Perge, Aspendos and Side Tour from Antalya: Route, Fees, Prices

A Perge, Aspendos and Side tour from Antalya takes about eight hours and costs $90 per person with us, including hotel pick-up, a licensed guide and lunch; the entrance tickets, about €36 in total, are paid on site. For one day of antiquity on the Turkish Riviera, you get the best-preserved Roman theatre in Turkey, a colonnaded street with a water channel down the middle, a temple standing over the sea and, to finish, the Manavgat Waterfall.

Most German and British holidaymakers book this Perge Aspendos Side tour from their hotel, often on day two or three, when the beach needs a break. That works well as long as you know what you are in for: a lot of stone, little shade and three coach legs of 30 to 45 minutes each. This page sums up what we see on tours that run every day and what the official sources said in October 2026.

Can you see Perge, Aspendos and Side in one day?

Yes, and it is the most common way to see all three. The sites sit like beads on a string along the D400 coast road east of Antalya: Perge about 18 km from the city centre, Aspendos roughly 30 km further on, Side another 35 km or so towards Manavgat. From Side back to Antalya is about 75 km. Our Antalya travel guide covers the rest of the coast.

What one day cannot do is all of it properly. Perge alone easily fills two hours, and Side with its museum and old town could take half a day. The tour gives you time at each place for the main monuments plus a short free wander. If you studied archaeology or want to read every inscription, pair Perge with the Antalya Museum on a separate day and give Side an evening of its own.

For a second day around the city, our Antalya city tour visits Kaleiçi, Hadrian's Gate and the Upper and Lower Düden Waterfalls, with a one-hour boat trip and lunch, from $90 per person.

One point people miss: guests staying in Belek and Side spend less time on the coach, because the sites lie between their hotels and Antalya. From Kemer, add about an hour in the morning; from Alanya, a good hour and a half.

How our Perge Aspendos Side tour runs, hour by hour

The order of our Perge Aspendos Side tour has stayed the same for years because it follows the sun: Perge in the morning, when the open site is still bearable, and Side in the afternoon with a sea breeze.

1. Hotel pick-up (about 1 hour of collecting guests) in selected Antalya areas; we send the exact time by WhatsApp the day before.
2. Perge (about 1.5 hours, guided): city gate, colonnaded street, agora, Roman baths.
3. Aspendos (about 1 hour, guided): the Roman theatre, with a view of the aqueduct if you ask.
4. Lunch (about 1 hour, included) at a local restaurant.
5. Side (about 1.5 hours, guided plus free time): Temple of Apollo, old town lanes, harbour.
6. Manavgat Waterfall (about 45 minutes).
7. Return (1 to 1.5 hours) to your hotel or an agreed drop-off point.

Perge: colonnaded street, stadium and the road St Paul took

In Roman times Perge was one of the richest cities of Pamphylia, and the width of its main street shows it. An open water channel ran down the middle, fed by a fountain house at the top of the slope, with shops behind porticoes on both sides. Part of the colonnade has been raised again, and that is where the photos you have seen of Perge are taken.

At the entrance stand the two round towers of the Hellenistic gate, with a courtyard behind that once held statues of the city's founders. Many of those statues are now in the Antalya Museum, including the "Weary Herakles", whose upper half was returned from Boston in 2011. At Perge you see the stage; the actors are 18 km away in the museum.

Christian groups come for another reason: according to Acts of the Apostles (13:13 and 14:25), Paul and Barnabas passed through Perge on their first missionary journey. There is no marked spot for it; guides tell the story on the main street.

Worth knowing now: the ancient theatre of Perge is temporarily closed for restoration, according to the Ministry of Culture (checked 24 October 2026). The large stadium outside the walls, one of the best-preserved from antiquity, is not affected and sits right by the car park.

Aspendos: why this theatre is different

Most ancient theatres in Turkey are ruins with rows of seats. Aspendos is a building. The stage wall stands to its full height, the seating is almost complete and part of the arcaded gallery still runs around the top. It was built in the 2nd century AD under Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and an inscription names the architect as Zenon. Capacity figures vary by source, from 7,000 to 15,000 seats.

The reason it survived is simple: the Seljuks used the building as a caravanserai and palace in the 13th century and kept it in repair. Traces of Seljuk painted decoration are still visible on the stage wall.

The theatre is still in use. At the Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival the audience sits on the same steps as 1,800 years ago; for a concert on 26 August 2026, Turkish ticket sites listed seats between 3,200 and 5,850 lira. On a day visit you have about an hour: enough to climb to the top and test the acoustics. Our tip from the field: one person stands in the middle of the orchestra and speaks normally while the others listen from the top row.

With a few spare minutes, look north from the upper rim to see the aqueduct of Aspendos. On the way back to the main road you also pass the Seljuk bridge over the Köprüçay river, built on Roman foundations.

Side: Temple of Apollo, old town and harbour

Side is the only one of the three where people still live, and that changes the experience. Restaurants, jewellers and guesthouses sit between Roman walls. If you want quiet, walk to the tip of the peninsula, where the five re-erected columns of the Temple of Apollo from the 2nd century stand with the sea on three sides.

On the way you pass the theatre of Side, which, like Aspendos, stands on arches because the flat peninsula had no hillside to carve into. A small planning note: the ministry listed the theatre as closed for one day on 24 October 2026. Short-notice closures like this happen; we check before every tour and change the order if needed.

The Side Museum is in a Roman bath opposite the theatre, small but well kept, and the combined ticket (€10 at October 2026 prices) gets you in. In 1.5 hours you can manage the temple, the harbour wall and a coffee, but not the museum as well at a relaxed pace.

Manavgat Waterfall: a short stop to cool down

The Manavgat Waterfall lies about 4 km north of Manavgat town and is not a tall drop but a wide step of a few metres over which the river pours. After a day on hot limestone, this is where families breathe out: shade, tea gardens and spray.

The entry fee is collected by Manavgat municipality, not the ministry, so museum passes do not apply and the small charge is paid in lira. After heavy rain the river can rise so high that the step almost disappears; local media have reported several such days in winter.

Entrance fees and prices: what the day really costs

The tour price covers transport, guide, insurance and lunch. It does not include entrance fees, drinks or photos. Foreign visitors pay fixed euro prices at ministry sites, which the ticket office often converts into lira at the day's rate, so bring a card.

If you are staying a week and also heading to Pamukkale or Myra, look at the MuseumPass Mediterranean: €90 for seven days and more than 40 sites. For this one excursion it does not pay off. Prices change with season, hotel area and what is included; message us for the current price.

Group or private, and from which hotel

Our group tour picks up in selected Antalya areas, typically Lara, Konyaaltı, the old town and the hotel strip towards Belek. The advantage is the price. The downside: collecting guests in the morning can take up to an hour, and the pace follows the group.

A private tour makes sense from three or four people, or with children who need to be back earlier. You set the departure time and can, for example, move Side to late afternoon when the light on the temple is softer. On request we run the private version with a German-speaking guide or a guide in your language; we quote by hotel and date on WhatsApp. The group tour can be cancelled free of charge up to 7 days before the date.

Best time to go, heat and what to wear

In July and August, daytime highs in Antalya regularly pass 33°C and Perge has almost no shade. Bring a hat, sunscreen, at least 1.5 litres of water per person and shoes with firm soles, because the marble slabs are slippery. In spring and autumn the same tour is an easy walk.

In winter the sites stay open and are nearly empty. Daylight becomes the limit; if you book in December, expect a slightly shorter stop in Side. No mosques are on the programme, so there is no special dress code.

Coming from Germany and other countries: ID, flights, payment

German citizens need no visa for stays of up to 90 days within 180 days, and according to the German Foreign Office (checked 24 October 2026) a national ID card is enough. Direct flights to Antalya leave from almost every German airport with Condor, SunExpress, Pegasus, Corendon and TUIfly; flying time from Frankfurt is about three and a half hours.

Card payment usually works at ministry ticket offices. For the waterfall, tea and small shops, a little lira cash is more practical than euros. You can book our tour online or on WhatsApp, and if you want a ride from the airport straight to your hotel, use our Antalya airport transfer.

More day trips from Antalya

If you enjoyed this day, these are the three tours our guests most often book next. For travertine terraces and thermal pools, the Pamukkale day trip from Antalya with lunch starts at $90. For Lycia and the tomb of St Nicholas there is the Demre, Myra and Kekova boat trip from $120. If you want more ruins after Aspendos but without the crowds, the Sagalassos tour at 1,500 metres is a good choice.

All options are listed under day trips from Antalya and our Antalya tours. If you are planning several days in the city, read our guide on which Antalya day tour to book from your hotel. To book this day directly: Perge, Aspendos and Side with Manavgat Waterfall.

Frequently Asked Questions