Alanya

Alanya

Alanya is in Pamphylia, Turkey, situated on the south coast. It is a popular tourist destination.
Get in
Alanya is about 2 hours drive from the nearest major international airport in Antalya and half an hour from Gazipasa Airport. Gazipasa Airport opened for international flights in 2011, and serves a limited, but growing number of European destinations. Most holiday makers land in Antalya and are then taken to their hotel in Alanya by bus and also you can choose Antalya airport transfers to alanya for hassle free arrivals
If your hotel is a bit far from Alanya, you can stand outside the hotel on the road and wait for a dolmus to come by and pick you up. You can stop at dolmus stops anywhere on the road, mostly there are bus stops, rarely at some places there are not bus stops, they come in each 10 and 15 minutes and are sometimes quite crowded.
Get around
In the city center there is cheap dolmus to reach all around the town.

Red Tower and part of Alanya Castle
Walking around the town is the best option, except on very hot July and August days. You can take taxis or a dolmus to the castle if you don’t want to walk all the way up the hill.
Also you can rent an electric scooter or a bike.
See
• The Citadel (Kale) occupies a hilly peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, and by the modern parts of the city on the other. Although the signs showing way to ‘Castle’ (Kale) points to the highest parts of the walls, the walls can be followed starting right at the sea level. Particularly interesting in (or next to) the citadel is the tip of the peninsula formed by a high and narrow extension of rocks, jutting long into the sea. This formation is named Adam Atacağı in Turkish (pronounced aa-daam aa-taa-jaa-a), literally “man thrower”, as here was where people condemned to death were pushed into the sea.
• The Red Tower (Kızıl Kule) – The hexagonal tower of the citadel which is nearest to sea.
• Old shipyard (Tersane) – Built by the Seljuqs, this structure dates back to 1228. Located very near the Red Tower.
• Syedra Ancient City Ancient port city in the Seki Village, some 25 km southeast of the city center. Excavations continue.
• Damlatas Cave near Kleopetra Beach.
• Caves around the town, accessible by boat trips.
• Dim Cayı
• Sapadere Kanyonu
Do
There is a lot to do in and there are plenty of tour companies whole heartedly willing to help you.
• Boat trip (try to haggle down to €5 for one hour), should include visits to caves (if the weather permits it) and lunch as well as animation with Eurodance music. Beware some salespersons there promise you that you will see turtles and dolphins before the season before may and that you will go into the cave with the boat, even though you boat is far too big. Do not believe them.
• Scuba Diving (more fish during the high season)
• Jeep safari tours
• Quad bike tours
• Donkey riding
• Trip to historic Amphitheatre in Aspendos
Buy
Catering for all the European tourists, almost everyone in Alanya accepts Euros. You may not even have to exchange your Euros at all. When taking money out of the automatic teller machines, make sure they can give you Euros as well as Lira. It’s also very easy to exchange all Scandinavian crowns (krona, krone, possibly except Icelandic króna) in many exchange offices of the town—something not very usual in the rest of Turkey—as many holiday-makers in Alanya are Scandinavians.
Alanya is full to the brim of shops, which become very repetitive since they all sell pretty much exactly the same wares. The shops shamelessly sell fake brands and goods, where the expiry date has been long exceeded. A list of the most common items:
• Clothing: Shoes and t-shirts from Puma, etc (fake of course!)
• Watches: Everything from Seiko to DKNY (fake of course!)
• Sunglasses
• Bags and Wallets
• Turkish Tea sets
• Water Pipes and tobacco
Be prepared to haggle, the shop owners expect it. This means you need to know the approximate value for the items you would like to buy. You can check the value either by research online in advance or by asking any friendly local. When you haggle, they will offer you an absurdly high price. This means that you can offer a couple of Euros and try to meet somewhere at the price you have decided to be your maximum. Obviously, you can’t haggle in a supermarket, petrol station, etc. Trying to haggle for groceries is generally frowned upon. You will have to haggle in the cocktail bars that are lined up along the beach promenade, if you don’t want to pay more for a meal and drinks than in Europe. Many restaurants/bars/etc don’t even have prices on their menu.
Eat
Turkish food in general is really tasty. Try:
• Lahmacun: These will cost you around 2 Euro and are more like a snack than a meal
• Baklava: Turkish sweet. The cost depends on the weight (10 euro for a kilogram)
If you are in an “All Inclusive” hotel (which is usually the case), all your meals are provided by the hotel.
Drink
• Turkish coffee
Be warned that the prices of drinks in the night clubs may be insanely high. Expect a beer to cost from 1 euro to 4 euro.
Sleep
A great deal of cheap holiday packages, usually originating in Germany or Scandinavia, include “All Inclusive” hotels situated on the beach as part of the deal. For example, an “All Inclusive” 4 Star hotel in Alanya including a flight to Antalya from Germany costs around 400 euros. Recently, Alanya Old City has become a popular destination for many travellers looking for a romantic getaway in a unique atmosphere.
• Villa Casara, Konakli, Alanya. Beautiful brand new Turkish villa, which sleeps 8 comfortably, is bright, spacious and comfortable with all modern conveniences. It is set in lovely palm lined gardens and the 3 balconies enjoy views of the mountains, swimming pool and boast a direct view of the sea.
• Hotel Villa Turka, Alanya Old City  ☎ +90.530.5474641,. A romantic boutique hotel located in the heart of Alanya Castle featuring a beautifully restored 19th century castle mansion with 11 individually decorated rooms, an organic homemade breakfast buffet and a breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Yasmin Hotel, Sekerhane Mh. Sekerhane, 07400 Alanya  ☎ +90 242 511 29 63. A small 3 star hotel in the center of Alanya surrounded with nice restaurants and shops. Owner Kemal is very friendly and his traditional breakfasts are to die for! €50/night.
Get out
• To the west, rest of Pamphylia offers many interesting destinations.
• To the east, Anamur, Silifke and the rest of eastern Mediterranean coast (the Cilician coast: Cilician Mountains, Cilician Plains, and Hatay) awaits with its somewhat thinly populated and thinly touristic hilly landscape.
• Cyprus, lying to the southeast, is also another option. During the high season (May to September), you can go to Kyrenia in Northern Cyprus from Tasucu by boat through the company Akgünler and Fergün Shipping. It takes about 3 and a half hours.