Antalya Day Trips: 6 Day Itinerary
Six days keeps the 5 day Pamphylia-Olympos-Pamukkale spine intact and tacks on the coast’s hardest single day trip, Kas and Kekova, done as one long haul rather than the overnight it deserves. If a seventh day is available, take it; our 7 day itinerary splits this same day six into an overnight in Kas plus a relaxed Kekova boat morning.
| 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 |
| 5 | Pamukkale’s travertine terraces and Hierapolis | 250 to 300km, 3.5 to 4 hours each way |
| 6 | Kas harbor and the Kekova sunken city by boat | 190km, 3 to 3.5 hours each way |
Book these before you go
- Book a Perge, Aspendos, and Side day tour for days one and two
- Book an Olympos and Chimaera evening tour for day four
- Check Pamukkale tour options for day five
- Reserve the Kekova boat tour ahead for day six, the one booking here that genuinely sells out
- 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, verify on site. Settle into Kaleici or Lara for the five 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). Side, 76km total, pairs a working beach town with its own Roman ruins.
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 no tour-bus crowds. Entry runs roughly 100 to 120 TRY, gates often close mid-afternoon. Check current access at the official park site first.
Day 4: Olympos and the Chimaera flames after dark
Olympos, 80 to 85km south via Kemer, pairs beach and ancient ruins. The Chimaera flames at Cirali are natural gas vents best hiked after dark, when they actually show up against the rock. Drive back to Antalya that night, or overnight in Cirali if the evening runs long.
Day 5: Pamukkale, the honest way to do a very long day
Pamukkale sits 250 to 300km out, 3.5 to 4 hours each way; a commercial single-day round trip runs a 5am pickup to an 8pm return, a 12 to 13 hour day. Combined entry to the terraces and Hierapolis runs about €30, check the current fee on the official Hierapolis listing , plus roughly €6 more for Cleopatra’s Antique Pool.
Day 6: Kas and Kekova, the long-haul version
Can you really do Kas and Kekova as a day trip from Antalya?
Only if day six is your last spare day. Kas is 190km, 3 to 3.5 hours, each way, and Kekova’s half-submerged ruins need a further boat trip from Kas or Ucagiz on top of that drive, 6 to 7 hours of driving alone before the boat leaves. It works as a single very long day, leave before sunrise, but it is genuinely the hardest day on this itinerary.
Kekova and the surrounding coast sit inside the Kas-Kekova Special Environmental Protection Area , a legally protected marine zone, part of why the ruins are still intact. A combined Kekova and Demre/Myra boat day departing Kas runs roughly $65 or more per person. Book the boat before you leave Antalya, tours here do sell out in peak summer, and confirm your driver or tour includes the full round trip, not just the boat portion. Turkey’s official tourism site covers the wider Turquoise Coast if this stretch earns a return trip. Anyone who can add a seventh day should look at the 7 day version instead, which turns this same day into an overnight in Kas with a relaxed morning boat.