Things to do in Alanya: Castle, Cleopatra Beach and Day Trips
Alanya sits on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, built around a rocky headland that carries a Seljuk castle and drops into the sea on either side as two long beaches. Most visitors split their time between the old town and harbour, a day on the water, and at least one trip inland or along the coast. The main things to do in Alanya are the castle and Cleopatra beach, a pirate boat day along the coastline, the Dim river and cave east of town, a jeep safari into the Taurus mountains, and day trips to Side and Antalya.
None of this needs more than a few days. A short stay can cover the castle, the beach and one boat trip; a longer one leaves room for the mountains and a day in Side or Antalya. The sections below set out what each of these involves, roughly how long it takes, and what to bring.
Alanya Castle and the old town
Alanya Castle sits on the headland that divides the town's two beaches, built in the thirteenth century under the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad. The walls run for several kilometres around the hill, taking in the old town, a handful of cisterns, a small Byzantine church, and the Red Tower (Kızıl Kule) down by the harbour, which was built to guard the shipyard below.
Inside the walls, the old town is a cluster of narrow lanes, stone houses and small gardens, with the castle itself at the top offering views over both Cleopatra beach and Keykubat beach at once. There's no single building to focus on; the walk around the walls and through the old streets is the main activity.
A dolmuş (shared minibus) runs up from the town centre, or a taxi makes the climb in a few minutes; the road is steep and winding, so driving yourself is only worth it with a confident head for hairpin bends. A sunset city tour with cable car and 4x4 transfer covers the castle area along with other viewpoints and avoids the parking question entirely.
Go either early in the morning or in the last couple of hours before sunset; the midday sun is strong and there's little shade on the walls. Flat shoes help on the uneven stone paths, and it's worth carrying water, since there are only a few places to buy a drink once you're inside.
Cleopatra beach
Cleopatra beach runs along the west side of the headland, below the castle, and is the town's main sandy beach. It carries blue flag status and is the one most visitors picture when they think of Alanya: pale sand, calm shallow water near the shore, and the castle walls rising behind it.
Sunbeds and umbrellas are set out along most of its length, with cafes and small restaurants a short walk back from the sand. The sea floor shelves gently, which makes it a reasonable choice for swimmers of most ages, though it gets busy in the middle of the day during the warmer months.
The name comes from a local story that Cleopatra once swam here, though there's no documented evidence for the claim; it's worth knowing as background rather than as fact. Either way, the beach works well as a half-day activity on its own, or as a stop before or after walking up to the castle.
A pirate boat day along the coast
A pirate boat day is one of the more common ways to see Alanya from the water. Boats leave from the harbour below the castle, usually mid-morning, and sail east or west along the coastline, stopping at caves, coves and open water for swimming breaks through the day.
Most of these trips include lunch and soft drinks on board, along with music, and on some boats a foam party partway through the afternoon. The Alanya pirate boat tour with lunch, soft drinks and transfer follows this format, with hotel pickup included.
There are quieter versions of the same idea if a foam party isn't what you're after: a relaxing boat tour sticks closer to swimming and sightseeing, while a catamaran trip offers a different style of boat and a calmer pace. A sunset cruise with dinner is the evening equivalent, timed to finish as the light changes over the water.
Whichever boat you choose, bring sun cream that you're happy to reapply, a hat, and a dry change of clothes for the journey home. Shade on deck is usually limited, and a full day on the water adds up to more sun exposure than it feels like at the time.
Dim river and Dim cave
The Dim river and Dim cave sit around 12 kilometres east of Alanya, in the hills behind the coast. The cave was discovered in the 1990s and opened to visitors not long after, cut into limestone with walkways installed through the main chambers.
Inside, the temperature drops noticeably compared with the coast, and the walkways lead past stalactites and stalagmites formed over a long period. It's a short, self-contained visit, usually taking under an hour to walk through, and makes a good stop on a wider day out rather than a destination on its own.
The river below the cave is lined with restaurants built on wooden platforms over the water, where food is often lowered to the table in a basket as a bit of theatre. Floating down short stretches of the river on a rubber tyre is a common activity here, and the shallow, cool water suits families with children.
A jeep safari in the Taurus mountains
A jeep safari takes you off the coast road and up into the foothills of the Taurus mountains, where the scenery shifts from beach resorts to pine forest, dirt tracks and small villages. The route typically climbs steadily, with the vehicles handling rougher ground than a standard hire car would manage.
Stops usually include a waterfall for swimming, a village where local produce such as honey or dried fruit is sold, and viewpoints looking back down over the coastline. The Alanya jeep safari with off-road driving, lunch and roundtrip transfer follows this kind of itinerary across a full day.
The roads involved are unpaved and bumpy by design, so it's worth packing a change of clothes and leaving anything you mind getting dusty at the hotel. Anyone prone to motion sickness should sit near the front if possible and consider medication in advance.
For a different pace, there are also quad bike and buggy versions of the same hills, and a night safari that combines off-road driving with a boat trip and dinner after dark. All cover similar ground but suit different interests and energy levels.
Day trip to Side
Side sits around 60 kilometres east of Alanya, an old port town built on a small peninsula with ruins woven into the modern streets. The Temple of Apollo, with its row of standing columns facing the sea, is the most photographed point and sits right at the harbour.
Behind the temple, a Roman amphitheatre survives largely intact and is open to walk through, alongside the narrow lanes of the old town, which mix ruins with shops and small restaurants. It's a compact area, manageable on foot in a few hours.
Many day trips to this part of the coast combine Side's old town with a stop in Manavgat, where a river boat trip, a local bazaar and a waterfall are usually grouped together. The Manavgat boat, bazaar and waterfall tour with transfer from Alanya covers that side of the trip.
Day trip to Antalya
Antalya lies further along the coast, roughly two hours from Alanya by road, and is a larger city with its own old town, Kaleiçi, built around a horseshoe-shaped harbour. Narrow streets, Ottoman-era houses and small boutiques fill the area inside the old walls.
Just outside the centre, the Düden waterfalls drop over a cliff near the coast, and the city's archaeology museum holds finds from Side, Perge and other sites along this stretch of coastline, if ruins and history are of interest beyond what's on view outdoors.
Given the distance, a day trip to Antalya works best with transport arranged in advance rather than relying on local buses both ways. A private transfer between Alanya and Antalya is normally booked for airport journeys but runs the same route, so it's worth checking whether a day-trip booking can use the same service.
Other ways to see the coast by boat
Beyond the pirate boat format, Alanya's harbour offers a range of other boat trips for a day or half-day on the water. Yacht tours, including private charters, tend to carry fewer passengers and move at a steadier pace than the larger pirate boats, with the Alanya all-inclusive yacht tour with hotel transfer covering food and drink across a full day out.
For a more active day on the water, jet ski trips and scuba diving are both available locally, running separately from the lunch-and-swim boat format. These suit visitors who want a shorter, more physical outing rather than a full day of sailing.
In the evening, a sunset cruise with dinner on board is a common alternative to an evening meal on land, timed to be out on the water as the light changes. It's worth deciding in advance whether you want a lively boat with music or a calmer one, since the atmosphere varies considerably between operators.
Planning your visit: season, transfers and what to pack
The period from April to October covers most of Alanya's outdoor season, with July and August being the hottest months and the busiest on the beaches and boats. Spring and fallow autumn are quieter and cooler, which suits castle walks and mountain trips better than peak summer heat does.
If you're flying in or out, a transfer between Alanya and the nearest airports (Gazipaşa or Antalya) is worth arranging ahead of time rather than on arrival, particularly late at night. A oneway private transfer between Alanya and Gazipaşa airport covers the shorter of the two routes.
For day trips and activities, pack swimwear and a towel even if the main plan is a castle or mountain visit, since most itineraries end up near water at some point. Sun protection, a hat and comfortable shoes cover most of what's needed, along with a small amount of cash for villages and markets that don't take cards.
Few of the activities above need booking far in advance outside peak summer weeks, but pirate boats, jeep safaris and day trips to Side or Antalya are popular enough that securing a place the day before, rather than on the morning itself, avoids disappointment.