- Sailing Turkey’s Turquoise Coast
- Turkey – Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
- 8 Reasons Why You Must Travel to Turkey
- 18 Pictures That Will Make You Want to Travel to Turkey
- Pamukkale- Turkey’s Cotton Castle
- Ephesus – Turkey’s Ancient City
- 35 Things to See and Do in Istanbul
- Olympos- Treehouses, Ancient Ruins and Beaches in Turkey
- Cappadocia – Turkey’s Magical Land of Fairy Chimneys
- I was in Lebanon During the 2019 Revolution and It Was an Amazing Experience
- How to Travel from Israel to Lebanon (and Vice Versa)
- Middle East and North Africa – Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
- Palestine (The West Bank) – Everything You Need to Know Before You Go
After sailing Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, I ended up in Olympos, a small, relaxed hippie haven village in a river valley near the coast, to chill out for a few days.
At first glance, Olympos reminded me of Vang Vieng in Laos, with the laidback, hippie vibe and chillout bars; lush, green natural beauty; and the adventure activities, like rock climbing, canyoning, kayaking and biking. But instead of the drunken lazy river in Vang Vieng, Olympos has a stunning, pristine Mediterranean beach with turquoise water. And in order to get to the beach, you have to walk past some amazing ancient ruins, displaying yet again that Turkey really is a giant open-air museum.
The scenery in Olympos is spectacular. The ancient Lycian ruins of Olympos are in a forest and because they’re far less visited than Ephesus, the surroundings are fairly overgrown, which gives the ruins a mystical feel. It’s a short climb to reach the rest of the ruins, and once at the top, you get an incredible view of the beach.
Going to the beach requires you to enter the ruins, so even if you only want to go to the beach, you have to pay the entrance fee each time you go to beach. One time entrance costs 20TL ($5US). If you want to go to for more than one day, you can buy a pass for the week, which costs 7.5 TL ($2US) and it’s good for 10 entrances. If you plan to chill on the beach, know that it’s a pebble beach, so you’ll need something to sit on, and there’s no shade.
Near Olympos are the Eternal Flames of the Chimera, which are about a dozen flames burning on the side of the mountain fueled by methane gas, which have been burning for thousands of years. Chimera’s flames inspired the Greek myth of Bellarophon and the Chimera. The flames are best seen at night, in the dark.
WHERE TO STAY
Olympos town definitely caters to budget travelers and backpackers, as the town is a road lined with backpacker guesthouses and treehouses. If you’re budget backpacking, you’ll likely stay in a shared dorm room, not a treehouse because the treehouses are private rooms (unless you want to shell out more money for a private).
I stayed in Saban Treehouses, which I highly recommend. I was skeptical of their included dinner because those things are rarely ever good, but I was so wrong. The food was unreal! It was buffet style, with lots of delicious food to choose from. Breakfast is also included, which further exceeded my expectations, and there was a friendly man happily waiting to make you an omelette of your choice.
GOOD TO KNOW
Olympos is a 1.5 hour drive southwest of Antalya and an overnight bus from Cappadocia.
I visited Olympos at the end of September and it was still very hot during the day.
There is no bank or ATM, so bring money with you.
The coast of Turkey is a lot less conservative than many other parts of Turkey.
If you need more reasons to travel to Turkey
What to Know Before You Go to Turkey
18 Pictures That Will Make You Want To Travel to Turkey
What To Know Before You Go To The Middle East
Cappadocia – Turkey’s Magical Land of Fairy Chimneys
Ephesus – Turkey’s Ancient City
Pamukkale – Turkey’s Cotton Castle
Sailing Turkey’s Turquoise Coast
LOVE THIS, AND DEFINITELY WANT TO BE THERE RIGHT NOW!
I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award, check it out here: http://fitfarmer14.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/one-lovely-blog-award/
Thank you! It’s definitely worth checking out 🙂