Sticky Note # 14: Antalya with Kids: Beach, Old Town and a Plot Twist

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Reading time: 10 minutes
I have not included a voiceover for this post because this one comes with pictures - best to read through it :)

This trip was finalized after several back-and-forths on whether we were travelling for Eid or not. The top destination in my mind was Bosnia, but there were no direct flights available at the time and we weren't in the mood to take a long route with kids. It was the same with Georgia, my second option.
So with those two out of the way, Turkey came to mind.

I wasn't too keen initially because we had visited Istanbul and Fethiye back in 2016 (before parenthood had entered the scene). But the husband and I also wanted some place that didn't require us to constantly manage the kids.
A radical concept for a family holiday, I know.
Antalya came up as a suitable option because beach is always a hit with kids.
It's the perfect place where we can just let them be. But what really sealed the deal for us was The Land of Legends.

With a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old, we've now entered the stage where travelling no longer requires planning which carry-on stroller to take or how to manage naps during a day out in the city. Good riddance to both. Now is when we can truly plan a family vacation they'll remember as a core childhood memory. And a family-friendly adventure and water park sounded like the perfect way to do that.

Here’s the itinerary we followed:

We'd booked one night in a hotel in the heart of the Old Town, Kaleiçi. We stayed at Hotel Karyatit, but I wouldn't recommend it. Consider it a lesson we've already learned for you. The room wasn't great cleanliness-wise and the breakfast was the kind you eat, nod politely at, and immediately start planning lunch to compensate for. The location was good though, so definitely check out the area for other options.

We spent a few hours resting and freshening up, then left the hotel around 1pm to explore the old town and marina. One of the highlights of the trip was Luna Gardens, a highly recommended food spot in the heart of the old town. We went there on both days we were in the area. Twice, to the same place, when there were so many other options around. That's the only review you need. It's perfect for a relaxed lunch in the middle of the day because the shaded outdoor seating area offers much-needed relief from the sun, which in Antalya is not messing around. We also stopped by at the end of the day for coffee and drinks, and the vibe was equally lovely.

After lunch at Luna Gardens, we walked through the historic Hadrian’s Gate, through the old bazaar, and down to the Marina. The walk was fairly enjoyable for the kids with full bellies after lunch, so there was minimal whining (which with a 5-year-old is essentially a five-star review of the activity). At the Marina, the initial plan was to take the 2-hour boat tour to Düden Falls. But we thought 2 hours might be too long and we weren’t that keen on the falls anyway, so we switched to a 45-minute boat ride. The water was a bit choppy. The kind of choppy that turns a leisure boat ride into a group activity nobody signed up for but everyone ended up enjoying.

It was 5pm by the time we were done with the ride. We decided to walk back to the hotel since the kids were tired. We took a 2-hour break, napped, called home, and headed out again around 7pm. The days were long and it didn’t get dark until 8:30ish and I love that on trips.

This time we headed to Denize Karşı Cafe for snacks and coffee. It was a beautiful place to spend the evening with gorgeous sunset views. There’s a playground and a soft play area for kids, plus lots of space for them to run around right next to the cafe, so you can have some kid-free time while you enjoy your food. The coffee service was a bit disappointing though, which felt particularly unfair given the setting. There are other cafes and restaurants around the same area, so just walk around the Denize Karşı Garden area and try another spot. We spent a couple of hours there, strolled through the old town with all its restaurants, had some ice cream, and enjoyed the live music playing here and there. Nobody was hungry enough for a proper dinner. The snacking had done its job.

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza. We wanted a bigger room with 2 extra single beds for the kids, and that part was great. But I felt the hotel could have better beach facilities. They do have a direct underground passage to the beach but once you get to the beach, there are no sun beds or beach umbrellas provided by the hotel (those are only at the pool area inside the hotel). So if you want shade and sun beds, you’ll need to walk to nearby cafes and rent them there.

We had lunch at Shakespeare Coffee and Bistro - YUM! Then headed to the beach, where I mostly dozed off under the sun while the kids had a blast playing in the water. We easily spent 4 hours there even without renting sun beds. Headed back to the hotel, showered, changed, and came out for an evening walk and more food. We randomly came across Hilmi Sokak Lezzetleri, a local street food spot that seemed really busy. They had a variety of wraps, burgers and sea food items. We enjoyed street food from there and then walked along the beach, strolled around Konyaaltı, had some more ice cream, and headed back to the hotel.

Mostly spent at the beach, the hotel poolside, and the indoor swimming pool and saunas in the evening. Lots of reading, napping, food, and drinks. Just a couple of lazy vacation days with minimal parenting. We did go back to the old town one day for lunch. If you’re surprised it was Luna Gardens again, you haven’t been paying attention. We also checked out the old bazaar for shopping, which is a short 10-minute drive from Konyaaltı. It turned out to be entirely dedicated to counterfeit designer goods. Rows upon rows of copies of Chanel, YSL and multiple other designer bags and branded shoes. We weren’t interested in any of that, so it was a bit of a waste of time. But for anyone who’s into that, it is the place to be because the products actually looked pretty good quality. There are probably other spots with good local products but we weren’t interested in shopping so didn’t explore much.

Day 4 ended with the most beautiful blue moon rising above the Mediterranean. Stunning views!

At this point, the kids thought we were headed home the next morning. They had no idea what was in store for them.

We checked out the next morning and loaded everything into a cab. My son was too busy being sad about leaving to notice we’d driven right past the airport. The screams of joy on spotting the rides of Land of Legends in the distance made every minute of the whining worth it.

We had booked 2 nights at the Kingdom Hotel (located inside The Land of Legends), which gave us 3 full days at all the parks inside.
More than enough time.
Our flight was late on the third night, and we had access to all the hotel and park facilities after checking out on Day 3. So you could practically book just one night at the hotel and still enjoy two full days at the parks. File that one away.

The Kingdom Hotel is designed to be a dream for children. From magicians welcoming you in the lobby with interactive tricks to candy buckets waiting to be filled, the magic starts the moment you arrive.
My son’s immediate reaction was: “This is what Jannah must be like!”
High praise from a 9-year-old who has very clear expectations of paradise.
We arrived earlier than check-in time, so we left our luggage in the lobby and started exploring the hotel before venturing out to the park.

There’s 24/7 access to a kids’ bar with an unlimited supply of ice creams, milkshakes, smoothies, and hot drinks. The kids discovered this within approximately four minutes of arrival. There are also arcade games, PlayStation pods, and a Kids’ Club with daily programming for kids of all ages, plus a nursery and play area for little ones.

We had some drinks and snacks, fuelled up a bit, then headed out to Adventure Land. We kept the first day water-free, so we covered Adventure Land, Nickelodeon Land, Masha and the Bear, and the Dolphin Show.

My first surprise came when my 5-year-old didn’t just jump onto her first real roller coaster. She insisted on doing multiple rounds. We knew we were in for many more surprises after that. She tried to get on rides she didn’t meet the height requirements for, standing on tiptoes with the full conviction that centimetres are merely a suggestion. Thankfully there were enough options she could go on. The highlights of the day were the Family Coaster and the 5D cinematic experience at the Star Trek: Wild Galaxy ride. We entered the park around 1pm and came back to the hotel around 6pm. You can easily spend 5–6 hours exploring everything, or more if you take a lunch break.

The next surprise for the kids was the room itself. Bright colours, cute designs, and full Land of Legends theming. We freshened up and went down for the dinner buffet, which was AMAZING. The spread was extensive, and the entire theming made the experience even more magical for kids. There’s a separate kids’ buffet section with more child-friendly items, and they even have formula milk and baby food for families with babies and toddlers.
Someone really thought this through.

After dinner, we took a stroll along the shopping avenue to enjoy all the lighting and the laser show at the castle. But our room had a direct view of the castle, so we headed back and watched it from the balcony instead.
Free upgrade.
We called it an early night because everyone was already excited about the next day at Aqua Land.

This was definitely the highlight of the entire trip. Aqua Land had just unveiled its newest attraction, the Water Fly Tower, which is now the tallest water slide tower in Europe. (Antalya is technically in Asia, but we know how Turkey likes to market itself as Europe.)

Now, I am not the biggest fan of water-related activities. I don’t know how to swim, and I’ve had a couple of unpleasant incidents with water that have left me with a bit of a water phobia. So I entered the water park fully convinced I wouldn’t be going on any major rides. I thought the splash pad, lazy river, and beach areas would be fun enough.

But Aqua Land had other plans for me.

The day ended up being a test of my parenting beliefs, but that’s a longer conversation I’ll get into in this month’s Growing Together issue. For now, please know that I ended up going on several of the slides on that tower and surprised myself by overcoming some of my fears. Turns out I had more nerve than I gave myself credit for. It was such a memorable and fun day, definitely one we’ll be talking about for a long time.

All in all, Land of Legends was worth the money and more. People who’ve been to Yas Island water park in Dubai say that Land of Legends is a more relaxed and family-friendly version of it. There’s something for all ages, plus more attractions you can enjoy together as a family. I’m not sure how crowded it gets during peak summer season, but we encountered minimal crowds even on the weekend. The maximum wait time for the most popular rides was 15 - 20 minutes.

The food was great at Eternia Restaurant inside the Kingdom Hotel and at Mungo Restaurant at Aqua Land. Both are included in the all-inclusive package at Kingdom Hotel. There are several other options inside the parks if you’re not staying at Kingdom Hotel. There’s also Nemo, Antalya’s first aquarium restaurant, offering stunning views. We didn’t try it on this trip, but it generally has great reviews. It could be a wonderful option for a date night while the kids are busy at the Kids’ Club.

Our Day 3 was fairly relaxed. We could have gone back to the water park, but we didn’t feel like showering all over again before heading to the airport, so we spent the day attending pottery and woodcraft workshops, hanging out at the Kids’ Club, playing arcade games, and revisiting some of the rides in Adventure Land. The Family Coaster got two more visits from us. It had clearly made an impression.

Our flight back was via Ankara. We mostly slept through it and got home early on a Thursday morning, which meant we had 3 days before work and school restarted for everyone. Keeping extra time off after a vacation is always a wonderful gift to your future self.

The entire trip cost us around 3000USD - not including flights.

If we were to redo the itinerary, we’d cut down one night and one day. We’d do three nights in either the old town or beachside (instead of doing two separate hotels). You can do a 10-minute taxi ride to shuttle between the two areas. And then two nights and three days at the Kingdom Hotel.

It’s also very doable in 4 nights and 5 days if you want more action packed days. You can further bring down the cost by staying at a hotel outside Land of Legends and buying daily tickets to access the parks instead.

Hope you enjoyed this little virtual trip and got some ideas if you’re planning a family vacation with kids with summer.

Until next time, Insha’Allah.

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