Antalya - The City Where I Got Lost

Hello my friends. Most people think Antalya is just about beaches and all inclusive hotels. But it's a huge city with cool atmosphere. There's way more to do here than just sitting on the sand. I'm going to show you around the places I found. Right after Istanbul I headed to Antalya. I spent a while figuring out the best way to get to the city center. I almost took a taxi, but I went with the bus instead. However it's impossible to buy the Antalya kart, valid for public transport with a credit card. They only accept cash. Once you leave the airport, reaching these transport stops is no problem at all. They are literally 2 minutes from the exit. Besides there are plenty of staff members always ready to help.

But when it comes to ATMs, there can be issues. There were many machines belonging to different banks and I stuck my card into all of them. I can confidently say the withdrawal commissions were officially unreal. That said there are ATMs in the city center where withdrawals are quite cheap or even commission-free. If you’ve got cash, just grab a card from the machines at the terminal. They’re only in Turkish, but it's pretty easy to guess what to do. There were several buses here. The stops are right at the terminal exit. Bus numbers coming from the airport are usually in the 100s like 400, 600, 800 and probably others. And there is a tram, considered a fast tram, which goes to the city center and is very convenient because you can pay with a credit card. You just tap and go..

I started my tour at the old harbor. This might not be the fastest way to see it all if you're in a rush. But since I had two weeks, I took my time and explored bit by bit. The Port of Antalya was built as early as the second century BCE and served its main commercial purpose until the twentieth century. Then it was reconstructed and the main commercial port was moved outside the city.

There is a walking area at the harbor. Tourist boats depart from here. Most importantly there is an elevator that goes up and down. It's completely free. There's never a queue going down, but going up during peak hours, stroll times or evenings, you might have to wait five or ten minutes. Use the glass elevator if you don't feel like hiking up the hill.

The harbor is tiny but really cool. There are old wooden boats, old walls and a killer view. Moreover there are many different people here, especially in the evenings from crowds of tourists to locals, fishermen and children playing. There are even private beaches tucked away in small coves, hidden from the surrounding noise. Many different tours are offered with yachts and various ships and the prices seemed quite reasonable to me. By the way some of these go directly to Düden waterfall. I’ll talk about that in a bit.

After taking the elevator up, I went into a very authentic, traditional place with a mono-menu consisting of exactly three dishes, two salads and a dessert. The owner cooks everything himself and this place has been here for many years. The food is really magical and this spot can be visited like a tourist attraction. It always makes me a bit sad that such wonderful historical places with rich histories and real traditional food, which support family traditions, aren't usually very popular among tourists despite having their own charm.

The center is bigger than it looks. And my advice, don’t try to do everything in one go. Take your time and just wander through the alleys. Furthermore it's really hard to miss anything important because the streets wind into each other. One flows into the next. Without searching for anything or checking maps, I saw almost all the main points of this city without any special efort.

Right in the center just behind the tourist buildings, is the bazaar where you can buy absolutely anything you want, from baklava and all kinds of Turkish sweets to bags branded Gucci, Prada and other famous labels. I was shocked to find that bargaining at the bazaar was impossible. They would only drop the price by 2-3 euros at most and wouldn't compromise on the price at all. So it seemed quite expensive to me.

My favorite part of every trip is, of course the food. In Turkey the food is especially wonderful, delicious and juicy. I loved the kebabs made with high quality meat. Of course, this isn't that mystery meat you get at cheap fastfood joints. It's not the cheapest, but you're getting the real deal.

And of course it’s impossible to just walk past the desserts. You just want to keep eating them because they taste as good as they look. Baklava, Turkish delight, churchkhela. The open sold baklava is much more expensive than what you can get at a store, but it's worth it.

After the harbor, I went to Lower Düden waterfall. I went there from the harbor because I was staying nearby and I walked through a beautiful park toward the waterfall itself. This is where the Düden River flows into the sea. It’s quite beautiful and pleasant. The breeze keeps it nice and cool. It’s about forty minutes by bus if you’re coming from downtown.

You can feel how big it is as you get closer. The mist hits your face. The sound of the water is just beautiful. It’s actually the biggest waterfall in the world that empties into the sea and located in the park of the same name. This is Lower Düden. There is also Upper Düden, which is located somewhere in the middle of the city.

A key feature of this waterfall is that you can see a rainbow at almost any moment. It’s definitely worth coming here. I liked the waterfall. And seeing planes take off against the backdrop of the waterfall is very cool. The locals say that when taking off and flying out of here, you can see the waterfall from above. I think it’s worth taking the time for. A beautiful waterfall, a beautiful park. There are many benches in this park. Naturally they sell everything. There are many people and tourists. In the Düden waterfall area, thereare places to walk, drink a cup of coffee and watch the beautiful scenery.

I have to talk about the beaches too. There are really many Antalya beaches. This city was created for a beach holiday. Most of this beaches are completely free. Usually there are small pebbles, though there are beaches made entirely of sand. Walking on them definitely doesn't hurt. But if you're sensitive, it's probably better to get some water shoes.

There are many beach clubs and beach cafes. From there, you can rent umbrellas with sunbeds or large sofas for multiple people. The prices seemed quite reasonable to me. For example, we got a sunbed for 400 lira. So two sunbeds and an umbrella would be 800 lira. Or for example, at our beach club, a large sofa for a group surrounded by three or four umbrellas is 1000 lira. And it’s really, really comfortable.

There are also paid beaches. If you prefer, there might even be sand there or pontoons with ladders into the water and nothing else. So it’s possible to find everything here for every taste and every budget. And since the city stretches along the coastline, everywhere is a promenade, which is quite beautiful. I actually like these kinds of beaches a lot. Antalya has earned a place in my heart for beach holidays. It probably really can offer so much variety.

I absolutely loved Turkish coffee. Actually it's one of the cheapest things and they take the longest to make it. It's like espresso, but they put a lot of sugar in it. It becomes something sweet. The sea is already a fairytale. By the way drinks in bars and on beaches are quite cheap. They drink tea everywhere and constantly. It's much cheaper than everything else, about the price of a small bottle of water.

It would also make sense to mention the Konyaaltı beach, which is really massive and wide and everything you read about it on the internet turns out to be true. It underwent a major renovation and is currently the longes in all of Turkey. My personal feeling is that it is really high clas. Very beautiful, good infrastructure, wide lanes, many cafes, many venues, everything is trimmed and there are many sports fields. In general walking there, especially in the evenings, is very, very pleasant.

In many countries I see a tradition where people head out to the beaches and promenades in large families in the evening. The whole family brings out chairs and sets up large tables like camping tables. And they eat, chat, play dominoes or cards. And it’s not just fast food or something similar. They bring a pot of soup or cook rice in their pans right there. As a rule, many have gas stoves with large teapots for tea.

So they prepare and eat a full-fledged dinner. And this can be seen in massive amounts every evening, not just on weekends. I like this. It’s somehow very heartfelt and creates a sense of peace. There are McDonald's, Burger Kings, some local chain coffee shops and very trendy chill zones with nice lighting. But because the beach area is very massive in length, these are all concentrated in one place. As you get closer to the center, there are many venues and lots of things to do and it immediately becomes very, very cool and fun.

While there are many venues on one side, on the other there is a quieter area with fewer people where you can just relax and no one will disturb you. The venue is located right on Konyaaltı beach. The food looks very nice. The price is a bit higher. Generally, prices in all restaurants on the beach are above average. Here, dishes are usually 400 plus. In general there are really many European style venues. They are quite beautiful, at a good level and I probably couldn't highlight one specific place. When talking about the center of Antalya, it’s impossible not to mention the old town, Kaleiçi and Hadrian’s Gate. The gate is a triumphal arch built in honor of the Roman emperor’s visit. Unfortunately during my visit, as often happens there was restoration work, so the photo didn't turn out very well.

In the old city itself behind the gate, houses from the Ottoman Empire era have been preserved. And naturally, this is the main attraction for tourists. There are many people, many souvenirs and many cafes. And speaking of souvenirs, naturally you can buy everything you can imagine here. But I would highlight the rugs because there are so many rug shops and boutiques. For example, I liked the mini rugs. There are even mousepad rugs here. All of this looks very cool and authentic. And most interestingly, I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else.

It's very cool, everywhere is clean, beautiful and well-maintained. Naturally there is a lot of trade, but I was afraid it would be overly intrusive. Of course, they make offers, but I would just shake my head no and no one insisted. Everyone is very kind and friendly. There are many parks in Antalya. I visited Atatürk Park. There is a very beautiful view of the sea and mountains. It’s quite large and also contains many elevators that go down to the shore and the Konyaaltı beaches.

And the Konyaaltı beach continues for 8-9 km. It's very beautiful. In general there are many parks or small courtyards. They are all partitioned off, maintained and watered. They are very green. But honestly besides this, there are some areas that are clearly old, with old buildings and houses, probably belonging to someone and not used at all. Generally speaking, the contrast is very high.

I never thought I would highlight a place specifically for cats, but yes, I am highlighting Atatürk Park precisely because of the cats. You can't even imagine how many there are here. It's officially unreal. It’s as if you’ve fallen into a cartoon where the world is filled only with cats and no humans.

This park also opens up beautiful views of the sea and the cliffs. And the obvious advantage for a tourist is that you don't need to walk or drive anywhere to get there. You take any elevator up from Konyaaltı beach and 2 minutes later, you are in the world of cats. Among the many parks, I personally would highlight the very small Yavuz Özcan Park near the harbor, which has an exquisite view of both part of the harbor and an immense canyon.

When you have free time, you can also visit the Atatürk museum. Atatürk is generally a very important figure for all of Turkey. And this house was gifted to him by the city residents during his visit in 1930. Later Atatürk stayed in this house several times during his visits to Antalya. That is why there are many of his personal belongings and furniture from that time here. And this museum is completely free. From the Atatürk museum, you can walk to the old city Kaleiçi, along the coast in literally 10 minutes.