Things to Do in Turkey's Coastal Towns and Inland Cities

Alanya packs a harbour, a castle headland and a working marina into one walkable centre, with canyon, river and mountain days a tour or rental car away. Here is how each option fits together, what the packaged trips include, and which sights cost you nothing but time.

Ankara rewards a day spent by district: climb to Ankara Castle for the view, walk down through the old quarter, cross Ulus for Roman baths and a 15th-century mosque, then give Anıtkabir at least 90 minutes.

Antalya rewards a split plan: one day on foot through Kaleiçi and down to the old harbour, one day for Perge, Aspendos or Termessos, and a half-day on the water or up the Tahtalı cable car. Here is how to group the sights by area, what costs money, and what to save for a car or tour day.

Belek works best as a base with three rings of activity: the resort strip itself, the Roman ruins at Aspendos and Perge inland, and long booked day trips to Pamukkale, Manavgat and the Taurus Mountains. This guide splits the resort, the river plain and the mountains, shows which sights need a tour and which you can drive to yourself, and explains how to read a tour listing before you pay.

Bodrum rewards a plan. The town has the castle, harbour and old bazaar; the peninsula has Gültürkbükü, Gümüşlük and Yalıkavak, and the coastal roads link them slowly. This guide sets out what to see, how to get around, how long to allow and where the expense really lies.

Bursa packs its Ottoman sights into a walkable old centre: the Grand Mosque, the Green Complex, Koza Han and Irgandı Bridge sit close together, with the Teleferik to Uludağ and the village of Cumalıkızık as half-day add-ons.

Cappadocia rewards three or four days on the ground: one morning for a balloon flight, one for the Göreme Open Air Museum and the valleys around it, one for an underground city, and a spare morning in case the balloons are grounded. Group the sights by valley so you are not crossing the region twice a day.

Dalyan packs three headline sights into one short stretch of river: the Lycian rock tombs carved into the cliff, the ancient city of Kaunos across the water, and Iztuzu Beach, the loggerhead turtle nesting ground. This guide sets out how the town is laid out, how one river boat can cover the lot, and how to reach Dalyan from Dalaman, Ortaca and Fethiye.

Didim pairs a monumental Temple of Apollo in town with Miletus, Priene, Lake Bafa and a market at its centre. Here is how to split the days, what a boat trip or jeep safari involves, and how far the airports are.

Fethiye packs a working harbour, a lanes-and-market old town and Lycian tombs into a walkable centre, with Ölüdeniz, Kayaköy, Saklıkent and Tlos within easy reach. This guide sorts things to do by distance from the harbour, so you can plan a day without a car and know when to book a boat or a tour.

Hisarönü works as a base for paragliding over Ölüdeniz, jeep and quad safaris, camel rides at Kayaköy and hammams, with pick-ups from the main resorts.

İçmeler works best as a slow base: a bay backed by pine forest that you can walk in an afternoon, with boat trips, a jeep safari and Marmaris close enough for a day out. Here is how to shape the day and what to book.

İzmir rewards a day of walking rather than taxi-hopping: start in the Kemeraltı bazaar, cross to Konak Square and the Clock Tower, follow the Kordon waterfront, then climb to the Agora and the historic lift for the view. Keep Ephesus and Pamukkale for separate days.

Kalkan's day splits between the old town and harbour, where boat trips leave, and the coast around it: Patara, Kaş, Kaputaş and the Greek island of Meis. This guide separates what you can walk to from what needs a boat, a minibus or a car, and shows how much of a day each outing takes.

Kemer packs ancient cities, a burning hillside, a canyon and a mountain cable car into a stretch of pine-covered coast about 43 km from Antalya. Here is how the resort villages, the harbour and the main sights fit together, and how to plan a day around heat, transfers and boat trips.

Kuşadası works best as two holidays in one: a walkable harbour town of old streets, a castle island and a busy bazaar, plus a launch pad for Ephesus, Şirince, Pamukkale and the Dilek peninsula. Here is how to split your days, what each trip costs in time, and where the cruise crowds land.

Manavgat fits into two parts: the town's own river, waterfall, bazaar and mosque, and the excursions sold from it into the canyons and ancient sites. This guide separates what you can walk to from what needs a booked trip, with market days, boat-trip formats and realistic drive times to Side, Aspendos and Antalya.

Marmaris packs an old town, a hilltop castle and museum, a covered bazaar and a harbour full of boats into a compact centre, with ancient ruins and quiet villages a short drive away. Here is how to arrange the days, what each boat trip involves and how far a dolmuş ride will take you.

Ölüdeniz packs a lagoon, a long beach, a mountain cable car and a launch point for tandem paragliders into one small resort. This guide splits the lagoon, the beach and Babadağ into separate half-days, adds the boat trips and inland days out within reach, and explains how the dolmuş link to Fethiye makes the village a workable base.

Pamukkale's white travertine terraces and the Roman city of Hierapolis sit side by side, so one visit covers both. Here is how to walk the pools, what to see in the ruins, and how to weigh up Cleopatra's Pool and the nearby add-ons.

Side packs a harbour, a Roman theatre and a walkable old town into one small centre, with boat trips, Manavgat Waterfall and the Green Canyon a short drive away. This guide groups the sights by how far you need to travel, so you can build a realistic day around the ruins and leave a half-day for the water.