These days, the D400 is wide and forgiving. (Free) tunnels cut out the higher mountain roads, the tarmac is smooth in most places. And, if you give yourself lots of time, there are fabulous detours you can take, like this one down to the beach at Adrasan Koyu (Adrasan Bay).
In our previous post, we took you on a road trip along the coastal D400 road from Antalya to Fethiye.
For the driver, it’s a road that continually gives. And all it asks in return is that you take it easy, enjoy the amazing views, take in the layer-upon-layer of history.
Just take your time on those sharp bends where the only barrier between you and a plunge into the Mediterranean below is fresh air.
No we’re not trying to scare the pants off anyone. Just giving you a heads up!
Adrasan Beach, Antalya
We’re suckers for an out-of-season beach – and the original intention was to head to the beaches near the Olympos ruins and Çiralı.
After hearing rumours of flooding, we skipped that idea and spotted Adrasan Beach in the distance below, just a tad further west along the D400.
The turn offs for all these bays are clearly marked from the main road above. All that’s needed is for you to make the detour and journey down.
It’s worth the effort.
The beach at Adrasan was on our radar for a couple of reasons. We’d heard lots of good things about it in the past. A place with a chilled out vibe.
If it’s chilled out in summer, surely it was going to be chilled out in early spring, too.
But we also knew Adrasan beach had been the scene of a horrible July 2015 forest fire which, coincidentally, happened as we were writing a book review for author, Atulya K. Bingham’s book, Ayşe’s Trail.
Our author had been helping friends with the clean up operation after the forest fire – a fire which made the national press here in Turkey – so she’d been struggling to get in touch with us.
We’ve seen with our own eyes what forest fires can do so we were also a tad curious to see what damage had been caused along this beautiful stretch of the Turkish coast.
And yes, on the hill that overlooks the beach, the land is parched and stripped bare of vegetation.
But we’re not going to dwell on that because Adrasan is such a tranquil bay and has oodles to offer.
There were just a couple of people walking along Adrasan beach on the day we were there (you can see them in the top photo) and one other girl walking her dog.
The dog was loving having the beach to himself and bounded over to join us for a few minutes, too.
Lonely beach, a couple of boats out of the water, a sea of gentle ripples and an overactive, overexcited, friendly dog with open space galore to tire himself out on.
Well, at least that’s what his owner was probably hoping. You can see our little canine buddy in the photo below.
Such a cutey!
And when you’ve heard so much about a place (we’re in Lycian Way territory here, again) and you’ve read so much about a place – well our other reason for just bobbing down there was to do a little check up, really.
A little, is-it-everything-people-say-it-is.
Could we go there in season and chill out, trek a little, forget the outside world?
We’re not beachy people but this area of Turkey feels different. Or maybe we’re just learning to love beaches more…
Well, this closed up bar gave us a clue as to whether we could do a few days here.
With bars like the Chill House Lounge, a few pensions and bungalows here and there, a pretty stream with stream-side restaurants…most-definitely, yes, we want to go back to Adrasan in season.
It reminded us a bit of Kabak. And you can’t help but fear ‘development’ will come along at some point in the future to take it all away…
But, as long as places like Adrasan are around, we’ll be there to love them and soak them up.
Now, is 2015 going to be the year we make it back to these shores, or will we need to be patient and wait?
Our track record for making plans is far from blistering so let’s just go with a, ‘let’s see,’ shall we…
Chris Wolski
Friday 15th of March 2019
I lived in Adrasan for 2 years in 2004 to 2006. Ran Manyana Bar which was next to Elvis barbers back then. Can't see it ever changing thank goodness. I know people who still holiday in Adrasan and they find it relatively unchanged. Fabulous atmosphere in winter when you're the only person on the beach. Usually collecting driftwood for the soba in the bar!
Turkey's For Life
Thursday 21st of March 2019
Thanks a lot for your comment! Wow, would love to spend more time in Adrasan and get to know it better - a good escape from everywhere. :) It was lovely to be there in winter but would also like to see how 'lively' Adrasan gets in summer. Might try to return there soon. :)
Alan
Sunday 19th of April 2015
. . it is one of our stop-offs in the winter months when it is an absolute delight.
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 21st of April 2015
Yeah, really glad we got to see it out of season, Alan, just because we love a deserted beach. We do want to go back in season though to see who pops up there. :)
BacktoBodrum
Saturday 18th of April 2015
Could only load first and last pictures, but that's enough to make me want to go back.
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 21st of April 2015
Hmm, yeah, the photos load straight away on desktop but slower on mobile, BacktoBodrum. Am guessing you were looking via mobile? Yeah, loved Adrasan, though.
Jack Scott
Saturday 18th of April 2015
Love Adrasan. Spent a couple of nights there a few years ago and had a magical time.
Turkey's For Life
Tuesday 21st of April 2015
Would love to do a few nights there, Jack, with a bit of trekking thrown in. Maybe wandering between Adrasan, Çıralı and Olympos. Yeah, definitely a magical place! :)