Antalya and the Turquoise Coast Guide: Things to Do, Kaş, Side and When to Go

Kaleiçi, the old town. Antalya’s historic heart, inside its old walls: a maze of lanes lined with restored Ottoman houses with wooden bay windows, now small hotels, cafés and craft shops, sloping down to the harbour. Look for the fluted Yivli Minaret, built by the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century and the symbol of the city, and the Hıdırlık Tower, a round Roman tower on the clifftop, best at sunset.

Hadrian’s Gate. A triple-arched marble gateway built for the visit of the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD 130, now the grand entrance to the old town from the modern city.

The old harbour. Wooden boats leave from here for trips along the cliffs to the Lower Düden waterfall and the coves to the west.

Antalya Museum. One of the best archaeological museums in Turkey, with superb Roman statues and sarcophagi from nearby Perge. Give it a couple of hours.

The Düden waterfalls. The Düden river reaches the sea in two sets of falls. The Upper Düden falls are in a shady park on the north edge of the city, with a path that runs behind the water. The Lower Düden falls at Lara drop about 40 m off the cliffs straight into the Mediterranean, best seen from the clifftop park or from a boat.

Beaches. Konyaaltı, west of the centre, is a long pebble beach with the mountains as a backdrop; Lara, to the east, is sandy. Both are a short taxi ride from Kaleiçi.

Termessos. An ancient city high in the mountains about 35 km inland, so well defended that Alexander the Great gave up trying to take it. The ruins are wild and overgrown, with a theatre set against the peaks. Go early and wear good shoes.

East of Antalya, two of the great Roman sites of Turkey make an easy half-day trip. Perge, about 20 minutes from the airport, has a long colonnaded street with stone ruts worn by carts, a stadium, baths and towering Hellenistic gates.

Aspendos has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres in the world, built in the 2nd century AD, with its stage building still standing to its full height. It’s still used for performances, including an opera and ballet festival, usually in late summer. Combine the two with a stop at the Köprülü Canyon, inland, for rafting or a riverside lunch.

Kekova. A boat trip from Kaş or nearby Üçağız glides over the sunken city: the remains of houses, stairways and quays of an ancient town that slipped into the sea in earthquakes, visible through the clear water. (Swimming over the ruins isn’t allowed.) Stop at Kaleköy (ancient Simena), a car-free village below a small castle with Lycian tombs half in the water. A sea-kayak trip is the quietest way to see it.

Kaputaş beach. A small, startlingly blue cove at the mouth of a gorge between Kaş and Kalkan, reached by steps down from the road. Go early or late in summer.

Patara. One of Turkey’s longest sandy beaches, backed by dunes and protected for its nesting turtles, with the ruins of the ancient Lycian capital, including a restored assembly hall, behind it. Nearby, Xanthos and the Letoon are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Myra and Demre. East of Kaş, the cliff at Myra is honeycombed with Lycian rock tombs carved like house fronts, above a Roman theatre. In Demre is the church of St Nicholas, the bishop of Myra who became Father Christmas.

The Lycian Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath of around 500 km between Fethiye and Antalya, following old mule tracks and Roman roads along the coast and over the mountains, past ruined cities, rock tombs and remote villages. It’s marked with red and white stripes, and was first waymarked in the late 1990s.

Very few people walk all of it. Most walk a section for a week, staying in village guesthouses and small hotels with their bags moved on by car. The most popular stretches are around Kaş and Kalkan, with sea views most of the way, and around Olympos and Çıralı.

Walk in spring (March to May) or autumn (late September to November). In July and August it’s far too hot on the exposed paths. The trail is rocky and often steep, so you’ll need good boots and a fair level of fitness.

Flights: direct flights to Antalya from London and many UK regional airports take about 4 hours, with the most choice from April to October and fewer in winter. For Kalkan and Kaş, flying to Dalaman is usually quicker: about 1 hour 45 minutes to Kalkan by road, against around 3.5 to 4 hours from Antalya.

Transfers: Antalya airport is about 15 minutes from Lara, 20 to 30 minutes from Kaleiçi, 45 minutes from Belek and about an hour from Side. We arrange private transfers to meet you.

From Istanbul or Cappadocia: domestic flights to Antalya take about 1 hour 20 minutes, so it’s easy to add the coast to a trip around Turkey.

Kaleiçi for a city stay: small boutique hotels in restored Ottoman houses, some with sea views, all walking distance from the harbour and restaurants. Two or three nights is ideal.

Lara and Belek, east of the city, for large beach resorts and golf, close to the airport. See our picks of the best luxury all-inclusive resorts in Antalya and family all-inclusive hotels in Antalya.

Side for sandy beaches and ruins on the doorstep; Kemer and Tekirova for resorts backed by pine forest and mountains.

Çıralı for small, low-key guesthouses; Kaş for boutique hotels and a lively harbour; and Kalkan for villas with private pools and sea views. See our best hotels in Kalkan, Kaş and Dalyan, or browse Antalya holidays.