When it comes to Antalya vacations, there are a lot of different things to see and do. This city is known around the world. It has it all from modern skyscrapers to gorgeous beaches and resorts, soaring mountains, unique archeology, perfect weather, and stunning scenery. Antalya has over 5000 hours of sunshine per year, making it an ideal destination to visit all year round.
Antalya is one of the largest cities in Turkey, with a population of over 1,500,000 people. It has an incredible history that dates back to 3000 BC. It was called “Attalia” and was part of the Lycian civilization back then.
If you are looking for a place to stay, there are plenty of hotels and resorts to choose from. And, if you are looking for things to do, there are plenty of activities to keep you busy.
One of the best things to do while on vacation in Antalya is to take a sightseeing tour. There are plenty of different companies that offer sightseeing tours, and they can be a great way to see the city. If you are not sure what to do while on vacation, a sightseeing tour can be a great way to get an idea of what the city has to offer.
When taking a sightseeing tour, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you will want to make sure that you dress appropriately for the tour. This means comfortable shoes and clothing that you can walk in. Second, you will want to make sure that you bring a camera or gadgets to capture and save your memorable moments for the future.
The Best time To Visit Antalya is during summer except for the months of July & August when it’s really warm. In the winter, it still gets lots of sunshine and doesn’t get too cold it mostly stays above 10 Celcius.
Accommodation prices are higher due to rising inflation after covid 19 but it is way more affordable when compared to other western destinations.
The famous sandy beach of Antalya city is a long stretch of 7 kilometres with a breathtaking scenic view with many parks, restaurants, and bars located along the beach. A beautiful park, a walking track and biking tracks are built all along the beach which makes a perfect spot for relaxing walking jogging or even if just want to sit and enjoy the beautiful scenic beach or an evening of a sunset.
You can also rent a bike from a self-service bicycle kiosk located around the city for about 6 Lira/2 hours using your credit card, or you can get on a bus or grab a taxi.
Recommendation: For the best tour experience I would recommend staying around the center of Antalya’s nearby beach area around Kaleici’s historic city, so you can be within walking distance of all the tourist attractions in this city.
Table of Contents
- Antalya Weather
- Antalya Cuisines
- Travel Tips & Things to do in Antalya Tours.
- Antalya Old Historic Town (Kaleici)
- Pamukkale Travertines Tour
- Quad Bike Safari Antalya
- Antalya Cable Car
- Kurşunlu Waterfall
- Duden Water Falls (Upper Duden)
- Karpuzkaldiran waterfall (Lower Duden)
- Aspendos Ruins and Theater
- Temple of Apollo
- Land of Legends Theme Park
Antalya Weather
The city of Antalya is found above sea level the weather mostly stays sunny and pleasant. It has hot, humid summers the temperature stays around 23°C – 34°C from April – October. In the winter with the average temperature stays around (5 °C – 16°C) from November – March throughout the year. January brings about cold nights in this resort town so pack up your clothing accordingly.
Antalya Cuisines
Antalya has a rich history and culture, with some of the best cuisines in the world! Antalya’s cuisine offers many flavours from both Eastern and Western cultures, from traditional Turkish cuisine to international restaurants, you’ll find something that suits your taste buds.
Some of my favorite dishes are kebabs, piyaz (Turkish salad), köfte (meatballs) and çiğköfte (raw beef). I also love their desserts such as baklava, çerez dolması (stuffed dates filled in phyllo dough), and revani (semolina cake). These amazing dishes will surely add more pleasure to your Antalya tour.
Travel Tips & Things to do in Antalya Tours.
- Learn about Antalya’s history, food, and tourist destinations
- On average you will need $55/day per person during your stay in Antalya
- Book your flight and hotel
- There are many tours in Antalya operated by local companies make sure to review them on Tripadvisor before booking.
- Book a full-day tour to see the sights of Antalya Turkey
- Pack everything for your trip make sure you have a credit card + local cash, clothes for all types of weather, as well as toiletries and electronics, rain boots, hiking shoes, sunglasses and a must-have thing a camera.
- Remember that there are plenty of things to do in Antalya besides the historical city sightseeing such as…
- Half-day or full-day boat tour to Antalya waterfalls with BBQ options
- Or try going rafting and Quad adventure
- Take a cable car tour
- Take a solo boat trip
- Ride a Taurus mountain buggy safari was one of my best tours experience
- Swimming at the beautiful turquoise beach of Antalya
- Enjoy Antalya delicious cuisine
- Get relaxed by going into a Turkish Hamam (Traditional Turkish Bath)
Antalya Old Historic Town (Kaleici)
Kaleici is a city located at the historical Mediterranean sea harbour front built from the ruins that date back to Roman Antiquity and Byzantine times. The old town walls surrounding it give Kaleichei its name. Kaleici means “old town” in Turkish! It’s also where you’ll find plenty of modern architecture as well historical ones.
Many of those historical houses are converted into shops and restaurants some other really amazing buildings here with medieval charms like churches and historical mosques perhaps you can walk all the way to Antalya’s beautiful waterfront to add up some more to this amazing experience.
You may easily imagine yourself visiting back and forth through centuries as a result of their varied architecture and cultural history, but don’t forget your camera because many homes have spectacular views over the water to modern structures while others may feature fruit trees in front of tangerine trees within their beautiful gardens, which is why we can’t afford to miss Antalya tours.
Pamukkale Travertines Tour
The ancient city of Hierapolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to natural hot springs water with healing properties. It was used as a spa since the 2nd century BC by Romans, making it one hundred thousand years old! Hike on the unusual landscape at Pamukkale the Cotton Castle is known for its carbonate mineral deposits left by thermal water that has been flowing down from Mt Konak Alanı (Hierapolis Manolios). Besides Pamukkale and Hierapolis you should also visit the Kleopatra pool is really worth visiting.
There are two ways to do this trip by own (rental car) or by booking a tour with one of Antalya Tours. The recommended way to go visit this place booking a full day tour with a private tours operator they pick you up around 6:30 AM and will bring you back in about 12 hours or so. The tour package costs around $80/person including lunch break, two-way aircon transportation and entrance fees, and some breaks along the way to use washrooms or take pictures.
The site is about 3 hours drive from Antalya an overall scenic drive along the way the only annoying part was pickup and dropoff the tourists at each hotel both ways, other than that it is worth visiting.
Going by car can really customize your trip but not very pocket friendly but you can enjoy much more freedom by staying overnight at Pamukkale to enjoy the sunset and early morning bath swim at the travertines pool and head over to the Hierapolis historic site before all the tourists get there.
Quad Bike Safari Antalya
Experience the adventure of a quad bike tours through the beautiful and ever-changing sand dunes of the Taurus Mountains in Antalya. Most tour companies offer pickup and drop-off from your hotel. The good thing is safety measures are in place for everyone they will give a safety briefing before you go for a test drive, you may get filthy during this since you go through water mud everything, so be prepared to come back dusty or muddy. However, there are outdoor showers where you may wash the mud off before returning to the tourist coach.
The Quad Safari cost around $40 but there is a catch you may have to pass the driving test of that Quad bike before they can hand it over to you if you failed the driving test you may have to pay an additional $10 and one of their drivers will have to drive you around which may not be a great experience check with your tour provider with all the details I mentioned here.
Most of the Quad biking costs around $40/person the entire tour may take around 3 hours or more, they usually offer free pickup and drop off at nearby hotels check more details with locals.
Antalya Cable Car
If you’re looking for a height adventure and want to see some of the most beautiful natural landscapes and scenic spots from the top with a perfect bird-eye view of Antalya, then the Antalya City Cable Car ride will take you to Tunektepe hill about 618 meters above sea level, you can get a magnificent view of Antalya.
The Cable care runs from the west side of Antalya city there is a rotating restaurant and nightclub with some great Turkish food options the Cable care runs from 9:30 AM to 7 PM the ticket cost is about 15TL the best time to visit is as early as possible to avoid big tourist crowd later in the day.
Kurşunlu Waterfall
The name “Kurşunlu” means “leaden” in Turkish and refers to the lead-coloured water that comes from springs in the hills. This popular tourist attraction has been used as a backdrop for many films including “The Magnificent Seven,” “Indiana Jones and many more.
Kursunlu waterfall is located about 16 KM or about 20 minutes drive from the city of Antalya, one of the best hiking, horse 7 camel riding destinations, the entrance fee is 12TL/person I don’t think they accept credit cards there so keep some cash handy.
Visitors can enjoy picnics, swimming, hiking, fishing, boating, or just sitting by the falls to enjoy the fresh breezes. In order to get there, you need to take a 15-minute walk through an ancient refreshingly pine forest It is easily accessible for wheelchairs and strollers due to its paved surfaces and gentle slope, along the walk you will see many restaurants cafes and souvenir shops as well as horse and camel riding options.
Most tour operators offer free pickup dropoff for the falls and cable car tours. This kind of full day tour can take up to 6-8 hours depending on the package you bought it may cost around $90 to book the tours, with local operators you may get a tight schedule and can only do limited activities as mentioned above so make sure to check the tours itinerary before you book.
Duden Water Falls (Upper Duden)
The Düden Falls picturesque waterfalls are one of the best refreshing and recreational places located in the village of Duden eastern part of Antalya it’s about 12 Kilometer and it takes about 20 minutes to drive there depending on your location, It is free to enter. There are two ways to enjoy this attraction (Boat or Drive)
The best way to get here is by boat using the boat trip providers. As per my experience, it is an amazing opportunity you don’t want to miss. The tourist boat stop by these picturesque waterfalls for an hour where you can swim or visit the falls using their smaller boat which really adds up more fun to this adventure.
By drive You can sit along the sea to enjoy the falls it is indeed really beautiful other than that there is no beach or options to swim around. Overall it is worth visiting a really beautiful picturesque route perfect for taking pictures
Karpuzkaldiran waterfall (Lower Duden)
The Karpuzkaldiran waterfall AKA (Apple Waterfalls) is a natural wonder located about 7 km from Antalya. It has been declared an Antalya Natural Monument by the Ministry of Forestry, the lower Dudan falls are located on the beachside where the falls into the Mediterranean sea, visitors can swim or take a boat trip besides this beautiful natural wonder.
It’s about 2 km from the traditional villages of Çavuşin, and 10km from the town of Finike. The waterfalls are fed by melting snow from the nearby mountains. There are two paths to get to it one that starts at Çavuşin and another starting near Finike, travelers can also enjoy a scenic walk through olive tree groves and fruit orchards on their way there.
Aspendos Ruins and Theater
Aspendos Ruins and Theater is an ancient theatre that was built in the 2nd century AD, a stunning piece of architecture worth visiting on its own. It is still used as an avenue for OPERA in the summer times, although there are many other historic sites around here. It was turned into Caravan-serai (Guest House) by Seljuks empires later in the 13th century. The most fascinating part about this ancient site is not just its preservation but also how you can see all of the Agri lands from one location. The view over agricultural land makes up for some amazing scenery.
It has a seating capacity of over 12,000 people and still has its original stage machinery. The interior of the theatre is covered with marble tiles. The chairs are covered in crimson plush. On either side of the proscenium arch, three semicircular exedras on each side of the stage were used by audience members during breaks in performances.
There are several theatres in many historical sites in Turkey, but this one has both the stage backdrop and the arches at the top of the seats on all three levels.
Tips: Keep in mind If you’re bringing youngsters or elderly people, there may be steep and rough steps to visit this place around make sure to wear your shoes instead of flip-flops also don’t forget to have your camera handy this place is fantabulous.
Temple of Apollo
The temple remains are just gorgeous and well worth the trip. The old town itself is certainly charming with Mediterranian sea background you’ll find tons of other tourists on your way but don’t let that stop you from exploring this golden piece of Greek archeology.
The temple was originally built by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BCE and is one of Turkey’s best-preserved ancient ruins sites with many well-preserved columns. If you’re looking to explore off the beaten path, this destination might be just right for you.
It’s believed that there are many treasures buried under this site, so archaeologists have started to investigate below ground before they attempt to rebuild it again. Hmmm… TREASURES!! you wanna try your luck you never know maybe you’re in luck today. LOL. I think this is what makes it an impressive archaeological site.
Tips: Where any comfortable or joggers shoes no Flip-flops to any of these historic sites to walk easily.
Land of Legends Theme Park
The Land of Legends Theme Park is a theme park that is located in Antalya. This theme park has been designed to be the world’s largest indoor amusement park. It features over 100 rides, a Pirate boat and attractions inside a 300,000 square meter space, there are more than 1 million LED lights installed throughout the entire venue for an immersive experience.
Entry into this amazing venue costs just 25 Turkish Lira or $8 USD per person. if you’re looking for something new to do with your family, then head on out to Land of Legends!
If you are looking for a travel experience that is all-inclusive and has it all to offer, Antalya might be the perfect destination. From beautiful beaches and resorts, soaring mountains, amazing archeology, perfect weather and stunning scenery, there is something for everyone in this one place. What will your next vacation spot be? … Happy Travel
