03
Antalya excursions, from the old town to the Roman cities
Start from the clock, because in Antalya the drive eats a slice of each plan — the first hour and the last.
Berth, taxi and entry details live on our Antalya cruise port guide. If your route also calls on the Aegean coast, our Kuşadası shore excursion guide covers Ephesus.
If your call is short, stay in town. It fits the ride, which CruiseMapper puts at 25 to 35 minutes each way.
Kaleíci is the old town, wrapped around a Roman harbor beneath Hadrian’s Gate. The Antalya Museum is the other anchor. A local guide site calls the Perge sculptures a highlight — most of what came out of Perge sits in its Perge Hall.
The same guide lists summer 2026 hours of 08:30 to 22:00 and winter hours of 08:30 to 17:30. A private-tour listing names a Hall of Emperors among the museum’s draws.
We found no ticket price we trust — one site shows a lira figure without saying which visitor class it covers, so we left it out.
- Time commitment
- About half a day with the ride, as our estimate.
- Getting there
- Taxi from the port, then on foot or a second short hop.
- Suits
- Short calls, first-timers, mixed-interest groups.
- Ship or independent
- Independent. A taxi and a ticket do the job.
Why it's worth considering
It keeps you close to the ship if the call is short.
The museum gives Perge context, or stands in for Perge if you skip the drive.
The catch
The museum listing carried a “temporarily closed” notice under working days, and the page was last updated in 2025.
You pay for the ride before you see anything.
Verify before you book
- Whether the museum is open on your date
- The ticket price at the gate, in euros or lira
- A return taxi arranged for your all-aboard
This is the headline day, and the listing is clear about the price curve — the bigger the group, the lower the fare.
Turkey Shore Excursions runs an eight-hour private tour from the port. It stops at Perge, then Aspendos, then the Antalya Archaeological Museum, before the drive back. The listing puts Perge about 30 minutes from the port, Aspendos about 30 minutes beyond it, and the museum about 45 minutes after that.
Price depends on group size. Two to four people pay $110 each; 21 to 29 pay $52 each. Entrance and parking fees are included, and you pay at the end rather than up front.
On a nine-hour call, eight hours is tight — a long call, like AIDA’s 05:00 to 22:00, is where it works.
- Time commitment
- 8 hours.
- Getting there
- Guide and driver meet you at the port.
- Suits
- History fans, first-timers on a long call, groups of four or more.
- Ship or independent
- Independent, with a margin before all-aboard.
Why it's worth considering
Three major stops sequenced by a driver who knows the roads.
Fees are included and nothing is paid until the end.
The catch
Eight hours leaves little slack on a call that ends at 17:00.
The listing gives no return time for the last leg, so the day could run long.
Verify before you book
- The return time to the port
- Whether Perge’s theater is open (one source reports a restoration closure)
- Your group price band
Lines that call here may sell their own version of the classical day. We could not read a published Antalya listing for any of them.
That means no price and no duration from us. Don’t read anything into the gap; it’s a hole in what we found, not a verdict on the tours.
What a ship tour may buy is the clock, since lines can hold the ship for their own tours. Confirm that with yours — it matters most on a nine-hour call.
- Time commitment
- Not published in anything we read.
- Getting there
- Ship transport; no details published that we found.
- Suits
- Minimal-stress travelers on a short or tight call.
- Ship or independent
- Ship. This card is about who holds the clock, not the route.
Why it's worth considering
Ask your line whether it holds the ship for its own tours.
No haggling, no transfer, no meeting point.
The catch
We found no price, so we cannot say how it compares with the private tour.
Itineraries differ by line, and Perge’s theater may be closed.
Verify before you book
- The price and duration on your line’s excursion page
- Which of Perge, Aspendos and the museum it enters
- What the line does if the tour runs late
Perge is the nearer of the two ruins, and a single stop leaves slack in the day — if the drive behaves.
A local guide site describes a colonnaded main street about 500 meters long, and a theater and a stadium that each held about 12,000 people. One private-tour listing puts the drive at about 30 minutes from the port.
Prices are in euros and they’re moving. A secondary source reports about €11 for foreign visitors in 2026; a September 2026 article lists €12 for 2027. That same secondary source says the theater is closed for restoration.
Hours conflict too, with one site listing 08:30 to 19:00 in summer and another 08:00 to 20:00 — and neither is the Ministry itself.
- Time commitment
- Two to four hours on site, per one source, plus the ride.
- Getting there
- Taxi or private driver; we found no taxi fare.
- Suits
- History fans who want one site, not three.
- Ship or independent
- Independent, if a driver will wait. Otherwise ship.
Why it's worth considering
One stop, one drive, and time to spare.
The main street and the stadium reward a slow walk.
The catch
We found no shade or heat information for the site, so bring water and a hat.
A closed theater takes away the obvious photo.
Verify before you book
- Opening hours on the Ministry listing
- The theater’s status
- A driver who agrees a return time
Aspendos is the headline ruin. It’s also the farther of the two.
The same guide site puts it about 47 km from the city center. The theater dates to 138–164 AD, seats 15,000 and is still used for opera and ballet. An aqueduct about a kilometer long runs nearby.
A September 2026 article lists €16 for non-Turkish visitors in 2027. We found no confirmed 2026 foreign price.
The same site gives two sets of hours, so treat both as unconfirmed — we did.
- Time commitment
- Not stated; the private tour above allots it a stop of its own.
- Getting there
- Private driver or tour; no public-transport detail confirmed.
- Suits
- Anyone who wants the Roman theater and has a long call.
- Ship or independent
- Tour, either kind. It’s too far to wing.
Why it's worth considering
A Roman theater still used for performances.
It pairs with Perge on one drive.
The catch
About 47 km out, per one guide site, it asks for a long call.
Our sources disagree on hours.
Verify before you book
- Whether a performance affects visiting hours on your date
- The foreign-visitor price
- The drive time from your berth
Third-party · group boat
A pirate-style boat to the Düden waterfall
For a day on the water without a long drive, this is the cheap option — if pickup works for a cruise passenger.
Viator lists an Antalya Pirate Boat at Düden Waterfall with lunch and soft drinks, running six to seven hours from $31. A shorter waterfall boat tour with lunch runs five to six hours from $27.
Celebrity names the Düden and Kurşunlu waterfalls as local sights. The Viator pages do not say which departure point serves a cruise pier, so that’s a question for the seller.
Both look like group tours, so expect company and a fixed itinerary.
- Time commitment
- 5 to 7 hours, per Viator.
- Getting there
- Check pickup; listings don’t say a pier pickup is offered.
- Suits
- Families, budget travelers, anyone who wants water.
- Ship or independent
- Independent, with a firm return time.
Why it's worth considering
Lunch is in the price, and the headline fare is low.
No Roman ruin required.
The catch
A six-to-seven-hour boat is a lot on a nine-hour call.
We found no stated meeting point at the cruise port.
Verify before you book
- Where pickup is, and whether it includes the port
- The latest return time
- What is extra on board
This is the all-in-one version, for people who want the old town and the waterfalls in one go — and who don’t mind a crowd.
Viator lists a Full Day City Tour with two waterfalls, a boat trip and the Old Town, running seven to nine hours from $34. The boat portion in the old town lasts about an hour. A second city tour lists three waterfalls, a boat and all tickets at eight hours from $29.
Celebrity also mentions a cable car up Mount Tahtali among the local sights; we did not confirm it is part of these tours.
The fare is low. What it covers is the question, so ask.
- Time commitment
- 7 to 9 hours.
- Getting there
- Check pickup; the listing does not name the cruise port.
- Suits
- First-timers on a long call, budget travelers.
- Ship or independent
- Independent, with margin.
Why it's worth considering
Several sights for one fare.
The fare is low per hour.
The catch
The 7-to-9-hour range makes the planning window unclear.
Group tours of this type spend time moving between stops.
Verify before you book
- Which stops and tickets are included
- The pickup point
- The return time against all-aboard
04
Antalya with the ship or on your own
On the ruins, the ship may sell the clock
A private driver costs from $52 a head in a big group, or $110 each for two to four, with fees included, according to one operator’s listing.
We found no ship price to set beside it. The ship’s version may buy one thing a driver does not, a ship that waits for its own coaches. Confirm that with your line.
In town, the taxi does the job
The two fares we found are far apart, €25 and €15, and no official tariff backs either. See the port guide for who says what.
Agree the price before you sit down, and book the return ride for the hour you picked — the ride back is the one that matters.
Compare before you commit
Viator shows its boat and city-tour prices up front. The cruise lines’ Antalya listings were not available to us.
Ask each seller what time you are back at the berth — that number matters more than the fare.
How each option compares in Antalya
| Excursion | Lean ship excursion when… | Independent works when… |
|---|
| Kaleíci and the Antalya Museum | If your line sells a city half-day | Yes — taxi out and back |
|---|
| Perge and Aspendos | On a call with little margin | With a private driver and a long call |
|---|
| Perge alone | If your line offers it | By private driver, with a return time agreed |
|---|
| Aspendos theater | If your line sells it, given the distance | In a private car, on a long call |
|---|
| Waterfall boat | If sold by the line | On a long call, with a firm return time |
|---|
| City tour with waterfalls | When you want a guide | On a long call, and after checking pickup |
|---|
Short answer
On a call of about nine hours or less, take the old town and the museum and leave the ruins — the ride alone costs you a slice of the day. On a call of ten hours or more, book one private day to Perge and Aspendos and agree the return time in writing. Ask your line about its own tour first.
06
Antalya port logistics: the berth, the ride and the paperwork
From the ship into town
Ships dock alongside at Port Akdeniz, with no tender. CruiseMapper lists three berths; Cruise Critic counts two.
Walking is not practical, per CruiseMapper — a taxi rank waits at the port, and some lines run shuttles.
More on the berth is on our Antalya cruise port guide.
- Docked alongside, no tender
- About 25 to 35 minutes to Kaleíci
- No convenient direct tram from the berth
Taxis
Reported fares run from a €15 flat rate for up to four to about €25 one way.
We found no official tariff. Ask before you go, and keep the driver’s number for the return.
Which lines call
October 2026 brought AIDA, Azamara and Emerald. The 2027 arrivals we found include Regent, Azamara, Aroya, Star Clippers, Oceania and AIDA.
Typical calls are listed from 05:00 to 22:00, or 08:00 to 17:00. Counts of upcoming calls vary by site.
Safety and paperwork
The State Department rates Türkiye Level 2 as of its June 9, 2026 advisory, and singles out the Syrian and Iraqi borders for Level 4, not Antalya. Read the current notice before you sail.
US tourists need no visa for 90 days or less. Bring a passport valid six months past your arrival.
