Belek → Kaleiçi Transfer

Belek to Kaleiçi private transfer

Most Belek evenings end at the hotel bar, and Antalya's walled old town, Kaleiçi, is where guests head on the night they want streets, old stone and a table of their choosing. It sits on the cliff above its Roman harbour, inside the surviving fortifications, and its grandest entrance is Hadrian's Gate, three arches raised for the emperor's visit in 130 AD and later absorbed into the walls. The lanes beyond are cobbled, narrow and closed to through traffic, so the car stops at the edge and the old town is walked: down between restored Ottoman houses to the harbour, where fishing and excursion boats moor under the rock, or up to a roof terrace to watch the sun go down behind the Beydağları on the far side of the bay.

Kaleiçi lies 40 km from Belek, about 40 minutes when the roads are clear. The car leaves Belek on the link road north to the D400, then follows the highway west past the Aksu junction and the turning for Perge. Directly opposite Antalya Airport an outlet centre and a large shopping mall stand beside the road, which suits a day built as shops in the afternoon and dinner after dark; that stop, and the wait while you shop, can be set up at booking. From there the highway turns into a city avenue with traffic lights and leads on towards the walls. Coming home late is usually the easy half: commuters have long gone, and the D400 back to the hotel gate runs dark and quiet.

• The walk from Hadrian's Gate down to the harbour is steep and cobbled, and the climb back is easier in the glass lift at the western end of Cumhuriyet Square, which links the cliff top with the marina.
• Since the car cannot reach a restaurant inside the lanes, settle a named meeting point outside the walls and a rough time for the return when you book.
• City traffic builds as offices empty in the early evening, so set off from Belek with some margin if a sunset table is the point of the trip.
• Wear flat shoes with grip, because the old stone paving in Kaleiçi has been polished smooth by centuries of feet and is uneven in places.