Antalya Day Trips Sorted by Travel Time
How far is too far
A good day trip from Antalya leaves after breakfast, spends a few hours on site and is back for dinner without a long night drive. The sites below are grouped by how long the road takes, because that is what decides whether a trip is easy. Foreign visitors pay at state sites in euros, and all the distances are rough road figures from the city centre.
Under 45 minutes: easy half days
- Perge (about 18 km, 20 to 30 minutes, €11): a flat site with a stadium, round gate towers and a long colonnaded street. The theatre is closed for restoration. It opens at 08:00, which is the best time in summer.
- Kurşunlu Waterfall (about 20 km, around 30 minutes): a short nature stop near the city. Admission and hours are worth checking locally.
- Termessos (about 38 km, a winding mountain road, €3): the ancient city sits high, and the walk up from the car park is steep and rocky. The ticket office closes at 17:00 in summer and 15:30 in winter, so arrive in the morning.
- Aspendos (about 47 km, roughly 45 minutes, €15): the Roman theatre keeps its stage wall, and it hosts an opera and ballet festival every September.
Perge and Aspendos fit one morning, and the other two suit a second half day.
About an hour to 1.5 hours: full days
- Phaselis (about 55 km, about an hour, €10): pine-backed ruins around three harbours, with swimming in the bays beside them. Entry is free with a MuseumPass.
- Side (about 76 km, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes): the museum is €5, the archaeological site €7 and the pair €10. Sources differ on whether the Roman theatre is open. Many visitors time the headland temples for late afternoon.
- Köprülü Canyon (about 90 km, around 1.5 hours): a river-rafting day. Guide sites call it fine for first-timers and families, helmets and life jackets come from the operator, and the river runs cold.
- Olympos and Yanartaş (about 80 km, around 1.5 hours): the ruins cost €10. The Yanartaş flames need a 30 to 45 minute climb and are best after dark with a torch. The beach at Çıralı is closed to the public from 20:00 to 08:00 during nesting season, which in 2026 ran to the end of September.
A day that combines Phaselis and Olympos works on the coast road, with lunch between them.
Long days: only with a very early start
Pamukkale and Hierapolis lie roughly 225 to 250 km away, and the drive takes 3 to 4 hours each way. Tour operators run it as a 12 to 15 hour day. The combined site ticket is €30. A night in Pamukkale village or Denizli turns it from an ordeal into a pleasure. Cleopatra’s Antique Pool is sold separately, and you should confirm that it is open before paying.
Not a day trip at all
- Cappadocia is 8 to 9 hours by road each way, with no direct flight found. Treat it as a multi-day journey of at least two nights.
- Kaş and Kekova are about 3 hours or more each way. Kekova boats leave from Kaş or Üçağız, so a night on the coast makes sense. The sunken ruins are viewed from the deck.
- Saklıkent Gorge is in Muğla province, on the Fethiye side, and far from Antalya.
Practical points
- Start at opening time. Summer highs reach the mid-30s to low 40s °C and the ruins have little shade.
- Packaged tours often exclude entry fees, so compare them against self-drive costs.
- The nostalgic T2 tram is suspended, but the Antray T1 tram runs to the airport and T3 serves the bus station; buy an AntalyaKart because there is no cash on board.
Read more: Attraction tours in Antalya and the 4-day Antalya itinerary .
To compare coach trips, search Viator for Antalya excursions . Official hours for Phaselis are on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism page .