14 Days in Antalya: The Grand Turquoise Coast Tour

Planning a two-week Antalya road trip

Two weeks is enough time to see most of what the Antalya region offers — from the old town and waterfalls of the city itself to the ruins of the Lycian coast and the white terraces of Pamukkale — but only if the days are planned around driving realistically rather than optimistically.

This route starts and effectively ends near Antalya, working east along the coast through Kemer, Side, Manavgat and Alanya, then swings back west along the Lycian coast to Kaş and Kekova before finishing inland at Pamukkale, roughly 3.5-4 hours further on. A rental car is essential for the whole trip; see our car rental guide before booking.

Expect at least two or three genuinely long driving days on this route, mountain roads that run slower than they look on a map, and five or six separate hotel bookings. This is a touring itinerary built for travellers who want variety over a fixed base, not a relaxed, unpack-once beach holiday.

Pace matters more than mileage on a route like this. It’s tempting to look at the map and assume two weeks is generous, but the coastal roads east of Antalya and the Lycian coast west of Alanya both wind along cliffs and through mountain passes, so a distance that looks short on paper can still eat half a day. Building in a genuinely quiet afternoon every three or four days — a beach, a hotel pool, no ruins or canyons on the agenda — keeps the trip from feeling like a checklist. If you’re travelling with children, our Antalya with kids guide has notes on which stops on this route work best for families and which are better done as an adult-paced day.

Best time to travel this route: spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) keep daytime driving and walking around the ruins comfortable, while the height of summer means starting early to beat both the heat and the crowds at sites like Pamukkale and Kekova. See our best time to visit Antalya guide for a month-by-month breakdown before you fix your dates.

Day 1: Arrival and Kaleiçi Old Town

Land at Antalya Airport, collect your rental car — our airport transfer guide also covers taxi and shuttle options if you’d rather start driving the next day — and settle into a hotel in or near Kaleiçi, the old town. Spend the afternoon and evening wandering the narrow lanes down to the historic harbour; the Kaleiçi old town guide is worth reading first for orientation.

Day 2: Waterfalls and city beaches

Antalya’s Düden Waterfalls are actually two separate sites, so plan for both: the inland Upper Düden Falls in a park setting, and the Lower Düden Falls where the river drops into the sea. A boat trip is the easiest way to see the lower falls from the water and combine it with a look at the old town from the harbour.

a combined Düden Waterfalls boat tour and Kaleiçi walking tour

In the afternoon, choose between the city beaches: Lara Beach is wider and more built up, while Konyaaltı Beach has a pebbled shore with a mountain backdrop — our Konyaaltı vs Lara comparison breaks down the difference.

Day 3: Perge and Termessos

A full day for two very different Roman-era sites, both paid and ticketed. Perge is an easy, flat ruin field close to the city; Termessos is a mountaintop city inside a national park that requires a genuine uphill walk, so it takes longer than a typical roadside ruin. Doing both in one day is possible but makes for a full schedule — start early. Our Antalya ancient sites guide rounds up how these two compare with the other Roman-era sites further along this route, if you’d rather trim one out and add extra time elsewhere.

Day 4: On to Kemer and the Tahtalı cable car

Drive roughly an hour to Kemer and check into a coastal hotel. In the afternoon, ride the Tahtalı cable car up to around 2,365m for Mediterranean views on a clear day — see the Tahtalı cable car guide for timing and weather notes, since it can close in high wind.

Day 5: Phaselis and Olympos

Morning at Phaselis, where Roman and Byzantine ruins sit directly on a pine-backed bay with three separate beaches — as much a swimming stop as a ruin. A boat-based alternative covers the same coastline from the water.

a boat trip from Antalya and Kemer to Phaselis Paradise Bay

In the afternoon, continue to Olympos, a riverside ancient city near the beach village of the same name, and check into a base around Olympos or Çıralı for the night.

Day 6: The Chimaera by night, then Adrasan

Visit the Chimaera (Yanartaş) — natural gas seeping through rock and burning continuously at the surface, not volcanic activity — ideally after dark, when the flames are far more visible; the Chimaera night hike guide covers the short walk from the car park. Use the rest of the day for a relaxed beach stop at Adrasan, or combine both with a wider boat trip.

a small-group cruise around Phaselis Bay with a BBQ lunch

Day 7: Drive to Side

Drive on toward Side, a couple of hours from the Kemer coast. Side’s old town sits on a small peninsula built directly among Roman ruins, with a waterfront Temple of Apollo you can wander past freely — spend the afternoon exploring on foot and settle in for the evening.

Day 8: Manavgat and the Green Canyon

Manavgat is a short drive from Side. The Manavgat Waterfall is a low, wide river waterfall best suited to a relaxed boat trip and picnic rather than a hike, and the nearby Green Canyon reservoir makes a good half-day addition if you want to extend the water-based sightseeing — see the Green Canyon boat tour guide for what a typical trip on the water covers. If you’d rather stay dry, the Manavgat waterfall guide has notes on viewing it from the riverside park instead.

Day 9: On to Alanya

Continue east to Alanya, roughly 1.5-2 hours from the Antalya airport area and a shorter hop from Side. Spend the afternoon at Alanya Castle, the hilltop fortress reached by a walk or short cable-car-style ride, then wind down at Cleopatra Beach below it — the beach’s link to Cleopatra is a well-known local tradition, not verified history.

Day 10: Canyons inland from Alanya

Use a full day for an inland detour: the Sapadere Canyon and the Dim River area both make for a change of pace from beach and ruin days, with walkways, cool water and a very different landscape from the coast just outside town. Travellers who want more adrenaline on this inland day sometimes swap in a combined activity trip instead of the canyon walk.

a four-in-one Alanya activity day with rafting, buggy, zipline and SUP

Day 11: The long drive to Kaş

This is one of the trip’s genuinely long driving days: Alanya to Kaş along the Lycian coast runs several hours on winding mountain roads, considerably longer than the straight-line distance suggests. Leave early, break the drive into stages, and don’t schedule any sightseeing on this day beyond arrival and a relaxed evening in Kaş.

Day 12: Kekova and Kaputaş

From Kaş, take a boat out to Kekova to see the part-submerged ruins through clear water — swimming directly over the sunken ruins themselves is prohibited by law, so this is a viewing trip, not a snorkelling one; the Kekova sunken city guide has current details. On the way back, stop at Kaputaş Beach, a small turquoise cove reached by a steep staircase from the road above.

Day 13: The long drive to Pamukkale

The second long driving day of the trip: Kaş to Pamukkale runs roughly 3.5-4 hours by car on mountain roads. Leave in the morning, arrive by early-to-mid afternoon, and use what’s left of the day to get oriented before tackling the site itself the next morning.

Day 14: Pamukkale, then back to the airport

Spend the morning at Pamukkale, the white travertine terraces shared on one ticket with the adjoining ruins of Hierapolis — walking is restricted to marked paths in the wet terrace areas, with bare feet required, so this isn’t a site for wandering off-path. See the Pamukkale day trip guide for logistics. Afterward, drive back to Antalya Airport for a flight home — the third long driving day of the route, and the one that makes clear this itinerary does not close into a tidy loop.

Practical notes for driving this route

A few things are worth sorting out before the wheels start turning. Confirm your rental car’s insurance covers mountain roads and one-way drop-off if you plan to end the trip near Pamukkale rather than looping back to pick up a car in Antalya — not every local rental company offers that. Fuel up before the long driving days (Alanya to Kaş, and Kaş to Pamukkale); stations thin out once you leave the main coastal towns. Mobile signal is generally reliable along the coast but drops in stretches of the Lycian mountain road and inside some of the canyon areas, so download offline maps for those sections in advance.

Money matters too: Turkish lira is the default currency everywhere on this route, though tourist-facing businesses in Kaş, Kalkan and the bigger resorts sometimes quote in euros — our money in Antalya guide covers cards, cash and typical tipping. If any of the specific driving days above feel too ambitious for your group, our seven-day Antalya riviera road trip and ten-day Antalya and Lycian coast itinerary both cover overlapping ground at a gentler pace, and either makes a good template if you decide to cut this two-week route short.

Frequently asked questions about this 14-day Antalya itinerary

Is 14 days enough to see the whole Antalya region, including Pamukkale?

Yes, but only with a rental car and several one-night stops. This route covers Antalya city, the Kemer coast, Side, Manavgat, Alanya, the Lycian coast around Kaş and Kekova, and finishes with Pamukkale, which means at least two or three long driving days rather than a single fixed base.

Do I need a car for the whole two weeks?

Yes. Public transport and organised tours can cover single days from a fixed base, but a route that strings together Kemer, Side, Alanya, Kaş and Pamukkale in one trip is only realistic with a rental car for the full 14 days.

Does this itinerary loop back to Antalya Airport at the end?

It ends near Pamukkale, roughly 3.5-4 hours from Antalya by car, so the final day is a return drive to the airport. This route does not close a neat loop without that last long leg.

How many hotels will I need to book?

Plan on at least five or six different bases: Antalya/Kaleiçi, the Kemer coast, Side or Manavgat, Alanya, Kaş, and Pamukkale. This is not a single-resort, unpack-once holiday.

Which are the longest driving days on this route?

The stretch from Alanya to Kaş along the Lycian coast and the later drive from Kaş to Pamukkale are both long, winding mountain drives, each running several hours. The final return from Pamukkale to Antalya Airport is a third significant driving day.

Can this itinerary be shortened if I don’t have 14 days?

Yes. Dropping either the Lycian coast (Kaş and Kekova) or Pamukkale shortens the route considerably and removes one of the long drives, at the cost of missing either the turquoise coves or the travertine terraces.

Is this route suitable for a relaxed, low-key holiday?

Not really. With multiple changes of base and several long drives, this is an active touring itinerary rather than a beach-and-pool trip — travellers who want to unpack once should consider basing themselves in one area instead.