6 Days in Antalya: Ruins and Coast
Six days keeps the five-day route, Perge, Aspendos and Side, Termessos and Olympos, a Pamukkale overnight, and a rest day, then spends the sixth day back at Olympos and Cirali for an actual beach afternoon rather than the rushed evening hike day two allows. Kas and Kekova are deliberately left out: one day is not enough to do that leg properly, and a bad version of it is worse than not doing it. If Kas matters to you, take the 7 day version instead, which gives it the two days it actually needs.
Book these before you go:
- Check Antalya hotel rates on Booking.com
- Book a Perge, Aspendos and Side day tour
- Book a Pamukkale overnight tour
- Check Pamukkale hotel rates on Booking.com if driving yourself
| Day | Focus | Distance / drive time from Antalya |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Perge, Aspendos, Side | 18 to 76km, 20 min to 1hr15 |
| Day 2 | Termessos, Olympos and the Chimaera | 37 to 85km, 40 min to 1hr30 |
| Day 3 | Travel to Pamukkale, terraces and Hierapolis, overnight | 250 to 300km one way, 3.5 to 4hr |
| Day 4 | Hierapolis morning, Cleopatra’s pool, return to Antalya | 250 to 300km return, 3.5 to 4hr |
| Day 5 | Rest day, Antalya beach or harbour | 0km |
| Day 6 | Back to Olympos and Cirali beach | 80 to 85km, about 1.5hr |
Day 1: Perge, Aspendos and Side
Perge (18km) opens the route: a colonnaded main street, a 12,000-seat stadium, and an agora with a round fountain. Entry is reported anywhere from 100 to 300 TRY, verify at the gate. Continue to Aspendos (47km total), the best-preserved Roman theatre anywhere, hosting the September opera and ballet festival ; entry runs about 700 TRY (roughly USD15/EUR13), free with the Mediterranean Museum Pass . Close at Side (76km), a beach town built into its own ruins, before driving back to Antalya.
Day 2: Termessos and the Chimaera at Olympos
Termessos (37 to 39km) is a steep, shadeless climb to a mountaintop ruin that Alexander the Great besieged and then abandoned. Go early, real shoes and water required. In the afternoon, drive south via Kemer to Olympos (80 to 85km, about 1.5 hours) for the ruins, then dinner in Cirali and an after-dark hike to the Chimaera’s natural gas flames.
Day 3: To Pamukkale, the terraces and Hierapolis
Drive to Pamukkale (250 to 300km, 3.5 to 4 hours). Beyond the travertine terraces, the site includes the Hierapolis ruins and archaeology museum, a genuine UNESCO World Heritage Site , combined entry around EUR30. Overnight in Pamukkale or Denizli.
Day 4: Hierapolis at a decent hour, then back to Antalya
Walk the terraces or necropolis before the day-trip buses arrive from Antalya, add Cleopatra’s Antique Pool (roughly EUR6 more) if it appeals, then drive back to Antalya (250 to 300km, 3.5 to 4 hours).
Day 5: A day with nothing booked
A deliberate rest day at your Antalya base after four demanding days. Konyaalti or Lara beach, or a harbour boat cruise, all work; see the Antalya city guide for the full neighborhood breakdown. Nothing here needs advance booking.
Day 6: Olympos and Cirali, properly this time
Day two’s version of Olympos is a rushed afternoon-and-evening stop; day six goes back (80 to 85km, about 1.5 hours) purely for the beach, the turtle-nesting stretch at Cirali, and a slower lunch by the water. If the Chimaera hike on day two felt too brief, this is also a fair excuse to walk up again, this time without the day’s other stops competing for time.
Why isn’t Kas and Kekova in this itinerary?
Because Kas is 190km away, 3 to 3.5 hours each way, which makes a single day trip there and back from Antalya roughly 6 to 7 hours of driving alone before any boat time at Kekova. That is a genuinely bad way to see the sunken city. Six days does not have a spare pair of days to give it an overnight, so this route leaves it out rather than do it badly.
Do you need a rental car for this itinerary?
For Termessos and the return trip to Cirali, yes, a car gives you control over timing that a group tour will not. For Pamukkale, a car or a booked overnight tour both work equally well.
Six days is the honest version for travelers who do not have a seventh day to spare: real ruins, a real overnight, and a real beach day, with nothing forced in badly. Cross-check entry fees on Turkey’s official tourism site before you travel; the lira moves fast enough that any figure here can drift.