Antalya Holidays 2027 with Istanbul: Splitting a Week Between City and Coast

An Antalya holiday in 2027 with a few days in Istanbul first is the simplest way to see both sides of Turkey in one week: two or three nights in Istanbul for Hagia Sophia, the Bosphorus and the bazaars, then a 1 hour 20 minute flight to Antalya and four or five days by the sea. From Germany you fly into Istanbul and home from Antalya on an open-jaw ticket, so no time is lost going back. Our private 8-day Istanbul and Antalya package costs from $1,980 per person, and day tours on the Antalya coast start at $50.

This page was written first for German holidaymakers, who search for it as "Antalya Urlaub 2027 mit Istanbul", and covers flights from Germany, entry with an ID card, the best months, holiday dates to avoid, and what we offer in both places. Prices were checked on 23 October 2026.

Antalya and Istanbul 2027 at a glance

Prices change by season, hotel and what is included, so ask us for today's price before you book flights.

Why Istanbul first and Antalya second

Istanbul is the busy half of the trip. You walk a lot, queue for Hagia Sophia and Topkapı, and spend evenings on rooftops in Sultanahmet or Karaköy. Doing it first, while you are fresh, makes sense, and the beach days afterwards feel like a real rest.

There is also a ticket reason. Many airlines sell open-jaw tickets from Germany, flying out to Istanbul and back from Antalya, often for little more than a normal return. The internal flight between the two is short and cheap if booked early. Driving is not a good idea: it is about 700 km and nine to ten hours on the road.

If you only want a short look at Istanbul from an Antalya hotel, there is also a one-day trip by plane, described on our page about the Istanbul day trip from Antalya. It works, but it is a long day that starts before 06:00.

Flights from Germany and entry rules

Antalya is one of the best-connected holiday airports for Germany. Condor, SunExpress, TUIfly, Corendon and Pegasus fly direct from most large German airports in summer, and Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Stuttgart keep year-round links. Istanbul is served by Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and Lufthansa from the main German hubs, landing at Istanbul Airport or at Sabiha Gökçen on the Asian side.

German citizens need no visa for tourist stays in Turkey of up to 90 days in 180. You can enter with a passport or a valid Personalausweis, according to the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), which also asks that children travel with their own document. Check the Foreign Office's Turkey page before you travel, since rules for expired documents differ.

Money: Turkey uses the lira. In Antalya's hotel areas you can often pay in euros, but the exchange rate is poor; card payments and lira cash from bank ATMs work out cheaper. German bank cards work everywhere in Turkey.

Best time for an Antalya holiday in 2027

May and June are the best balance for a city-and-beach trip. Istanbul is 18–26 °C, Antalya is warm, and the sea reaches about 24 °C by mid-June. September and October are just as good, with the warmest sea of the year in early September and Istanbul's pleasant autumn.

July and August are hot in both cities and very hot in Antalya, often 34 °C or more in the afternoon. It is the right season if your priority is the beach and you plan sightseeing for the morning.

Plan around Turkish holidays, when Turkish families fill the coast. In 2027 the most important is Kurban Bayramı from 16 to 19 May, which runs into the 19 May youth holiday. Ramazan Bayramı falls on 9–11 March and the Turkish school summer holidays begin in late June. Hotel prices in Antalya climb noticeably for these dates. Russian and German school holidays also matter: Antalya is busiest from mid-July to the end of August.

November to April is fine for Istanbul and for sightseeing around Antalya (Perge, Aspendos, Termessos), but most people find the sea too cold to swim.

Two or three days in Istanbul

With two full days, spend the first in the old city: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace, ending at the Grand Bazaar (closed on Sundays). On the second day, take a Bosphorus cruise in the morning, cross to Karaköy and Galata, and finish at Dolmabahçe Palace or in Ortaköy. A third day lets you see Balat and the Asian side, or the Princes' Islands.

A guided day saves a lot of time at the entrances. Our Istanbul and Antalya package includes a guided old city tour, a private city tour by car with a driver and a Bosphorus dinner cruise. If you are building the trip yourself, combine any of our multi-city packages with a few nights on the coast, or ask us for a German-speaking guide; details are on our German-speaking guide page.

Day trips around Antalya

The coast around Antalya is not only beaches. These are our day tours with hotel pick-up, with current prices per person:

Aspendos has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere, still used for concerts. Kekova is a boat trip over the ruins of a sunken Lycian town, combined with the rock tombs of Myra and the church of St Nicholas in Demre. For families, the Suluada boat day is the favourite: clear water, a long sandy spit and a simple lunch on board. If you plan more days on the coast, our 5-day Antalya itinerary lays out the sights day by day, with a 7-day version as well.

All of these are on our Antalya tours page, and our list of day tours shows options in Istanbul, Cappadocia and on the Aegean coast as well.

Antalya for families, couples and groups of friends

Families usually stay in Lara or Belek, where hotels have long sandy beaches and children's clubs, or in Kemer for a greener setting with mountains behind. Couples often prefer a small hotel in Kaleiçi, Antalya's old town, for its walls, lanes and evening restaurants above the harbour, and take day trips to the beach; a private Antalya old town tour with hotel pickup covers Kaleiçi and the Düden Waterfalls in one relaxed day, from $90. Groups of friends go to Konyaaltı beach in town or to Alanya, which has the liveliest nightlife on this coast.

Istanbul works for all of them, but with small children keep the old-city day short and add a Bosphorus boat, which most children love. Strollers struggle on the cobbles in Sultanahmet, so a baby carrier helps.

Our Istanbul and Antalya package

Our private Istanbul and Antalya package: 8 days, 7 nights costs from $1,980 per person. It includes seven nights in a middle-class hotel from our selection with breakfast, the domestic flight, airport transfers, the guided old city tour, a private car with driver for modern Istanbul, the Bosphorus dinner cruise, an Antalya old town and waterfalls tour, a full-day Suluada boat trip, lunch on tour days, and one free day on the beach. International flights are not included, which suits travellers from Germany who prefer to book their own open-jaw ticket.

We can change the split (three nights in Istanbul, five in Antalya), upgrade hotels, swap the boat trip for Aspendos or Kekova, or add Cappadocia from our multi-city packages. All bookings are Book Now, Pay Later: we confirm the price in writing first and nothing is charged online. More ideas are in our Antalya tours and day tours pages and our general page on combining a Turkey tour with a beach holiday.

Frequently Asked Questions