Think that Greece is the only holiday destination that you have? You need to think about Turkey. That’s right, we said it: Turkey is a great place to go. It’s a country that’s more than one culture — a beautiful blend of West and East. There are plenty of all inclusive vacation packages for Antalya, which is a city in Turkey. It’s on the Mediterranean coast, which means that you’re going to get roughly the same climate. The best time to go is ideally in April, but if you miss that window, don’t worry. You can find another great time to go — May and June are perfect months for this type of thing.

If you want to know more about Antalya, this guide is definitely for you. Like many places in the Mediterranean, Antalya actually has a lot to offer. You’ll find that the city has plenty of old ruins for you to check out, if that’s what you really want to do. Some travelers like to just stay at the resorts and let the rest go. Others really like to make sure that they’re at lest going through all of their options as much as possible.

Make sure that you bring your camera, because you aren’t going to want to miss a single thing.

Generally speaking, you’ll want to get in by plane. The airplane is completely modern, and there are plenty of shuttles to take you into the center of the city.

Getting around the city is another story. Don’t rent a car — go with the bus system. It’s cheap, and it’ll get you where you want to be. There’s so many different bus lines that the fares are extremely competitive. You could even go through different tourist towns on the bus system, if that’s what you wanted to do.

Now, if you were really trying to hop around the Med, you could take a boat from Rhodes, which would be insane. Some people like to get their travel on this way, so we’re not here to judge. If you’re coming directly from say, the UK …plane. Full stop. It’s the cheapest way to go.

The people that call Antalya home are very friendly, but most will tell you: don’t rent a car. Driving in the city is very “fast and furious”, and you could get into an accident. This is the same with riding a bicycle. You need to know where the bicycle-only places are, so that you don’t get hurt. There’s a train system that’s being developed and refined. The current train system should get you around fine as well.

History and art buffs, this is where you get to celebrate: Antalya is where you need to be. Seriously. The old quarter of the city is called Kaleici, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. This is where the famous Hadrian’s Gate is, a gate that has stood up against the challenges of time.

There’s a lot of touristy places in the old quarter where you can get a bite to eat as well as look around. There’s shops that will happily sell you little trinkets, but you can avoid those if you don’t want to spend too much money. There’s a beautiful series of clock towers in the old quarter as well.

Being that this is a city with a strong Islamic influence, you can see remnants from that side of history as well. There are beautiful mosques and churches.

Do you have your kids traveling with you? If so, they’ll love Aqualand! We know, it’s not really what you were expecting. But remember that this is an area that was opened up to tourism development in the 70’s. They’ve had time to really develop their own style here, but it’s focused on making tourists feel like coming back over and over again. This water park is found in the western part of the old quarter, oddly enough.

There’s a lot to do in the city, even if you’re not on the resort grounds. You will want to check out a scenic cruise. No, this won’t take you very far, but you’ll get amazing views. Some people like to just sit and take in the space, watching people move around. It’s a rather relaxing place to be if that’s what you want. But if you’re young and you like to party, you can find some nightclubs around as well.

There’s something very important that you need to realize — shopping in Antalya can be a bit hazardous if you don’t know what you’re getting into. You can buy a lot of antiques, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to take them outside of the country. You cannot export these items. Fake goods are strictly monitored. If you’re caught, you could face some heavy fines and a lot of trouble. It’s just not worth it. Stick to small trinkets and a few things that aren’t antique at all. You’ll be much safer that way.

Can’t talk about an area without talking about the food. If you’re trying to taste what real Turkish food tastes like, you have to head to this city. There’s plenty of authentic dishes to choose form. Of course, if you want to go full tourist and have more familiar food, you can definitely do that. There’s a lot of great seafood places to check out. This isn’t surprising given how close you are to the water. You can go budget and eat well, but if you want to spend money, you can do that too — the locals love that type of thing. 🙂

One thing that you’ll love about Antalya is that if you’re not doing the all inclusive vacation thing, you pretty much get chased for accommodations. Cheap hotels are everywhere outside of the resort zone, which means that you get to sleep in comfort and style without breaking the bank.

Would we recommend going to Antalya, seriously? Absolutely. We think that this is definitely a city that has plenty to offer. If you’re looking for a slower pace to relax and really unwind, this is the place to go. Why not check it out for yourself? You have the option for going with the all inclusive resort, which tries to keep you on the property, or going your own way independently. Either way, you’re in for a great experience. Good luck!