5 Days in Antalya: The First-Timer Itinerary

Five days lets Antalya-the-city breathe: both beaches get a second look, the bazaar gets a real morning, and the closed Antalya Museum gets an honest substitute. It still skips the marina water sports and food-crawl depth of a longer trip, those belong to the 6-day version. See the 4-day or full week itinerary for the shorter or longer cut of this same route.

Book these before you go

  • Hotel: compare Kaleici and Konyaalti rates on Booking.com before picking a base
  • Old town walking tour: check availability on GetYourGuide
  • Hammam session: book a slot ahead on GetYourGuide
  • Harbor sunset boat cruise: search current departures on Viator
Day Focus
Day 1 Kaleici old town, Hadrian’s Gate, the harbor, bazaar, dinner in the old walls
Day 2 Konyaalti Beach, the Antalya Aquarium, a boulevard viewpoint
Day 3 Lara Beach, the free Lower Duden Waterfalls
Day 4 Upper Duden’s cave walk, a Kaleici hammam, a harbor sunset cruise
Day 5 Bazaar shopping, the Suna Inan Kirac Museum, a second beach afternoon, departure prep

Day 1: Kaleici Old Town

Morning

  • Land at Antalya Airport (AYT) and take a metered taxi into Kaleici, the meter should read roughly 600-700 TRY (~$13-15/€11-13) for the 20-30 minute ride; the Havas shuttle bus covers the same route for around 200 TRY in about 45 minutes if budget matters more than time
  • Check into a Kaleici hotel, an old-town base is what makes this whole trip walkable
  • Walk to Hadrian’s Gate, the triple marble arch built for the emperor’s 130 AD visit, then wander toward Hidirlik Tower and the clock tower (Saat Kulesi) (the provincial tourism directorate at antalya.ktb.gov.tr lists current hours for each)

Afternoon

  • Lunch at a Kaleici terrace restaurant, a mid-range kebab or mezze plate runs roughly 300-600 TRY
  • Walk down to the Roman harbor and Karaalioglu Park’s clifftop gardens for a free sea view
  • Browse the bazaar lanes for leather, ceramics, and Turkish delight, haggling over the first quoted price is normal here

Evening

  • Dinner at a Kaleici meyhane-style restaurant, several meze plates plus seafood and a drink runs roughly 600-900 TRY per person
  • Evening stroll along the harbor, the old walls look genuinely better lit up after dark

Day 2: Konyaalti Beach And The Aquarium

Morning

  • Taxi or dolmus to Konyaalti Beach (15-20 minutes from Kaleici), a 7km pebble beach backed by the Akdeniz Boulevard strip, bring water shoes since it’s pebble, not sand
  • Swim or rent a sunbed along the public stretch

Afternoon

  • Antalya Aquarium on Akdeniz Boulevard, one of the region’s larger tunnel aquariums, check current ticket prices online before you go since they’ve climbed with inflation
  • Lunch at one of the boulevard’s beachfront cafes
  • Skip the Tunektepe cable car, it’s been closed since an April 2024 accident with no confirmed reopening date (verify at tunektepeteleferik.com ); catch the same coastal panorama free from one of the clifftop cafes along the boulevard instead

Evening

  • Dinner back in Kaleici or at a Konyaalti beachfront restaurant, seafood is the better pick this close to the water

Day 3: Lara Beach And Lower Duden Waterfalls

Morning

  • Taxi to Lara Beach (5-10 minutes from the airport side, roughly 20-25 minutes from Kaleici), a sandy beach with a public stretch alongside the resort frontage
  • Swim or just walk the sand, a genuinely different feel from Konyaalti’s pebble shore

Afternoon

  • Lower Duden Waterfalls, free, open 24/7, where the falls drop straight off a cliff into the Mediterranean, a short taxi hop from Lara
  • Pack a picnic or grab food from the park’s vendors, there’s no ticket and no rush

Evening

  • Return to Kaleici for dinner, try a different meyhane from Day 1 to compare the meze spread

Is 5 days enough for Antalya? Five days covers both beaches twice, both waterfalls, a hammam, and the bazaar without rushing any single day. It’s a genuinely comfortable pace, not a checklist sprint, which is the whole point of adding a fifth day over the 4-day version.

Day 4: Upper Duden, A Hammam, And A Sunset Cruise

Morning

  • Upper Duden Waterfalls (inland, near Kepez), paid entry roughly 100 TRY plus 100 TRY parking, the walk behind the cascade into the cave is the whole reason to come here rather than just the view
  • Grab lunch near the falls or back in Kaleici

Afternoon

  • A Kaleici hammam session, Sefa Hamam among the old-town’s centuries-old houses, a full steam-scrub-massage package runs roughly €25-75+ depending on add-ons, book ahead on GetYourGuide in peak season (see the link above)
  • Rest before the evening, a hammam plus heat is a genuinely tiring combination

Evening

  • A harbor sunset boat cruise from Kaleici’s marina, book on Viator since good sunset departures sell out (see the link above)
  • Dinner at the marina afterward

Day 5: Bazaar, The Kaleici Museum, And A Second Beach

Morning

  • Kaleici’s bazaar lanes for souvenirs, leather, and ceramics, prices have real room to move, treat the first quote as an opening offer
  • Suna & İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum, a restored old-town house paired with the former Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, the honest substitute while the main Antalya Museum stays closed for its rebuild

Afternoon

  • Return to whichever beach won the Day 2 vs Day 3 comparison for a relaxed second visit, no agenda beyond swimming
  • Coffee or fresh juice from a beachfront stand

Evening

  • Head to Antalya Airport (AYT), budget the same 20-30 minutes by taxi (roughly 600-700 TRY) or 45 minutes by Havas shuttle (roughly 200 TRY) as the arrival trip

How much does 5 days in Antalya cost? Budget roughly 2,500-4,500 TRY ($53-96/€47-84) a day across the full trip, hotel, meals, the aquarium, the hammam, and the boat cruise included. That’s a genuinely comfortable mid-range pace, not a luxury one.

Good To Know

  • The tram and city buses take AntalyaKart or a contactless bank card only, no cash on board
  • The Antalya Museum is closed for a full rebuild through at least late 2026 (check muze.gov.tr before you plan around it), don’t route this trip around it
  • The classic scam near Hadrian’s Gate is a friendly stranger steering conversation toward a family carpet shop, free tea doesn’t obligate a purchase

Confirm the hammam and sunset cruise bookings the day before, both genuinely sell out in peak season with no walk-in slack left.