Antalya: Old Town Tour, Boat Trip & Düden Waterfalls Day

4.51

(381 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t know what to expect from Antalya’s Old Town tour — I just remember feeling curious and a bit restless in the hotel lobby. Our guide, Serkan, showed up with this easy smile and a knack for weaving stories into every corner we passed. The old stones of Kaleiçi felt warm under my hand (I always touch walls, can’t help it), and he pointed out a little tea shop where his uncle apparently plays backgammon every Sunday. The city tour moved at a pace that let us breathe in the salty air near Hadrian’s Gate — someone was selling simit nearby and honestly, that smell still floats back to me sometimes.

The boat trip from Antalya Marina was quieter than I expected — not loud music or anything, just the sound of water slapping against the hull and some Turkish pop drifting from another boat. For an hour we drifted along the coast, watching old city walls slip by. There were families waving from balconies above us. Lunch was simple but good: grilled chicken, rice, those sweet little tomatoes they seem to have everywhere here. If you’re doing this day trip from Antalya, you’ll get hungry; trust me, lunch is included but drinks are extra (I learned that after ordering two Ayrans without thinking).

I picked the package with both Lower and Upper Düden Waterfalls — Serkan said if you do the Olympos Cable Car you skip one of them due to timing. The Lower Düden spot had this wild spray on my face (my phone still has water marks) and everyone was taking photos but also just standing there for a second in silence. The Upper Falls were greener somehow — birds darting around and locals picnicking on plastic mats. We stopped at a silver shop for about 45 minutes; not really my thing but I did end up buying a tiny Nazar amulet because why not? Oh, and Li laughed when I tried to say “teşekkürler” — probably butchered it.

I still think about that moment at the panorama point above Lower Düden Waterfalls — light catching in all that spray, people just quietly looking out at the drop-off. You know how some places feel like they’re holding their breath? It was like that. Antalya isn’t shy about showing off its layers — old stones, busy markets, sudden green parks tucked behind alleys. The tour ends before you want it to; or maybe that’s just me.