Antalya - Walk in the Lycian Footsteps

The Ancient Lycian Peninsula may have been the first democratic league with numerous cities working together for commerce and defense.  Today it is one of the hot spots of Turkish tourism.

The rugged, mountainous, pine forests smashed against the clear, clean Mediterranean sea make this a truly unique place.  No where else has the sheer volume of nature, history and beauty in so compact an area.  Not to mention that the activities here are so varied that you won’t be bored.  

The tour runs from Antalya to Kas and covers a number of sites that we’ve mentioned on our blogs:

Phaselis:

• A tour from Antalya that combines ancient ruins with seaside beach time and Swimmingthen head west of the city 45 mins to Phaselis. Filled with Lush views and clear water, you can relax in the sun or shade.  

  

   

St. Nicholas/ Demre/Myra:

• On the huge Lycian Peninsula that runs from Antalya to Fethiye, there lies a small ancient church belonging to the venerated St. Nicholas. In the west we know him as Santa Claus. this is a great place to recover from the 73 curves on road past Finike!!!

   

  

  

Myra

• The stop only takes about an hour or two if you have lunch. If you want to see an impressive Roman theatre and even more impressive Lycian tombs then plan to see Myra as well.

  

  

Kekova

• An hours drive past Demre where Santa Claus stands proud among the bikini clad orthodox Russian pilgrims, is the treasure in the water known as Üçağız. Driving up into the hills and then down again to a village of 150 people brings you to Kekova – the waterfront restaurant and yacht dock for glass bottomed boats. The draw here is 3 fold: the waterfront restaurants, the sunken city of Simena (glass bottom boat recommended), and the smaller waterfront village of Kaleköy. {more!}

  Numerous boats line the docks. They’ll take you on a tour to Simena where you can marvel at how so many ancient houses ended up so far under water. These same boats can drop you for a visit at Kaleköy. Along with being a great place for a waterside drink like tea or beer you can also meander up the hill through the tiny steep village to the castle at the top. Views are spectacular.

  If you’re looking for the most serenity come after 3 in the afternoon when tour buses are long gone or even better stay overnight. For food in Kekova go for the big and dependable Ibrahim Restaurant with reasonable prices and reliable food. Mr. Ibrahim can even arrange a boat for you.

Patara:

• Posted on March 12, 2019 by Chris Vannoy

I occasionally get asked “what’s the best beach in Turkey?”. There’s little debate in my mind that the answer is Patara beach. Located about 45 mins drive from either Kaş or Fethiye, this place is 20 kms of silky sandy beauty.

This is not the place to come for boardwalk life rather it is for those beach lovers and sea lovers that want to enjoy the serenity and expanse of the open sea. A day lounging here in the sun or under an umbrella is true vacation time and not to be missed.

The sand is as silky and fine as any that I’ve seen. This sets it apart from the majority of beaches that are at least partly rocky if not completely pebbled.

An added benefit to Patara beach is it’s namesake the ancient waterfront city, Patara whose ruins sit guard of the beach. The triple arched gates and the ancient theater stand out among the many ruins waiting to be scampered over.

Kas

• My favorite getaway in all of Turkey is to the peninsula of Kaş. While only 3 or so hours from Antalya and even less from Fethiye, this is the village town that tourism has yet to ruin. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t have tourist indeed it does but it absorbs them gracefully into it’s mountain backed Greek island facing center. The delights get sweeter when you travel out to it’s sloped and steep peninsula.
• The tour covers plenty of sites on days 1, 2 and 4, leaving a relaxed day 3 to enjoy the Med. This tour can be extended by taking a Blue Voyage / Mavi Yolculuk from Fethiye see details here:  https://sojournturkeytours.com/blogs/what-is-a-blue-cruise-mavi-yolculuk/