One day in Antalya [Experiences]

I was invited to a wedding in Denizli and on this occasion I flew to Antalya with my wife and cousin, because it was better to drive from Antalya to Denizli by bus than to book a flight from Dusseldorf to Denizli.

We thought, we could spend a day in Antalya and then drive to Denizli the next day. None of us had ever been to Antalya and I did not read any reliable tips or tricks about this place. That’s why I would like to share my experiences with you.

If somebody speaks of Antalya everybody thinks first of the strung together hotels, which are directly on the beach. However, I have seen the other side by booking a holiday apartment very centrally. It is not as loud and as active as a beach hotel and you can choose your activities yourself. That’s why I would recommend instead of a hotel complex, to rent a holiday apartment, in which one has his peace and if you want, you can get out and sit down in a Café.

For example, I have booked a very good hotel with a quiet location and would recommend it. Here you can read my post about this hotel.

We only stayed one day so I will not be able to tell you so much about the cafes in Antalya. But what I noticed is that there are many cafes where the people only drunk in uncomfortably loud music and you could not reasonably talk.

At this coffee stand, a lady in front of the door and asked us in and said that they have a roof terrace available. We are clean and went to the roof terrace and there we were greeted by a gentleman who asked us if we wanted to eat. We said no to that question and told him that we would just like to have a drink. He then said to us that there are no tables available.

After this argument they were still trying to sell us a table on the ground floor which I thankfully refused and said that I’ll look elsewhere.

I thought it was so outrageous that we were asked if we wanted to eat and then afterwards a table was denied us. I had never experienced anything like this before.

After leaving the Tarrece Cafe, we went to the MARCO Teras Cafe Hotel and got a beautiful place there. You had a beautiful view of Hıdırlık Tower over to the sea and the mountains beyond.

We ordered several fruit platters and some to drink and spent some time there. In the end, the bill came and I was positively surprised. On the bill nothing was beat on it but we had to pay exactly what we ate / drank there. In any case, thumbs up for the honesty of the service, which is now a foreign word in Turkey.

We mainly went for a walk at Karaalioglu Park because it made a nice round trip between our hotel and the Hıdırlık Tower.

There are also several beautiful spots where you can sit on the cliffs and look at the sea. There are also small bays where you can make yourself comfortable with your group and eat and drink your own stuff.

I also had the Hadrian’s Gate on my checklist. It is an ancient gate built in honor of the visit of Emperor Hadrian. We also saw that and unfortunately we had no time for more.

Antalya is a very lively city. It’s good to party and relax with friends, but I would not recommend this city for a vacation with your family.

I have seen many bars and party areas where you can have a well talk, but if you had a child it would have been very stressful. But if you do not have any kids you could really enjoy yourself there.