Experience two of Turkey’s remote coastlines on foot and by boat this fall with Peter Sommer Travels. Three tours departing in October combine hiking and historical adventures along the best stretches of the Lycian Way and the Carian Trail with the pleasure of a cruise aboard a traditional Turkish gulet.
The Lycian Way is Turkey’s first long-distance hiking trail, following more than 300 miles of ancient roadways, mule tracks and shepherds’ paths with a breathtaking wealth of scenery, from azure shores to fertile valleys and craggy mountains.
The weeklong Walking and Cruising Western Lycia tour, departing Oct. 12, 2025, visits cultural and archaeological sites such as Kayaköy/Levissi, the atmospheric ghost town abandoned by its Greek inhabitants after World War I; Simena, an age-old citadel surrounded by a jumble of Lycian sarcophagi; and monumental Patara, capital of Roman Lycia. Starts at £3,095 per person based on double occupancy. The two-week Walking and Cruising the Lycian Shore tour, departing Oct. 5, 2025, adds on wild and ancient Apollonia, with its grand necropolis and romantic theater; the extensive mountaintop ruins of Kyaenai, one of the most important cities of ancient Lycia; the regional Lycian capital at Pinara, with its royal tombs; and the Ottoman castle of Kale. Starts at £5,395 per person.
The epic Carian Trail consists of some 500 miles of rocky paths, hills swathed in pine and olive, and roads cut into ancient bedrock, offering a real sense of this undeveloped coast with long peninsulas, deep inlets and secluded coves.
The weeklong Walking and Cruising the Carian Coast tour, departing Oct. 5, 2025, visits remote archaeological sites and wonders such as beautifully preserved Knidos, a monumental marbled city set around a double harbor; the ghost village of Karamaka, abandoned by its Greek inhabitants in 1923; Loryma, one of the most romantic and picturesque areas on the Turkish coast; Phoenix, which has yet to receive any detailed survey, excavation or proper study; as well as seemingly lost Byzantine churches in dramatic settings, Ottoman cisterns in forgotten valleys and myriad ancient tombs. Starts at £3,095 per person based on double occupancy.
During these tours, guests will average five to six miles of hiking per day, with a handmade wooden gulet ever present in the turquoise waters offshore, providing elegant accommodations and dining onboard.
Expert tour leaders include Peter Sommer, an archaeologist and documentary filmmaker who trekked 2,000 miles across Turkey to retrace the route of Alexander the Great, and Dr. Richard Bayliss, who has lived in Turkey, surveying and excavating celebrated sites from Cappadocia to Constantinople and Sinop, on the Black Sea.
Tours include all accommodations and meals, airport transfers, travel by private minibus on land, entrance fees, harbor fees and more.
