SEKAI Explorer Guide Antalya (2011)

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Contributor

This book would not be as it is without the great effort of all supporting Wikitravel user. People who are directly involved in this work are:

adem kaya, Aidan, Ali Akçakaya, Andreas Bergstrom, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, cz, David, Denis Yurkin, D. Guillaime, julia forman, Peter Fitzgerald, Peter Southwood, Roger Chrisman, Ryan Holliday, Stefan Ertmann, Tim Sandell, Tom Holland, Wikitravel user SolarMcPanel .

Table of Content:

• Understand

Climate

• Get in

By plane

By bus

By boat

By train

• Get around

By bus

By dolmus

By taxi

By tram

By car rental

By bicycle

• See

• Do

• Buy

A word of caution

• Eat

• Drink

• Sleep

Splurge

• Get out

Understand

Having entered the scene in 150 BC as Attalia, named after its founder, Attalos II, king of Pergamon, Antalya has ever attracted a wide array of travellers, including Paul the Apostle, and Ibn Battuta among others. Antalya had replaced Phaselis—beautiful ruins of which now lie to south of the city, between Kemer and Olympos—as the main harbour of the surrounding region during the reign of Seljuks, in early 1200s, but the lack of a large hinterland (or, rather, lack of good connections with its mountainous hinterland) meant for much of its history eversince that it was a provincial coastal town, albeit with a multicultural community of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. As the centre of a region with beautiful beaches, verdant mountains, and a mindblowing number of ancient ruins, the tourism investments started in 1970s, which changed the fate of the city considerably. However, as most of the visitors (make no mistake—they are in the range of millions annually) to the region are actually on "all-inclusive" vacation packages nowadays, they are immediately taken from the airport to the huge resorts lining the coastline of hundreds of kilometres, where they stay until the end of their holidays except perhaps a raid or two to the nearest and the most popular attractions, so Antalya itself, especially the old town (Kaleiçi), is more of an independent traveller destination, where you will meet the other travellers of a similar mind, and the locals.

Climate

Climate

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Daily highs (°C)

15

15

18

21

25

30

34

34

31

26

22

17

Nightly lows (°C)

6

7

8

11

15

20

23

23

19

15

11

8

Precipitation (cm)

24.83

17.07

9.70

4.30

2.93

0.90

0.23

0.20

1.26

6.49

11.79

25.49

Water (°C)

16

16

16

17

20

23

25

27

26

24

20

18

Around April, when you can perfectly get a suntan and the weather is much more bearable than summer months, is one of the best times to visit the city.

Get in

Antalya is the closest airport, served by inexpensive flights from Istanbul. (As low as $50, early booking is also available for lower prices).

By plane

Being 10 km from the city from Antalya, Antalya Airport [1] (IATA: AYT; ICAO: LTAI) caters for the charter flights full of holiday makers. Airlines that serve Antalya include: Transavia.com [2](lowcost and charters from Netherlands, France and Denmark), AtlasJet [3] (domestic flights), SunExpress [4] (dozens of flights from all over Europe), Turkish Airlines [5] (plenty of flights from Ankara and İstanbul-Atatürk), Aeroflot [6] (daily flights from Moscow-Sheremetyevo), Ukraine International Airlines [7] (several charter flights a week from Kiev) to Antalya. Britain is also represented by numerous Charter firms such as Thomas Cooks and Airtours.

As of March 2011, a taxi ride between the airport and the city centre will set you back € 18 (38 TL [8]) during the day. Other, more wallet-friendly options for the airport transportation include: Havaş buses can be used which are more expensive but more frequent, and they are departing on the hour from "Güllük PTT" (10 TL). There are public buses from the airport (line 202, "Terminal-Otogar") which leave on the hour and some half hours and cost 1.75 TL. To catch the public bus from the International Terminal you have to go to the domestic terminal (300m, just turn right when you leave the International Terminal), there is a small blue "D" sign next to a larger ficus tree. The blue "D" sign next to the taxi stand in front of the International Terminal won't get you nowhere, waiting there usually attracts taxi drivers (telling you truthfully: "There is no bus leaving here!") offering a ride.

To avoid taxi scams and learn routes in Antalya, you can use this up-to-date cab fare estimation tool: [9]

By bus

In Antalya, buses pass from anywhere to any destination in the city. Fares are low and most buses offer air-conditioning and TV even for short routes. To travel to remote places you may need to travel to the bus terminal first. The bus terminal has its own buses with distinctive blue stripes. As of 2011 bus terminal to city to airport travel (Bus 202, "Terminal-Otogar") is possible every 30min.

By boat

Most travelers arrive in Marmaris from Rhodes, Greece, then bus it overland. You can also take a ferry from Kastellorizo, a tiny Greek island just off the Turkish fishing village of Kas.

By train

The nearest train station is in Burdur, 122 km north. Although Turkish State Railways (TCDD) [11] ceased to operate direct passenger trains to Burdur from Istanbul, you can still buy a ticket for Pamukkale Express, which has sleeper berths as well as a coach car. You should get off the train in Dinar station and transfer to the connecting bus provided by TCDD (no extra payment other than your train ticket). Once in Burdur, all you need is to catch a minibus for Antalya, which takes one and a half hour and costs 9 TL/person one-way. All this may seem a bit of a hassle, but it is still an option if you are on a tight budget, keen on reducing your carbon footprint or hold an Inter Rail pass.

The Pamukkale Express is NOT operating as of April 2009 and it is unclear when or IF it will resume service.

Get around

Antalya offers a variety of public transportation, such as public buses, trams, mini-buses, taxicabs and dolmus.

By bus

In Antalya, buses pass from anywhere to any destination in the city. Fares are low and most buses offer air-conditioning and TV even for short routes. To travel to remote places you may need to travel to the bus terminal first. The bus terminal has its own buses with distinctive blue stripes. As of 2011 bus terminal to city to airport travel (Bus 202, "Terminal-Otogar") is possible every 30min.

By dolmus

Dolmus literally means "filled up". Dolmus is a large cab, a station wagon, a regular taxi or a minibus that travels a certain route. Most major public transportation stations have a dolmus station, where you just take a seat in the dolmus that travels your desired route. In Antalya dolmus does not wait until it fills up. Instead, it is scheduled. However, if empty dolmus will move slowly hoping to find more passenger. Still it has to abide its schedule and cannot stall much.

By taxi

There are taxi stands all over the city where the drivers have their base and tea pot. Each taxi is metered and there are two different rates. After midnight (24:00) till morning (06:00) it will cost 50% more than the daytime fare. For popular destinations there are price lists showing the rate in Euro. A fair rate is about TRY 0.8 to 1 per kilometer.

You can also negotiate with any taxi driver to be your private tour guide. You also have to pay the gas money. This option could be quiet expensive but if you have the money, it is worth it!

By tram

The (historic) tramway has been donated by the German city of Nuremberg and connects the western Konyaalti Beach and Antalya Museum to the eastern part of the city center. It runs all 30 min. in either direction and costs 1.75 TL per person. Tramway can be used for sightseeing as it passes most beautiful places of the city center. The new tram system ("AntRay") currently (04/2011) consists of one line, serving the route Fatih-Otogar-Muratpaşa-Ismetpaşa-Meydan every 15min during the day. To get to the Kaleiçi or to the interconnection with the historic tram line, get off at Ismetpaşa station. Tickets (1.75TL) can be obtained at the stores around the stations or at specific AntRay-counters (e.g., at the Otogar). If you're unsure, just ask the helpful station guards.

By car rental

Car rentals are available in the bus terminal, air port and city center. It is advised not to use car to reach city center (specially Cumhuriyet, Atatürk, Isiklar streets, Sarampol street and old city), as finding a car park and the way people drive (sometimes you feel like you are in the race tracks) might be difficult. Be sure to abide non-parking restrictions, the municipality is very strict about it. There are destination signs on roads to help travelers. Also most of the younger locals know English will be pleased to help about your destination. You can also obtain city map from tourist information desks in the city center.

By bicycle

Using bicycle in crowded roads might be dangerous and tiresome(especially in summer as the temperature hits high 40's at noon (100F-120F). However, there are a few bicycle-only roads passing beside the sea having incredible views.

See

Antalya is rich in history and art.

- The old quarter, Kaleiçi, has narrow, winding streets enclosed in ancient city walls, which now protect the peaceful quarter from the noise of the concrete metropolis of a million people. Although there are other entrances, it is best to enter and exit the old quarter from charming Hadrianus Gate, built by the Roman emperor Hadrianus as the entrance arch to the city.

- There's a great archaeology museum and plenty of historic buildings and ancient ruins nearby.

- Aspendos Theater (ancient Roman theater)

Do

Most of Antalya's historic buildings can be found along the narrow, winding streets of Kaleiçi, the old quarter. Historical, architectural and archaeological sites of note include: Yivli Minaret, Karatay Medresesi, Hıdırlık Tower, Ahi Yusuf Mescidi, Iskele Mosque, Murat Paşa Mosque, Tekeli Mehmet Paşa Mosque, Balibey Mosque, Musellim Mosque, Seyh Sinan Efendi Mosque, Hadrian Arch, and the Clock Tower. Many structures date back to the Hellenistic era. Also The Antalya Museum has a notable archaeology collection.

- Walk around and chill at Karaalıoğlu Park or observe fishermen at lively Yacht Harbour

- Shop at great malls; 5M Migros, Özdilek and Deepo Outlet Center.

- The hill of Tünektepe, with a height of 618 m/2009 ft, west of the city has a splendid panorama of Antalya. On the top of it, there is a hotel, a rotating restaurant, and a nightclub, although the club is mostly open for private parties only.

You can take a short scenic cruise on the Mediterranean from the boats anchored in the harbor. Assume that the right price is about half of the first price you are offered. Don't believe their assurances that the boat is leaving right away--the boat will leave when the owners think there is no reasonable chance that more passengers can be persuaded to board. Morning cruises tend to be calmer than afternoon cruises.

Buy

The usual souvenirs, kilims, blue eyes, fake designer clothing, shoes, aromatic herbs, waterpipes and more. Pharmacies sell most prescription drugs completely legal just over the counter and at low prices. A wide array of generics (drugs containing the same agent as a brand medicine, but from less known companies) is also available. Bestsellers include Viagra, Prozac, Ventolin, Xenical, various contraceptive pills and antibiotics.

A word of caution

The export of antiques or objects considered so is strictly forbidden and will cause a lot of problems not to say hefty fines to those caught when leaving the country. Possession and possibly even commerce in Turkey is legal - just the export is banned. Be on your guard and don't believe sellers who may try to convince you of the opposite. Also, customs back home target more and more faked goods such as video, CDs, shoes, watches and the like. The odds of being caught are minimal, but you should know that you are moving on illegal terrain.

Eat

Food is extemely cheap, and good. Full meals will cost you about 5 to 10 Turkish Lira, about 3 to 7 US Dollars. Service is amazing, and only matched by its genuine friendliness. Antalya has good seafood restaurants as well. One caveat to be aware of is to make sure the quoted price is the same as the price written on the menu.

- Seraser Fine Dining Restaurant, Tuzcular mah. Karanlik sok. No:18 Kaleici/ Antalya, + 90 (0) 242 247 6015 (info@seraserrestaurant.com, fax: + 90 (0) 242 241 1981), [12]. 15:00-01:00.

- MCYörüks, Atatürk Street 68 (Located between Işıklar and Karaoğlan Park). A middle class semi-casual restaurant located in City Center serving dishes and alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks from Western, Islamic and Turkish world as well as fast food with live music every evening and night.Prices are cheap and no more than 10 Euros per person for a full meal.

Drink

Antalya has a lively nightlife in summer. Options include bars with nargile (water pipe), games, live music and sitting around, discotheques with glamorous visitors, etc. On Konyaalti's Beach Park one club follows the next. Some of traditional houses of Kaleiçi (Old City) has been turned into bars, in which a bottle of 'Efes' beer costs between 3 TL and 5 TL, depending on the place. Their gardens shaded by trees offer a nice escape with a beer from the peak of summer heat. Raki is a traditional alcoholic beverage that tastes like licorice. Make sure you do not drink it fast otherwise you will be out quickly.

Sleep

You can just stroll around (with luggage) and you won't have to wait for long until you'll be offered 'Pansiyon' (Hostel) accommodation. Almost every second house in the Old Town is a small hotel. A couple of years ago summers used to be packed but those days seem to be gone. The big share of visitors to this region are package tourists being channeled through 'all inclusive' programs outside the city. The going rate for a double room with ensuite is TRY 20-35 per night/room. In Lara, a suburb of Antalya, there are a lot of well designed 5-star hotels.

- Whitegarden Hotel / Pansiyon, Kaleiçi, Hesapçı Geçidi 9, 0242-241 91 15, 0242-247 41 66, [13]. Simple, clean and cheap hotel in the old town offers friendly service and good Turkish breakfast. 40 ytl.

- Terra Anatolia House / Pansiyon, Kaleiçi, Hesapçı Geçidi 5, 0242-244 37 35, [14]. This is a bed & breakfast type small hotel in the old city area of Antalya. 25 Euro.

- Sibel / Pansiyon, Kaleiçi, Fırın Sok. 30, 0242-241 13 16. Very nice hotel owned by a warmhearted French woman who also speaks German and Turkish. Rooms have aircon, satellite TV and private bathrooms. It is quiet at night and the breakfast is delicious. 25 Euro.

Splurge

- Alp Pasa Hotel, Barbaros Mah. Hesapçı Sok. 30, Kaleiçi (Old City) (100 metres from Hadrian’s Gate.), +90(242)247 56 76 (info@alppasa.com), [15]. checkin: 14:00; checkout: 12:00. Luxury boutique style hotel in the historical district, also has a up-scale restaurant on the premesis

- Tuvana Hotel, Tuzcular mah. Karanlık sok. No:18 Kaleiçi Antalya, +90(242)247 60 15 (info@tuvanahotel.com, fax: +90(242)241 19 81), [16]. Located within old town "Kaleiçi". 45 rooms and suites, restaurant “Seraser” on site.

Get out

Kemer to the south west is a touristic sea side region popular with the historical places, night life and hotels which is half an hour from Antalya city. Alanya to the south east is a popular tourist destination 2 hours away. Side to the east is popular with golf links and luxury hotels. Kaş which is about 2 hours drive from Antalya can be another excellent choice for extended holiday if you decide to run away from the whole crowd. Trains and buses arrive in the travel hub of Denizli. From there, dolmus take you the 10 miles or so to Pamukkale. During high season, buses run direct from tourist centers including Istanbul, Antalya, Ankara, Fethiye, Bodrum, Marmaris and Selçuk. Kalkan which is half an hour further west of Kas. A beautiful upmarket harbour town with cobbled streets and high quality restaurants. Nearby Patara has the best golden sand beach on the Mediterranean coast, and can be visited even if you are not staying there. Cirali is a coastal town even closer, with several mid-range, quiet pansiyons to stay at, including Hotel Canada, with pleasant gardens. The beach at Cirali is protected from development because sea turtles come onto shore every year to lay their eggs. The beach at nearby Olimpos is also a nice, pebble beach. Accommodations in Olimpos are more backpacker style, with treehouses especially popular with younger travelers. Demre further west from Olympos, and is the site of the St Nicolas Church, assoicated with the real Santa Claus (don't miss the larger than life Santa Claus statue in town.) Also just outside Demre are Lycian rock tombs in the cliffsides. The Antalya region has some of the finest Roman ruins in the country, including Perge and Aspendos, with the largest, most well preserved Roman amphitheater anywhere.

- If you intend to head north by hitchhiking, take public minibuses #25 or #57 which stops at city bus stops near the otogar. These minibus lines take you to a highway junction with traffic lights out of city, situated amidst pine woods. This junction is not the last stop so be sure not to miss the stop situated there. (fare: YTL 1.35/person)