ALANYA · TURKEY
Castle on the cape. Mountains behind. Roman cities inland.
Mediterranean boat days, paragliders descending to Cleopatra Beach, jeep safaris into the Taurus Mountains, and the Roman theatres of Aspendos and Side an hour east. The full sweep of the Turkish Riviera.
Only in Alanya
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
All-inclusive boats and cable cars exist in every Mediterranean resort. These three don’t. The cape with the medieval castle on top, the Roman theatre still in use after 1,800 years, the emerald-green lake hidden in the Taurus. Each one is specific to this stretch of the Turkish Riviera. Plan the rest of the trip around them.
Off the cape
Paragliding to Cleopatra Beach
Tandem paragliders launch from the Taurus foothills above the castle and float down over the cape, landing on the legendary sand where Marc Antony reportedly swam with Cleopatra. The combination of medieval fortress, Mediterranean turquoise and a 600m glide path is specific to this peninsula — almost nowhere else on earth pairs all three.
- 1 Alanya: Tandem Paragliding with Hotel Pickup
- 2 Tandem Paragliding in Alanya, Antalya Turkey with a Licensed Guide
- 3 Alanya: Tandem Paragliding Flight to Cleopatra Beach
East of the cape
Aspendos & Ancient Side
The best-preserved Roman theatre in the world is an hour east of Alanya, still hosting concerts under its original arches. Twenty minutes further on, the Temple of Apollo stands at the water’s edge of ancient Side. Two UNESCO-grade Roman cities, both reachable as a single day trip from the coast.
- 1 City of Side/Alanya: Koprulu Canyon Rafting Tour with Lunch
- 2 Alanya: Aspendos, Manavgat Waterfalls and City of Side Tour
- 3 Alanya to Aspendos, Kursunlu Waterfalls and City of Side Tour
Inland by water
The Green Canyon
A reservoir lake the colour of emerald, hemmed in by the Taurus Mountains and accessible only by boat. The dam built it; the dolomite stone underneath gives the water its green. Skip the buffets — this is one of the few Mediterranean boat days where the scenery is the whole point.
- 1 Antalya: Green Canyon Boat Trip with Lunch & Soft Drinks
- 2 From Alanya: Green Canyon Day Trip with Lunch and Boat Ride
- 3 Green Canyon: Boot Tour with Lunch, Soft Drinks, & Transfer
The most-booked day
If you can only spare one day, this is it.
The single most-booked tour out of Alanya, by a long margin. A clean introduction to the way this coast actually works.
The classics
Alanya’s Most Popular Tours
Sapadere Canyon, the pirate boats, the Taurus jeep safari, paragliding off Cleopatra Beach. The day trips most travellers come for.
By day trip
Pick a day to leave the resort.
Each tile is its own day. The cape and the castle for the local one. Sapadere for canyons and caves. The Green Canyon for the Taurus boat day. Aspendos and Side for Roman ruins. Pamukkale for the cotton-castle terraces. Cappadocia if you have a night to spare.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
Pirate boat if you want the harbour day. Jeep if you want the Taurus. Paragliding for the cape from above. Quad, raft, hamam, dinner cruise, zipline through the pines, and the rest.
The harbour day
The pirate boats.
The painted wooden galleons moored along the harbour are an Alanya signature. Lunch on board, swim stops at Pirate Cave and Cleopatra Beach, the castle towering above the whole route. Three boats we’d board if we had a single day.
Half an hour east
Sapadere & Dim Cave.
A narrow canyon walk between vertical rock walls, a 400m descent through Dim Cave’s stalactite chambers, and lunch on platforms over the river. Our shortlist for the easiest, prettiest half-day out of the resorts.
Up into the Taurus
The mountain day.
Open-top 4x4s climb the switchbacks behind Alanya into pine forest, mountain villages and the rivers that cut through them. Three routes that take the day past the obvious coast stops and into the Taurus proper.
The Alanya duality
Mediterranean coast, Taurus mountains.
Stand on the castle ramparts and you see the city’s split character in one frame — turquoise water one direction, pine-covered peaks the other. Most Alanya days lean one way. Here’s a top three for each.
On the water
Saltwater days.
Catamarans, all-inclusive boats, sunset cruises and scuba. Picks across the boat-day categories.
- 1 Alanya: 2 Guided Scuba Dives with Lunch and Hotel Transfers
- 2 From Side: Alanya Tour with Lunch, Boat Trip, and Cable Car
- 3 Alanya: Catamaran Boat Tour with Snorkeling and BBQ Lunch
Into the Taurus
Mountain days.
Quad bikes, buggies, river rafts and ziplines. Picks across the inland-adventure categories.
- 1 Alanya: Forest Quad-Bike Excursion with Hotel Pickup
- 2 Alanya: City Tour with Cable Car and Damlatas Cave 3 in 1
- 3 Alanya: 4X4 Quad Safari Tour in the Mountains
Past the headland
Beyond Alanya.
The travertine pools of Pamukkale four hours west, the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia an overnight away, the waterfalls of Manavgat half an hour up the coast. The long days — the ones worth saving an extra morning for.
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