Unwind in a Relaxing Holiday in Alanya: A 5-Day Itinerary on the Southern Coast in Turkey

If you want to have the most perfect holiday mixed with a bit of adventure, look no further and come to Alanya in Turkey! Being part of the Turkish Riviera makes Alanya the perfect start for your vacation in the sun and near the beach, but also, close to nature. Read further and let yourself be surprised by the beauty of Alanya!

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For your information, all these pictures were taken in May 2024.

Some information about Alanya

Alanya is a region located on the southern coast of Turkey and is part of the Turkish Riviera. Because of the warmer climate, the interesting archaeological sites and stunning nature, this makes it a very popular holiday destination. Alanya is perfectly located between the Mediterranean sea and Taurus mountains.

There are many different sights to visit in and near Alanya, making it one of the most visited seaside resorts of the Turkish Riviera. For example, you can wander around the city center itself or visit the ancient Side nearby.

How to get to Alanya?

Turkey is located mostly in West Asia and borders the Black Sea to the north, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east, Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south and lastly, the Aegean Sea, Greece, and Bulgaria to the west.

Alanya is closely located to Antalya, which is a bigger city often visited by tourists. This is one way to reach Alanya, but there are many ways. Read them here below:

1 | With the plane

Alanya can be reached by two airports: Antalya Airport and Gazipasa Alanya Airport. The first one is the biggest, but also the furthest away. It takes around 2 hours to reach Alanya through this way. The other airport called Gazipasa is only 50 minutes away from Alanya and is a better option to fly into. Another bonus is that the airport is smaller, which makes the waiting time shorter as well.

2 | With public transportation

Turkey has an excellent public transportation system and is a great way to explore the country. Its buses and trains are well-connected across the whole country. So, if you don’t feel like renting a car, public transportation will normally be no problem.

3 | By car

You can also come to Alanya by car, but it would depend on which country you depart from. Turkey is a very big country, so this mode of transportation isn’t recommended.

How to get around Alanya?

Travelling around Alanya wouldn’t be a big problem. We travelled around the region with an excursion van of Corendon itself. This was the perfect way to just relax and see the locations without needing to drive for yourself. You can also opt to rent a car and drive for yourself.

Best time to visit Alanya

The best time to visit Alanya largely depends on the specific regions and activities you’re interested in. But in general, the ideal times to visit are in the spring (April to June) and autumn (September to November). I visited Alanya in May and it was perfect to visit everything without that many people around.

The summer will be the peak season for tourists, leading to crowded attractions and higher prices. The temperatures are also more hot with temperatures often exceeding 30°C.

Alanya Itinerary Map

Alanya itinerary: Day 1

Total driving distance: 54.5 kilometers (33.9 miles)

The first day is all about arriving in Alanya and going to your hotel to check in! After a long travel day, this will just be a relaxing and chill day.

1 | Check in at Aria Resort

After your flight into the Gazipasa Alanya Airport, it’s time for a transfer to Alanya itself! I arrived pretty late into Turkey, which made this day a check-in day into the Aria Resort Hotel. The transfer to the hotel went pretty smoothly and after arriving into the hotel, there was a late night snack waiting for me. So thoughtful after a long travel day!

The Aria Resort Hotel is the perfect place to stay for your stay in Alanya, and let me tell you why! This hotel is closely located to the city center of Alanya, which makes it perfect to explore. But, it’s also far enough to have a relaxing holiday. With its private beach, different swimming pools, a spa, 5 bars and a restaurant, there is something for everyone!

Alanya itinerary: Day 2

Total driving distance: 140 kilometers (87 miles)

On the second day, we had a day full of activities planned! It was a longer drive, but so worth it! Get ready to dive in the finest nature of the region today.

2 | A visit to the Sapadere Canyon

Our first activity was directly a hit, as we indulged ourselves in the beautiful Sapadere Canyon! It’s a recently new tourist attraction as it only opened in 2008, and was only known by locals before. The canyon is truly a pleasure to wander around, as you will be greeted by many waterfalls. If you’re brave enough, you can even concur the cold water and swim in the designated locations.

Some information about the canyon:

Trail: The canyon is around 750 meters long and ends with a waterfall.
Entrance fee: 100 TRY for an adult, 30 TRY for a student and children are free
Opening hours: The canyon is open everyday between 8 AM and 8 PM.

3 | Have a relaxing lunch at Dimcay

Time for a delicious lunch at Dimcay, close to the next location. It truly was a stunning and peaceful setting, with the sound of water underneath you. Sitting on the floor cross-legged is a different way of eating that I’m used to, but nonetheless a fun one. The food itself was also very good! There were a lot of options on the menu, that it was hard to make a decision.

4 | Explore the Dim Caves

Another fun activity on the planning was a visit to the Dim Caves. I have seen a few caves in my live, and I really loved this one. It’s a pretty small one, but it has a truly stunning setting inside the cave. The lights are not to bright and the path is an addition to the location, not a disturbance.

The best part is the lake at the end of the cave, which has some figures in the rocks. Another fun fact is that the cave has a constant temperature of 18°C throughout the year!

Some information about the canyon:

Trail: The cave is around 410 meters long, but only 360 meters is available for tourists.
Entrance fee: 200 TRY for an adult
Opening hours: The canyon is open everyday between 9 AM to 7 PM between April and October. And is open between 9 AM to 5 PM between November and March.

5 | Relax at the hotel and have dinner at their restaurant Pera

After such a day full of sightseeing, it’s time to go back to the hotel and relax at the pool for a bit. Afterwards, get ready for a delicious meal at the Aria Resort restaurant called Pera. The restaurant is open from 6.30 PM to 9 PM. If you’re stomach is full, we watched the show of the hotel for some animation and drank something at the bar to end our day!

Alanya itinerary: Day 3

Total driving distance: 124 kilometers (77 miles)

On the third day, we explored Manavgat a bit better and there is so much to see! And as a bonus, all so closeby, which made it a nice day trip from Alanya.

6 | Start your day with a relaxing boat trip at Manavgat

There isn’t a better way to start your day than by a boat trip on the relaxing Manavgat river. Sailing across the different bends and passing by some locals fishing makes this a must experience in Manavgat. Our boat trip started at 10.30 AM and we sailed all the way where the river meets the Mediterranean Sea. Here, we laid ashore to relax for an hour on a small beach.

Afterwards, it’s time to go back on the boat and set sail to your starting point. At the same time, the crew prepared a delicious lunch with chicken or fish. This made the experience even better! You can book this excursion directly with Corendon.

7 | Indulge in culture by visiting Manavgat Mosque

It was time to indulge in some culture after the boat trip, so that’s why we visited the Manavgat Mosque! After only a 2 minute drive, we needed to take our shoes off and dress appropriately by covering our hair and shoulders, which are provided by the entrance. The mosque itself is relatively new as it was built in 2002 and only opened for visitors in 2004. The entrance is free. Islam plays an important role in the lives of Turkey. That’s why it’s also important to pay a visit to these monuments.

8 | See the magnificent Manavgat Waterfall

The drive from the mosque to the waterfall only took 10 minutes. Time to get out of the car and pay for the entrance of the waterfall, which is 30 TRY. Even though the waterfall isn’t that high with its 5 meters, the width makes up for it. There are many shops closeby the waterfall, that you can have do a little shopping at the same time.

9 | Visit the Ancient City of Side

It’s time to say goodbye to Manavgat and hello to Side. The combination of a modern and ancient town is the perfect ending of your day. As we got dropped of at the beginning of Side, we wandered around all the ancient Roman sites spread across the city. It’s such an interesting way to incorporate some history in your trip to Alanya. There is also one of the biggest amphitheaters in Turkey that you can visit, but the entrance price would be €17. The newer part of the city is perfect for shopping and wandering around the harbour!

A fun fact about Side: the name means pomegranate. This is because of a legend where the goddess Side turns into a pomegranate tree. That’s why it’s the symbol of Side and why you will see lots of different products including pomegranate.

10 | End the day with a delicious dinner at Restaurant Elia

Ending the day with a meal at the harbour of Side is truly a magical sight. With the sunset on one side and the good company on the other side, it couldn’t get better! And the food itself at Restaurant Elia was also to dream from. They offer a wide range of different food categories, which made it hard to decide what to eat.

Alanya itinerary: Day 4

Total driving distance: 50.6 kilometers (31.4 miles)

You can’t leave Alanya, without visiting Alanya itself! So, that’s why the last day is all for discovering the city center itself, so the drive today will not be that long.

11 | Start the day by discovering Alanya by foot

It’s time to visit the city center itself! We decided to walk around for a few hours, just taking it all in. It’s perfect for shopping, but also just looking around. What we noticed a lot were the different decorations spread across the city, which made it even more fun to take photographs and wander around! Don’t forget to try and bargain for your findings at the shops. The tip is to try to get 30% off any item you try to buy.

12 | Take a look around the Port and the Red Tower

While getting closer to the harbour, it’s hard not to notice the Red Tower. This was used as a watchtower to protect the city from pirates. Next to the Red Tower is the Castle Wall, which consists of 140 towers. We visited the castle later on with the cable car, but first, we wandered around the Castle Wall for some good views!

13 | Make a small stop at the Kleopatra beach

Before going up to the castle, we stopped to make a short visit to the Kleopatra beach, which has a beautiful view over the castle. The rumours were that Cleopatra and her fiancé went on their honeymoon to Alanya, which explains the name of the beach. I can understand why they decided to come to Alanya, as it’s a beautiful location.

14 | Take the cable car up to Alanya Castle

Now it’s finally time to get the cable car to the top of the city! Be prepared for some of the best views of the city center from above. Once you go 900 meters with the cable car up, you’ll immediately enter the castle. It’s so much fun exploring the city walls as you walk past shops, the oldest mosque in Alanya, and all that with the most stunning views!

Some information about the cable car:

Cable car: The cable car takes you 900 meters up
Entrance fee: 345 TRY for an adult
Opening hours: The cable car is open everyday between 9.30 AM to 10 PM.

15 | Have a lunch with a view at Gardenia Restaurant

If you’re not tired of the views allover, you can stop for lunch at the Gardenia Restaurant at the top of Alanya. There was once again a lot of different food options to choose from! I can only imagine that having dinner at sunset is even more magical.

16 | Relax at the hotel and prepare for a diner at the city center at Lost

After exploring the city center, we went back to our hotel to relax a bit at the pool or the private beach of Aria Resort Hotel. We opted for dinner at the city center of Alanya at Restaurant Lost, and this was the best idea as the food, the atmosphere and the location was all top notch! And as a bonus, we got live music to accompany our food. I can really recommend going here.

Alanya itinerary: Day 5

Total driving distance: 115 kilometers (71.5 miles)

Today is the day that we left Alanya and flew back to Belgium.

17 | Prepare to go back home

This day will be a transfer day to Antalya airport. You can also fly back home at the Gazipasa airport, which will save you a bit more time as this is closer located to Alanya. If your flight is later in the afternoon, you still have time to enjoy the hotel, but if you have an early flight like we did, it’s just a check-out and leave Alanya.

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Travel blogger

Hello, I’m Ellen and welcome to this blog! I’m in love with exploring the world and hopefully I get to inspire you with these blog posts and pictures to feel the same. You will find detailed itineraries, hidden gems, tips and so much more!

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