The short answer: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
The full Antalya city day — Düden waterfalls, Kaleiçi old town and the harbour boat trip — runs from the Side and Manavgat corridor three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. There is no Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Sunday departure, so if Antalya is on your list, one of those three days has to stay free. Reservation is free and you pay on the tour day, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure — so holding a seat early in your week costs nothing even if your plans move.
One boundary before we start: this guide is about getting to Antalya from the Side corridor. If you are already staying in Antalya itself — Lara, Kundu, Konyaaltı — the logistics are completely different, and our Antalya excursion chooser is the page written for you.
Boarding times, zone by zone
These are each zone's first pickup times — the earliest a hotel in that zone is collected. Your exact slot depends on where your hotel sits on the route and is confirmed individually after booking.
- Kızılot — 07:50
- Kızılağaç — 08:00
- Titreyengöl — 08:20
- Side — 08:30
- Kumköy — 08:45
- Evrenseki — 08:50
- Çolaklı — 09:10
- Gündoğdu — 09:15
Why Kızılot boards first
The logic is worth understanding once, because it explains every fixed-day excursion on this coast. The coach always starts at the end of the corridor farthest from the destination and sweeps towards it, so nobody rides the strip twice. Antalya is the westbound day: Kızılot, the zone nearest Alanya, boards first at 07:50, and Gündoğdu, the zone nearest Antalya, boards last at 09:15 with the shortest ride. The Alanya city day runs the exact mirror image — Gündoğdu first, Kızılot last — which is why the eastern zones get the early alarm for Antalya and a lie-in for Alanya.
What the day actually contains
The Antalya city tour (from €43) puts both faces of the Düden river into one day: the leafy Upper Düden waterfall park upstream, and the clifftop where the Lower Düden plunges straight into the sea. Between the two comes dedicated free time in Kaleiçi — the walled old town of Ottoman houses, Hadrian's Gate and the historic harbour, where you wander, sit in a café or shop at your own pace before the group meets again. A one-hour boat trip along the coastline departs from the old harbour area, and a Turkish lunch at a local restaurant is included, with vegetarian and vegan options available.
Included in the price: the professional guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle, lunch, the Düden waterfall entrance fee and the one-hour boat trip. Not included: drinks, personal expenses, and lunch for children who join free of charge. Infants travel free; if you want a separate seat for your infant, a €5 seat fee applies. There is one browsing-only stop at a jewellery and souvenir centre — buying is entirely optional.
Who this day does not suit
Be honest with yourself before booking. There is no swim stop on this itinerary — if what you actually want is a beach or pool day, this is not it. Guests in the eastern zones should look hard at that 07:50 boarding time: with young children who fade on long coach days, the gentler half-day below is usually the better call. And if ancient theatres interest you more than waterfalls and old-town lanes, read Perge and Aspendos or the Antalya city day before you commit — they are different products for different tastes.
The lighter westbound alternative: the aquarium half-day
If a full city day is more than your week needs, the Antalya Aquarium package (from €73, entrance ticket and round-trip hotel transfer bundled) is the corridor's other Antalya-direction departure. It runs Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with first pickups from 08:30 in Kızılot to 09:45 in Gündoğdu — a noticeably softer morning. Inside you get around two to two and a half hours at your own pace: the 131-metre glass tunnel with sharks and rays overhead, more than 40 themed tanks and over 10,000 marine creatures. It is step-free, stroller-friendly and works in any weather. Note that only Tuesday overlaps with the full city day — on Friday and Sunday the aquarium is your only scheduled Antalya-direction departure. The day-by-day detail lives in our aquarium days guide.
Planning the rest of the week
Antalya on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday leaves the rest of the week wide open — the Alanya day runs Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, so the two never clash. If you are weighing one city against the other, Alanya or Antalya from Side settles it in five minutes. Reserve the Antalya city day free of charge, pay on the day, and cancel free up to 24 hours before if the week rearranges itself.