Antalya 4 Day Itinerary

A Roman theatre near Antalya still hosts opera and ballet performances that fill all 15,000 seats with essentially perfect acoustics, no microphones needed, nearly two thousand years after it was built. That’s Aspendos, and it alone justifies building a day trip around Pamphylian ruins rather than treating them as a rushed morning stop.

Day 1: Arrival and Kaleici

  • Antalya Airport connects to Kaleici by tram (the Antray line) for about 20 lira with an Antalyakart, taking roughly 40 minutes, or by metered taxi for 600-800 lira and around 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. The tram is the better value if you’re not weighed down with luggage.
  • Base yourself in Kaleici, the old walled town; Hotel Limak Crystal Paradise-style resort chains sit further out toward Lara, so for genuine old-town character look at smaller boutique hotels inside the walls themselves.
  • Walk through Hadrian’s Gate, built for the emperor’s visit in 130 AD, then wander the Ottoman-era lanes past Yivli Minare, the fluted minaret that’s become the city’s unofficial symbol, and Hidirlik Tower overlooking the harbor.
  • Lunch at a Kaleici restaurant serving Antalya-style piyaz or tantuni rather than a generic tourist menu; prices inside the old walls run noticeably higher right on the harbor, so wander two streets back for better value.
  • Evening boat trip past the marina toward Mermerli Beach for sunset views back at the cliffside old town, one of the better photo angles in the city.
  • Opinion: get inside Kaleici’s walls for lunch specifically, not just the evening stroll. Midday light in the narrow lanes photographs better than the golden-hour crowds everyone else chases.

Day 2: Perge and Aspendos

  • Correction to older guides: Perge, usually written Perge or Perga, was a major city of ancient Pamphylia, not Lycia, which lay much further west around Antalya’s neighboring coastline. Morning entry costs around 11 euros for non-Turkish visitors, or free with the Mediterranean MuseumPass covering more than 40 regional sites for about 90 euros over seven days, worth it if you’re hitting several ruins.
  • Wander Perge’s colonnaded main street, stadium, and bath complex before the midday heat sets in; there’s minimal shade on site.
  • Lunch near Aspendos rather than packing a picnic if you want to save energy for the afternoon.
  • Afternoon at Aspendos itself, whose Roman theatre remains one of the best-preserved anywhere in the world, still hosting the annual Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival each summer. Entry runs roughly 150-250 lira, opening hours 8am to 7pm April through October.
  • Dinner back in Antalya at a marina restaurant with yacht views, worth the slightly inflated prices for the setting on one night of the trip.
  • Opinion: pay the extra for the MuseumPass if you’re also doing Perge, Aspendos, and a third site like Side. It pays for itself by the third stop and saves queueing at each ticket booth separately.

Day 3: Beaches and waterfalls

  • Morning at Konyaalti Beach, the long shingle beach west of the center with decent water sports rental stands and free public access, unlike some of the private beach clubs further east.
  • Lunch at a beachside spot for grilled fish or a simple Turkish breakfast plate if you’re there early enough.
  • Afternoon at Lower Duden Waterfall, correctly known locally as Karpuzkaldiran, where the Duden River drops about 40 metres straight into the Mediterranean along the Lara coast road, a genuinely striking sight from both land and the water. Boat tours from the Kaleici marina run around 25 euros with lunch included and let you get close to the falls from the sea, best done in spring or summer when water levels allow it.
  • The separate Upper Duden Waterfall sits inland in a shaded park where you can walk behind the cascade; it’s a different site entirely from the lower falls, not two viewpoints of the same one.
  • Dinner at a rooftop restaurant with city views back toward the old town.
  • Opinion: do the boat trip rather than viewing Lower Duden from the clifftop park alone. Seeing the water hit the sea from below is a genuinely different experience than the landward view most day-trippers settle for.

Day 4: Phaselis and departure

  • Morning trip to Phaselis, a Lycian-founded but later Roman-period port city with three natural harbors and ruins scattered along a pine-backed beach, a rare combination of archaeology and swimming in one stop.
  • Bring your own snacks or lunch here since on-site options are limited and pricier than in town.
  • Head back to Antalya with real time buffer before your flight; airport security queues lengthen considerably during the June-through-September peak season.
  • Keep some cash on hand for small vendors and dolmus minibus fares, since not every stall or driver takes cards, and always confirm a taxi meter is running rather than agreeing to a flat unmetered fare near tourist zones.