Alanya Travel Guide
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Alanya is an important summer holiday destination in the Mediterranean Region of Antalya.
With its generous display of natural, historical and cultural beauties, it remains one of the most important coastal districts.
There is a distance of 140 kilometers between Antalya city center and Alanya by road. This distance requires an estimated 2-hour drive.
You can reach Alanya from Istanbul by road in approximately 800 kilometers in 10 hours. If you prefer the airway for transportation, you can reach it in 50 minutes.
The nearest airports are Antalya Airport or Gazipasa Airport. Gazipasa Airport is the closest to Alanya. If you can’t find a flight to Gazipasa Airport, you can also choose Antalya Airport.
Alanya has always been an attraction throughout its history. The history dating back to the 20th century BC and its entry into the dominance of many countries from that date to our recent past supports this idea.
For this reason, Alanya is the cradle of civilizations like many beautiful regions in our country. It still carries cultural and architectural traces from different civilizations. When the climatic features are added, this blend brings Alanya to an important point in terms of history and tourism. In addition, geographically unique land and sea caves, wonderful beaches, natural miracles flowing like rivers and canyons with impatience to see and creates impatience. If you have turned your travel route here, we can say that great times full of nature and history await you.
Things to Do in Alanya
If you are ready to be enchanted by the historical richness and untouched natural beauty of Alanya, which stands out as an indispensable stop for tourists in summer, let us take a look at the most popular places of Alanya together!
Alanya Castle
Built by Alaaddin Keykubat, this magnificent architecture has 83 towers and is home to mosques. Today, Alanya Castle, which opens its doors for visitors as an open-air museum, is one of the important stops you should definitely add to your Alanya tour.
Damlatas Cave
Alanya Damlatas Cave, which is one of the top places to visit in the list of places to visit, was formed as a result of an incredible nature formation and today it is the center of attention of tourists. This cave, which is formed by the accumulation of water leaking from the ceiling as a result of the humid climate of Alanya, is also said to be healing for people who are always at 23 degrees temperature and have breathing problems.
Red Tower
Red Tower(Kizil Kule), which is located in the harbor of Alanya, is another structure built during the Alaaddin Keykubat period and it was built to serve as a shield against any attack from the sea. This octagonal five-storey tower is designed to spread the sun from the hill to each floor.
Dim Cave
Dim Cave, which is covered with plane trees and pine forests, is among the natural beauties that tourists can visit and see in Alanya with its constant temperature of 18 degrees and an open area of 360 meters for visitors. Which I thought made a host of life in prehistoric times Dim Cave, it remains today one of Turkey’s most beautiful caves.
Phosphorus Cave
Phosphorous Cave, where the lights leaking from the sky takes a phosphorous color, takes its name from this miracle that nature presents to it and it witnesses spectacular reflections both during the day and at night. We say don’t come back from Alanya until you visit the Phosphorus Cave where you can only reach by the sea!
Alanya Ataturk House Museum
The Republic of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, this house during his stay in Alanya visits, donated by the Ministry of Culture and sheds light on the visitors as the Atatürk House Museum since 1987.
Dim River
Dim River, which has become a popular destination for tourists in the summer, is cold enough to challenge the heat of Alanya and is pouring from the Taurus Mountains. This spacious area where you can walk around stands out among the natural beauties of Alanya.
Sapadere Canyon
Sapadere Canyon’s unique view that it embraces, as well as the waterfall at the end of the canyon, are among the remarkable details; where the waterfall is spilled, a natural pool for visitors. Sapadere Canyon is one of the natural beauties of Alanya.
Port of Alanya
Surrounded by boats and yachts, Alanya Harbor stands out as a lively area where you can walk in the fresh air and also the starting point of Alanya boat tours. At the end of the harbor, Alanya Lighthouse welcomes its visitors. Alanya Harbor is famous for its seaside restaurants where you can have coffee and dine, and also has bars that will add movement to your nights.
Most Beautiful Alanya Beaches
Alanya is one of the most important and colorful districts of Antalya and even the Mediterranean Region, surrounded by orange groves and turning its face to green mountains. With its blue flagged beaches, crowded bazaar, historical artifacts, stunning natural beauties, pleasantly orange-smelling air, hospitable people and a smiling sun of 300 days a year, Alanya is a place to catch your mind. If you have decided to go on holiday to this beautiful town, do not return without seeing, we will say that the beach aside note.
Cleopatra Beach
Cleopatra Beach is at the top of our list of the most beautiful beaches in Alanya. Cleopatra Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches of Alanya with a length of 2 kilometers. It was named after Cleopatra, the last queen of Ancient Egypt, who lived between 69 BC and 30 BC, where many of you are known.
Golden colored sand, glassy azure sea, shallowness is remarkable. Moreover, it is a blue flag beach. Its reputation has exceeded the borders of the country, not the region. When you go to Cleopatra Beach, you must stay at sunset and enjoy the unique view.
Orange Beach
Portakal Beach, which is one of the blue flag beaches, is 1 km long. It is close to the town center. It starts from the point where the Oba River, which has a magnificent beauty, spills into the sea and ends where the Dim River spills into the sea.
Immediately behind the beach attracts attention with its deep blue sea, the imposing slopes of the Taurus Mountains rise. There are options if you are interested in water sports. Especially windsurfers prefer this beach.
Damlatas Beach
Damlatas Beach is located just in front of the Damlatas Cave, whose fame exceeds the regional boundaries and attracts visitors every season of the year. The beach is blue flag. It attracts attention with its golden yellow sands and rests on the skirts of the peninsula. With its clean air, glassy sea and smiling sun, it is one of the most important beaches to be seen.
Incekum Beach
Located 25 kilometers from Alanya, İncekum Beach is a beach of pine, natural, golden yellow sands. Of course, the name is on a fine sandy beach. There are areas where you can make a tent camp. It is about 1 kilometer long. The sea deepens gradually after 5 meters.
Keykubat Beach
Keykubat Beach, with its blue flag, is located just east of the historical peninsula. The beach and the sea is sand. In some parts there is sand rock. It attracts attention with its lush parks along the coast. For this reason, it is also known as ’Begonvil Beach’.
Mahmutlar Beach
Mahmutlar, which is one of the quietest towns of Alanya, is one of the places that attract attention with its beach and calmness. The beach and the sea are sometimes sand rocks. 5 km of the coast is a natural beach. Mahmutlar, which is quieter than Alanya city center, is one of the most preferred places for those who want to have a peaceful and calm day.
Fugla Beach
It is a beach that is preferred by local and foreign tourists. It is 20 kilometers from Alanya. It is among the beaches that boats frequently visit. There is usually a lunch break here. The beach and the sea is sand. The beach is generally quiet.
Where is Alanya?
Alanya is a popular tourist resort located on the southern coast of Turkey. It is the district of Antalya, one of the neighboring provinces of the Mediterranean Sea, east of the city center and approximately 140 kilometers from the city center.
When to Visit Alanya?
Alanya can be visited from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn due to its southern Mediterranean coast and a typical Mediterranean climate.
In the summer months, too much humidity and temperature rise too high, visitors may prefer to visit the spring months. However, the peak periods of tourism are usually summer months.
Since 2000, Alanya International Tourism and Art Festival has been held in May every year. In 2017, the theme of “love. Was handled in the festival where a theme specific to Alanya was determined and focused on that theme each year.
In addition, every year in September, International Jazz Days continues to offer unique music pleasure for four days with national and international artists. It offers a wonderful experience with the charm of historical textures and the unique feeling of jazz music.
Alanya is also a paradise for sports tourism. Especially during the April – May, and September – October holidays, you can add extra opportunities such as sports, culture and art to your trip.
How to get to Alanya?
There is a distance of 140 km between Antalya city center and Alanya by road. You can reach Alanya from Istanbul by road in approximately 800 kilometers in 10 hours. If you prefer the airway for transportation, you can reach it in 50 minutes.
The nearest airports are Antalya Airport or Gazipasa Airport. Gazipasa Airport is the closest to Alanya. If you can’t find a flight to Gazipasa Airport, you can also choose Antalya Airport.
Tourists can get from Antalya Airport to Alanya by bus or private transfer (taxi). The trip by bus takes 3.5 hours, the ticket cost is EUR 7.4. The Antalya to Alanya transfer will take you to the destination in 2 hours 25 minutes, the journey will cost from EUR 61 for an Economy-class car and from EUR 72 for a large bus. The Antalya to Alanya distance is 140 km.
The Antalya to Alanya bus departs from the bus station – it takes about one hour to get there from the airport by public transport. Buses are not available at night, and even late in the evening it will be impossible for you to get to your destination, so in case you arrive at nighttime you’ll have to either wait until morning or book a private transfer or take a taxi. Traveling by car is faster and more comfortable, and not much more expensive if you are a family of four. After arriving in Turkey, you should exchange your currency to Turkish lira and euros.
Where to stay in Alanya
We can talk about many different alternatives for accommodation in Alanya. Yıldızlı All-inclusive ”system providing plenty of star facilities, boutique hotels, campsites, apart-hotels and hostels. There are quite a number of facilities in Alanya that cater to every budget and every holiday concept. For this reason, you need to make a good decision about how you allocate a budget for your holiday in Alanya and how you will allocate this budget.
Alanya offers many hotel alternatives. Here are some of the hotels for all kinds of budgets:
Closest Hotels to Alanya City Centre
Budget Hotels in Alanya
Luxury Hotels Alanya
Getting Around in Alanya
City transportation in Alanya is provided by public buses connected to the municipality. Buses can be paid by city transport card, cash or contactless credit card. The full fee is 3 TL with cash and contactless credit card, while 2.15 TL for city card holders.
Alanya Cuisine
Alanya, like many regions in our country, has hosted different civilizations. As such, its cuisine has been diversified and enriched by these civilizations. Due to the fact that agriculture is more intense in Alanya, it cannot be expected that it will turn into a kitchen where vegetables are used intensively in their meals.
We can see a wide variety of wheat especially in Alanya tables. In a soup, we can give examples such as an appetizer or a meal in itself. In addition, the original flavors of citrus fruits, which are grown in the Mediterranean Region like citrus peel jam, which are not known in many regions, are worth trying.
Alanya Nightlife
Nightlife in Alanya, especially in the summer, flows quite quickly and intensely. In countless venues of various genres, entertainment continues until morning.
In contrast to many coastal regions where tourism is at the forefront, the bars in Alanya are spread over the harbor rather than lined up on a particular street.
There are many alternatives for nightlife, from bars dominated by foreign music, bars with rock or pop music to folk songs. Bistro Bellman Club, Robin Hood Night Club, Havana Club & Bar, Summer Garden Club are some of the most popular nightclubs.
Shopping in Alanya
When you go to a place for a holiday, there is a tendency to buy souvenirs, as it reminds you of the time spent there and the desire to give you the feeling of holiday warmth even at home.
The fact that everything is fabricated and lost its naturalness does not increase the demand for natural and manual labor. As such, our suggestions for shopping in Alanya will be hand labor and natural products.
As it is hand labor and natural products, there is no net cost that can be determined. In this case, you can also produce different prices for similar products in different stores, you can do some price research.