Antalya

A Roman Theatre That Still Works

Aspendos, forty minutes east of Antalya, is among the best preserved Roman theatres anywhere in the Mediterranean. Not the largest and not the most famous, the best preserved: the stage building still stands to its full height, the acoustics still function, and performances are still held in it. That is the useful thing to understand about this coast. The Turkish Riviera sells itself on beach resorts, and underneath the resorts sits a density of Greek and Roman cities that would be the entire reason to visit almost anywhere else.

The planning decision: the resort belt, the old town, or the coast west

Three different trips share this airport. The resort belt at Belek, Lara and Kemer is large scale, polished, mostly all inclusive and genuinely good at what it does, with the strongest golf in the eastern Mediterranean. Kaleici, the walled old town on the cliff above the Roman harbour, is small hotels, Ottoman houses and evenings on foot. West along the Lycian coast toward Kas and Kalkan the scale drops away entirely into stone villages, boat days and clear water. Pick one as the base and treat the others as day trips, because they are an hour or more apart and doing all three properly needs ten days.

Season, and a coast that swims into November

April through June and September through October are the strongest months, with warm days, comfortable ruins and a sea that is already swimmable by late May. July and August are very hot inland at the archaeological sites, which pushes those visits to early morning, though the resorts are built for it. The sea here stays warm well into November, later than most of the Mediterranean, which makes October a genuinely underrated month. Winter is mild and green and is when the golf belt does its business, with the Belek courses busy from November through March.

Where to base, and how far things are

Antalya airport has direct flights from most of Europe and is fifteen to forty minutes from the various bases. Aspendos is about forty five minutes east, Perge twenty, Side an hour. Termessos, high in the mountains and the most dramatic of them, is around forty minutes and involves a climb. Kas is roughly three hours west and Kalkan a little less, which is too far for a day trip and better treated as a second base. The Duden waterfalls sit inside the city and the lower falls drop straight into the sea.

Stay strategy

Maxx Royal Belek and Regnum Carya define the upper end of the golf belt, both large, both with their own courses and a level of finish that surprises people expecting a package hotel. Rixos Premium covers similar ground at scale. In Kaleici, small restored Ottoman house hotels such as Tuvana are the answer for anyone who wants character, walkability and dinner in the old town rather than on a resort. Further west, boutique properties in Kalkan and Kas are the right base for a boat led week. Match the property to the trip rather than expecting one address to cover all three.

When to begin

Four months for spring and autumn. Golf weeks between November and March want longer, because the Belek courses and the good tee times are held early by European clubs and tour operators. School holiday weeks in July and August fill the family resorts a long way out. Private guides for Aspendos, Perge and Termessos are worth arranging in advance, because the sites are largely unlabelled and an hour with someone who can read them is the difference between ruins and a city.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Aspendos early, before the coaches, with a guide, and if the calendar allows it a performance in the theatre itself.
• Termessos, high in the Taurus mountains, which is a climb, which almost nobody makes, and which is the most extraordinary site on this coast.
• A boat day off Kekova further west, over the submerged Lycian ruins visible through the water.
• An evening on foot in Kaleici, down through Hadrian's Gate to the old harbour, ending with dinner above the water.

Who this trip suits

Antalya suits families exceptionally well, because the resort infrastructure is excellent and the flights from Europe are short and direct. It suits golfers looking for winter sun with real courses. It suits anyone who wants ancient history and a beach in the same week without compromising much on either. And it pairs naturally with Istanbul and Cappadocia to make a complete Turkish itinerary.

When another plan may fit better

If large hotels are not for you and boutique is the requirement, base in Kaleici or go west to Kalkan rather than booking the belt. If you want an Aegean village week with a boat, Bodrum is the better coast. And if the ruins are the entire point, a week here with a car and a guide is a stronger plan than any resort.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us whether this is golf, family, ruins or a boat week, and we will place you on the right stretch of this coast and build the site visits around the heat rather than against it. Our luxury leisure travel planning sequences Antalya inside the wider Turkish route, and our group travel planning handles golf groups and multi family weeks.