Where to stay in Antalya: the districts
1 h route5 stopsBest: Book ahead from June to SeptemberUpdated July 2026
In Antalya, where you sleep shapes the whole trip, far more than in other cities: there are up to forty kilometres of motorway between the old town and the hotel strips. People who book in Belek thinking they’re in Antalya end up paying for a taxi every time they want dinner in Kaleiçi.
There’s no single right answer: there’s an answer per reason for coming. Here are the five zones and what each one costs you.
The route, stop by stop
5 STOPS- 01
Kaleiçi: the old town
Inside the walls, in the wooden Ottoman houses converted into small hotels with courtyards. It has more character than anything else by a distance, and it’s the only base you can walk out of to dinner, with the old harbour below.
The drawbacks are real: no beach, the sea is at the foot of a cliff, everything is slopes and cobbles, which tells with a suitcase, and in summer the narrow streets hold the heat.
This is the choice if you came for the city and the ruins.
- 02
Konyaaltı: beach and city at once
West, alongside the pebble beach, this is where a lot of Antalya lives and where the Museum is. It has the promenade, the beach park and normal restaurants at normal prices, and the old town is a walk or a tram away. It’s the balanced option and usually the best value: the beach without giving up the city and without paying for all-inclusive. If you’re torn between Kaleiçi and Lara, this is usually the answer.
- 03
Lara and Kundu: the resorts
East: fine sand, and in Kundu a row of enormous all-inclusive resorts, some shaped like famous monuments. It’s where most package holidays land, and for plenty of travellers it works: they don’t leave the hotel and the hotel is good. If your plan includes seeing the city, be clear about the cost: every trip to the centre is a taxi on the motorway. And the other warning: this is where an eSIM shows its worth, because the resort wifi ends at the beach and the excursions don’t.
- 04
Belek and Kemer: outside the city
Both are sold as “Antalya” and neither is. Belek is about 30 km east and it’s the golf zone: big resorts among pine woods, very close to Aspendos, and nothing to do on foot outside the hotel. Kemer is about 40 km south-west and it’s the opposite: mountains falling into the sea, coves, pines and a small town. If you want landscape, Kemer. If you want golf and a resort, Belek. If you want a city, neither.
- 05
Muratpaşa and Balbey: the real city
Right behind the old town, the working city begins: Muratpaşa is the central district and Balbey, pressed against Kaleiçi, is the old Ottoman quarter that missed the restoration and is slowly coming back.
It’s not a hotel zone, it’s a go-and-eat zone: this is where the piyaz and tandır houses are, at neighbourhood prices, and the weekly pazars.
If you’re staying in Kaleiçi, crossing the street is the best food decision of the trip.
Frequently asked
Where is the best area to stay in Antalya?
If you came for the city and the ruins, Kaleiçi, the old town, in an Ottoman house. If you want a beach without giving up the centre, Konyaaltı is the best mix and usually better value. Lara is for sand and all-inclusive.
Are Belek and Kemer in Antalya?
They’re in the province, not the city: Belek about 30 km east and Kemer about 40 south-west. They’re marketed as Antalya, but from either one every visit to the old town is a long motorway run.
Can you reach the beach from Kaleiçi?
The old town sits on a cliff, so it has no beach of its own. Konyaaltı starts a couple of kilometres west and you can walk the promenade or take the tram. Lara is on the other side, east.