Exploring the Turkish coast (or Rivera) is my holiday from the long bike ride. After all, I worked hard cycling 2600km through three countries. And with the turquoise waters and some of the most pristine beaches I decided the Turkish coast was a great destination. So I booked my flight to Antalya and started south, visiting Antalya Kaleici, the old city, as well as the ancient city of Perga.
That said, when growing up, Turkey was never on my ‘must visit’ list but somehow this is now my third trip to Turkey within two years. I have already explored Gallipoli and have visited Istanbul with my dad. (Read my tips on things to do in Istanbul here).
And this time I headed to Turkey because… well, to be honest, the weather looked great, the turquoise waters attractive and the ‘off season’ timing perfect. And I love the Mediterranean Food!
It should be a pretty relaxing holiday. Don’t you think?
Antalya, Kaleici
The best blog about ‘where to go’ in the Antalya region was from the local Turkish travelers, BIZ EVDE YOKUZ (link here). Following their tip I booked a hotel in the old town Kaleici straight away. And it didn’t disappoint. With the entry of the Hadrian’s Gate to enter Kaleici, it was great exploring the streets of the old town. The shops were cute, the buildings a mix of old and newly renovated, and the people friendly.
Antalya 
Hadrian’s Gate 
My stay got even better after finding the private and small Mermerli beach. With an entry fee of only 3 Euro a day (incl. chairs and umbrella) I spent a bit of time there. The relaxing has certainly begun.
Luckily, at end of October, the tourists left already left and it wasn’t too crowded.
Mermerli Beach 
I stayed in Antalya Kaleici 5 days and although I don’t usually plug places to go to, I decided to do it here. There are (as almost everywhere now) lots of tourist spots that are same same (especially the restaurants). So if you do want something different, and more local, here are my tips:
- Stay at the Delight Deluxe Hotel. I fully enjoyed it!
- Eat at ROKKA only. It might not look fancy from the outside but it has the best home made and healthy Turkish food I have eaten so far. Especially the falafels and the lavash bread with some of the most flavoursome and creative dips. And clearly I am not the only one raving about ROKKA (read here).
- Relax at the Turkish Bath ‘Sefa Hamam’. I have tried a few when visiting Antalya Kaleici but this one felt the most authentic. It is not often that you have your body scrubbed and washed by a stranger.
Ancient City of Perga
Of course Turkey has also plenty of ancient history and besides a visit to the Antalya museum to see the statues of Perga, I also took a taxi to the ancient city of Perga (or Perge) itself.
The historical site of Perga, former capital of Pamphylia Secunda, is 18 kilometers east from the city of Antalya and holds the vast remains of what was once the most propserous city of the area. It was nice to see and walk around some ruins again. I find the sizes of the amphitheaters especially quite amazing. I feel very small in comparison. How long did it take them to build such grand theatres back then?
A small travel tip: get a taxi that agrees to run the meter to take you to Perga. The taxi driver was even nice, waiting for me for an hour to take me back. It ended up much cheaper than the ‘official’ tourist taxi prices everybody is trying to charge you. Offseason is great for little things like this.
Visiting Antalya Kaleici and the ancient city of Perga was definitely a great start. I can’t wait to explore more of the Turkish coast, heading towards Kas and the sunken city of Kekova next (following the guidance of my local Turkish travel bloggers).
