10 musts in Alanya, Turkey

Visit a hamam

A wash in a hamam, or Turkish bath, is a must-do activity for any visit to Turkey. Get scrubbed and massaged with soap and oils by a Turkish lady in accordance with all the rules of the art. Mimoza is a classic, simple hamam that has been around for a long time. Frequented by both tourists and locals alike.

Historic tour

The symbol of Alanya is the 1000-year-old fort. It rises out of a rocky headland located between the town’s long beaches. It has 150 towers and is surrounded by a seven-kilometer-long wall. The fort looks its best in the afternoon light. Go late and enjoy the view over the town and sea.

Enjoy the nightlife

The best nightlife can be found around the harbor and boardwalk. This area is home to all the bars, restaurants and discotheques. If you want to party Turkish-style, you should end your evening by eating soup – corba. Turkish late light supper.

Smoke a hookah pipe

The hookah is a common feature of many places along the harbor, including the Cello Turku Bar, where you can also enjoy live music performances.

Travel in time

There are tons of historic excursion destinations around Alanya. Leave the beach for a day and travel back in time. Aspendos, a 2000-year-old and almost completely intact theater located between Side and Alanya, is definitely worth a visit. In the summer, the theater plays host to a number of music, opera and ballet shows.

Swim in the Dimcay River

Another fun excursion is to travel up into the mountains to the Dimcay River, east of Alanya. Here, you can swim in cooling freshwater and eat freshly caught fish in any of the floating fish restaurants (on pontoons). Dimcay is a common weekend excursion destination for the locals. The archetypal dish is freshly-caught trout, served with pita bread and salad.

Ulas beach

About five kilometers outside Alanya, just behind the new marina, is the beauty spot of Ulas. On Sundays, Turks flock there to picnic. This is a beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs,. Some sunbeds are available, but in general use of the beach is unrestricted. Take your own food and drink. A dolmus (local shared taxi) ride from Alanya bus station to Ulas costs about $1.50.

Perle Camping

On weekdays, there are huge gaps between the towels at Perle Camping, located around 15 kilometers east of Alanya. But at the weekends, the beach is full. Relatively few tourists manage to find their way there, with the exception of campers, mainly from Germany and the Netherlands. The beach restaurant serves everything from pizza to fish dishes. Take a local bus from the small Alanya bus station to Kargicak (costs about $1.50)

Eat breakfast at Mountana

This wonderful little breakfast place is located in the village of Tepe outside Alanya. Cheeses, stuffed olives, vegetables, melon, jams, spicy sausage, pickled salads, pita... just don’t count on having lunch.

Tepe Mahallesi Çataloluk Mevkii

Günes Beach Hotel

A beautiful, recently renovated hotel on the east beach that affords a magnificent sea view. The only thing missing from the hotel is a pool. If you’ve had enough of salt water, you’ll have to visit the sister hotel across the street in order to swim in a pool.

Text: Anna Wahlgren