Finike

Finike is a town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, with a population of 21,800 in 2022. It has tourist facilities but isn't in the western package brochures, as it's a relatively long transfer from Antalya to a not-very-good beach. The main reason to visit is its ruined ancient cities, with Limyra the closest.

Understand

"Finike" refers to the Phoenicians, who traded here in the 5th century BC. A series of ruined Lycian / Roman cities lie in the hills backing the coast; they're little excavated, and perhaps more remain to be discovered beneath river mud and undergrowth.

Tourism is on a small scale and the main business is citrus production - several pensions and other businesses are named "Portakal", the Turkish word for an orange. These had already reached the Levant and Mediterranean from China by Roman times, but it was only in the 10th century AD that the Arabs of Andalusia and Portugal developed large-scale cultivation, and fruit and agricultural techniques then returned east.

Get in

Finike stands on the coast highway D400, which twists and turns from Bodrum via Fethiye to Antalya (the closest airport) then away out east.

Bus AK03 runs hourly from Antalya via Kemer and Kumluca to Finike (2 hr 15 min), and continues to Demre, Kaş, Kalkan and Kınık.

1 Otogar the bus station is on Yayla Blv, but the buses make several stops along the strung-out beach front.

Get around

Local buses from the otogar include FT01 to Turunçova, FT02 to Kumluca and FH06 to Hasyurt.

Taxis are ubiquitous and reasonably priced.

See

• 1 The big orange sits on the roundabout at the junction of D400 the coast road with D635 inland to Limyra. It's only about 1.5 m in diameter and set on the ground, so it doesn't serve as a landmark.
• 2 Eroglu Nuri Mosque was built in 2022 in sort-of Andalusian style. The terrace has a nice view over the marina.
• 3 Limyra, Yuvalılar. Rambling ruins of a Lycian city, a large town by 1000 BC and embellished in Roman times. The main sights are the amphitheatre, the Lycian necropolises with the mausoleum of Pericles, and the mausoleum of Gaius Caesar, heir to the Roman emperor but he died here 21 AD from injuries in the war against Armenia. A river flows through the site, clean and fresh enough to swim in, and partly submerging a basilica. The site is unkempt and partly overgrown, with goats and sheep wandering about. Adult 70 TL. (updated Jun 2024)
• 4 Roman Bridge was built some time between 200 and 600 AD. It's an unusual design, with 28 low wide arches spanning 360 m at the point where a mountain stream meets the coastal plain. Being so low, it became engulfed by river sludge, and modern agriculture has damaged it further. Then as now, only a minor road came this way, lacking the width and wagon-ruts of a Roman highway.
• 5 Korydalla or Corydala is on the hill west of Kumluca. It has the fragmentary remains of a Roman theatre, aqueduct and town wall.
• 6 Rhodiapolis, Sarıcasu, Kumluca. Daily 09:00-17:00. In contrast to Limyra this city was compact, constrained by its hilly site, and its Lycian / Hellenistic structures were built over by the Romans. There's a theatre (clumsily restored), tombs, churches and temples, an agora and stoas. Water supply was as tight a constraint as the site: the baths are some way downhill, probably to maximise the head of water pressure, but you'd be sweaty and dusty again by the time you tramped back up to town. (updated Jun 2024)
• 7 Arykanda, Arif. 24 hours. Ruins of a Lycian city, which you'll probably have to yourself. Like the others it was probably substantial by the 3rd century BC, and embellished in Roman times. It was abandoned after an earthquake in the 3rd century AD, and lying on a remote hillside its masonry wasn't recycled. There's a well-preserved theatre, two agoras, an odeon, stadium, two necropolises and several bath houses. Free. (updated Jun 2024)

Do

Corridor beneath Limyra Amphitheatre

• Finike Plaj is the 14 km stretch of beach east of the marina, with a mixture of sand, dirt and pebbles.
• West lie a series of coves with pebble beaches, some accessible from the serpentine road towards Demre.
• Lycian Way is a long-distance hiking trail from Fethiye to the hills above Antalya. On the local section eastbound, the last accommodation is at Demre, then it's 30 km to Finike. Most hikers take three days, so you need to camp two nights. The route is through Belören, Zeytin, Alakilise, Goncatepe (at 1800 m the highest point on the entire trail), Belos, Belen and so into Finike. The trail then merges with D400, busy and unsafe for pedestrians, and featureless across the coastal plain, so take public transport east for 20 km east to Mavikent. The trail there resumes towards Gelidonia.

Buy

• Finikem Market is south of the bus station on Şerbetçi Blv, open daily to 23:00.
• Migros and Liman Market are by the marina.

Eat

• The eating strip is from the marina north up Atatürk Cd, a block west of Yayla Blv and the bus station. There's two dozen little places, no standout.
• A handful lie east along D400, but scattered.

Drink

• Many cafes serve alcohol, there isn't a stand-alone pub.

Sleep

Low wide arches of the Roman bridge

Hotels and pensions are strung along the coast road D400, mostly east of the centre. That means rooms with a sea view get more traffic noise.

• 1 Hotel Anadolu, İstiklal Cd, off Akdeniz Cd, ☏ +90 242 855 3804. Mixed reviews for this beachfront hotel. B&B double 2000 TL. (updated Jun 2024)
• 2 Hotel Şimşek, Akdeniz Cd 256, ☏ +90 242 855 5771. Pleasant small beachfront hotel. B&B double 1800 TL. (updated Jun 2024)
• Deniz Hotel is next to the Şimşek.
• 3 Hotel Finike Marina, Şerbetçi Blv 50 (at marina entrance), ☏ +90 242 524 5914, info@hotelfinikemarina.com. Simple hotel, usually clean. B&B double 1800 TL. (updated Jun 2024)
• 4 Otel Carpe Diem Gold, Demre-Finike Yolu 150, ☏ +90 242 855 6200. Adequate hotel south edge of town. B&B double 2000 TL. (updated Jun 2024)

Connect

Finike and the coast road have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of June 2024, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

• Kemer northeast is a small resort mostly catering to Turks and Russians.
• Antalya further northeast is a big resort, the start of the long sandy beach and tourist strip out to Alanya.
• Demre west has a church dedicated to St Nicholas, who was bishop here and immortalised as Santa Claus.
• Kaş, Kalkan and Kınık are villages further west, all with ancient ruins.

Routes through Finike

Marmaris ← Demre ←	W  E	→ Olympos → Antalya
Fethiye ← Demre ← Goncatepe ←	W  E	→ Gelidonya → Olympos → Antalya