The Lycian Coast by Motorcycle: A 7-Day Fethiye to Antalya Route

The coast between Fethiye and Antalya can be ridden in a day. Ridden that way, you see the road but miss Kekova, give Kaş an hour and pass Çıralı’s beach without stopping.

Give it a week instead. Seven days, about 500 kilometres, with the ride itself taking maybe 12 hours of saddle time. The rest of the time goes on boat trips over a sunken city, swimming, ruins and long lunches in fishing villages.

This guide treats the Lycian coast as a destination rather than a corridor. Between Fethiye and Antalya are the 27 km from Kalkan to Kaş that many riders call the best coast road in Turkey, plus a string of bays, ancient cities and a mountain plateau that earn the seven days. It is compiled from published route information, local sources and routing data, not a ride report.

Why the Lycian Coast Is Turkey’s Best Motorcycle Road

This stretch of the Mediterranean was ancient Lycia, and it shows: ruined cities sit above the bays, and rock-cut tombs and sarcophagi turn up in towns and on headlands all along the route.

The road that does the heavy lifting today is D-400 — a well-maintained two-lane highway that hugs the coast from Fethiye east to Antalya. In places it climbs hundreds of meters above the sea and descends to beach level in a single 5 km switchback. The surface is generally good and truck traffic light outside high summer. Bays open below the road, switchbacks climb to viewpoints, and the coastal towns are rarely more than half an hour apart. By the coast road it is about 300 km from Fethiye to Antalya; this itinerary’s detours to Patara, Kekova and the Elmalı plateau bring it to about 500.

The Route at a Glance

Total: roughly 500 km of riding spread across 6 riding days (our routing estimates, detours included), with day 7 a rest day in Antalya. The actual saddle time totals 12-14 hours. Most days are 2-3 hours on the bike with the rest of the day free.

Day 1: Fethiye to Kalkan (120 km)

Start in Fethiye. The town is the natural western anchor of the route. It has rental bike shops, mechanics, hotels in every price range, and the marina is worth a morning wander before you set off.

Before heading east, take the short side road south from Fethiye to Ölüdeniz, the lagoon-and-blue-bay combination that anchors every Turkey tourism poster; the viewpoint on the road down is the best free photo of the trip. Skip the descent to the beach itself unless you want crowds.

Back on the D-400, the road climbs through pine forest and descends to Kınık, and about 70 km from Fethiye you reach the turn for Patara — an 18 km stretch of empty sand backed by ancient ruins. The Patara archaeological site is one of the most extensive on the coast, and the beach is wide, sand-floored, and almost completely undeveloped. Spend an hour here.

Continue about 15 km to Kalkan, a former Greek fishing village that has become a mid-range resort town. Whitewashed houses, narrow stepped streets, harbor restaurants. Stay one night here.

Road notes: D-400 the entire way. Smooth pavement, moderate traffic. Watch for slow trucks on climbs — overtake on straights, not in switchbacks. Fuel in Fethiye, Kınık, and Kalkan.

Day 2: Kalkan to Kaş — The Best Coastal Road in Turkey (27 km)

Short day on paper, but this 27 km stretch of the D-400 between Kalkan and Kaş is the one most riders come for.

The road runs high above the sea along a continuous line of headlands and bays, in medium-speed sweepers rather than tight hairpins. Traffic is light outside July and August.

About 8 km out of Kalkan you reach Kaputaş Beach, where the road crosses the mouth of a narrow gorge right above a small turquoise beach. Park at the roadside layby, take the long flight of stone steps down, and swim.

Continue east to Kaş for lunch. Kaş is a working town with a fishing harbour, a 4th-century BC Lycian tomb in the middle of a residential street, and a busy diving scene.

Stay in Kaş, or on the quieter Çukurbağ peninsula just west of town.

Road notes: Pure D-400. Around Kaputaş, watch for cars stopping and pulling out of the roadside parking on a bend.

Day 3: Kaş to Kekova and Demre (55 km)

From Kaş, ride east on the D-400 and take the side road that descends to the small fishing village of Üçağız, about 35 km from Kaş. Park here for the day. Üçağız is the boat launch for Kekova, the sunken Lycian city.

Kekova was a Lycian harbor town that was destroyed by an earthquake in the 2nd century AD. The city sank into the bay. Today a 2-3 hour boat trip from Üçağız passes over the remains: house foundations, stairways and walls running down into the water. Boats, including glass-bottomed ones, leave several times a day in season.

Across the bay, Kaleköy (ancient Simena) has no road access at all: you reach it by boat (most Kekova tours stop there) or on foot along the trail. Its medieval castle, built by the Knights of St John, sits above the bay with views that justify the climb. Lunch at one of the harbor restaurants below the castle.

Back at Üçağız, ride on to Demre for the night, about 20 km. Demre is the modern town built next to the ancient Lycian city of Myra — famous for its rock-cut tombs in the cliff face above the theater. The site is on the edge of town, about 2.5 km from the centre; visit early, before the tour coaches arrive.

Road notes: D-400 plus the narrow paved side road down to Üçağız. There is no road to Kaleköy; leave the bike in Üçağız.

Day 4: Demre to Finike, With the Elmalı Plateau (170 km)

This is the day to leave the coast for the mountains. Ride the 28 km east to Finike and turn inland on the road north to Elmalı. It climbs out of the orange groves through pine forest into the Beydağları range and tops out on the Elmalı plateau, at around 1,100 metres: a high, open basin of orchards and wheat fields under bare mountains, with an old town of Ottoman houses and a large mosque at its centre. It’s about 70 km each way, and the change of scenery from the coast is the point.

Ride back down the same road to Finike for the night (or loop on from Elmalı to Kaş via Gömbe and Kasaba if you’d rather end the day back on the coast to the west).

Finike itself is a working agricultural town (oranges are the regional crop) with a long, gray-pebble beach. It’s less touristy than Kaş or Kalkan, which means cheaper accommodation and quieter evenings.

Road notes: The Finike–Elmalı road is paved, with long climbing sections and tight corners; there’s fuel in Finike and in Elmalı. The plateau is noticeably cooler than the coast, so carry a layer.

Day 5: Finike to Olympos and Çıralı (50 km)

From Finike, ride east on D-400 along the coast 50 km to the Olympos/Çıralı turn-off. The descent from D-400 down to the coast is a 6 km switchback through pine forest that delivers you to one of the most atmospheric stops on the entire route.

Olympos is an ancient Lycian city now half-buried in lush riverside forest. You walk through ruins overgrown with vines and arrive at a 4 km beach backed by mountains and protected as a national park. The beach is wild, undeveloped, and quiet outside high summer.

Çıralı is the sister village 1 km north, sharing the same beach. Çıralı has small family-run pensions, beachfront restaurants, and a more accessible vibe. Both villages are connected by a 20-minute beach walk.

The unmissable evening activity is the hike up to the Chimaera flames — natural methane vents in the mountainside above Çıralı that have been burning continuously for thousands of years. The hike is 1 km, easy, and best done at dusk when the flames are most visible. Bring a headlamp for the descent.

The beach and the land behind it sit inside a protected area, so this is a campground night rather than a wild one: Çıralı and Olympos both have established campgrounds and tree-house camps a short walk from the sand.

Road notes: D-400 plus a 6 km steep switchback descent. Watch the descent in wet weather.

Day 6: Olympos to Antalya (80 km)

Final long riding day. From Çıralı, climb back to the D-400 and head north. The road runs between the Beydağları mountains and the sea past Tekirova and Kemer, with a string of tunnels on the final run toward Antalya bay.

The descent into Antalya is long and gradual. The city sprawls along the bay, the old town (Kaleiçi) clings to the cliffs above the harbor, and the urban traffic builds in the last 15 km. Stay in Kaleiçi if you can. The old town is a maze of Ottoman-era streets, restaurants in restored stone houses, and the entire district is closed to most through-traffic.

Park your bike at your accommodation. Walk Kaleiçi in the evening. The Hadrian’s Gate, the Yivli Minaret, and the harbor at sunset are all 10-minute walks from anywhere in the old town.

Road notes: D-400 with one mountain pass. Smooth pavement, moderate traffic, urban density in the last 15 km.

Day 7: Antalya Rest Day — Bike Service and City

Keep the rest day. After six days and about 500 km, the bike is due a chain clean and lube and a tyre check, and you are due a day off the saddle.

Antalya has motorcycle service shops for a basic chain service and tyre check. While the bike is in the shop, walk the old town, visit the Antalya Archaeological Museum (one of the best in Turkey for Roman and Lycian artifacts), and eat a long lunch at one of the harbor restaurants.

The return trip is yours. Many riders ride the same D-400 back west to Fethiye. Others continue east toward Side, Alanya, and the Taurus Mountains. (The name comes from the Lycian Way, a waymarked walking trail of more than 500 km along this coast, which ends near Antalya; this route follows the road, not the trail.) The Turkish coast continues for another 700 km east before the road ends at the Syrian border.

Lycian Way Rider Packing Checklist

What you actually need for a 7-day Lycian Way ride beyond standard touring gear:

• Offline maps for Muğla and Antalya provinces
• Some cash in Turkish lira for village pensions and boat trips
• High-factor sunscreen
• Swim kit
• Tyre plug kit
• A small dry bag for wet swim kit
• A light daypack for boat trips and walking Kaleiçi

For camping nights, add a compact sleeping pad, a lightweight tent, and a small camp stove; see the linked guides for specific picks.

Best Season and Weather

Late April to mid-June: best overall season. Daytime 22-28°C, water 20-23°C, wildflowers, light traffic. The coast is fully open but not crowded.

Mid-September to late October: second-best season. Daytime 24-30°C, water still 23-25°C from summer warmth, stable weather, light traffic. The most reliable autumn riding window.

July-August: avoid. Daytime 35-40°C inland, coastal traffic heavy, accommodation prices double. Possible if you ride early-morning only and beach in the afternoon, but the experience suffers.

November-March: D-400 stays open and rideable. Rain is more frequent, mountain alternates can wash out, and many coastal restaurants close. A different trip; quieter, cheaper, occasional wet days, no swimming.

Related Guides

• For how this coast fits into a whole-country trip — regions, timing, borders and logistics — start with our ultimate Turkey motorcycle tour guide.
• For off-road riding across the country, the Turkey TET section of the Turkey guide covers the Trans Euro Trail’s route, which runs inland well north of this coast.
• For the coast continuing west from Fethiye, ride the Turkish Aegean coast motorcycle route. The two link into a two-week southern loop.
• For the best bays on this coast and beyond, see the most beautiful bays in Turkey you can reach by motorcycle.
• For a jacket that copes with Mediterranean heat, the adventure motorcycle jackets guide has its hot-weather picks.

This guide is compiled from published route information, local authority sources and rider reports. Some links in this article are affiliate links — if you buy gear through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.