The Lycian Way with Baby and Tent – Week One: From Fethiye to Kalkan
Short version
We’re doing well and are loving the chance to experience this adventure together. We’ve been on the trail for just under a week and have covered about 127 km with roughly 4,000 m of elevation gain. We’ve eaten wonderfully and met countless smiling people — especially thanks to and together with Cleo. The hospitality is overwhelming, as is the green-leaved, white-rock landscape beside the turquoise-sparkling sea. We’ve already overcome our first obstacles and digested a few shocks — more on that below. Camping is going very well, even if Cleo still has to get used to the sounds of the night. The heat has given us a new rhythm: we get up in the dark with the first call to prayer and set out for a longer morning stretch; after a long siesta we continue in the evening and finish the day at sunset.
Before setting off, we set the intention that all three of us must feel well, that we’ll take it slow and easy, and regularly check in with ourselves about how we’re doing. We also decided to eat vegetarian rather than vegan on the trail to keep things simpler. And we promised ourselves to really gift this special time to the three of us. ❤️
First steps
From Rhodes we took the ferry to Fethiye (about 2 hours). On arrival we immediately bought SIM cards at a Turkcell shop (€30 for 20 GB for 30 days), as Turkcell seems to have the best coverage in rural areas. After a vegan lunch and a quick diaper run, we briefly visited the rock tombs above Fethiye.
Then we took a minibus from the bus station to Ölüdeniz, where the Lycian Way begins. Cleo isn’t particularly fond of car rides, but various locals happily entertained her along the way. She much prefers being on the move with us: one of us carries her in a front carrier with the smaller backpack on our back, while the other carries the larger pack. And so, at 4:00 p.m. that same day, we set off on our 500 km adventure.
The trail wound its way up with beautiful views and, little by little, we left civilization — including beach music — behind us. Despite the late-afternoon hour it was still pretty hot, and the ice-cold pomegranate juice from a stand in the middle of nowhere has remained one of the culinary and emotional highlights so far.
As we walked through the gorgeous coastal landscape, the day slowly drew to a close. We pulled out our headlamps and descended in the dark to Hisar at Butterfly Valley. On those last kilometers a few pairs of eyes flashed back at us, including those of a large spider. After 13 km and 700 m of ascent we reached the Melisa guesthouse, which we’d heard good things about. To our surprise, the owner refused to let us stay inside because he’d had bad experiences with crying babies. He did, however, offer that we could camp in the garden, where there was electricity and showers.
A little spoiler: to our surprise, on every night we slept outside we found the chance to shower and charge our phones.
And so we spent our first night under a starry sky, surrounded by fragrant mandarin trees and chirping crickets. We also met a German-British couple who, like us, had started late and planned to spend two weeks on the Lycian Way.
First encounters
After a short night we got up early and started the next stage around 7:00 a.m. At first we followed the coastal variant towards Alınca. The trail wound through pines and smelled wonderful. The sea was calling. Unfortunately, the lovely path was interrupted by construction for a new hotel complex. We then decided against continuing to the sea and took the direct route to Alınca instead, which again meant some elevation gain — mostly on gravel and under pines.
Shortly before Alınca, we could hardly believe our eyes: another family from Australia with a 17-month-old crossed our path. We had lunch as a group of six in Alınca and talked about hiking with kids — and about everything under the sun. After a long, three-hour break with a bit of sleep for us, we descended steeply along a dry, wonderfully scented coastal path — very hot, though.
Just before reaching Geý, after about 24 km, a local who had been born in Germany spoke to us and explained that a few hundred meters further on we could camp at a schoolyard and that there were restaurants across the street. We were delighted, stopped there, ate four (!!!) gözleme, showered, pitched the tent, and went to sleep. It was a very restful night, even though the first call to prayer woke us at 5:45 a.m. We packed up and were back on our feet by 6:30 a.m., hiking without breakfast to Bel, where a Turkish grandmother spoiled us with a generous breakfast.
After this longer break of just over an hour, we continued 12 km to Patara Beach. The route had a fair bit of up and down, and it got very hot. Our plan was to reach the beach before lunch, take our midday break at a seaside restaurant, and then walk only a short stage in the evening.
When we arrived, however, the restaurant was closed. We found only a mother and her son selling drinks under a tarp with a few chairs and worn sofas. They welcomed us warmly, and when they understood we were hungry — and after we explained that, as vegetarians, we don’t eat red meat or chicken — they spoiled us with an improvised potato dish.
Cleo was the most spoiled of all, lovingly doted on by both mother and son. We lingered there for a long time and rounded off the stop with a swim in the sea and in the adjoining freshwater river.
We then walked another six kilometers on the road to Kumluova — through a sea of greenhouses. From the roadside, fresh figs, pomegranates, and grapes (tangling wild through the trees) tempted us — along with chickens, lambs, and countless cats and dogs. Where would we sleep here? Thankfully, Ivo asked at two roadside stands selling food and pomegranate juice if we could spend the night there — and so we set up camp on the terrace of a farmhouse. Luckily we have a semi-freestanding tent (Nemo Hornet, three-person)! After a shower we tried to sleep, but the soundscape was louder than ever. It was like “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”
Ancient sites & a shock
After that night we set off early again. We passed through various villages, temples, and ruins (Letoon and Xanthos), and even a land tortoise — all of which fascinated us. Once more we had a long stage ahead that took us over an aqueduct that still carried some water and was very overgrown. Our scratched legs bear witness to it still.
We made it to Üzümlü and stopped at a restaurant with delicious pide. The waitress was incredibly warm, and we had never heard “Mashallah” so often in such quick succession — something locals say when they meet an adorable child.
We also used the lunch break to look up (with ChatGPT) how to treat the grooves in the callus on Ivo’s heels. The grooves weren’t new, but they had grown deeper, and we feared that walking in Bedrock sandals could make them risky for the hike.
We continued on to Akbel and the “Hidden Garden Resort,” where you can camp. It was deserted: all the doors were open, but not a soul around — only two dogs. We pitched our tent anyway. After a while, Tuğba returned from Pilates and, after the initial surprise, we were impressed. We hadn’t thought the hospitality could be topped after lunch, but she was utterly lovely: she invited us into her home and shared her grandfather’s figs and some almonds while she played with Cleo.
We hoped for a quiet night — but around midnight Cleo started crying and vomited twice. A shock! We did our best to clean the tent and were grateful we had four bodysuits for her. After a while she fell asleep again, and we pushed our start the next day back. Thankfully we weren’t dry-camping: there was water on site, so we could wash the dirty clothes — and ourselves.
Rest in Gelemis
The next morning, around 9:00 a.m., we left Hidden Garden Resort to walk towards Gelemis via an aqueduct roughly 2,000 years old.
After a delicious lunch, an English lady told us she’s been coming here every year for 30 years — “the breakfast is phenomenal.” We were still tired, so we decided to take a half rest day and checked into Pension St. Niklas. The day flew by between pool time, yoga, and sleep. In the evening we ran into the German-British couple from day one and had dinner together.
The following day we felt we needed a full rest day because Cleo still had a bit of a cold. So we took it easy: Ivo visited the ruins of Patara; we went to the beach together and ate wonderfully.
The scrambling section & Kalkan
Marie was worried about a scrambling section the guidebook described as very steep and “not to be underestimated.” Other hikers sent us photos and videos that didn’t look too bad — so we decided to give it a try.
On site, the passage was manageable: about three metres over rock with solid hand- and footholds. All in all, not a problem — another sign that pregnancy has left Marie a bit more cautious, and that the guidebook isn’t written for mountaineers.
The rest of the stage was stunning: up and down along the coast with the blue sea below us. By midday heat we reached Kalkan, a town with an upscale British tourism vibe — rugby screenings, English breakfast, cocktail bars. We briefly considered hiking on but chose a guesthouse to preserve our energy.
In the evening we cooked a lovely dinner on the balcony: pasta with pesto and baked beans — basically pasta e fagioli.
Week-one takeaway
And so ended an exciting, varied first week on the Lycian Way — a week in which we learned a lot and grew closer together. We’re now just past Kaş. Cleo is feeling well again; Marie, however, has a cold. And one of our sun umbrellas (which we use to shade Cleo — and ourselves — while walking) is no longer quite round.
Would you like to know how our adventure continues, or receive a newsletter once a month with updates on new posts and pages on our website? Then subscribe to the newsletter.