Antalya

The city was named after its first documented ruler Attalos II (220-138 BC), king of Pergamon, though it was obviously settled much earlier. Attalos' life and wife resembles soap opera, and his epiphet Philadelphos - "brother-loving" - hints at insecurity over how his relationship with back-from-the-dead brother and co-ruler Eumenes II might be portrayed. He based his fleet here - there were few alternatives along this exposed coast, and Attaleia (Ἀττάλεια) grew up around what's now called the Roman harbour. It never grew large as it lacked a hinterland - it's hemmed in by mountains with difficult routes to get inland, although a fertile coastal plain extends up to the east. Early visitors included St Paul the Apostle (Acts 14: 25-26) and Ibn Battuta, who in 1331 AD recorded how Christians, Greeks, Jews, and royal court each inhabited their own walled enclave, while the Muslims lived in the main body of town all within an enclosing wall.

This relative isolation meant little fighting here, but Antalya was the prize to be handed over after conquests elsewhere: to the Seljuks in 1207 and the Ottomans in 1391. After Turkey's defeat in World War I, the harsh 1920 Treaty of Sèvres handed over tracts of the country to the Allies, and Italy gained Antalya. This was reversed, and Turkey gained its present borders, by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

Access was improved by road building in the 20th century, but the game-changer was in the 1970s when commercial airliners could jet tourists non-stop from northern Europe, and the political environment boosted tourist infrastructure. The city burgeoned, with development either side of Kaleiçi the old town centre, but especially east along the sandy Lara beach. Effectively this strip extends 150 km until the mountains terminate the coastal plain: it's all called "Antalya area" in tourist literature, but in this guide the easterly towns of Belek, Manavgat, Side and Alanya are described separately.

Climate is of course Mediterranean. Summers are hot, sunny and humid yet rainless. Days average 30-35°C and may surpass 40°C; nights may be muggy and sticky so you want air-con.

Winters are mostly mild, punctuated by storms, downpours and strong winds. April-May and Oct-Nov are optimum conditions for sight-seeing, and the sea remains warm late into Autumn.

• 1 Antalya Airport (Antalya Havalimanı, AYT  ^IATA). Flights from all over Europe and Russia bring hordes of tourists, mostly on package deals. Other destinations include Erjan, Amman, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Baghdad and the Gulf States. There are daily domestic flights from Istanbul (IST and SAW), Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Samsun, Diyarbakir and Gaziantep. The two terminals are 1.6 km apart with a free shuttle or walkway in between. T1 handles all domestic flights, and T2 international one. The airport has the standard facilities and is usually slick, but when flights are delayed the passengers back up and it gets chaotic. There are no drinking water taps inside the terminals.  (updated Apr 2026)

Getting there and away:

• By tram – AntRay Tram 1A runs downtown from two T1 stops (domestic and international) every 15 min 06:00-00:00; it doesn't serve T2. Get off at İsmetpaşa (taking 50 min) for the old town or to transfer to Tram 2. Stay aboard another 30 min for Otogar the bus station. Coming out to the airport take Tram 1A badged "Havalimanı". Tram 1B follows the same route until Yonca Kavşak then branches off to Expo.
• By bus – Route 600 runs from T1 (domestic) and T2 to Otogar - so this could serve as an inter-terminal shuttle and spare you a taxi. It runs every 30 min 07:00 to 00:00 with night runs (as Route 600G) around 01:00, 03:00 and 05:00. It runs via Mevlana Cd and Adnan Menderes Blv, taking about an hour to Otogar. At T1 the stop is by the blue "D" sign next to a fig tree, usually with a scrummage of other waiting passengers. Ignore the "D" outside T1 (international), which stands for "decoy" or "dupe me". Taxi touts will converge on you, saying truthfully "No bus leaving here!" and steering you towards a taxi.

• By taxi – This is the best option for Lara resort strip, which is east of the city near the airport.

• 2 Antalya Terminal (6 km NW of the city centre. Your inter-city ticket may include a downtown transfer, check when purchasing. Otherwise take the tram from Dumlupınar Blv 10 minutes walk east.). The station is large, modern and reasonably clean, with ticket kiosks, cafes and toilets. 

Buses from Istanbul run hourly and take 12 hours via Gebze, Izmit, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Afyon, Sandikli and Burdur. From Ankara is 9 hours, from Izmir 6, from Adana 11 and from Konya 6. A faster route from Istanbul or Ankara is to take the YHT train to Konya, which connects with buses to Antalya.

Bus lines include Metro Turizm, Pamukkale, Flixbus (who've taken over Kamil Koç) and Varan.

Frequent buses run along the coast from Alanya, Manavgat (for Side) and Belek. Operators include Alanyalilar and Güney Akdeniz, the long-distance bus lines don't serve this short route. You could also take a dolmuş.

From Istanbul follow O7 / O5 / O22 (toll) south past Bursa to pick up D200 east, then D650 south via Kütahya and Afyon, reckon 8 hr 30 min.

Hitchhiking outbound, the dilemma is to be far enough out to pick up inter-city vehicles, but not so far out that they can't stop. One spot northbound is the roundabout where D330 branches from D650. City buses 506 and 509 run to D330, for Denizli, Pamukkale, Aydin and Izmir. Ten buses run along D650 Akdeniz Blv, for Isparta, Afyon and Ankara.

3 Port Akdeniz - Antalya is the port of the city with a cruise terminal within.

Single rides for tram or bus can be paid contactless with a credit card — costs about €1.

In addition, Antalyakart is the plastic transport card you may use to get additional benefits. Buy it or reload it at kiosks along the tramway, at the airport and at the bus terminal; you probably need banknotes for this.

You can also buy disposable paper cards for rided. But these don't allow transfers, nor can they be re-loaded, but you can load a suitable amount on purchase.

Discount cards are only available for citizens with Turkish ID, who pay a little more upfront but get cheaper rides.

AntRay Line T1 runs from Fatih in the north of the city to the Otogar (transfer to Line T3), İsmetpaşa downtown (transfer to Line T2) and Meydan then northeast to Yonca Kavşak. Line T1A there forks for Airport Terminal 1, Line T1B continues out to Aksu and Expo. Trams run every 15 min 06:00-00:00.

Line T2 is a heritage line, with 1950s/60s tramcars donated by the city of Nuremberg in 1999 in gratitude for all those kebabs and factory workers. It runs near the coast from the Museum (transfer to Tram 3) east to Cumhuriyet downtown (transfer to T1) then south through Old Town to Zerdalilik. It's mostly single track with passing loops, and the project to double-track it has stalled.

Line T3, opened in 2021, starts north of the city at Varsak and runs to Kepez, swinging west to Batıgar (for Otogar and transfer to T1), Akdeniz University Hospital and the Museum (transfer to T2).

Buses go everywhere in the city, with over a dozen lines plying to the Otogar. See above for Route 600 to the airport.

KL08 is another useful line, connecting west (for the beach) and east (for Düden falls) of Antalya through the city center.

Google Maps can be a resource. The Antalyakart mobile app provides more accurate arrival times, and also has the feature of checking where the bus is.

There are taxi stands all over the city where the drivers have their base and teapot, or you can order through online BiTaksi or iTaksi. Popular visitor destinations have price lists in Euro. You can also negotiate with any taxi driver to be your private tour guide, or at least take you on an excursion: this might be a good option for Perge but pricey for Aspendos.

City centre is walkable, and using a car or bicycle here is tiresome at best.

• 1 Hadrian's Gate (Turkish Üçkapılar, "three gates") is a good starting point for exploring Kaleiçi the old quarter. Built in 130 AD for the visit of Emperor Hadrian, it may have been ceremonial rather than a practical thoroughfare, as it became bricked up within the city walls. This preserved it, and it was only rediscovered when the walls crumbled in the 1950s.
• 2 Fluted Minaret Mosque (Yivliminare Camii), Cumhuriyet Cd. Elegant six-domed mosque built under Seljuk rule in 1230 and rebuilt in 1373 by the Hamidids. The minaret is 38 m tall.  (updated Aug 2023)
• Dervish Lodge Museum opposite the mosque used to be the home of the Mevlevihane, the "Whirling Dervishes". It's open Tu-Su 08:30-17:30, free.
• The Clocktower (Saat Kulesi) just east of the Fluted Minaret Mosque is from the 9th century AD.
• Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque facing the clocktower was built in the 17th century. It's named for a military commander who was appointed Grand Vizier - prime minister - in 1595 but died ten days later.
• Karatay Medresi 100 m southwest of the clocktower was a religious school built in 1250. It's become populated by cafes and shops so it's only worth a brief look.
• 3 Sehzade Korkut Mosque (Broken Minaret Mosque, Kesik Minare Cami), Civlek Sk. This was first built as a Roman temple in the 2nd century AD, and in later centuries went back and forth between religions. The minaret was added in the early 13th during one such conversion, and in 1800 this was the only part to survive a fire. The mosque lay in ruins until rebuilt from 2018, re-opening in 2021.  (updated Aug 2023)
• Toy Museum (Oyuncak Müzesi) is by the harbour, open Tu-Su 09:00-18:00, free.
• Iskele Mosque by the harbour is compact, almost a kiosk.
• 4 Harbour piers have pleasant views over Old Town and the sunset.
• Ethnographic Museum, Civelek Sk 20 (south side of harbour), ☏ . Daily 08:30-17:30. Exhibits traditional arts and crafts. Free. (updated Aug 2023)
• 5 Hıdırlık Tower, Hıdırlık Sk. 24 hours. Built by the Romans in the 2nd century AD with a square base and circular upper storey, this was a bastion and lighthouse. Its present name indicates that it's the site of Hıdırellez on 5/6 May, a religious spring festival. Free.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 6 Atatürk House Museum, Fevzi Çakmak Cd 11. Daily 08:30-17:30. Atatürk stayed in Antalya in 1930, 1931 and 1935. This rebuilt mansion shows memorabilia of his times. Free. (updated Aug 2023)
• Müsellim Mosque, 200 m north of Fluted Minaret Mosque, was built in 1796.
• 7 Balibey Mosque at the corner of Ismet Paşa Cd and 403rd Sk was built in 1485.
• 8 Murat Paşa Mosque on Milli Egemenlik Cd was commissioned in 1570. It has a high dome and beautiful Seljuk calligraphy within.
• 9 Sheik Sinan Mosque at the end of Değirmenönü Cd ("windmill street") was built in 1590 AD.
• 10 Antalya Museum, Konyaaltı Cd 88 (Tram to Müze), ☏ . Apr-Sept daily 08:30-20:00, Oct-Mar Tue-Sun 08:30-18:00. One of Turkey's largest museums, with 5000 items illustrating the history of the Mediterranean and Pamphylia regions. It's also a repository for some 25,000 items not on display. Adult 340 TL.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 11 Antalya Aquarium, Dumlupınar Blv 502, Konyaaltı (Bus 56), ☏ , info@antalyaaquarium.com. Daily 09:00-23:00. Huge aquarium with display tanks and long viewing tunnel. Adult or child 950 TL.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 12 Düden Lower Waterfalls on Lara Cd are where the Düden River plunges 40 m into the sea.
• 13 Sandland (Kum Heykel Müzesi), Lara Cd, ☏ . Daily 09:00-23:00. Sand sculpture park open year round, lit up at night. Adult 250 TL, child 125 TL. (updated Aug 2023)
• 14 Aksu Dolphinarium, Tesisler Cd 318, Aksu, ☏ . Daily 09:00-18:30. Sea lions and dolphins do their splashy stuff at 11:00 and 15:00. Extra charges to swim with them or have a dolphin take a photo of you. People may wish to consider the ethics of such attractions before visiting. (updated Aug 2023)

• 15 Düden Upper Waterfalls are where the Düden River emerges from karstic tunnels to fall 20 m.
• 16 Antalya Zoo (Antalya Hayvanat Bahçesi), Kepez (Tram: Fatih), ☏ . Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00. Large spacious zoo park. 20 TL per car. (updated Aug 2023)
• 17 Tünek Tepe, Kemer Yolu, Konyaalti. Tue-Sun 10:00-19:00. A hilltop of 618 m with great views over the city and coast, reached by gondola cable car though you can drive or even hike up. Food and drink at the top station are a silly price. The cable car collapsed in April 2024. Cable car 400 TL (closed April 2024).  (updated Aug 2023)
• 18 Perge, Perge Yol, Aksu, ☏ . Daily 08:00-19:30. Extensive ruins of a city which had its heyday 2nd to 3rd century AD under the Romans. The site has a colonnaded agora, theatre, stadium, temple to Artemis and two churches. Adult 250 TL.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 19 Kurşunlu Waterfall, Kurşunlu Cd, Aksu (northeast of Antalya on D685), ☏ . Daily 08:30-19:30. Woodland park, the waterfalls are impressive in flow but dry to a trickle in summer. A firm path leads you past the best views but is not suitable with restricted mobility. There are refreshment stalls and a café/restaurant.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 20 King's Pool (Kral Havuzu). An attractive pool in a canyon. Free. (updated Apr 2026)
• 21 Sillyon was a fortified city that had its heyday in the Byzantine era from about 680 to 820 AD. The ruins are scrappy and tumbling down the hillside.
• 22 Aspendos, 40 km east near Serik (Bus 10 from Serik). Daily 08:00-17:00. Graeco-Roman city, of which the centrepiece is the well-preserved amphitheatre, seating 7000. There's also 2 km of aqueduct (which siphoned water over rises), a stadium, baths, basilica, agora and nymphaeum. 1 km downstream near the modern highway is Eurymedon Bridge, rebuilt in wonky fashion in the 13th century when the Roman original washed away. Adult 340 TL.  (updated Aug 2023)
• 23 Zeytintaşı Cave is a small show-cave near Akbaş in the mountains above Aspendos, visited by guided tour.

Standard precautions about traffic, water and sun safety, care of valuables and avoiding drunks.

Antalya like any other big city has its quota of dodgy individuals, sharp-edged trash and stray dogs; but tourists have little reason to be in down-at-heel districts.

Antalya has 4G from all Turkish carriers, and the signal extends along the resort strip beyond Alanya. 5G access is limited to certain parts of the city. Free WiFi could be found in public squares and cafes.