Highlights & Hidden Gems of Western Turkey — Self-Launched

Land at Antalya Airport and take the Antray tram or the Havas/Metro airport bus (around £2-3) into the centre, then walk or take a short taxi into Kaleiçi, the walled Ottoman old quarter. Settle into a small pension among the bougainvillea-clad houses, then wander the lanes, find Hadrian's Gate, and watch the sun set from the old harbour walls. Dinner at a meyhane in Kaleiçi — expect £8-12 for a full meal with mezes.

🚌Antray tram / HAVAS bus from airport to centre, ~£2-3; walk into Kaleiçi

🛏Family-run pension or small hotel in Kaleiçi (twin room, £20-30 per person)

• →Kaleiçi old town wander
• →Hadrian's Gate
• →Antalya old harbour sunset
• →Meyhane dinner

Both of Antalya's headline Roman sites are easy without a tour. Take the tram or a city bus to the Antalya otogar (bus station) and pick up a dolmuş heading towards Serik, asking to be dropped at Aspendos — the theatre there is one of the best-preserved in the world. From the Aspendos junction, dolmuşes and shared taxis run to Perge, where you can walk the colonnaded main street, the stadium, the Roman baths and the theatre. Return to Antalya in the late afternoon; if you have energy, the Antalya Archaeological Museum is superb and full of the statues from Perge.

🚌Local tram/bus to otogar, then dolmuş to Aspendos and Perge, ~£6-8 total return

🛏Family-run pension or small hotel in Kaleiçi (twin room, £20-30 per person)

• →Aspendos Roman theatre
• →Perge ancient city
• →Antalya Archaeological Museum (optional)

A long travel day heading north into the Taurus foothills. Take a coach from Antalya to Burdur (roughly 2.5 hours, ~£6-8), drop bags at a simple hotel, then catch a dolmuş towards Ağlasun for Sagalassos — a spectacularly sited Greco-Roman city at 1,500m with its Antonine Nymphaeum fountain, theatre and views over the lakes. On the way back, stop at the İnsuyu Caves (a short dolmuş or taxi hop from Burdur) and, if time allows, the Burdur Archaeology Museum. Lunch at a lokanta in Ağlasun is about £3-4.

🚌Coach Antalya–Burdur ~£6-8; dolmuş Burdur–Ağlasun ~£2; local dolmuş/taxi to caves ~£3

🛏Simple 3* hotel in Burdur (twin room, £20-28 per person)

• →Sagalassos ancient city
• →Nymphaeum fountain
• →İnsuyu Caves
• →Burdur Archaeology Museum

Take a dolmuş or bus from Burdur to Salda, Turkey's 'Maldivian' crater lake with white magnesium beaches (bring a towel), then continue by dolmuş/bus towards Denizli and on to Pamukkale. Check into a guesthouse in the village and spend the late afternoon in the travertine terraces and ancient Hierapolis above them — the theatre, Temple of Apollo, Frontinus Gate, the vast necropolis of sarcophagi and the archaeology museum in the old Roman baths. Go in the last couple of hours before closing to dodge the tour-bus crowds. Cleopatra's Pool charges extra (~£8) but most travellers prefer the free travertines.

🚌Dolmuş/bus Burdur–Salda–Denizli–Pamukkale, ~£7-9 total

🛏Guesthouse in Pamukkale village (twin room, £18-28 per person)

• →Lake Salda
• →Pamukkale travertine terraces
• →Hierapolis ancient city
• →Hierapolis theatre and Temple of Apollo
• →Hierapolis Archaeology Museum

Leave bags at your Pamukkale guesthouse and travel to Aphrodisias (via Tavas/Nazilli dolmuş connections or a shared taxi from the Denizli road, ~£8-10 return with a wait). The reliefs and sculptures at Aphrodisias — especially the Sebastion and the museum — are among Turkey's finest. Afterwards continue by bus from Nazilli or Denizli to Selçuk (roughly 2.5-3 hours, ~£7-9) and check into a pension near the basilica. Optional late-afternoon trip to the little Çamlık Railway Museum if you're a train person.

🚌Dolmuş/shared taxi to Aphrodisias ~£8-10; bus to Selçuk ~£7-9

🛏Pension near Selçuk centre (twin room, £18-25 per person)

• →Aphrodisias ancient site and Sebastion
• →Aphrodisias museum
• →Çamlık Railway Museum (optional)

Be at Ephesus for the 8am opening — it's a 20-25 minute walk or a short dolmuş/taxi from Selçuk and the difference in crowds is enormous. Walk the Marble Avenue, the Library of Celsus, the Baths of Constantine, Temple of Hadrian and the great theatre; the Terrace Houses are a worthwhile small extra ticket. Come back via the Temple of Artemis. In the afternoon take a dolmuş up to the hill village of Şirince for wine tasting and the short walk out to the Ikiz Çeşmeler spring — this is the one place a half-day GetYourGuide tour can be handy if you don't want to manage dolmuş timings.

🚌Dolmuş/taxi Selçuk–Ephesus ~£2; dolmuş to Şirince ~£2 each way

🛏Pension near Selçuk centre (twin room, £18-25 per person)

• →Ephesus ancient city
• →Library of Celsus
• →Terrace Houses (optional extra ticket)
• →Temple of Artemis
• →Şirince village wine tasting
• →Walk to Ikiz Çeşmeler

Today is easiest with a shared car or a small-group day tour, as the three sites are spread around Söke and Milas. Otherwise: dolmuş from Selçuk to Söke, then local transport to Priene (the clifftop Temple of Athena is magic), on to Didyma for the Temple of Apollo at Didyma/Branchidae, and Stratonikeia, the 'City of Gladiators'. Finish by bus or dolmuş towards Muğla and Akyaka, a pretty riverside village at the head of the Gulf of Gökova. A GetYourGuide small-group Priene–Didyma–Miletus day tour typically costs £40-55 without transport onward.

🚌Dolmuş Selçuk–Söke ~£2; local dolmuş/taxi between sites ~£10-14; bus to Akyaka ~£5

🛏Small hotel/pension in Akyaka (twin room, £20-30 per person)

• →Priene Hellenistic city and Temple of Athena
• →Temple of Apollo at Didyma
• →Stratonikeia (City of Gladiators)
• →Evening walk along Akyaka's Azmak river

Take a dolmuş to Köyceğiz and cross the lake by public boat to Sultaniye (or arrange a local boatman at the jetty, ~£5-8). From there walk the marked trail around the headland to the ancient port city of Caunos — Byzantine church with mosaics, Temple of Zeus, Roman baths and the famous rock-cut 'Tombs of the Kings' in the cliff. Finish with a short rowing-boat ferry across to Dalyan village. Carry water; the walk is 2-3 hours in the heat. If you'd rather skip the walking, boats run directly across the lake to Dalyan.

🚌Dolmuş to Köyceğiz ~£3; boat across lake ~£5-8; rowing ferry ~£2

🛏Small hotel in Dalyan (twin room, £20-30 per person)

• →Lake Köyceğiz boat crossing
• →Sultaniye–Caunos hike
• →Caunos ancient city
• →Tombs of the Kings
• →Rowing boat crossing to Dalyan

Head south along the coast: bus from Dalyan to Fethiye (~2hrs, ~£5), then a dolmuş to Kayaköy, the abandoned Greek ghost village below Fethiye — great for a picnic and a wander. Continue by dolmuş back through Fethiye and on to Xanthos, capital of ancient Lycia, with its pillar tombs and the Xanthian obelisk. Then a dolmuş to Patara for the ruins, the long sandy beach (worth swimming even in shoulder season) and back out to the main road for a bus to Kaş. Arrive Kaş in the evening for dinner on the harbour.

🚌Bus Dalyan–Fethiye ~£5; dolmuşes Fethiye–Kayaköy–Xanthos–Patara–Kaş ~£10-12 total

🛏Pension or small hotel in Kaş (twin room, £22-32 per person)

• →Kayaköy ghost village
• →Xanthos Lycian capital
• →Patara ruins and beach
• →Swim at Patara

A free day of walking and swimming. Take the coastal Lycian Way path (about 5km, 1.5-2 hours each way) west from Kaş to Limanağzı beach, where a couple of simple beach cafés serve lunch and you can swim off the rocks. Walk back or take a water taxi/boat from the beach if you're tired. In the late afternoon explore Kaş's old town — the Lycian rock tombs, the Hellenistic theatre and the little shopping lanes — and eat grilled fish by the water.

🚌Walk; optional boat back from Limanağzı ~£6

🛏Pension or small hotel in Kaş (twin room, £22-32 per person)

• →Lycian Way hike to Limanağzı Beach
• →Swimming off Limanağzı
• →Kaş old town and Lycian rock tombs
• →Harbour dinner

Take a dolmuş from Kaş to Kalkan or Kasaba, then a connection over the mountain road to Elmalı — a high, conservative plateau town with an unexpectedly good museum of Lycian finds (including the Elmali Hoard). The journey itself is the highlight: pine forests, shepherds and big views. Visit the old mosque and the museum, and try local halva from a shop on the main street. Alternatively, some travellers arrange a shared taxi for this leg (~£15-20).

🚌Dolmuşes Kaş–Kalkan–Elmalı ~£7-9 (or shared taxi ~£15-20)

🛏Simple hotel in Elmalı (twin room, £15-22 per person)

• →Mountain road journey
• →Elmalı mosque
• →Elmalı Museum
• →Local halva tasting

Bus or dolmuş from Elmalı down towards Antalya, getting off at the Termessos junction on the Korkuteli road. From the junction it's a steep 8-9km walk up through Güllük Dağı National Park to the theatre and the eagle's-nest ruins of Termessos — or, realistically, hitch/shared taxi up (and arrange a pickup for the return, ~£10-15 for the car). Allow 3-4 hours for the ruins and the walk down. Then continue to Antalya by dolmuş and check back into Kaleiçi for a final dinner.

🚌Bus Elmalı–Termessos junction ~£4; shared taxi up the mountain ~£5-8 each way; dolmuş to Antalya ~£2

🛏Family-run pension or small hotel in Kaleiçi (twin room, £20-30 per person)

• →Termessos ancient city
• →Termessos amphitheatre
• →Güllük Dağı National Park walk
• →Picnic in the ruins

A relaxed morning: coffee in a Kaleiçi courtyard, a last wander through the old town or a quick dip at Mermerli beach below the walls if it's warm. Take the tram or airport bus back to Antalya Airport for your flight home. If your flight is late, drop your bag at the pension and revisit the Archaeological Museum or the Antalya Museum of Atatürk's house.

🚌Tram/HAVAS airport bus to Antalya Airport, ~£2-3

🛏—

• →Kaleiçi morning wander
• →Mermerli beach (optional)
• →Antalya Archaeological Museum (optional)