Alanya

Alanya sits at the eastern, cheaper end of the Turkish Riviera, built around a dramatic castle headland with a long sandy beach on either side. It’s a package-holiday town first and foremost — a wall of resort hotels runs east from the centre through Oba, Tosmur, Kestel and Mahmutlar — but the Seljuk fortress, the 1226 Red Tower and the medieval shipyard at the harbour give it real history that most sun-and-sand resorts can’t match. The honest framing is that the resort is your base, not your holiday: the good days here are the cable car up to the castle at sunset, a boat trip out to the caves under the headland, and a half-day escape inland to Dim Cave or Sapadere Canyon.

The one decision that shapes the whole trip is the airport. Little Gazipasa (GZP) is only 40km east and a 45-minute hop away, but it’s small with limited direct UK flights. Most UK charters land at Antalya (AYT) instead — 125km away and a two-hour-plus coach transfer that lands tired families at their hotel well after dark. If you can find a sensibly priced Gazipasa flight, it’s usually worth paying a little extra to skip the long road.

Where you stay matters more than the brochure suggests, because Alanya is long and thin. Base yourself near Cleopatra Beach or in leafy Oba and you can walk to the cable car, the bazaar and the harbour. Choose Mahmutlar or Kestel out east and you’ll save money but lean on the cheap dolmus minibuses or a hire car for everything. Below, the structured planning — exact transfer costs, where to stay, what the sights cost in pounds, and the best months to go — picks up from here.