Flughafentransfer
The two gateway airports
The Lycian Way runs between two ends of Turkey's southwest coast, and which airport you fly into depends on where you plan to start.
Dalaman Airport (DLM) is the gateway for the western end of the trail — Ovacık, Ölüdeniz, Kabak, and the Fethiye area. It's an international airport with frequent seasonal and year-round flights from across Europe, and it sits roughly 45–50km from Fethiye.
Antalya Airport (AYT) is the gateway for the eastern end — Olympos, Çıralı, and the trail's finish near Geyikbayırı. Antalya is one of Turkey's busiest airports, with extensive year-round connections, and also serves as a practical base if you're doing a middle section of the trail such as Kaş to Demre.
If you're walking the full 540km end-to-end, a common approach is to fly into one airport and out of the other — Dalaman in, Antalya out (or vice versa) — avoiding a backtrack across the country.
Finding cheap flights
Both Dalaman and Antalya are well served by low-cost and full-service carriers from the UK, Germany, and other European hubs, particularly through the spring and autumn shoulder seasons that also happen to be the best time to hike the trail — see best time and difficulty for the seasonal breakdown. Fares fluctuate significantly by booking window and season, so it's worth comparing options rather than booking the first result. For cheap flights to Dalaman or Antalya, enucuzucak.com aggregates fare comparisons across airlines and dates, which can help you find a shoulder-season fare that lines up with your preferred hiking window.
From Dalaman Airport to the trail
- Shuttle bus / private transfer: Regular shuttle services and pre-bookable private transfers cover the roughly 45–50km from Dalaman airport to Fethiye and on to Ölüdeniz in under an hour.
- Taxi: Widely available at the airport; a fixed-fare taxi to Fethiye or Ölüdeniz is straightforward if you're arriving with luggage or on an odd-hours flight.
- Dolmuş (minibus): Once in Fethiye, frequent dolmuş minibuses run to Ölüdeniz and Ovacık throughout the day, the standard way locals and hikers get to the trailhead itself.
From Antalya Airport to the trail
- Havaş airport bus: Connects Antalya airport to the city center, from where onward coaches or dolmuş serve Kaş, Demre, Kumluca, and the Olympos/Çıralı turnoff.
- Intercity coach: Regular coaches run from Antalya's otogar (bus station) west along the coast toward Kaş and Demre, useful if you're starting mid-trail.
- Taxi/transfer to Olympos or Çıralı: A direct taxi or pre-arranged transfer from the airport to Olympos/Çıralı (roughly 80km) is the simplest option if you're starting right at the trail's eastern finish.
Overland options
Overnight intercity buses connect Fethiye and Antalya to most major Turkish cities, including Istanbul (roughly 12–14 hours), Izmir, and Ankara — a reasonable option if you're already traveling overland in Turkey, though flying is usually faster for international visitors on a fixed schedule.
Getting between sections once you're on the trail
Once you're hiking, dolmuş minibuses and local taxis connect most trailhead villages — Ovacık, Faralya, Kabak, Kalkan, Kaş, Demre, Finike, Adrasan, and Çıralı among them — making it easy to skip a stage, resupply in a larger town, or return to a fixed base rather than moving accommodation every night. See our route and stages guide for how the trail breaks into sections, and accommodation for where to base yourself along the way.
Practical tip: book transport around your hiking window
Because spring and autumn are both the best hiking season and popular tourist periods on this stretch of coast, flights and airport transfers can book up or rise in price closer to the date — booking a few months ahead, especially for April–May or September–October travel, generally secures better fares and availability than a last-minute search.
Planning a one-way, two-airport itinerary
If you're hiking a significant chunk of the trail rather than a short out-and-back section, flying into one airport and out of the other avoids doubling back across the coast. A common pattern is to fly into Dalaman, hike east toward Antalya over one to three weeks, and fly home from Antalya — or the reverse, for hikers who prefer to finish near Ölüdeniz's beaches rather than start there. Multi-city or "open-jaw" fare searches (arriving at one airport, departing from another) are supported by most airlines and comparison tools, including enucuzucak.com, and are often barely more expensive than a simple round trip.
Arriving with luggage for a multi-day hike
Because most hikers stay in pansiyons rather than camping, luggage for a Lycian Way trip is usually a single pack rather than expedition-scale equipment, which keeps airport transfers straightforward — a standard taxi, shuttle, or dolmuş handles it without issue. If you're on a guided trip with baggage transfer between stops, confirm with your operator whether they can collect your main bag directly from the airport or your first night's accommodation, which can simplify the very start of your itinerary.
What to do if your flight is delayed
Given that dolmuş minibuses and shuttle services to trailhead towns generally run on daytime schedules rather than 24 hours, a significantly delayed evening flight into either airport may mean waiting until morning for onward transport, or booking a taxi directly. It's worth having your first night's accommodation confirmed with a phone number you can call directly, and keeping a note of official airport taxi rates so you're not caught off guard by a late-night fare negotiation after a long flight.