Side → Alanya Transfer

Side to Alanya private transfer

Most people who book this leg are staying in a Side hotel and want a day in a town rather than a resort. Alanya has what the Side strip does not: a Seljuk castle with a cable car running up to it, a working harbour where the excursion boats tie up, a covered bazaar, streets of shops that stay open because people live here all year, and a long city beach with a promenade behind it. The second common reason is a hotel change — the rest of the holiday booked further east, cases in the boot, a morning checkout and a new reception by lunchtime.

The Side to Alanya transfer runs east on the D400 the whole way: 65 km, around 60 minutes. It leaves the Side junctions, crosses the Manavgat river and stays behind the resort belt at Kızılağaç, Kızılot and Okurcalar, with the Taurus foothills close on the left. After Okurcalar the road climbs over the pine headlands of İncekum and Avsallar, curving high above small coves, then drops back to sea level at Payallar and Konaklı. For the last ten minutes the castle rock stands ahead. In July and August the strip towns and the town entrance are the slow parts; early morning and after dark the same road runs straight through.

• For a day out, take a morning pickup from your hotel reception and agree the return time when you book — Alanya is easier with the car waiting than without it.
• The castle road is steep, narrow and one-way in places, so ask to be set down at the harbour or the cable car station rather than at the summit.
• Alanya runs from Konaklı in the west to Mahmutlar in the east, and a drop-off at the far end adds fifteen to twenty minutes to the hour.
• In high summer the last kilometres into the centre are the slowest of the day; if the beach is the plan, a drop-off on the Kleopatra side saves crossing the town.