Taxi from Lara & Kundu: City and Day Trips
Taxi from Lara or Kundu to Kaleiçi, TerraCity, MarkAntalya, the Düden falls, Aqualand (Waterhill), the aquarium, Land of Legends or Perge: private car and driver.
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A taxi from Lara or Kundu seldom has far to go. This resort strip runs right up to Antalya itself: the big hotels face the sand east of the centre, the airport is a short way inland behind them, and where the strip ends in the west the city's eastern districts begin. That shapes what guests book from here: Kaleiçi for the evening after a beach day, a shopping centre when the afternoon is too hot, the Düden falls dropping from the cliffs into the sea, a family day at the water park or the aquarium across town, Land of Legends to the east and the ruins of Perge inland. Each leg on the list is one way, in a car and driver reserved for your group, at a fixed fare for the whole vehicle rather than per seat.
The list shows each leg's distance and usual driving time, so what follows is about the choices those numbers leave open. Nearly everything here is close, but most of it is reached through city traffic, and the hour you leave can matter more than the distance. Some places want an early start, others wake up after dark, and a few are easier to reach than to leave. Tell us when booking if the driver should wait while you look around, or return for you at a set hour and place.
Short legs, city streets
Lara is less a resort town than the beach end of Antalya, with Kundu carrying the hotels on eastwards and the airport just inland. Most legs on the list run west into the city and differ mainly in how deep they go: the Düden falls and TerraCity stay on the Lara side, Kaleiçi and MarkAntalya are in the centre, and the water park and the aquarium lie beyond it at Konyaaltı. Only two head elsewhere: Perge, inland past the airport, and Land of Legends, east across the Aksu river.
A leg that takes no time at all late in the evening can crawl when offices close and the city heads home, and the Konyaaltı legs suffer most, being urban almost from start to finish. Cross town after the morning commute, settle the way back before you leave, and expect the late drive home to be the easy one.
The strip is long, too: the list measures from Lara, so from the Kundu end the city legs grow a little and the Land of Legends leg shrinks. Give the hotel's full name, not only the area, so the driver turns in at the right gate. And on a last day with an evening flight, the nearby airport leaves time for one more short outing, with the terminal run booked as a separate leg.
Kaleiçi after dark, with or without the shops
The classic evening out from Lara is Kaleiçi, the old walled town around the harbour. Much of it is pedestrian, with narrow cobbled lanes tilting down towards the water, so you are set down outside the walls and from there it is all walking, best done in shoes with some grip.
MarkAntalya can start that evening earlier. The shopping centre is on Kazım Özalp Caddesi, the old bazaar street that locals still call Şarampol, which leads south to Kalekapısı and the clock tower at the top of the old town. Get out at the mall in the late afternoon, wander through the bazaar as the heat fades, and be picked up from Kaleiçi after dinner, with nothing in between that needs a car.
Driving in, you often meet the city's evening peak, so allow extra time if a table is booked or you want the harbour at sunset; coming home late, the roads are far emptier. Fix the return while booking, not as the night winds down, with an hour and a meeting point outside the walls within reach of a car.
Close by: TerraCity and the Düden falls
Two legs hardly leave the Lara side of town. TerraCity, in the Fener neighbourhood, is the shopping centre on your doorstep: near enough for an hour's errand, a film in its cinema, or a cool refuge from the afternoon heat. For a short visit, have the driver wait; for an afternoon that ends with a film, book the return for a fixed time.
The Düden falls are closer still, where Lara's sand gives way to the city's cliffs. There the river pours over the edge into the sea, and a clifftop park with terraces gives the view down onto it. The visit is brief and the light kindest late in the day, and since the park lies on the cliff road into town, the falls make a good first stop on the way to Kaleiçi or TerraCity; mention it when booking.
To avoid a mix-up: this leg goes to the lower falls, while the Upper Düden falls are another park entirely, inland in the Kepez district. The harbour boats that sail from Kaleiçi also pass in front of the lower falls, if you want to see them from the sea too.
Konyaaltı: a family day across the city
The water park and the aquarium stand on the opposite side of the city, which makes them the longest legs from Lara and the ones most worth timing. Both are on Dumlupınar Bulvarı near Konyaaltı beach, a short walk apart, so the car crosses the whole centre going and coming. Leave after the morning commute, and pick the return hour before you go, because a late-afternoon pickup drives back into the evening peak.
The park listed as Aqualand Antalya now trades as Waterhill, on the same site. It is an outdoor park that opens for the summer, so check its dates first. The aquarium is the opposite kind of day, indoors, cool and dim, ready for rain or for heat too fierce for the beach. As the two are neighbours, you can be dropped at one and collected from the other; give both names and your likely finishing time in the booking.
A point for families used to Lara's sand: Konyaaltı's beach is mostly pebbles, so if a swim there is part of the day, bring water shoes.
Leaving the city: Land of Legends and Perge
Land of Legends lies east: the road runs on past the last Kundu hotels, crosses the Aksu river and arrives in Kadriye, where the Belek resort area begins. A theme park, a water park and a shopping street along a canal share the site, and the show that closes the evening sends everybody to the gates at the same moment. Book the ride back together with the ride out, timed for a while after the show, or keep the driver waiting.
Perge lies the other way, north past the airport and along the highway to the edge of Aksu. The ancient city's ruins spread over open ground with hardly any shade, so go at the start or the end of the day, with hats and plenty of water, and keep the driver waiting at the entrance while you walk round. Perge fits easily into half a day; Land of Legends can fill a whole one.
Group size, child seats and the ride back
With one fare per vehicle, a family or group usually travels together in one car. Choose the size by bags as much as by people: four people and four cases fit the Economy Van, seven and seven the Standard Van, six and six the First Class Van, and a minibus carries twelve or sixteen. Day trips gather their own clutter: a pushchair, a cool bag, wet towels, the shopping. Mention anything large when you book.
Child seats and boosters are free but must be asked for: give each child's age in the booking and the right seat will be fitted. When a group divides, some to the water park and some to the shops, two cars are simpler than one vehicle chasing two plans.
Every leg is one way, and the way back is added while booking: a pickup at an hour and place you choose, or a driver who waits. As a rule, waiting suits the short stops and a set pickup the long days and late nights.
Frequently asked questions
We are staying in Kundu, not Lara. Are the trips the same?
Yes. Every leg runs from either end of the strip; only the drive changes a little, longer to the city, the malls and Konyaaltı, shorter to Land of Legends.
Which Düden waterfall does this leg go to?
The lower one, on the cliffs at the edge of Lara, where the river falls into the sea beneath a clifftop park. The upper falls are in Kepez, a different park reached by a different road.
Can we shop at MarkAntalya and then walk to Kaleiçi?
Yes. The mall sits on the street that leads to Kalekapısı at the top of the old town, so the two are a short walk apart. Book the leg to MarkAntalya and add a return pickup from Kaleiçi for whatever hour suits you.
Is Aqualand Antalya still open?
The park now operates as Waterhill, on the same site near Konyaaltı beach. It is open-air and works through the summer season, so check its dates and hours for your day first. The aquarium, a short walk away, is indoors if the weather turns.
How do we get back from Land of Legends after the evening show?
Settle it while booking the outward leg: a pickup some time after the show finishes, at a meeting point agreed beforehand, or a driver who waits through the evening. The crowd leaves all at once, which is the wrong moment to start looking for a car.
When is it easiest to drive into the city from Lara?
Outside the weekday rush hours, above all for the Konyaaltı parks, which mean crossing the whole centre. Late at night the roads back to the hotels are quiet, so the ride home after dinner in Kaleiçi is usually quick.