Alanya sits approximately 135 kilometres east of Antalya Airport — a transfer of around 90 minutes to two hours depending on traffic and exact hotel location. It is the furthest of the major Antalya coast resorts from the airport, and that is worth acknowledging honestly. For guests who prioritise a short transfer, Belek or Lara are more practical choices. For guests who are drawn specifically to Alanya — its beach, its castle, its atmosphere and its hotel value — the longer journey is worthwhile.
What Alanya offers in return is considerable. The resort has one of Turkey’s finest urban beaches — Cleopatra Beach, named after the Egyptian queen who is said to have swum here with Mark Antony, runs for several kilometres along the western bay and is one of the most beautiful sandy beaches on the entire Mediterranean coast. The water is calm, clear and warm, and the beach is backed by a well-developed promenade with restaurants, cafes and bars that create a genuinely lively evening atmosphere.
Dominating the headland between Alanya’s two bays is the Alanya Castle — a Seljuk fortress built in the 13th century on a rocky promontory 250 metres above the sea. The views from the castle walls over the Mediterranean and the surrounding coastline are extraordinary, and the historic Red Tower at the harbour below is one of Turkey’s most photographed landmarks. For guests who want history as part of their beach holiday, Alanya delivers it in a more immediate and dramatic way than most Turkish resorts.
The all inclusive hotel offer in Alanya is extensive and very competitive on price. The resort attracts a broad range of properties from solid four-star all inclusive hotels to large five-star ultra all inclusive resorts — particularly in the Mahmutlar area east of the centre, where some of Alanya’s largest and most comprehensively equipped resorts are located. For guests who want maximum hotel facilities at competitive prices, Alanya frequently offers better value than equivalent properties in Belek or Lara.
Alanya also has a more developed town centre than most Turkish resorts — a proper high street, local markets, restaurants that cater to Turkish guests as well as tourists and a harbour area with boat trips, seafood restaurants and evening bars. For guests who want to feel like they are in a real Turkish town rather than a resort bubble, Alanya’s centre provides that more authentically than the larger, more isolated resort strips further west.
For all inclusive holidays in Alanya, cheap Turkey holidays or luxury Alanya hotels — book through GotoBeach with full ATOL protection under licence #11211, low deposits from £30 per person and the honest advice of a team that knows the destination properly.
