Turkish Riviera
Turkish Riviera
The Antalya coast for UK travellers: which all-inclusive belt to pick — buzzy Side, golf-and-luxury Belek, mountain-backed Kemer or far-flung Alanya — what spending money you actually need, and the ancient theatre that beats the beach.
In short
Turkish Riviera at a glance
The Turkish Riviera is the Antalya coast — Turkey's all-inclusive engine and the cheapest sun-and-sand week a UK family can book. Everyone flies into Antalya (AYT) and spreads out along one road: Kemer to the west under the Taurus mountains, then Antalya city, then Belek, Side and finally Alanya two hours east. The choice that actually matters is which strip you book, because they're very different holidays — Belek is golf-and-five-star, Side mixes a Roman old town with mid-range resorts, Kemer trades sand for pebbles and pine-clad bays, and Alanya is the cheapest but the longest transfer. Pick by transfer time and resort style, not by the brochure photo, and leave a day for Aspendos.
The Turkish Riviera is the stretch of Mediterranean coast either side of Antalya, and it’s the reason Turkey fills UK charter flights all summer. It is, quite simply, the best-value sun-and-sand week you can book: an all-inclusive room here costs a fraction of the same standard in Spain or the Canaries, the sea is reliably warm from late May to October, and the beaches are long and sandy through the central belt. Everyone lands at the same airport — Antalya (AYT) — and then spreads out along one coast road, so the only decision that really matters is which strip you book.
That choice is more consequential than the brochures let on, because the resorts are genuinely different holidays. Belek is the luxury and golf end — five-star mega-resorts and waterparks on wide sand, and the shortest transfer at 35–45 minutes. Side wraps good-value mid-range resorts around an actual Roman old town on a peninsula, so you can wander to the Temple of Apollo after dinner rather than being sealed inside a hotel zone. Kemer, west under the Taurus mountains, is the prettiest setting but trades sand for pebble, which suits couples over bucket-and-spade families. Alanya, two hours east, is the cheapest and liveliest — but that 2–2.5 hour transfer from Antalya airport is the thing to weigh before you book a family room there.
What lifts this coast above a generic beach week is what’s hiding behind the sunbeds. Within an hour or two of any central resort sits a world-class run of Roman and Lycian ruins — and the one to leave the pool for is Aspendos, a 2nd-century theatre that still seats 7,000 and is among the best-preserved anywhere (about £13 to get in). Add Side’s free seafront Temple of Apollo at sunset, Antalya’s walled Kaleiçi old town, and — from Kemer — the Chimaera, natural flames that burn from the mountainside after dark. Book those through a town travel agency rather than the hotel desk, which marks them up, and remember the one rule that trips up UK visitors: your GHIC does not work in Turkey, so travel insurance with medical cover is non-negotiable.
The route
Most people come here to do very little, and the resorts are built for exactly that. But the Antalya coast has a genuinely world-class set of Roman and Lycian ruins within an hour or two of the sunbed, so this is a beach week with two or three half-day escapes built in rather than a touring route. Distances assume you've based around Side or Belek, the central belt; from Alanya add an hour to everything heading west.
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Days 1–2
Settle into the resort
Land at Antalya, transfer to your strip and do nothing for two days — the all-inclusive is the holiday, not the base camp. Get your bearings in the local resort town (Side's old town on its peninsula, Belek's hotel zone, Kemer's marina) and book any day trips through a town agency rather than the hotel desk, which marks them up.
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Day 3
Aspendos & a ruins half-day
The one cultural thing worth leaving the pool for. Aspendos is a 2nd-century Roman theatre that still seats 7,000 and is astonishingly intact (€15 / ~£13). Pair it with Perge or Side's own seafront ruins and the Temple of Apollo (free, best at sunset). Go early before the heat and the tour-bus crowds.
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Day 4
Antalya old town (Kaleiçi)
Half a day in the actual city the coast is named for. Kaleiçi is the walled Ottoman old town above the yacht harbour — Hadrian's Gate, the fluted minaret, lanes of restored guesthouses — and the Düden Waterfalls drop straight into the sea on the city's edge. A real place after the resort bubble; reachable on a cheap dolmuş minibus from the central strips.
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Days 5–6
Sea, boat trip or a mountain day
Back to the beach, or take a gulet boat trip along the coast (typically £20–£35pp with lunch). From Kemer, the Olympos ruins and the Chimaera — natural flames that burn from the mountainside after dark — are the standout half-day. From Alanya, the castle and Damlataş cave fill a morning.
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Day 7
Last beach day & transfer home
One more pool day, then the transfer back to AYT. If you're in Alanya, build in the full 2–2.5 hours plus a buffer — the coast road backs up in summer and you do not want to cut an airport run fine from there.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Belek
£££ premiumThe Riviera's luxury all-inclusive capital and its golf belt — wide sandy beaches, championship courses and the biggest concentration of five-star mega-resorts and waterparks. The closest strip to the airport at 35–45 minutes, which makes it the easy pick for families who want to be at the pool fast. The trade-off: it's a purpose-built hotel zone, not a town, so there's little to walk to outside the resort gates.
Best for: Luxury all-inclusive, golf and families wanting the shortest transfer
Side
££ mid-rangeThe best all-rounder: a Roman old town on a peninsula — the Temple of Apollo, a ruined theatre, harbour-front restaurants — wrapped around good-value mid-range resorts on long sandy beaches. You get an actual place to wander in the evening rather than just a hotel strip, and the ancient sites are on your doorstep. Around 70 minutes from the airport. The old-town core gets busy and touristy in peak season.
Best for: Mixing beach with a real old town and ruins on value resorts
Kemer
££ mid-rangeWest of Antalya and the prettiest setting on the coast — bays backed by the pine-clad Taurus mountains, a smart marina and cooler mountain air. The catch is the beaches: mostly pebble and shingle rather than the wide sand of Belek and Side, so it suits couples and walkers more than bucket-and-spade families. The Olympos ruins and the burning Chimaera flames are the local trump card.
Best for: Mountain-and-sea scenery, couples, walkers and the Chimaera
Alanya
£ valueThe cheapest resort prices on the coast and a livelier, more year-round town feel, crowned by a dramatic Seljuk hilltop castle and Cleopatra Beach. The honest catch is the transfer: a full 2–2.5 hours from Antalya airport, which eats a big chunk of two travel days. Worth it if you want value and a working town with nightlife; skip it if a long coach run with kids fills you with dread.
Best for: Best resort value, nightlife and a real town — if you can stomach the transfer
Antalya city (Lara / Konyaaltı / Kaleiçi)
££ mid-rangeStay in the city itself rather than a resort strip if you want culture with your beach. Lara has the golden-sand luxury hotels east of town; Konyaaltı is the long pebble city beach under the mountains to the west; Kaleiçi, the walled old town, has characterful boutique guesthouses around the harbour. Best for travellers who'd rather have a real city on the doorstep than a sealed all-inclusive.
Best for: Independent travellers wanting a city base, not a package bubble
Getting around Turkish Riviera
Almost everyone arrives on a package with a transfer included, so the first thing to get right is your strip's distance from Antalya airport (AYT): Belek is 35–45 minutes, Side around 70, Kemer 40–60, but Alanya a full 2–2.5 hours. If you're booking independently, a pre-booked private transfer is typically £30–£45 to the central strips, a shared shuttle to Side around €14pp, and a metered taxi €30–€50 to Belek. Once you're based, you barely need transport — resorts have pools and beaches on site — but for cheap local hops the dolmuş (shared minibus) runs constantly along the coast road for a few lira, and town travel agencies sell day trips (Aspendos, boat trips, the waterfalls) cheaper than the hotel desk. Hire a car only if you want to explore the Lycian coast or several ruins under your own steam; for a single resort week it's an unnecessary cost.
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