Alanya: Jeep Safari Old Town, Village & Oba River Lunch

4.94

(128 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“Try not to get dust in your teeth!” our driver joked as we bounced up the first hill out of Alanya. I wasn’t ready for how quickly the city gave way to old stone walls and that salty breeze off the sea. We stopped at Tophane — Red Tower looming above us, sunlight making the bricks look almost pink. There was this faint smell of grilled corn from a vendor nearby, mixing with something sharp from the harbor. Our guide, Emre, pointed out the shipyard and told us how pirates used to hide here — he laughed when I tried to say ‘tersane’ in Turkish (I definitely butchered it). We only stayed about fifteen minutes but it felt like stepping back a few centuries.

The “I Love Alanya” sign was next — honestly, I thought it’d be cheesy but standing there with everyone grinning for photos, it just felt fun. The view over the city is wild; you can see all the way down to Cleopatra Beach if you squint past the haze. After that we left the asphalt behind and started winding up into pine forests. The air changed — cooler, resin-sweet, with birds making this racket overhead. By the time we reached Oba River for a swim break, my shirt was sticking to me from dust and heat so plunging into that cold water was pure relief. A couple of locals were fishing nearby and waved; one offered us slices of watermelon straight from his cooler.

We dried off fast in the sun before heading to a small village tucked between olive trees. There was this low buzz of voices at the bazaar — women selling honey and flatbread, kids darting around with sticky hands. Inside a village house, an old man poured us strong tea without saying much (but his eyes crinkled when he smiled). I liked that nobody rushed us; we just wandered between stalls or sat under fig trees watching daily life go by. It’s strange how quickly you forget your phone exists out there.

Lunch was at another spot on Oba River — open buffet style, fish or chicken (I went for fish), with salads and bread spread across long tables under canvas awnings. There’s a tiny waterfall nearby where some people swam again after eating; I just sat on a rock with my feet in the water thinking about how different this day felt from anything else I’ve done in Turkey. On our way back down toward Alanya around 4pm, Emre gave us one last bit of local history but honestly my mind was still drifting somewhere by that river.