Things to Do in Antalya: 9 Wonderful Options

Antalya is the city I send people to when they want the Mediterranean and the ruins in one trip, without choosing between them. It sits on the Turkish Riviera, has an airport with cheap connections, and gives you turquoise water, Roman theatres, and a walled old town inside about a fifteen-minute radius. It is one of the most popular cities to visit in Turkey, and once you have spent a day or two here you understand why. Below are the nine things I would actually do, in the order I would do them.

Why visit Antalya in the first place?

Short answer: beaches that genuinely live up to the photos, ancient sites that rival anything in the country, and a base warm enough to swim from April through October. The mountains (the Beydağları range) drop straight into the sea, so your beach has a backdrop most resorts would kill for. If you are still weighing it up, I wrote a longer take on whether Antalya is worth visiting and on why Antalya is so famous. For most first-timers the answer is an easy yes.

What are the best things to do in Antalya?

The short version: hit the beaches, walk Kaleiçi old town, see at least one ancient site, chase a waterfall, and get out on the water. Here is each one with the detail that actually matters.

Going to the amazing beaches in this city

This is the obvious one, and it earns its spot. The two headliners are Konyaaltı and Lara, and they are different animals. Konyaaltı runs roughly 4 kilometres of pebble and coarse sand west of the centre, with the mountains rising behind it, and the water there is clear and cold-clear in a good way. Lara, east of the city, is the long sandy strip lined with the big resort hotels, restaurants, and beach clubs. If you want a postcard further afield, Kaputaş beach (down the coast toward Kaş) is the famous cove with the steep staircase, and it is worth the day trip in shoulder season before the crowds arrive.

Visiting historical places and museums

You are spoiled here. Start free and in town: Hadrian’s Gate, the triple-arched marble gate the Romans built in 130 AD for the emperor’s visit, stands right at the entrance to the old town and costs nothing to walk through. Then go big. Aspendos has what is widely called the best-preserved Roman theatre in the world, built around 160 to 180 AD, and it still seats thousands for summer concerts. Perge nearby gives you the full layout of a Greco-Roman city (colonnaded streets, stadium, baths), and mountaintop Termessos is the moody, half-overgrown one for people who like a climb with their ruins. Round it off at the Antalya Museum, one of the strongest archaeological collections in Turkey. Entry fees to the big sites sit in the mid-range for Turkish archaeological sites at the time of writing, and summer hours run later than winter, so go early or late to dodge both the heat and the tour buses.

Going to the Antalya Aquarium

If you are travelling with kids, or you just like the idea of walking under sharks, this delivers. The Antalya Aquarium holds the world’s longest tunnel aquarium at 131 metres, and the walk-through takes around fifteen minutes past tropical reefs and a “sunken city” theme, with roughly 40 themed tanks and thousands of marine species. The complex also packs in a reptile terrarium, a “Snow City” with real artificial snowfall, and an XD cinema, so it easily fills a half day if the weather turns. At the time of writing, packaged tickets including hotel transfer run around 50 to 55 euros for adults, with under-threes free, though buying at the door is cheaper if you make your own way there.

Going shopping and visiting the malls

Antalya does big modern malls (TerraCity and MarkAntalya are the central ones) if you need air conditioning and a familiar food court. But the shopping I actually recommend is in Kaleiçi, the old town, where the cobbled lanes are full of small shops selling lamps, ceramics, leather, and spices. Haggle gently, expect the first price to be hopeful, and buy the thing you will actually use. For a fuller list of what is worth picking up around the country, this guide to places in Turkey gives more context on regional crafts.

Trying out some extreme sports and physical activities

This coast is built for adrenaline. The headline activity is white-water rafting in Köprülü Canyon, about 90 minutes inland through pine and cedar forest, and the cold turquoise river is honestly one of the best days out in the region. Beyond that you can scuba dive and snorkel off the coast, paraglide off the cliffs near Kaş further west, quad bike up into the Taurus foothills, or try windsurfing and sea kayaking off the beaches. Most of these are run as half-day or full-day tours with hotel pickup, so you do not need your own gear or transport.

Checking out the natural places in the city

You do not have to go far for water and forest. The Düden Waterfalls come in two parts: the Upper falls sit in a leafy park just outside the centre, where you can actually walk behind the water through a natural cave, and the Lower falls drop straight off a cliff into the Mediterranean (best seen from a boat, which is its own reason to take one). Köprülü Canyon doubles as the rafting spot and a national park of pine forest and rugged cliffs. Exploring these with a guide is the easy way to do it if you are short on time, and it is one of the calmer things to do in Antalya after a busy beach day.

Going to the parks to get some fresh air

For a slower hour, Antalya has proper green space. Karaalioğlu Park runs along the clifftop above the sea on the edge of the old town, with the Hıdırlık Tower at one end and some of the best sunset views in the city. It is free, shaded, and a good place to reset between sightseeing blocks. The park promenade is where locals walk in the evening, and joining them is half the point.

Enjoying the city with a nice tour

You can absolutely explore Antalya on your own, and the old town rewards aimless wandering. But for the ancient sites that are spread out (Aspendos, Perge, Side, Termessos), a guided day tour saves you the transport headache and adds the context that turns a pile of stones into a story. Pick a small-group option with a real guide rather than the cheapest coach, and check that admission fees are included so the price you see is the price you pay.

Going on a nice yacht tour

This is my personal favourite, and the one most people skip and regret. Boats leave straight from the old harbour below Kaleiçi, and a short cruise takes you out to see the Lower Düden waterfall crashing into the sea and the old town from the water, which is the angle the city was built to be seen from. For a full day, the trips out to Suluada island (the “Maldives of Turkey” nickname is overselling it, but the water really is that clear) or further along the coast toward Kekova’s sunken city are the ones worth the early start, with lunch on board and stops for swimming. If you would rather have the boat to yourselves rather than share a day-tour deck, a private yacht charter lets you set your own route and swim stops, which is how I would do it with a group.

A quick word on budget and getting around

Antalya is generally easier on the wallet than Istanbul, and I broke down the real numbers in is Antalya expensive for tourists. Where you sleep changes the trip more than anything: staying in a Kaleiçi guesthouse puts you on foot among the sights, while the Lara strip is all-inclusive resort territory. This roundup of Antalya hotels covers both ends. If you are torn between a city break and a beach break, my Istanbul versus Antalya comparison lays out who each one suits.

Final thoughts on things to do in Antalya

Give Antalya three full days and you can swim at Konyaaltı, lose an afternoon in Kaleiçi, stand inside the Aspendos theatre, and take a boat past the waterfall, with time left over for a long dinner by the harbour. It is the rare Turkish destination that does beaches, ruins, and a genuine old town without making you pick one. Build your days around the water in the morning and the ruins in the late afternoon, and you will leave wishing you had booked longer.