During your holidays in Antalya Region, if you would like to spend the whole day lying in the sun, we are sure your children will want a different type of vacation, more fun and adventurous.
It totally normal! Children can get bored pretty quickly and will probably want to experience and discover places that they don't see at home. Well, Antalya is the perfect place to give them what they want: Fun and excitement.
To help you prepare your trip to Antalya with your children, we have put together a list of the best 15 things to do in Antalya with your kids. They will definitely enjoy all of these places, and maybe you will too!
1. Pirate Boat Experience
Both Alanya and Olympos, formerly called Phaselis, were very popular pirate ports in ancient times. Pompey, the enemy of Julius Ceasar in the Roman Civil War, finally defeated the Cilician pirates of Korakesion, today’s Alanya, and incorporated the region into the Roman Empire. The Cilician pirates were very well organized and went on piracy with ships that could almost be described as luxurious.
In memory of these times, today in Alanya and in the port of Kemer, trips with boats in the pirate design are offered. What child has not dreamed of being a real pirate?
2. The Land of Legends Theme Park
The huge entertainment center The Land of Legends is definitely one of the most amazing places of Antalya where you can take your children. It is located in Belek, 35 kms away from Antalya Kaleiçi.
Upon entering the resort, guests are taken into the world of fairy tales, and the concept continues throughout the entire facility. It is not for nothing that the resort is called the Disneyland of Antalya.
The huge water park offers a total of 55 water slides, an adventure park attracts with all imaginable rides, gondola rides are offered on the canal, popcorn, donuts stands and fairy tale characters wherever you look, a paradise for children. Especially worth mentioning are the evening shows with lights and lasers.
You can visit the Land of Legends Theme park with the children for one day or stay at the Land of Legends Kingdom Hotel. Read our extended Guide of Land of Legends in Antalya
3. Dino Park Göynük
Dinosaurs have always fascinated people and all children’s eyes shine when they talk about dinosaurs. In the Dino Park in Göynük, which covers an area of 30,000 m2, replicas of the giant animals are hidden in the pine forests. The dummies are made lifelike, move and also make dinosaur sounds. Children can touch them and at the same time get an impression of the immense size of the long-extinct creatures.
With the Deepfear horror tunnel, the theme park offers an experience of a special kind, here actors invite you to a horror trip. The appropriate lighting emphasizes the spooky effect. In addition, there is a planetarium, a 7D cinema, a climbing wall, pool games and a trampoline.
- Read our article about Dino Park in Antalya
4. Olympos Teleferik
Within 10 minutes, the red cabins of the cable car go from the beach in Kemer to the Tahtalı Mountain, better known as Olympos. With a distance of 4,350 meters, the Olympos Teleferik cable car is one of the longest cable cars in the world. The ride up the 2,365 meter mountain takes about 10 minutes, the panorama is stunning, even the ancient remains of Phaselis can be seen. From the top of the mountain, in good weather, the view even reaches Alanya.
In addition to the fantastic view, various sports activities are offered on the summit, including a paragliding station.
- Read our extended article on the Olympos Teleferik of Antalya
5. Jeep-Safari with Water Fight
Jeep-Safaris are amongst the most popular tours in Antalya.
A full day excursion to the Taurus Mountains offers a welcome change from beach and bathing vacations. In the province of Antalya these excursions are organized everywhere, surely your hotel can help you. In a small group you will drive in an open jeep into the mountains.
Slowly the vehicle moves through the narrow and dusty roads between the pine forests, where some small hidden village is found in the mountain range. Safaris take you up to 900 meters above sea level. When a riverbed is crossed, children especially enjoy the "water fights" between the jeeps. Lunch is served at a trout farm. Depending on the tour, there are also short breaks for swimming.
- You might also be interested in our Diving, Hiking, Canyoning and Paragliding articles.
6. Discover Ancient Ruins
The province of Antalya is rich in ruins and ancient sites. Visiting one or another ruin can be interesting even for children, especially if there is a castle or another exciting story connected with it.
An example of this is Simena, today called Kaleköy. The ancient city with rock tombs and ruins can only be reached by boat from Kaş, Demre or Üçağız. Parts of the small Lycian coastal town, inhabited since the 4th century, were buried under the water as a result of an earthquake. As a consequence, the city became an island.
Already a meter below the water surface, many of the ancient ruins and the harbor pier are clearly visible. Famous is the sunken basilica, which can be explored by boat tour.
This is an exciting adventure for young and old.
Read more: Discover our whole category of History in Antalya and know about all the interesting ancient cities to visit in the region.
7. Stay at a Family Resort
There is hardly a country that is as child-friendly as Turkey. Children are forgiven for almost everything, everyone has a smile for the little ones, no matter where they come from, what they look like or what they are doing.
Numerous resorts have especially adapted to children. The Kids Concept is offered by many of the 4 and 5 star hotels. Here, the little guests are often entertained with an all-round program, the childcare is in German or English, and they quickly make new friends. Mini club and mini disco, pools with slides, playgrounds, animation, various sports activities depending on age are just some of the activities offered. In the all-inclusive resorts, there is usually ice cream in the afternoon and pizza for in between.
The resorts are scattered all along the coast, places like those that Side, Alanya, Beldibi, Belek, Camyuva, Antalya-Lara and Incekum are especially popular with families. The beaches here are characterized by their fine sand. Pleasant water temperatures ensure that the little water rats do not freeze, even if they are in the sea all day.
Check our category with the best deals related to children-friendly holiday resorts and hotels.
8. Antalya Aquarium
Antalya Aquarium is the second largest aquarium in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. In a total of 64 tanks and 40 thematic aquariums you can see about 5,000 fish and underwater creatures. Particularly impressive is the world’s largest tunnel aquarium, a 131-meter-long and 3-meter-wide tunnel that passes under the tanks and makes you feel as if you are swimming with the sharks….
The aquarium’s integrated snow world has a constant temperature of -5 degrees even in midsummer and features ice sculptures. Those who wish can play snowball. In the adjacent wildlife park you can expect huge insects, snakes and reptiles.
- Read more about Antalya Aquarium
9. Aktur Park
The amusement park in the heart of Antalya opposite the Migros shopping center makes children’s eyes sparkle. Over 30 rides await visitors at the facility. The benches in the park were specially made and catch the eye with their bright colors.
In addition to various roller coasters and other rides, the "Heart of Antalya" or "Antalya’nın kalbi" as it is called in Turkish, which went into operation in 2009, is also located here. The largest Ferris wheel in Turkey and the second largest in Europe after the "Eye of London" is 90 meters high. 42 air-conditioned cabins can accommodate 10 people each. During the 18-minute ride, you can enjoy a unique view of Antalya and its surroundings.
- Everything you need to know about Aktur Park in Antalya
10. Visit a Cave
Throughout the Antalya region there are countless caves that can be visited. One of the most famous and well-known is Karain Cave. In fact, it is considered the oldest human settlement in Anatolia and is the largest cave in Turkey that has ever been inhabited.
Experts calculated that the cave is 500,000 years old and was inhabited from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age. From the ancient inscriptions on the walls and other findings, it appears that it was used as a religious center during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Inside there are three large chambers separated by calcite walls, stalagmites and stalactites and connected by narrow passages.
- Read more: Our list of amazing Caves in Antalya Province.
11. Sandland Antalya
An open-air museum of a special kind awaits you in Sandland Antalya on Lara Beach. Sand sculptures created by artists from all over the world are exhibited here on an area of about 10,000 m2.
Sandland is also called the "World’s Most Fantastic Museum". Even though the exhibition has a different theme every year, you can almost always find Greek and Egyptian mythological figures, the 7 Wonders of the World, the Eiffel Tower, the Colloseum and much more. And everything is made of sand… The evening lighting adds a very special flair.
- Learn everything you need to know about Sandland in Antalya
12. Visit a Beach
The Turkish Riviera offers more than 630 kilometers of coastline. With so much to choose from, the decision of which beach to visit is often difficult. Konyaaltı Beach is set against the imposing backdrop of the Taurus Mountains, Mermerli Beach, a stony sandy beach, is located right by the harbor and is accessible via the stairs of a restaurant, while Marmara Beach can only be reached by elevator.
Families will prefer Cleopatra Beach near Alanya, and the 18-kilometer Patara Beach near Kaş is known for its white sand. Lara Beach impresses with its proximity to the Düden Waterfalls, which plunge directly into the sea, whereas Olympos Beach stands out for its closeness to nature and wildlife. Here you can spend the night in a tree house and watch the sea turtles. Kalkan is surrounded by high cliffs and has the charming flair of a fishing village.
The choice is yours.
Read more: Check out our list of 25 Best Beaches in Antalya [with a Map].
13. Eat Turkish Ice (Dondurma)
Traditionally dressed, street vendors sell ice cream in their wheeled wagons. Unlike the ice creams known in Europe, Maraş-Dondurma has a chewy, sticky consistency, which is mainly due to the addition of salep. Salep is obtained from the tubers of some species of terrestrial orchids. Another benefit of adding salep is that the ice cream melts more slowly.
The sellers constantly mix the ice, which allows it to maintain its elastic consistency. When handing the ice cream to the customer, the vendors often joke around, pulling the ice cream away again, showing customers how elastic the ice cream is and how far it can be stretched. Ice cream + entertainment included.
14. Aqualand & Dolphinland
Founded in 1994, Aquapark is the oldest of its kind in Antalya. Located in the middle of a large green area and surrounded by shady trees, it offers various water slides of different degrees, a circular canal and a wave pool.
The dolphin shows last about 1 hour, during which the animals show their acrobatic tricks. Those who wish can swim with the dolphins after the show.
15. The ever burning Fires of Chimaera
About 70 kilometers southwest of Antalya, near the village of Çıralı, a millennium-old natural phenomenon can be observed. Flames, also called the "eternal fires of Chimaera". They appear from the rocky mountainside in several places. The fire fields are located 2 kilometers from the sea 250 meters above the coast.
The fascinating spectacle is caused by gases escaping from fissures and cracks in the rocks deep inside the cliff and then ignite when exposed to the air. In ancient times, the fires are said to have been so high that even the sailors took their orientation from them. Today, the flames still reach a maximum height of 50 centimeters.
- Read more with our article about Yanartas Chimaera
The list is over !
We are done with the 15 most interesting things to do with children in Antalya. Don't hesitate to book your tickets in advance through our official Antalya Ticket Shop and check all the best resort offers for you and your kids in Antalya.