15 Best Things To Do In Antalya For Free + Locations
Antalya is on the list of the most expensive cities in Turkey, and most of its entertainment is luxurious and costly; for this reason, some people who travel to this city cannot enjoy being in this city enough.
My goal in travelling to Antalya was to find the hidden gems of this city that no one had mentioned before. During my stay in this city, I visited different places and realized that it is possible to enjoy a trip to Antalya without spending money.
In this article, I’ll tell you all about my experience visiting Antalya, and I’ll also introduce you to the best things to do in the city for free.
List of free things to do in Antalya
Table of Contents
The fact that the activities that I will introduce to you below are free does not mean that they are not exciting, but you will see that most of these entertainments and places are famous and touristic places in Antalya.
| Description | The name of the place | Row |
| A beautiful beach with full facilities | Konyaalti Beach | 1 |
| A historical city in the heart of Antalya | Kaleici | 2 |
| A large beach with facilities and water activities | Lara Beach | 3 |
| A beautiful park with a view of the sea and the city of Kaleici | Karaalioglu Park | 4 |
| A historical place with attractive stone designs | Hadrian’s Gate | 5 |
| Beautiful coastline and amazing view of boats | Old City Marina | 6 |
| A small and local market | Old Bazaar | 7 |
| It has a shopping center and many tourist attractions | Ataturk boulevard | 8 |
| A beautiful area to walk and relax | Antalya Saat Kulesi | 9 |
| A beautiful waterfall in the heart of Antalya city, a suitable place for photography and recreation | Lower Duden Waterfall | 10 |
| Free shopping mall to visit but expensive to buy | Mall of Antalya | 11 |
| Immaculate beach | Kaputas Beach | 12 |
| A beautiful and historical mosque with tall minarets | Yivli Minaret Mosque | 13 |
| Atatürk Historical House | Ataturk House & Museum | 14 |
| It is a quiet park with various natural attractions and animals such as dogs, cats, turtles and fish | Cam Piramit | 15 |
In the following, I will tell you about my experience visiting some of the above places.
Konyaalti Beach
Konyaalti Beach is one of those places in Antalya that you should visit on your trip, even if it is not free. Now that it is a free visit, it is a must-do in Antalya! The length of Konyaalti Beach is about 7 km, and it is known as Konyaalti plaji among the locals.
When I put my foot on the sand of this beach, I felt different. I realized that the sand of this beach is a little different from the sand of other Turkish beaches. That’s why I bent down and looked carefully at the sand. The sand grains of this beach are coarser than those of other beaches. Due to the coarseness of the sand on this beach, I advise you to wear sandals and not walk barefoot there.
The sea at this beach is one of the safest places for swimming in Antalya, and it is completely free. Walking along the coastline of this beach is extremely relaxing.
During my visit, I discovered that the beach offers a variety of activities, both free and paid, to cater to different preferences.
Exciting water activities like jet skiing and boating are available at a cost of around 700 lira, but as a budget-conscious traveler, I chose to explore the free attractions of Antalya. By doing so, I was able to fully immerse myself in the beach’s atmosphere and can now share this experience with you.
Also, there were sun beds by the sea, the price of which was 125 to 250 lira, and many people used them on sunny days.
Kaleici
The existence of an old city like Kaleici in the heart of the modern city of Antalya was a bit unbelievable for me, so without a moment’s thought, I headed towards Kaleici to see it for myself.
Kaleici is surrounded by the Taurus mountains with a height equivalent to about 2000 meters.
Kaleici Port of Antalya, Antalya Clock Tower, Kale Kapisi Square, Tekeli Mehmet Pasha Mosque, Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya Archeology Museum, Kaleici Coastal Castle or Roman Castle of Antalya, and Marmari Beach are only part of the tourist attractions of Kaleici, most of which are free to visit.
Walking through the streets of Kaleici is more attractive than anything else. Before going to Kaleici, I had never seen streets and alleys like them anywhere else in the world. Narrow and winding roads surrounded by stone and wooden houses gave me the feeling of walking in the heart of history.
The exciting thing that I noticed while walking in the streets of Kaleici is that most of the houses are built with the same style and design and are similar.
There are cafes, restaurants, places to sell souvenirs, etc. for people who want to spend money in Kaleici to multiply the pleasure of their visit.
Karaalioglu Park
The park, nestled near Kaleici and the coastline, is a popular destination for its incredible views of the historical town of Kaleici. But what truly captivates visitors is the breathtaking beauty of the sunsets that paint the beach in a myriad of colours.
Despite the park’s popularity, I managed to find a serene spot amidst the evening crowd. As I sipped my tea, I was enveloped in a sense of tranquility, oblivious to the passing of time. The view of the beach, framed by majestic mountains and the historical city of Kaleici, was a serene backdrop to my peaceful moment.
According to my research, this park is very old and was built in 1941. Of course, the height of the trees and the beautiful nature of the park indicates its great age.
Another good feature of this park is the presence of stone statues that show the antiquity and originality of this park. In addition to all the features I mentioned, this park has places suitable for picnics, restaurants, children’s play equipment, sports equipment, good places to sit, etc., all of which are available to tourists for free.
Old Bazaar
This market is not like luxury shopping malls, where everything is quiet and soft music can be heard everywhere in the passage; it is full of crowds and noise.
I was near this market when I could hear the customers haggling with the sellers, and it seemed that no one was calm in this market. Upon entering the market, I could smell fresh spices and this smell proved to me that my decision to go to this market was not wrong because it smelled wonderful.
Part of this market was indoor and part of it was outdoor, and this is the reason why this market is unique among other sightseeing places in Antalya.
One of the exciting cultures of this market is that sellers and shop owners tell you to drink tea and forcefully give tea to tourists!
I was scared at first and thought that they were doing this to sell, but after talking to one of them for a while, I realized that this is the culture of the sellers in that market. So, I felt free and drank a cup of tea to get rid of the tiredness.
You can find almost anything in this small local market! But since they know that most of their visitors are tourists, sometimes they sell fake products to tourists instead of the original ones, so try to prove to them that you are not a simple person by bargaining and getting a discount so that they can’t sell expensive.
Among the products sold in this market are Turkish-branded clothes, jewellery, copper dishes, Turkish spices, Turkish tea, Turkish souvenirs, and ceramic dishes.
This market is open throughout the week and is free to visit. It is also located near Hadrian’s Gate, which you can visit after visiting the market. My entire visit to this market took 2 hours. Of course, if you want to buy and talk to the shopkeepers, you need more time.
In the end
Make travelling one of the main priorities in your life and always enjoy it. As I mentioned in this article, you can get a good experience of traveling without spending money.
In the end, I suggest you read the following articles for more information:
