Three days covers Kaleici’s backstreets, a full Konyaalti beach afternoon, and the waterfall most visitors get backwards, all inside the city with no rental car and no ruins, that’s the separate Antalya as a base for the ancient sites trip. A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13), 20-30 minutes to Kaleici. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop, or extend it into the 5 day version once Lara beach and a bazaar day fit the schedule.

Three days covers the whole Pamphylia core: Perge, Aspendos and Side, then the mountaintop ruin most day-trippers skip entirely, Termessos. A rental car starts earning its cost on day three. Only have a weekend? Our 2 day version drops Termessos. Have more time? The 5 day itinerary adds Olympos and Pamukkale on top of this same spine. 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 Book these before you go

Two days is enough to do Kaleici’s old town properly and still get a full beach afternoon in, no rental car and no ancient ruins required, that’s a separate trip covered in Antalya as a base for the ancient sites . A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13) and takes 20-30 minutes; the Havas shuttle bus is closer to 200 TRY and 45 minutes. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop, or stretch this into the 4 day version if a hammam night and Lara beach fit the schedule.

Two days is enough for the closest slice of Pamphylia without a rental car: Perge on day one, then Aspendos and Side combined into one long day two. This is the taster version; want more ruins, Kekova, or Pamukkale added on? Our 4 day and 7 day Antalya day-trip itineraries build outward from this same base. 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 Book these before you go

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.

Five days extends the 4 day Pamphylia-and-Olympos plan with the longest single day trip on this coast, Pamukkale’s white terraces. Same first four days, one honest add-on at the end. Have a sixth or seventh day to spare? The 6 day and 7 day versions push on to Kas and Kekova. 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.

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.

Most people book a week in Antalya and never leave the city limits. That is the wrong plan for anyone who wants more than a beach. Antalya’s real value past the sand is as a base: Perge sits 18km out, Termessos 37km, Aspendos 47km, Side 76km, all closer than most first-timers assume. Push further and Olympos’s eternal flames, Kekova’s sunken city, and Pamukkale’s white terraces open up too, though the last two genuinely want an overnight, not a rushed there-and-back.

Kaleici’s view through Hadrian’s Gate is the photo everyone takes, and it’s also exactly where every tour bus unloads. The actual unusual stuff sits a street or two further in: a waterfall that free-falls straight into the Mediterranean for free, a 13th-century minaret nobody stops for, a hammam older than most countries, and a cable car nobody can ride at all right now, shut since a 2024 accident with no reopening date.

Four days is where Antalya’s city side gets to breathe: the old town, both beaches, the free waterfall, and a proper hammam night, still no rental car and no ruins, that’s the separate Antalya as a base for the ancient sites trip. A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13), 20-30 minutes to Kaleici. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop; the 2 day version covers just the first half if time is tighter.

Five days lets Antalya’s city side stretch out properly: the old town, both beaches, the free waterfall, a hammam, and a bazaar-and-harbor day, still no rental car and no ruins, that’s the separate Antalya as a base for the ancient sites trip. A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13), 20-30 minutes to Kaleici. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop, or stretch it into the full week plan if the trip runs longer.

Six days covers Antalya’s city side in full: the old town, both beaches, the free waterfall, a hammam, a bazaar-and-harbor day, and a slow clifftop-park day, no rental car and no ruins, that’s the separate Antalya as a base for the ancient sites trip. A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13), 20-30 minutes to Kaleici. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop; the 4 day version trims this down if a week is too long.

A full week stays entirely inside Antalya’s city limits and its two beaches, no rental car and no ruins, that’s the separate Antalya as a base for the ancient sites trip, and it leaves enough slack to repeat a favorite beach and save a proper seafood dinner for the last night. A metered taxi from the airport runs roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13), 20-30 minutes to Kaleici. See the full Antalya city guide for more on each stop, or trim it to the 3 day version for a shorter trip.

A full week keeps the same Pamphylia, Termessos, Olympos, and Pamukkale days as the 6 day plan, then spends the extra day turning the hardest single day on this coast, Kas and Kekova, into two relaxed ones instead of one grueling one. Only need the short version? Start with our 2 day itinerary and build up from there. 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.