Coastal Lycia

Archeology Cruise on the Turkish Coast (Fethiye to Demre)

Cultural Program (maritime travel)

Ancient Greek archeology, Byzantine architecture, coastal towns, secluded bays, ancient Greek ampitheaters, castles of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St. John, swimming and snorkeling, gourmet eating and wine under the stars.

Sept-Oct, 2026 See listing for two-week cruise here: Coastal Caria + Lycia (Sept 25 - Oct 11, 2026)

Sept, 2027

Registration: SPACES AVAILABLE (Max 22 participants)

The "Coastal Lycia: Archeology Cruise" tour begins with one night in Fethiye, continues with seven nights on the gulet, and concludes with two nights in Fethiye in the southwestern corner of Turkiye. On Day 3, we embark on a private gulet charter - a traditional wooden sailing ship - for our real adventure: a cruise along the famous “Turquoise coast” of the Lycian coast! Our guests absolutely love the natural beauty of this stunning coastline, with its steep arid hillsides plunging into clear blue water. Our trip takes us past several ancient Lycian cities and fortifications that were later Hellenized and Romanized in classical antiquity. Among these the highlights are surely the city of Patara and nearby Xanthos, Kekora, and Demre. Some of these sites have never been excavated by archeologists and many remain accessible only from the sea. Onboard, we will be in the capable hands of a professional captain and crew of 5. A private chef will serve delicious freshly cooked food every meal, and we will have ample time to sip wine and look at the stars from the deck of our gulet. Many of our guests who have enjoyed our other tours will be thrilled at this opportunity. For new visitors to our company, please see our review page for a sense of what to expect. Read more about the program below!

Details:

  • Arrive/Depart: Dalaman International Airport (DLM), transfer to Fethiye.
  • 10 day trip (1 nights Fethiye, 7 nights on private charter boat, 2 nights in Fethiye).
  • Visas: US passport holders need to obtain a Turkish evisa.
  • Maximum 22 guests (only a deposit secures a place on tour).

Tour Leaders:

Accommodation:

  • Best available boutique hotels, gulet charter.

Brochure:

Registration:

  • Submit registration form (sent at your request)
  • Send deposit of $1500 to secure your place (details in registration form)

Coastal Lycia tour route:

 

 

 

 

 

Fees:

  • Coastal Lycia tour fees are detailed in the tour brochure. Please email us for a copy!

Tamada Club

  • Inquire about discounts for the Coastal Caria tour if you have been on a previous tour with JohnGrahamTours!

Payment Methods:

  • Bank transfer (preferred)
  • Credit card via Paypal (3% Paypal charge applies)

Pre/Post-Tour Options

  • While we are not offering extension trips ourselves, we recommend arriving a day or two early to explore the nearby resort of Oludeniz (airport transfers provided). After the tour, if you would like to continue independent travel, we recommend staying two more nights in Istanbul, which is a fascinating city that we will not have time to explore on our main itinerary.

Included:

  • Accommodation in high quality boutique hotels in Fethiye, and cabins as described in the itinerary on the gulet charter.
  • All ground transportation including airport transfers
  • All meals with wine
  • All museum and site entrances

Not Included:

  • International airfare
  • Tips for primary guide and gulet crew (see details in brochure)
  • Personal services (laundry, etc.)
  • Personal bar tab on the gulet
  • Travel insurance (required)

Mobility-Fitness:

  • Standard: 5/10 on the mobility scale (10 being the most demanding).
  • General fitness required. The boat has narrow passageways with steep staircases. While the shore excursions are optional, those that come should be prepared for trails on rocky terrain.
  • While the boat is cruising, balance is required when moving around the boat.

Special Notes:

  • Architectural focus, historical focus
  • Wine and cuisine
  • Exceptional natural landscapes, as seen from the sea
  • Swimming, kayaking, and water sports.

Weather:

  • We will expect fall weather on the Mediterranean in late September with temperatures in the 80s F, going down into the 70s at night. While it usually does not rain in this season, we will expect a few cloudy days, which will be perfect for shore explorations. In the afternoons, the wind could pick up, so a long sleeve shirt or windbreaker might be desirable. The cabins have air conditioning units, but these are unlikely to be necessary.

Packing:

  • There is limited space on the boat, so please pack light. One medium suitcase maximum. Soft bags that can be stowed in closet spaces preferable.
  • Comfortable walking shoes for shore excursions through towns and around archeology sites.
  • Sunhats, sunscreen, sun-glasses, swimsuits, swimming goggles, etc.

Overview

We are excited to welcome our guests to our new archeology and cruising program, "Coastal Lycia!" This is a sister trip to our program visiting the neighboring Greek islands, "Coastal Caria: Archeology Cruise." We will travel aboard a gulet charter cruise for an adventure exploring the coastlines of Turkiye. This has been a maritime highway for millennia, with the shipwrecks, ancient cities, and ambiance to prove it!

It is impossible to see everything in one trip, yet this trip packs in a number of the significant sites while maintaining a decidedly leisurely pace. Daily cruising time never exceeds 4 hours per day. Some days we will be in ports exploring what is on offer on shore, while other days we will anchor in secluded bays enjoying the peace of the stars and the waves. With a fantastic chef and plenty of gourmet Turkish red wine on board, every evening will be a special night out under the stars.

September-October is the perfect time to cruise these coasts, as the water temperature is still warm enough to enjoy a swim at any time day or night, but the extreme temperatures of the summer have worn off. Still, the dramatic winds of the Aegean will not have arrived yet, and sailing should be relatively calm.

Our captain has 40 years experience sailing these waters, and this is his own private wooden ship. He and his crew of 4 keep the boat spotlessly clean, while also attending to our guest's every need. Come and relax with us, while we enter the world of ancient Greek maritime travelers.

 

Historical-Cultural view

The “Coastal Lycia” tour is so named because this region of southwestern Anatolia was once inhabited by the Lycian people, attested in many ancient Greek sources. We explore various layers of history of the region, including its bronze-era ancient seafaring past (1000-2000 BC), its Greek golden era (500-100 BC), churches from the Byzantine “late antique” period, and the prominent 14th – 15th century crusader fortresses left by the retreating Knights Hospitaller (St. John’s Order of the Knights of Malta).

The jutting peninsulas that stretch into the Aegean Sea are precipitously mountainous, making travel by land nearly impossible even today and rendering many areas accessible only be sea. But this terrain also provided plentiful safe harbors for seafarers traveling from Egypt and Canaan to the Greek city states and beyond. The evidence for this vibrant trade route is visible in the many ruined cities along the coast that relied on the constant maritime trade.

The Lycian people were a mainland tribe who had their own language and culture, but established trade and political ties with various Greek entities.

 

Travel Program

We begin our tour in the ancient city of Telmessos (modern Fethiye), an important port city with the remains of an ampitheater and several tombs. Nowadays the town is charming yachting port and tourist starting point for walkers on the Lycian Way 500km trek, para-gliding, and other sports. It is good for a day’s walk around, with the still-functioning 16th century Ottoman bath house a popular site. Visitors wanting extra time in Turkiye might consider a few pre-tour days at the nearby resort of Oludeniz.

After embarking on our gulet on Day 3, we’ll cruise across south and east along the coast, visiting important sites like Patara, Xanthos, the sunken city of Kekova, the fortress of Simena, and the church of St. Nicholas of Myra.

 

The charter boat

The boat is a double-masted ketch style gulet, measuring 135 feet long, skippered and owned by a captain who has over 40 years’ experience sailing these coastlines (his grown children are also skippers in their own right!). I think it’s important that he skippers his own boat, so he knows every detail about its engine and water systems. The captain also knows all the most favorable anchorages, whether we are at port or in a secluded bay. The boat features 11 cabins for potentially 22 guests (in addition to 5 crew) and features a variety of common spaces both shady and sunny, forward and aft, indoor and outdoor, and a very nice bar space. There are even some sunning cushions on the upper solar-panel deck which were placed specially, according to the captain, for French clients who insisted on nude sun-bathing. The point is this boat has a lot of common space to find a conversation corner or a quiet corner. My plan is to limit our group to 17 people rather than fill the boat to capacity, thus giving us the luxury of even-more deck space.

The beds have good quality mattresses, and each cabin features a private bath/shower. The boat is older than others we saw (built in 2000) with less shiny trim, but the boat features solid teak cabin doors, a strong hull, classic portal windows, and the captain spends his life either sailing or upgrading the boat. For example, while inspecting the boat in dry dock last week, he was in the process of repainting the hull and replacing every air-conditioning motor on the boat (each room has an individual air conditioner, which are especially needed for cruises in July and August). I found that the sleek new gulets are extremely over-priced for what one gets, which is essentially the same-sized cabins and the same amount of deck space. The newer boats feature jacuzzis on the deck, private television sets in each room, shiny metal/glass trim etc but for my eye, don’t justify double or triple the rental expense.

In summary, I’ve chosen the older, well-maintained boat at a reasonable cost, skippered by the owner himself, with extra deck space which I’ll further maximize by limiting our total group size.

Request the full brochure! Email: admin@johngrahamtours.com

 

Tour Locations:

Fethiye

+ We begin our tour in the port town of Fethiye, which in ancient times was called Telmessos. An ampitheater, tombs, and other ruins can still be viewed near the old port. We spend a day exploring this pleasant city, with a visit to the 16th century Turkish bath house, and the National museum.

Lycian coast of Turkiye

+ We will visit important sites like Patara, Xanthos, the sunken city of Kekova, the fortress of Simena, and the church of St. Nicholas of Myra.

 

 

Request the full brochure! Email: admin@johngrahamtours.com