Mediterranean Coast 5-Day Tour

Five days is the point at which the Turkish Mediterranean stops being a resort and starts being a coastline. From Antalya to the Lycian west runs a few hundred kilometres of mountain dropping into water, with ancient cities in the gaps — far too much for a day trip, which is why this exists as a multi-day route rather than one long drive out and back.

East of Antalya the land is flat delta country: Perge, Aspendos, Side, Manavgat, the old Roman irrigation plain. West of the city the Taurus comes down to the sea and everything changes. Olympos and the burning vents of Yanartaş, the pebbles of Çıralı, the citrus flats around Finike, then Demre with its church of St Nicholas, the sunken city at Kekova, Kaş, Kalkan, Kaputaş, and eventually Fethiye and Ölüdeniz. Spread over several days, that becomes a sequence instead of a checklist.

The single-day version of any of these places is a long drive, ninety minutes on site and a long drive home. Over five days the same ruins are reached in morning light, swim stops are not rationed, and the mountain road between Kumluca and Kaş — one of the finest drives in the country — becomes something you look at rather than endure.

A professional guide is with you throughout, which changes what the ruins mean. Lycian rock tombs, Roman street plans and Byzantine churches overlap on this coast, often on the same site, and having someone untangle the layers is the difference between photographs and understanding.

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Air-conditioned vehicle for the whole route
• Professional guide
• Entrance fees at the sites visited
• Lunch at local restaurants, bottled water, insurance

The order of the route, the overnight arrangements and any optional boat legs are confirmed with WeCare at booking. The coast allows several sensible versions, and the right one depends on where you are staying and how much driving you want in a day.