What to Wear in Antalya
Antalya is a beach city, but not only a beach city, and that's where packing goes wrong. Swimwear and flip-flops are fine on Konyaaltı. They're wrong for a morning at Termessos, and a little too much for a walk through the old town.
In the city, people dress casually and neatly. Shorts and T-shirts are normal everywhere in summer. Swimwear stays at the beach: walking through Kaleiçi or into a shop in a bikini top will get looks. Evenings are when locals dress up a bit, so pack one outfit you'd wear to dinner on a terrace.
Shoes matter more than you'd guess. Kaleiçi is steep, cobbled and full of stairs down to the harbour. The ancient sites are worse: the marble streets at Perge and Side are polished smooth, and Termessos is a proper mountain path over loose stone. Trainers or walking sandals with grip will cover all of it.
Summer sun here is strong from early morning. A hat and high-factor sunscreen are not optional at the ruins, where shade is scarce. Linen and loose cotton beat tight sportswear in the humidity.
Packing list
- Walking shoes or sandals with a real sole
- Flip-flops or water shoes for pebble beaches
- A wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses
- Sunscreen, more than you think
- Light, loose clothes for day, one smarter outfit for evening
- A light scarf or shawl, for mosques and for air-conditioned buses
- A warm layer and a rain jacket from November to March
- A fleece if you're taking the cable car up Tahtalı, even in summer
The water shoes are for Konyaaltı, where the stones are large and hot by midday. For mosques, cover your shoulders and knees, and women should cover their hair. The Yivli Minare mosque and others in Kaleiçi sometimes lend scarves at the door, but don't count on it. The top of Tahtalı is above 2,300 metres, so it can be 20 degrees colder than the beach you left an hour before.