Europe · Destination guide
Big-resort value, strong all inclusive and a lot of quality at family and luxury level.
Where to go
Choose it if you want to look beyond the big three resorts, at Kemer's mountains, Alanya's castle or a couple of nights in Antalya's old town..
A broad resort region where big all-inclusive hotels and strong facilities lead.
Explore Antalya coast
Choose it if you have young children, dread long transfers and want everything, from slides to themed dinners, inside one set of gates..
Large, polished resorts close to Antalya Airport, often with serious family facilities.
Explore Lara Beach
Choose it if you play golf, or want a five-star family hotel in pine-shaded grounds on a long beach, with Aspendos and a river canyon close by..
Premium resort hotels, golf and high-spec all inclusive along a broad stretch of coast.
Explore Belek
Choose it if you like to walk out of the hotel in the evening to Roman ruins, a harbour and a real town..
Large resorts with the option of history and a town beyond the hotel.
Explore SideIs it right for you?
A strong fit for
Families, couples and travellers who want the hotel to be the holiday.
We would think twice for
Travellers who dislike big-hotel holidays, because Turkey's coastal strength is exactly that: enormous, superbly run resorts where the hotel is the destination.
What we would want you to know
Airport, resort and transfer time must be matched carefully.
We’ve been here
We have holidayed in Turkey ourselves, Si was in Istanbul in February 2025, and much of our Turkey work is family hotel comparisons across Lara, Belek and Side: dining, kids' clubs, room layouts and beach set-ups laid side by side. That is where the real differences between five-star hotels show, far more than in the star rating on the brochure.
Weather and seasons
The Turkish coast gives you a longer summer than most of Europe. On the Antalya coast July and August average 34°C and 33°C by day, heat the big hotels are built around but which young children and older travellers often find too much. May and early June are softer, and October is the quiet favourite: still about 27°C, with the sea near 25°C. Watch the two Bayram holidays, whose dates move every year, when Turkish families fill the resorts and prices climb. Winter on the coast is mild but wet, and many resort hotels close.
Worth timing a trip around
Ramazan Bayramı ends the fasting month and Kurban Bayramı follows about ten weeks later. Both are national holidays when Turkish families head for the coast, and dates move about eleven days earlier each year.
Millions of tulips flower in the city's parks, above all at Emirgan on the Bosphorus, celebrating the flower the Ottomans made famous.
Flags, parades and fireworks mark the founding of the republic in 1923, in resort towns as well as the cities.
The whirling dervish ceremonies held in Konya each December to mark the death of the poet Rumi, the biggest performances of the year.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 9°C | 18°C | 206 mm |
| February | 17°C | 10°C | 17°C | 100 mm |
| March | 18°C | 11°C | 17°C | 97 mm |
| April | 22°C | 15°C | 18°C | 31 mm |
| May | 25°C | 18°C | 21°C | 47 mm |
| June | 30°C | 22°C | 25°C | 23 mm |
| July | 34°C | 26°C | 28°C | 2 mm |
| August | 33°C | 26°C | 29°C | 4 mm |
| September | 31°C | 24°C | 28°C | 18 mm |
| October | 27°C | 20°C | 25°C | 65 mm |
| November | 22°C | 15°C | 22°C | 61 mm |
| December | 18°C | 11°C | 20°C | 122 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Antalya-Bolge, 1 km away at 47 m. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 6°C | 18°C | 231 mm |
| February | 18°C | 8°C | 17°C | 127 mm |
| March | 19°C | 9°C | 17°C | 75 mm |
| April | 23°C | 12°C | 18°C | 35 mm |
| May | 28°C | 17°C | 20°C | 36 mm |
| June | 32°C | 21°C | 23°C | 9 mm |
| July | 36°C | 25°C | 26°C | 0 mm |
| August | 35°C | 25°C | 27°C | 1 mm |
| September | 32°C | 21°C | 26°C | 10 mm |
| October | 28°C | 16°C | 24°C | 70 mm |
| November | 23°C | 12°C | 22°C | 99 mm |
| December | 18°C | 8°C | 20°C | 213 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Fethiye, 0 km away at 3 m. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | 4°C | 8°C | 96 mm |
| February | 11°C | 5°C | 7°C | 75 mm |
| March | 13°C | 6°C | 8°C | 58 mm |
| April | 18°C | 9°C | 10°C | 40 mm |
| May | 22°C | 14°C | 15°C | 48 mm |
| June | 28°C | 19°C | 21°C | 39 mm |
| July | 31°C | 22°C | 24°C | 25 mm |
| August | 31°C | 23°C | 25°C | 31 mm |
| September | 27°C | 19°C | 23°C | 36 mm |
| October | 21°C | 14°C | 19°C | 85 mm |
| November | 17°C | 10°C | 15°C | 63 mm |
| December | 12°C | 7°C | 11°C | 115 mm |
Temperatures are 2015 to 2024 averages from NOAA records for Ataturk, 14 km away at 50 m. Rainfall is from the GPCC rain-gauge analysis (Deutscher Wetterdienst) for 2010 to 2019 and shows the typical (median) month, so one freak storm does not skew it. Sea temperatures: NOAA OISST, 1991 to 2020.
Things to do
Istanbul's great domed church is now a working mosque, and visitors follow a separate paid route to the upper galleries and their mosaics. Dress modestly, with a headscarf for women, and avoid prayer times.
A cheap, easy half day in Istanbul: ride a public ferry up the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia, past palaces and wooden mansions. Tap on with an Istanbulkart; the tourist cruises cost far more.
Thousands of shops under painted vaults, from carpets to lamps. Haggling is expected, so start well below the asking price and walk away politely if it does not move. Closed on Sundays.
Valleys of rock pinnacles, cave churches and hotels carved into the stone in central Anatolia, best added to an Istanbul stay. Balloon flights at dawn are often cancelled in wind, so allow two mornings.
White terraces of warm spring water above the Roman spa city of Hierapolis. Shoes come off on the terraces, so go early before the stone heats up, and swim in the old pool among fallen columns.
A Roman city of marble streets, the Library of Celsus and a huge theatre, near Kuşadası on the Aegean coast. Arrive at opening; the white stone reflects the heat by late morning.
The sheltered lagoon at Ölüdeniz sits below Babadağ, the launch point for tandem paragliding flights that land on the beach. Choose a licensed operator and fly in the morning calm.
River boats pass Lycian tombs carved into the cliffs on the way to İztuzu beach, a loggerhead turtle nesting site that closes at night in summer. The mud baths upriver are a messy, cheerful stop.
A hillside ghost town of roofless stone houses near Fethiye, emptied in the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the 1920s. Walk it early or late, when the light is low.
A narrow canyon inland from Fethiye where you wade upstream through icy water between towering walls. Hire water shoes at the entrance.
Food and drink
The Turkish breakfast spread: white cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, eggs, honey with clotted cream and fresh bread, with tea refilled until you stop them.
An evening of small plates, from smoky aubergine to white cheese and melon, with rakı, the anise spirit that turns cloudy when water is added.
Layers of filo, butter and pistachio or walnut soaked in syrup and sold by weight. Gaziantep, in the south-east, is the home of the pistachio version.
Black tea in small tulip-shaped glasses, drunk all day and offered in shops as a welcome. Accepting a glass does not oblige you to buy.
Thick, unfiltered coffee brewed in a small copper pot and ordered by sweetness: sade, orta or şekerli. Leave the grounds in the cup.
Money
Like for like, all inclusive in Turkey usually gives more for the money than anywhere else in the Mediterranean, and the better hotels include things that are extras elsewhere, from à la carte dinners to kids' clubs. May, June and October stretch money furthest. Paying for the right room category often matters more than a higher star rating, and anything bought locally, from a hammam to a boat trip, is good value against the pound.
Flights and transfers
Direct seasonal flights run to Antalya and Dalaman from Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. It is a slightly longer flight than Spain, and the resorts split between the two airports, so we match the airport to the resort before anything else.
Flights from UK airports
Route check September 2026. Some routes are seasonal and schedules change, so we confirm the live options when we quote.
Practical details
3 hours ahead of the UK in winter, 2 hours in summer
Turkish lira (₺)
Turkish
Type C and F, 230V
On the right
Not recommended for drinking; use bottled
Around 10 percent in restaurants, in cash; small tips for hotel staff are appreciated
Entry for British passport holders
Visa. No visa needed on a British citizen passport for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Passport. Valid for at least 150 days after the date you arrive, with a blank page.
The FCDO advises against all travel within 10km of the Syrian border. The places we suggest on this page were outside those areas when we checked, and we check the advice again before every booking.
Summarised from the FCDO travel advice on gov.uk, checked 29 September 2026. Rules change: read the current entry requirements and the full travel advice before you go.
Questions we get asked
Antalya for big all-inclusive hotels, long beaches and short transfers, especially with young children. Dalaman for scenery, smaller hotels and more life outside them, around Ölüdeniz, Fethiye, Dalyan and Marmaris. Couples who like to explore usually prefer the Dalaman side; families who want the hotel to do everything prefer Antalya.
On the Antalya coast the heat builds from late June and stays until September, and it is hotter again inland, so the midday sun is hard work. Big hotels manage it with shade, pools and air conditioning, but for young children and older travellers we steer towards May, June, September and October.
Usually, yes. The better hotels include à la carte restaurants, snacks all day, local drinks and kids' clubs, and eating out nearby is limited at many resorts. It matters less in Side, Kaleiçi or the Dalaman towns, where evenings out are part of the fun.
We would not. The tap water is treated, but most people, locals included, drink bottled water, which is cheap everywhere and included at all-inclusive hotels. Brushing your teeth with tap water is generally fine.
Lira, where you can. Many resort shops and excursion sellers quote euros or pounds, but paying in lira at the going rate usually works out cheaper. Cards are widely accepted; carry some cash for taxis, markets and tips.
Easily. Three nights in Istanbul followed by a week on either coast is a natural two-centre trip, and we arrange the connection between them. We usually put the city first, while everyone's energy is high.
Photographs
Also worth a look
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