🇹🇷Antalya
Turkey's Mediterranean resort capital — turquoise coves, Roman ruins a short drive from the beach, and an Ottoman old town wedged between palm trees and the harbor.
Mid-range figures, per person
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and comfort scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Fares are into Istanbul. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus connect onward to every other city here for $30–80. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Is Antalya expensive to visit?
Not especially: a mid-range day in Antalya costs $45–100 per person, and its $70 midpoint is 22% below the $90 median across all 127 cities here. Within Türkiye it runs 9% above the $64 average of our 10 Türkiye guides. That makes it pricier than 45 of the 127 cities, with a cheap meal at $3–6 and a mid-range hotel at $60–140 a night.
How much does a trip to Antalya cost?
| Trip length | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days | $75–180 | $135–300 | $240–540 |
| 5 days | $125–300 | $225–500 | $400–900 |
| 7 days | $175–420 | $315–700 | $560–1,260 |
| 14 days | $350–840 | $630–1,400 | $1,120–2,520 |
Per person and before flights, 3 days in Antalya costs $135–300 mid-range, five days $225–500, a week $315–700 and two weeks $630–1,400; a week costs about $175–420 on a budget and $560–1,260 travelling in comfort.
Per person in US dollars, flights not included. Each total is a daily range from the band above multiplied out: mid-range is the guide's researched figure and already includes a mid-range room; budget and comfort scale it by 0.6 and 1.8, so treat those two as rough. The trip calculator lets you set your own days and group size.
Entry & visa
Same as the rest of Türkiye — many Western passports enter visa-free or via e-Visa; check evisa.gov.tr before flying.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Antalya's economy runs on resort tourism, so prices bifurcate hard: an all-inclusive beach resort strip charges near-European rates, while Kaleiçi's back streets and local lokantas are as cheap as anywhere in Turkey. Cards are widely accepted at hotels and restaurants; carry some lira for beach clubs, markets, and dolmuş fares.
What locals earn
| Earnings | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage (2025) | ₺22,104/month (≈ $560) | seasonal tourism jobs often pay near this baseline plus tips |
| Average monthly salary (Antalya) | ≈ $650–900 equivalent | boosted by the tourism and export-agriculture sectors relative to inland Anatolia |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Simit or pastry from a bakery | ₺20–40 | $0.50–1 |
| Piyaz or köfte plate, local lokanta | ₺150–280 | $4–7 |
| Fresh fish lunch on the harbor, per person | ₺500–900 | $13–23 |
| Mid-range dinner, per person | ₺500–1,000 | $13–25 |
| Beach club day-bed + minimum spend | ₺1,000–2,500 | $25–65 |
| Turkish coffee · fresh orange juice | ₺60–150 | $1.50–4 |
Transport
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Antray tram or city bus ride (Antalyakart) | ₺20–25 | $0.50–0.65 |
| Dolmuş (shared minibus) short hop | ₺25–40 | $0.65–1 |
| Taxi, short cross-town ride | ₺150–350 | $4–9 |
| AYT airport → Kaleiçi, taxi | ₺600–900 | $15–23 |
| AYT airport → center, HAVAŞ shuttle bus | ₺180 | $4.50 |
| Day trip minibus to Aspendos or Perge | ₺— | $25–45 |
Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | $12–25 | Concentrated in Kaleiçi, walkable to the harbor |
| Budget boutique hotel (Kaleiçi) | $45–80 | Restored Ottoman houses around courtyards, often with a small pool |
| Mid-range hotel or resort | $80–160 | Either central Kaleiçi or a beach-strip resort in Lara or Konyaaltı |
| All-inclusive luxury resort | $200–500+ | The Belek and Lara strips specialize in these — often booked as package holidays from Europe |
Been recently? Check our prices
One tap per figure. Check-ins reset whenever this guide is re-priced, so they only ever vouch for the numbers you see here.
Trip cost calculator
$70 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel or resort)
A rough estimate, not a quote. The daily budget already includes a room, so one traveler pays exactly days × that budget; lodging is the room’s part of it, priced from the hotels below but never more than 45% of the trip. Extra travelers share the room and add only their own spending. Flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- Antalyakart
- The city's transit card covers the Antray tram and city buses — pick one up at a kiosk near any tram stop; it stretches your money over İstanbulkart-style single fares.
- Dolmuş (shared minibus)
- Cheap and frequent along the coastal routes to Lara and Konyaaltı beaches — flag one down or wait at a marked stop, pay the driver in cash.
- Taxis / ride-hailing
- Plentiful; agree the fare or confirm the meter is running, especially from resort-strip hotels where longer routes to the airport are common.
- Rental car
- The most efficient way to combine Kaleiçi, the waterfalls, and the ancient sites (Perge, Aspendos, Termessos) in a multi-day visit — roads are excellent and well signed.
- On foot
- Kaleiçi's old town is compact, cobbled, and best explored on foot, with the harbor and clifftop park a short walk from anywhere inside the walls.
Map
Drag to look around, or open Google Maps ↗ · Apple Maps ↗
Neighborhoods to stay in
- Kaleiçi (old town)
- Ottoman houses, the historic harbor, cobbled lanes — the atmospheric, walkable choice and best base for a short city stay.
- Konyaaltı
- A long pebble beach backed by clifftop parks and a modern promenade; more of a local, less package-tour feel than Lara.
- Lara
- The classic resort strip — sandy beach, big all-inclusive hotels, a short taxi from Kaleiçi.
- Belek
- Golf-and-resort territory east of the city, sandy beaches and pine forest, best if you want a resort-only stay rather than city sightseeing.
Things to do
Nightlife
Restaurants
Theater & shows
Tipping & etiquette
- Beachwear stays at the beach — cover up when walking through Kaleiçi's streets or visiting mosques.
- Mosque etiquette applies at any of the old town's working mosques: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, quiet during prayer times.
- Bargaining is normal in Kaleiçi's souvenir shops, less so at fixed-price beach or resort businesses.
- Many resorts and restaurants serve alcohol freely and expect Western dress norms — Antalya is markedly more secular and tourism-adapted than inland Anatolia.
- If you rent a car for the ancient sites, bring cash for small on-site parking fees — cards aren't always accepted at rural ticket booths.
How to spend an trip to Antalya
The old town, the beaches and the ancient sites pull in three different directions, and only Kaleiçi is walkable — Perge is about 20 minutes out, Aspendos around 45, Termessos about an hour, so those belong to a day of their own.
One day is Kaleiçi and the sea. Leave the ruins alone entirely — half of them are far enough out that a rushed visit costs you the old town.
- MorningKaleiçi on foot: Hadrian's Gate, the cobbled lanes, and down to the old harbor before the heat builds.
- MiddayThe Antalya Museum, which is a serious collection and air-conditioned at the worst hour of the day.
- AfternoonKonyaaltı beach and the clifftop parks above it, reachable on the Antray tram.
- EveningBack into Kaleiçi for dinner and a drink among the Ottoman houses near Hadrian's Gate.
Three days splits cleanly: the city, the ruins, and the water. This is the length at which Antalya stops being a beach stop and starts being a proper Mediterranean base.
- Day 1Kaleiçi, the harbor and the Antalya Museum, as in the one-day plan.
- Day 2Aspendos and Perge by hire car or organized minibus, with the Düden Waterfalls on the way back.
- Day 3A beach day at Konyaaltı or Lara, then fish on the harbor in the evening.
Five days is the upper end this guide recommends, and it holds up — but only if you treat two of the days as rest rather than sightseeing.
- Days 1–3The three-day plan above: old town, ancient sites, and a beach day.
- Day 4Termessos, which is about an hour out and up a mountain, and the one ruin near Antalya most visitors skip.
- Day 5A full resort or beach-club day at Lara or Belek, doing nothing in particular, which is what the extra day is for.
Safety & common scams
Very safe for tourists — Antalya's economy depends on repeat foreign visitors and the resort areas are correspondingly well policed. The main hazards are heat exhaustion in summer, strong currents at some beaches, and standard petty theft around the harbor and busy tourist streets.
Scams to know
- Overpriced harbor fish restaurants — some waterfront spots serve an unrequested 'welcome' plate of extras and then charge for it; ask what's included before eating anything placed on the table.
- Jet-ski and boat-tour touts — verbal-only price agreements sometimes balloon at settlement; get the price and duration in writing or from a visible price board.
- Taxi long-routing from resort areas to the airport or Kaleiçi — a fixed-price or app-hailed ride avoids the detour.
Emergency numbers: 112 for everything · resort-area hotels typically have English-speaking staff who can mediate with local police if needed
Phone & internet
An eSIM is the easiest option and works the moment you land at AYT; physical tourist SIMs are available at the airport but pricier. Resort and hotel Wi-Fi is near-universal given the package-tourism infrastructure.
First-timer FAQs
Is Antalya just a beach resort, or worth it for sightseeing too?
Both — Kaleiçi's old town, the Antalya Museum, and nearby ancient sites like Perge and Aspendos make it a legitimate history stop, not only a beach base.
How far are the ancient ruins?
Perge is about 20 minutes from the city center, Aspendos around 45 minutes, and Termessos about an hour — all easily done as half- or full-day trips by rental car or organized tour.
Is it too touristy?
The Lara and Belek resort strips are heavily geared to package tourism, but Kaleiçi and Konyaaltı still feel like a real Turkish city with a beach attached, especially outside peak July–August weeks.
How many days do I need?
Two days covers Kaleiçi, the harbor, and one beach afternoon. Four to five lets you add Aspendos, Düden Waterfalls, and a proper resort day without rushing.
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