Antalya Day Trips: 4 Day Itinerary
Four days covers the full Pamphylia core plus the one day trip that pairs ruins with a beach and a genuinely strange evening hike: Olympos and the Chimaera flames. Same spine as the 3 day plan, with one more day added at the end. Want Kekova and Pamukkale too? Jump to the 6 day or 7 day versions.
| Day | Focus | Distance/drive time from Antalya |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perge’s colonnaded street and stadium | 18km, 20 to 30 minutes |
| 2 | Aspendos theatre and Side’s harbor ruins | 47km / 76km, 40 to 45 min / just over 1 hour |
| 3 | Termessos, the mountaintop ruin Alexander gave up on | 37 to 39km, 40 to 45 minutes |
| 4 | Olympos beach-and-ruins, Chimaera flames after dark | 80 to 85km, about 1.5 hours |
Book these before you go
- Book a Perge, Aspendos, and Side day tour for days one and two
- Reserve a discovercars.com rental or book direct for Termessos and Olympos, both need a car or a driver
- Book an Olympos and Chimaera evening tour instead of self-driving the flame hike after dark
- Check rates on Booking.com for your Antalya base
Day 1: Perge, the closest ancient city
Perge is 18km out, 20 to 30 minutes, a colonnaded main street, Roman stadium, and agora. Entry runs somewhere between 100 and 300 TRY depending on the source, verify on site. Settle into Kaleici or Lara for the three longer days ahead.
Day 2: Aspendos and Side, the Pamphylia double
Aspendos, 47km out, has the best-preserved Roman theatre anywhere, hosting the Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival most Septembers; entry runs about 700 TRY (roughly $15, €13), check the current fee on the official museum listing . Side, 76km total, pairs a working beach town with its own Roman ruins, the Temple of Apollo on the harbor point at sunset is the signature shot. Turkey’s official tourism site has more on the wider Pamphylia coast.
Day 3: Termessos, the ruin Alexander couldn’t take
Termessos sits inside Guillik Dagi National Park, 37 to 39km out, a steep shadeless climb rewarded with essentially no tour-bus crowds. Entry runs roughly 100 to 120 TRY, and gates often close mid-afternoon, so start early. Check current access at the official park site before you drive out.
Day 4: Olympos and the Chimaera flames after dark
Why visit the Chimaera flames at night instead of during the day?
The Chimaera at Cirali, a short evening hike from Olympos, is a cluster of natural gas vents that have burned for millennia, reportedly the mythological basis for the Chimera. In daylight the flames wash out against the rock and barely register; after dark they are the entire point. Time the hike for evening, not an afternoon stop on the way back.
Olympos itself, 80 to 85km south via Kemer, about 1.5 hours, combines beach and ancient ruins in a way nothing else on this coast manages. Spend the afternoon on the beach, hike to the flames after sunset, and either drive back to Antalya that night or stay over in Cirali if the evening runs late; both work, but confirm your hotel’s late check-in policy either way.