Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan Travel Guide

Çıralı, Olympos and Adrasan are the places I try to visit every time I go south of Turkey, the pearl of the Mediterranean. Everywhere in Turkey is a paradise, but these places seem a bit more magical to me, especially Olympos beach, with the mountains around it and the ancient city at the bottom of it, impresses me every time. Last summer, I was in this region again and I wanted to prepare a collective travel guide for these three places considering all my experiences from previous years. I am pleased to present to you the Çıralı, Olympos, Adrasan travel guide…

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Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan Travel Guide

When I go to this region, I definitely spend time to all three because they are very close to each other, so I thought a collective guide would be more appropriate. I will start with transportation, I will continue with accommodation, things to do, eating and drinking for each of them.

Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan Transportation Guide

The shortest way to reach this region is to fly to Antalya Airport, and that’s of course what I did. I rented a car from Antalya Airport and 1.5 hours later I was in Çıralı. The distance is 95 km and you drive fast on the highway at the beginning, but after the Çıralı turnoff there is an 8 km road with lots of bends, you slow down there. If you have time to stop for a few hours on the way, I recommend you to visit the ancient city of Phaselis, keep your swimsuit on because you can swim in the sea from the ancient city. You can reach Olympos from Çıralı by walking from the beach in 20 minutes at most. If you go by car, it takes about half an hour because you have to go around the back and get on the highway and take the Olympos road again. That’s why I think it makes more sense to walk between the two. I rented my car from Novacar, it was an automatic Kia Picanto. Honestly, I preferred it because it was the cheapest option. I was generally satisfied with the company, only their offices are outside the airport, they pick you up. The vehicle, on the other hand, gave us a lot of advantages in many places in terms of parking with its small size, but it had a lot of difficulty in shifting gears on very winding and hilly roads, I just wanted to give these as additional information. There is no chance to walk between Adrasan and Olympos, you have to go by car, but it takes just around 15 minutes.

Now let me give transportation information for those who do not plan to rent a car. After landing at Antalya Airport, you first need to go to Antalya Bus Station. There is a municipality bus numbered 600 every half hour from the airport to the bus station, you can use these buses or Havaş buses. From the bus station, you can take one of the buses that will pass through the Çıralı, Olympos route such as Kumluca, Finike, Demre or Kaş and get off at Çıralı or Olympos intersections. Here you will have to wait for the minibuses going down to the beach. Even though the transportation of this part may be a big problem with suitcases in your hands, I can say that it is easy after you step there. They are small places within themselves, you can walk everywhere. There are also minibuses to travel between each other and you can walk if you want.

Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan Accommodation Guide

As someone who is familiar with all three places, I recommend staying in Çıralı or Olympos. I have stayed in Adrasan before, but there is not much to do there except boat tours. Olympos and Adrasan are more lively places, it is very easy to reach Adrasan, and the boats also have shuttle services to these places.

Cirali Accommodation

My former roommate did something that most of us dream of and started to run a very nice hotel in Çıralı with his husband. If staying in luxurious bungalows in the greenery, swinging in your hammock under the shade of trees and staying in a friendly family business sounds good to you, Kibala Hotel is for you. I am not saying that just because she is my close friend, but she is very tasteful and meticulous, and she has made the hotel very enjoyable for this reason. I am sure you will love it too. For other available Cirali hotels, you can check here.

Olympos Accommodation

There are many budget-friendly accommodation alternatives in Olympos, which is why it is a place of great interest for both foreign and Turkish travelers. I had stayed at Kadir’s before and this time I stayed at Bayram’s. I liked Bayram’s more with its proximity to the ancient city and the beach and its ambiance. If you think that a room and a shower and toilet are enough for you and you’ll visit the room from night to night, Bayram’s is an ideal choice. The food was also very good and varied, unless you expect something very special. There was even a personalized omlette for breakfast, which I didn’t expect at this price. I also like Yakamoz, my friends stayed there and it was nice. If you want a more luxury accomodation then you should stay in Olympos Lodge. For other available Olympos hotels, please check here.

Adrasan Accommodation

We stayed at River Hotel in Adrasan. The rooms were simple and clean, it has its own restaurant and they accept guests from outside. As you can see in the photo below, you eat on the ground tables set on the river. We stayed half board and the food was not bad. If you are planning to stay in Adrasan, you can consider it. For other available accomodation in Adrasan, you can check here.

Things to do in Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan

These are the places to have a relaxed holiday, places where you can mostly relax instead of rushing around, but of course, I will share a few things that you should do.

Adrasan Suluada Boat Tour

I went on the Suluada tour with Erhan Kaptan, Ahmet Efe boat. This price included lunch, tea and fruit treats. I was satisfied with the tour, especially in terms of music, it was the ideal choice for me. It may be the only boat without Turkish dance music. By the way, I think there is no boat without music, the music is not turned on in the bays, it is only turned on while moving. You can also rent a private boat instead. We went to the most beautiful bay of Suluada, where you see the photos, in the morning and stayed until after lunch, so we enjoyed it to the fullest for about 3 hours.

It was very crowded when we went, but at lunch time, everyone goes out to the boat and it becomes empty, I recommend you to eat dinner quickly and take photo-video shooting at that time. Afterwards we went to a cove on the east of the island and two caves side by side. After leaving the island we had our last swimming break in Fenerburnu. It was all really beautiful. By the way, there were 28 of us on the boat with a capacity of 29 people, but I was comfortable as we did not sit downstairs.

Adrasan Bays Boat Tour

On the first day we wanted to tour in Adrasan, the weather was windy and we didn’t want to do the Suluada tour, instead we did a wonderful Adrasan bays tour. We went out with Erdal Kaptan, Kumsal boat. Between 10-17, 4 bays, lunch, tea and fruit treats included in the price. Our route consisted of Akseki Bay, Ceneviz Bay, Sazak Bay and Pirate Bay.

At lunch I met a new spice: boyboncuk herb. They put it in the stuffing, I liked it so much that I bought it from the villagers on the way back. In general, we were satisfied with the tour. There were 27 of us on the 30-person boat but everyone was downstairs and we were alone upstairs. Besides the beauty of the bays, dolphins and carettas made our day even more beautiful. Especially if the weather is windy and you have the chance to do a single tour, you can choose this tour. The previous year we went on the Suluada tour when it was windy and it was terrible after the first bay.

Olympos Ancient City – Yanartas – Cable Car

The ancient city of Olympos is an important port city dating back to the 2nd century BC. Olympos means high mountain and it is referred to as the city of unquenchable fire because of the famous Yanartaş on the Çıralı side. I would suggest that one evening after dark, include a visit to Yanartaş, which is a natural source of fire and flames, in your program, you will have to climb a little to reach Yanartaş, for your information. Another activity you can do in Olympos, besides the beach, is to take the cable car up Mount Tahtali. You climb to 2365 meters, the view is beautiful but the prices are a bit high, it is doubtful whether it is worth it.

Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan Dining and Nightlife

I haven’t experienced food and drink or nightlife in Adrasan, but I have a few good suggestions for Cirali and Olympos.

Simge Kitchen & Bar: You can go here for the pizzas and cocktails and the ambiance is nice.

Süslü Meyhane: We loved the appetizers of this new generation tavern, which was recently opened inside the Kibala Hotel. Chef Tuncay Gülcü reinterpreted the local appetizers with his own touches, resulting in a wonderful menu. I think they have filled a gap in Çıralı and the prices are reasonable compared to the region in general.

Asma Altı Cafe & Patisserie: I recommend this place for ice cream, the favorite dessert of summer. This is one of the many ice cream shops, I tried my favorite flavors, mastic gum and tahini, and it was a hit.

The Beaver Coffee Shop: A chain with branches in both Cirali and Olympos that I would recommend to those who want to have a nice coffee in this neighborhood.

Cactus: I think this is the best address for those who want to dive into the Olympos nights. It is a very pleasant place under the trees. There is live music at nights and there are some good bands, I recommend it.

Karakuş: Another good alternative for dinner is Karakuş, located along the coast of Cirali. I really liked the garden and the ambiance of the restaurant. The seafood was generally good but the cold appetizers were average. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant as well.

When to go to Cirali, Olympos, Adrasan, How many days to stay?

I can say that the season here starts in April and ends in November. However, the water will be a little cold between April and June. I think those who prefer not too cold water and not too many crowds should come between the end of September and the beginning of October. The number of days to stay depends on what you want to do and what kind of vacation you want to have, but I think a minimum of three nights would be ideal. The maximum duration is open-ended, I am sure you will have a pleasant time even if you stay for a month.

I hope you will benefit from my Çıralı, Olympos, Adrasan Travel Guide article while planning a trip to this region. There may be something I have missed, if there are other things you want to ask, please leave it as a comment. If you have any extra suggestions, I would also welcome them in the comments.

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