting the nomads.
- Snorkeling at various locations.
Historic Highlights:
- The ancient cities of Olympos, Anti-Phellos, Lydae, Caunus, Aperlai.
- Chimaera, the home of the fire-breathing monster.
- Kekova, an uninhabited Turkish island with sunken ruins.
- Simena, a town near the ‘Sunken City,’ inaccessible by road, and with a castle at the top.
- Teimiussa, an ancient port city.
You’ll be guided by a licensed professional who is sustainably-minded, and capable of interpreting the natural and cultural heritage of the region. Your guide will be skilled in both cultural and active aspects of the trip. A private minivan supports the entire trip, and all meals are included except two lunches and two dinners.
Seasonal Notes: We would like to encourage you to travel in the shoulder season, which is a good way of reducing our impact on the environment and avoid over-tourism. Also, it is a good way of traveling with fewer risks of being infected by viruses (COVID and otherwise). You will appreciate the tranquility and have time to discover and enjoy the area without the crowds. We know that some people don’t have much liberty in choosing vacation times, but if you do, it is much better to look at alternative times and types of travel. We believe beautiful places are beautiful all year round.
- Lycian Way Multi-Sport trip is a coastal trip, so if sea-related activities are your priority, it is best to travel from April through November.
- If you are a wild-flower enthusiast, please note that this region of Türkiye is a bio-diversity hotspot, so April & May would be more rewarding months. This itinerary can be customized in March for optimal wildflower viewing by replacing some of the sea activities with a botanical mountainside detour.
- We suggest avoiding July and August if you are not used to very warm temperatures. The temperature is likely to be above 100 F (38 C) and you may find the hikes too warm. If you are OK with the heat, go for it!
- If you travel in June through August, you are more likely to observe (very discreetly) the “Caretta caretta” loggerhead sea turtles laying eggs, hatching, or swimming around.
- This trip can be customized for those who wish to travel from December through April. Please contact us for more information.
Related Trips:
[8 days] Hike & Sail the Turquoise Coast
[8 days] Izmir Food & Wine Adventure
📋 Itinerary
This itinerary is customizable. Contact Yūgen Earthside for more information.
Day 1: Antalya [Turkiye] (arrival day)
Drive to the coast and have time to relax.
Day 2: Olympos/Çıralı, Antalya
Hike 7 miles from sea level with a 500-foot elevation gain.
Day 3: Olympos/Çıralı, Antalya
Hike 4 miles from sea level with a 500-foot elevation gain.
Hike 2 miles from sea level with a 350-foot elevation gain.
Day 4: Kaş, Antalya
Sea-kayaking 3-4 hours including breaks.
Day 5: Kaş, Antalya
Optional activities such as scuba diving, coasteering, para-gliding, mountain biking, and sea-kayaking.
Day 6: Dalyan, Muğla
Hike 6 miles from sea level with 500 feet elevation gain.
Day 7: Dalyan, Muğla
Hike 3 miles from sea level without significant elevation change.
Day 8: Dalaman [Turkiye] (departure day)
Note: This trip ends in a different city than where it begins. The airports for these two cities are not the same!
🌱 Sustainability
We are the only active member of ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association) from Turkiye and we have signed the Travel’s Climate Action Agreement powered by ATTA.
We are a signatory of Tourism Declares Climate Emergency and have published a Climate Emergency Plan.
We worked with ATTA-South Pole to calculate the carbon emissions for each of our itineraries. As a result, we modified some itineraries to reduce our carbon footprint. We're also proud to say that we're a "carbon neutral" company.
We reported our 2020 emissions and will offset them at the end of 2021. We will also add 25 USD/person to our bulk carbon offset for this trip to be used in planting trees.
We are designing our new itineraries with a "Slow Travel" perspective so that we spend at least two nights at each location and our new trips are more local.
This trip promotes tourism dispersal as it is in the less-traveled parts of the Turkish Riviera. We pick up our guests at Antalya Airport and immediately drive out of the heavily touristic region to small villages and towns. In these towns, tourism revenue is greatly appreciated, especially in the shoulder season.
We expect our clients to bring their own water bottles and we provide refills from big containers during the day. If you forget to bring your own bottle, please purchase a small bottle of water and keep it.
Our guides make sure that we "leave no trace" whenever we visit natural and historical sites and we expect our travelers to uphold these expectations.
We optimize our driving distances to reduce the total distance we cover.
We offer low carbon impact activities on this trip such as hiking, sea-kayaking, snorkeling, coasteering, and para-gliding.
Our trips embrace all diets. Turkish cuisine has great diversity and we understand that our guests have various preferences and restrictions about food.
June through mid-August you may have the opportunity to observe loggerhead sea turtles laying or hatching their eggs. There are volunteers who protect the eggs and if they allow us, we may be able to join them using red flashlights (red light is the least disruptive method to see the turtles). If you are interested, please bring a red flashlight.
We understand that we have the responsibility to sustain our activities and support the local population. We choose to use the services of local accommodation providers, family-run restaurants, and woman-owned businesses.
- Conserve Ecosystems/Preserve Biodiversity
- Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants
- Local/Organic Restaurants
- Participate in Certified Carbon Offsetting
- Donate to Reputable Climate or Energy Group
- Focused on Minimizing Waste
- Energy-Saving Lights
- Solar Thermal Panels
- Fair Wages / Fair Trade
- Ensures Good Working Conditions
- Supports Local Businesses
📌 Location
Use the Google map to orient yourself about where in the world this trip is. The location indicates the starting point for this trip.
A specific route map is included in the downloadable detailed itinerary.
🏷️ Pricing
Prices exclude flights to/from the destination.
See the full list of price inclusions and exclusions in the downloadable detailed itinerary.
For groups of travelers in numbers not specified below, contact us for pricing.
ℹ️ Other Info
If you're ready to book this trip, or if you still have some questions, contact us to let us know!
Book with confidence: To reserve your spot on a tour, a $500/person deposit will be required. However, you can book with complete peace of mind as this deposit will be 100% refundable until 60 days prior to the trip start date.
- Cancellations 59-30 days prior to departure will receive a refund of the deposit paid minus $300 per person administration fee and minus any non-refundable paid fees (e.g. non-refundable airfare, cruise, or hotel deposits).
- Cancellations 29–15 days prior to departure will be eligible to receive 50% of deposits paid, and minus any non-refundable deposits paid on your behalf.
- Cancellations 14 days or less prior to departure will be subject to loss of 100% of the total package price.
No refunds will be provided for any unused portion of a tour once the tour begins, including if you leave a tour for any reason or have to be removed from a tour. There are no exceptions to this cancellation and refund policy, including for reasons related to weather, terrorism, civil strife, personal, family, medical emergencies, or any other circumstances beyond our control. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to purchase trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
If you book this as a Private (Guided) tour rather than a Small-Group (Guided) tour, you can reschedule your trip depending on availability without any charge.
This trip has a variable start date, so you can plan a departure date for when it is safe to travel. It's also a private tour, meaning you will only be traveling with those you book the trip with.
Be sure you have traveler's insurance.
Please be fully vaccinated and boosted before traveling. You may also need proof of a negative Covid test before arrival to the country. Keep a mask and hand sanitizer with you at all times.
Special precautions:
- Indoor Places – Van transportation is likely to be the only time you will be indoors with other people. Even if you are vaccinated we will ask you to keep your mask on during the ride and we will keep air vents open. We will have a short break every 45-60 minutes and ventilate the van properly. We plan our trips to avoid driving long distances.
- Dining - We are making our meals as flexible as possible, providing options for larger or separate tables whenever we can, and dining al fresco if possible!
- Slow Travel - We have started to design our itineraries to fit the slow travel principles even before COVID-19. We stay in small or remote places, plan to stay more than 1 night at each location, travel in the shoulder season, cover a small region, rather than traveling long distances. This travel format is not only safer but also helps to absorb and enjoy the experience even better.
- Additional Precautions - We will clean and disinfect all surfaces of the various equipment we use, including kayaks, door handles, surfaces on vans, and boats. Our staff will make hand sanitizer available to you. We encourage you to bring your own hand sanitizer as well.
Q: What does the Physical Rating of "Average" mean?
A: "Average" for this trip means that this involves moderate hiking that is generally suitable for novice hikers who want a bit of a challenge and are well-conditioned. Please note that the terrain is “Karst”* which requires proper mid-weight hiking boots.
*Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant rocks, such as quartzite, given the right conditions.
Q: What are the accommodations like?
A: We emphasize small family-run guesthouses and “boutique” hotels with character and atmosphere.
Q: Is this trip safe for women, solo travelers, etc.
A: Yes, completely. The trip is very laid-back, easy-going, and popular among solo and female travelers.
Q: Do I need a visa?
Please click here to find out the passport, health, and visa conditions for any country.