In short
What is worth doing, and what is sold harder than it deserves. Konyaaltı is the pattern: free public sections of the beach exist, while a mid-range sunbed club is ₺300–600 per person per day. And the Chimaera flames sit a twenty-minute drive from Olympos, which is why staying a night there beats day-tripping from the city.
Prices checked August 2026.
Disclosure: some links in this guide are affiliate links. If you book through one, we earn a small commission and you pay exactly the same price. We only link to services we would use ourselves, no brand pays for placement or for a favourable write-up, and every price in this article was researched independently.
Antalya’s problem is not a shortage of things to do. It is that the two best-known ones — the museum and the beach — are respectively demolished and identical to a hundred other Mediterranean beaches.
What is in this guide
- 1. Aspendos
- 2. Chimaera — the mountain that burns
- 3. Kaleiçi, the old town
- 4. Side and the Temple of Apollo
- 5. Perge
- 6. Termessos
- 7. Demre — Myra and the real Santa Claus
- 8. Kekova — the sunken city
- 9. Köprülü Canyon rafting
- 10. The waterfalls
- 11. Olympos and Çıralı
- 12. Konyaaltı beach, and the honest version
- What we would skip
- Frequently asked questions
- A note on our numbers
- Booking Antalya: a short list, and a shorter one you can ignore
What Antalya actually has, and what almost nobody comes for, is the densest concentration of Greco-Roman ruins on the Turkish coast, a mountain that has been on fire continuously for two and a half thousand years, and an old town you can walk end to end in twenty minutes.
Here is what is worth your time, with 2026 prices.
Verified: August 2026 · Rates: €1 = 55.55 TRY · $1 = 47.90 TRY
Editor’s note
Antalya rewards a simple rule: pay for distance, not for entry. Termessos, Olympos, Kekova and Pamukkale are genuinely awkward to reach without a car, and that is what a tour is for. Perge and Aspendos have public buses running to them. The beaches, Kaleici and the harbour cost nothing at all.
1. Aspendos
The best-preserved Roman theatre in the world. Not “one of” — the stage building is intact to its full height, which is true of essentially nowhere else, and it seats 15,000 people who can all hear a coin drop on the orchestra floor.
| Entry | €15 |
| Hours | 08:00–22:00 in summer, box office to ~21:30 |
| Getting there | 47 km east, past the airport |
| Time needed | 90 minutes |
Go in the evening. The late opening exists because concerts and the opera festival use it, and the light on the limestone after six is the reason to be there rather than at three in the afternoon when the coaches come.
2. Chimaera — the mountain that burns
Flames coming out of bare rock on the side of a mountain above Çıralı. They have been burning, without interruption, since antiquity — methane seeping through fractured serpentinite. Sailors used them to navigate. The Greeks decided it was a monster buried under the mountain.
| Entry | ₺45 — cash only, and the card machine usually does not work |
| Museum Pass | Not valid. Separately managed |
| Climb | 30 minutes up, 20 down |
| Best time | Arrive one hour before sunset |
| Also budget | ₺10–15 for the toilets |
The timing rule matters: walk up in daylight, watch the flames come into their own as it gets dark, walk down with a torch. Going at midday means climbing for half an hour to look at some pale flickering in bright sun.
3. Kaleiçi, the old town
A walled Ottoman quarter wrapped around a Roman harbour, with Hadrian’s Gate as the entrance, the fluted Yivli Minaret above it and cobbled lanes of restored mansions that are now boutique hotels and bars.
| Hadrian’s Gate | Free |
| Hıdırlık Tower | Free |
| Clock Tower, old bazaar, marina, Karaalioğlu Park | Free |
| Harbour boat trip, 45 min | ₺300 |
| Time needed | Half a day, and an evening |
It costs nothing. Hadrian’s Gate was built for the emperor’s visit in 130 AD and you walk through it on your way to dinner. This is the single best free half-day in the city and it is why staying in Kaleiçi rather than a resort changes the trip.
4. Side and the Temple of Apollo
An ancient city that a resort town grew into and around. The result is odd and rather wonderful: you walk past a shop selling inflatable flamingos and then there is a Roman agora.
| Ancient city | €7 |
| Side Museum | €5 |
| Combined | €10 |
| The streets, harbour and Temple of Apollo surroundings | FREE |
| Night visit, 19:00–22:00 | ₺200, Museum Pass not valid |
The famous photograph is free. The Temple of Apollo’s columns standing against the sunset sit in open public space at the tip of the peninsula. You do not need a ticket for the thing everyone comes to photograph — buy the €10 combined ticket for the theatre and the museum instead.
5. Perge
A Roman city with a colonnaded street you can walk the full length of, a stadium that held 12,000, and baths where the floor plan is still legible. Quieter than Aspendos and more complete than most.
| Entry | €11 |
| Getting there | 18 km east, near Aksu |
| Time needed | 90 minutes |
6. Termessos
A city the Pisidians built at 1,050 metres inside what is now a national park, on ground so difficult that Alexander the Great looked at it and decided to go around. It is a proper hike through pine forest to a necropolis and a theatre with a view down a gorge.
| Entry | Disputed — see note |
| Hours | Daily 08:00–19:00, ticket office closes 17:00 |
| Effort | Steep, 1–2 hours of climbing. Proper shoes |
On the price: one 2026 Turkish source says ₺70 and that the Müzekart is valid; an older page says ₺10. A lira price for foreign visitors is anomalous now that Ministry sites charge in euros, and a separate national park vehicle fee may apply. We could not resolve it. Bring both cash and a card.
This is the one that rewards effort. Most visitors to Antalya never see it, because it is a climb rather than a stroll.
7. Demre — Myra and the real Santa Claus
Rock-cut tombs carved into a cliff face like a housing estate for the dead, a Roman theatre below them, and in the town the church where Saint Nicholas was bishop in the fourth century. That Saint Nicholas.
| Myra | €13 |
| St Nicholas Church | €17 — the most expensive site in the province |
| Getting there | ~150 km west, usually combined with Kekova |
| Time | A full day trip |
The church is a working pilgrimage site with Byzantine frescoes and a sarcophagus that may or may not be his. At €17 it is the priciest ticket in Antalya province, and whether it earns that depends entirely on how much the Santa Claus connection means to you.
8. Kekova — the sunken city
A shoreline where an earthquake dropped a Lycian town into the sea. You float over house foundations, staircases going down into the water, and a harbour wall a few metres below the surface.
| Shared boat trip | ₺1,250–2,000 |
| Private charter | ₺11,700+ |
| Included | Boat, crew, lunch, transfer from some areas |
| Not included | Alcohol, site entry fees |
A 2026 rule to know: since 13 June, boats may not anchor at Kekova, Üçadalar, Phaselis or Cennet Koyu. Vessels can only run the trip type their licence covers, capacity limits are enforced, and the Coast Guard is doing unannounced inspections. Swimming over the ruins has always been banned. If an operator offers to anchor in the bay, they are offering to break the law.
9. Köprülü Canyon rafting
Fourteen kilometres of grade II–III water through a limestone gorge, which is to say: fun, wet, and not actually dangerous.
| Standard | ₺799 without transfer |
| With hotel transfer | ₺1,099 |
| Included | Equipment, guide, lunch — grilled chicken, salad, pasta, fruit |
| Ages | 4+. Under five free, five to ten half price |
| Add-ons | Canyoning ₺1,500, zipline ₺1,100 |
| On the water | About 2 hours |
Transfers must be arranged at least a day ahead. We could not verify the season dates — the river is dam-fed and typically runs roughly April to October, but nobody published a confirmed window.
10. The waterfalls
| Lower Düden (Karpuzkaldıran) | FREE |
| Upper Düden (İskender) | Paid, amount unverified |
| Kurşunlu, 22 km | Paid — Museum Card not valid |
| Manavgat | Paid, municipal — Museum Card not valid |
Go to the lower one. It falls forty metres off a cliff directly into the Mediterranean, you view it from Düden Park in Lara, and it costs nothing. The upper falls are prettier close up and involve a ticket and a car park.
11. Olympos and Çıralı
Olympos is a ruined city that the forest has taken back — you walk through bay trees and there is a sarcophagus, then a temple gate, then the beach. Çıralı next door is a bay of low-rise pensions with building restrictions, loggerhead turtle nesting, and no all-inclusive anything.
| Olympos site + beach | €10 |
| Çıralı | Free |
| Why | The anti-resort. If Belek made you despair, this is the answer |
Chimaera is a twenty-minute drive from here, which is why people stay a night rather than day-tripping.
12. Konyaaltı beach, and the honest version
| Access | Free public sections exist |
| Sunbed / mid-range club | ₺300–600 per person per day |
| Luxury club, Lara or Belek | ₺800+, often partly redeemable against food |
| Kaputaş, near Kaş | ₺60 entry, ₺300 sunbed |
Antalya province has 233 Blue Flag beaches, more than any city in the world. It also has a rising plastic and microplastic problem in the bay that Turkish officials are now discussing publicly, with the blunt observation that visitors judge by what they see rather than by certification.
Konyaaltı’s pebbles and the Beydağları mountains behind it make it the better city beach. Lara’s sand is nicer to lie on and is where the enormous themed resorts are.
New this summer: all beaches province-wide, public and private, must operate designated smoking and non-smoking zones under a Governorship circular of 24 July 2026.
What we would skip
Any tour that includes the Antalya Museum. It is demolished. If an itinerary still lists it, that itinerary has not been updated since 2025 and you should wonder what else in it is stale.
Paying to photograph the Temple of Apollo. The columns are in free public space.
A beach club at ₺800 in Belek when Konyaaltı has free public sections and a mountain view.
The Museum Pass Mediterranean at €90, unless you are including Pamukkale or clearing eight sites in seven days. Seven of Antalya’s big sites total €86 — just under the pass price.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single best thing to do in Antalya? Aspendos in the evening. It is the best-preserved Roman theatre on earth, it stays open until 22:00 in summer, and the light after six is the whole point.
Is the Antalya Museum worth visiting? It is demolished. It closed on 16 July 2025 and a rebuild targets November 2026, which is a hope rather than a date.
Do I need to pay to see the Temple of Apollo at Side? No. The temple’s surroundings, the harbour and the old streets are open public space. The €10 combined ticket covers the ancient city proper and the museum.
When should I go to Chimaera? Arrive an hour before sunset. Thirty minutes up, then the flames as darkness falls. Bring ₺45 in cash — the Museum Pass is not valid and the card machine usually is not working.
Is Köprülü Canyon rafting suitable for children? Yes, from age four. Under fives are free, five to tens half price. It is grade II–III water, about two hours, lunch included, ₺799 or ₺1,099 with transfer.
Can I swim at the Kekova sunken city? No, swimming over the ruins is prohibited, and since June 2026 boats cannot anchor there either. You view it from the boat.
Are Antalya’s beaches free? There are free public sections at Konyaaltı and Lara. Sunbeds run ₺300–600 mid-range and ₺800+ at luxury clubs. Kaputaş charges ₺60 just to walk in.
Is Termessos worth the climb? Yes, if you are fit and have shoes. It is at 1,050 metres, the walk takes one to two hours, and almost no resort visitor makes it — which is exactly the appeal.
A note on our numbers
Prices, opening hours and the 2026 regulations were checked against Turkish government, municipal and operator sources in August 2026. Euro site fees come from secondary Turkish sources because the Ministry’s tariff pages block automated retrieval — verify at the gate. Termessos pricing is disputed between sources and we have said so rather than picking one.
Keep reading: Antalya Travel Guide 2026 · The Perfect 4-Day Antalya Itinerary · Where to Stay in Antalya · How Much Does a Trip to Antalya Cost?
Booking Antalya: a short list, and a shorter one you can ignore
Antalya is a walk-up city. Kaleici is free to enter and wander. Konyaalti and Lara beaches are public. Duden waterfall’s upper park charges a few lira at the gate. The Blue Flag beaches, 233 of them across the province, do not take reservations.
Two things are worth arranging before you arrive, and one thing has changed in a way no other guide has caught up with.
The airport transfer, because the tram will not help you. Antalya’s airport tram line serves Terminal 1 only. International flights land at Terminal 2, which has no stop. You arrive, discover this, and end up in a taxi queue anyway, having planned around a tram you cannot reach without first taking a shuttle between terminals. Book the transfer instead and skip the discovery. If you are landing at T1 on a domestic connection, the tram is fine and cheap, so ignore this.
Day trips to places without buses. Termessos sits 30 km inland up a mountain road with no public service. Olympos, Chimaera’s burning rocks, Kekova’s sunken city and Pamukkale all sit beyond an easy dolmus. These are the tours worth money. Perge and Aspendos, by contrast, are reachable by public bus for a fraction of the cost, so book those only if you actively dislike buses. Compare Antalya day trips on KKday or on Klook, and check the ancient-site tickets on Tiqets.
What changed, and why old advice is wrong. The Antalya Museum closed on 16 July 2025 because the building failed earthquake safety, and it has since been demolished. Around 100,000 artefacts are in storage and the rebuild targets November 2026. Every English-language guide still calls it the city’s must-see. It is not open. Do not build a day around it, and do not buy a museum pass expecting it to be included.
Two smaller changes work in your favour: restaurants have been barred from adding a service charge since 30 January 2026, and transfers on Antalya public transport have been free since March 2026, which makes the tram-and-bus combination genuinely cheap once you are in the city.
Data. An eSIM is a convenience here rather than a necessity, since most hotels and beach clubs along Konyaalti have usable wifi.