Antalya, Turkey
Home of Incekum's famously shallow, fine-sand bay — the stretch of coast Turkish families pick for toddlers.
A sample of the properties we quote here. Tell us your dates and we shortlist the right ones for you.
Avsallar, on the slope above the shore
A large all-inclusive spa resort in Avsallar and one of the most recognisable names on this part of the Alanya coast.
Avsallar, close to the sea
A long-established family all-inclusive in Avsallar with pools and a spa.
Avsallar, set back from the beach
A big family all-inclusive in the Avsallar hotel cluster, a short ride from the İncekum beaches.
Avsallar, near the village centre
A mid-size all-inclusive in Avsallar itself, within reach of the village shops and the beach.
Avsallar, on the İncekum side
A family all-inclusive on the Avsallar–İncekum strip, in pine-backed grounds near the shore.
We quote these and many more. Prices depend on dates and board — the quote is free and there is no payment on this site.
Avsallar is a small town on the coast road about twenty-five kilometres west of Alanya, and it is best known for what sits at its western edge: İncekum, whose name simply means "fine sand". A low pine-covered headland pushes into the sea there and shelters a bay where the water stays waist-deep for an unusually long way out. That single piece of geography is why Turkish families have been driving to this beach for decades, long before charter tourism arrived, and it is still the most concrete reason to choose Avsallar over its neighbours.
The second reason is less photogenic and just as useful. Avsallar is a functioning town, not a hotel row. Behind the beachfront properties there are bakeries, greengrocers, pharmacies, banks with cash machines, hardware shops, a mosque, tea houses, a weekly market and a resident population that includes a long-established community of foreign homeowners. You can walk out of your hotel, buy fruit, get a haircut, eat in a lokanta and come back. That sounds ordinary until you compare it with Okurcalar, eight kilometres west, where there is essentially nothing outside the gates at all.
So Avsallar occupies a specific slot on this coast: resort hotels with a real place behind them, at prices below Alanya's beachfront and well below Belek, with the best toddler beach in the region a short walk or a short shuttle away.
There is more than one beach here and they are not the same.
İncekum, at the western end, is the famous one. Pale, fine sand; water that shelves so gradually you can walk out fifty metres or more and still stand; and pine woods with picnic areas coming almost down to the sand. The headland blocks the westerly swell, so the bay is calmer than the open coast on the same afternoon. In July and August, and on any summer weekend, expect Turkish families with barbecues, gazebos and a great deal of tea, which is part of the character rather than a problem.
The town beach sections in central Avsallar are a different animal: narrower in places, with coarser sand and pebbly patches, and the water deepens sooner. Perfectly good for adults, less magical for a two-year-old.
Hotel frontages vary between the two, which is exactly why the beach is worth asking about by name rather than assuming. Note also that a hotel advertising "İncekum" in its name or description is not necessarily on the İncekum bay; some are one or two kilometres away with a shuttle. Ask, and ask specifically.
All Turkish beaches are public. Hotel staff manage loungers on their own frontage, but the sand itself is open, and the municipal İncekum stretch has paid sunbeds and simple cafés.
Closest to the shallow bay and the pine woods, quieter, greener, and the obvious choice with small children. A little further from the town shops, though nothing here is far.
Hotels within a few minutes of the shops, the bakeries and the restaurants. The best position if you want to eat out regularly and treat the hotel as a base rather than the whole holiday. Beach quality varies section by section, so check.
More large all-inclusive complexes, a bit more isolated, generally slightly cheaper, and closer to Alanya by a few minutes.
The coast road runs through Avsallar, and a proportion of the hotels sit on the landward side of it. Some have a footbridge or underpass to their beach club, some run a shuttle, some expect you to cross at a signalled junction. With a pushchair and a cool bag, four crossings a day is a genuine consideration, and it is the single most common complaint from guests who did not check. Beachfront rooms cost more here for a real reason.
The stock is dominated by four-star and five-star all-inclusive properties of moderate size, most built or refurbished within the last two decades, along with a useful layer of apartments and apart-hotels created by the residential market. That residential layer matters: it means self-catering is a genuine option in Avsallar in a way it is not in a purpose-built resort pocket, and it suits longer stays and families who want a kitchen.
The anchor here starts around 45 EUR per person per night: a shoulder-season figure for two adults sharing a standard all-inclusive room in May or October. June and September usually run a quarter to a half higher. July and August can double it, and the İncekum-side family rooms go first because domestic demand competes with charter demand for exactly the same weeks.
What to spend extra on, in order: a genuine beachfront position on the sea side of the road, a room block that faces away from the D400, a hotel actually on the İncekum bay if you have a toddler, and included à la carte dining. What not to overpay for: an aquapark, if your children are still at the paddling stage — the bay does that job better and for free.
Avsallar is served by Antalya Airport (AYT), roughly one hundred minutes away on the D400. That is around five minutes beyond Okurcalar and twenty or so short of central Alanya. The road is good, but the stretch past Manavgat is busy in summer and Saturday arrivals are slower.
Airport transfers within Turkey are ours: our own vehicles, our own drivers, since 2016. The driver meets you inside the arrivals hall with a name board, the price is per vehicle rather than per person, and we watch the flight so a delay does not leave anyone waiting. One hundred minutes is a long run after a flight, particularly with small children, so plan for a break and bring water.
Accommodation works differently and we say so plainly: we quote it, a partner agency issues the booking and the voucher, and no payment is taken on this website.
Once here, dolmuş minibuses run along the D400 to Alanya in about thirty to thirty-five minutes and westwards to Okurcalar and Manavgat, cheaply and frequently through the day. Evening services thin out, so check the last one before making dinner plans elsewhere.
April. Around 21 to 23 degrees, sea near 18. The pine woods are at their best and the town is calm, but swimming is for the determined and many hotels are only opening.
May. Warm days in the upper twenties, sea passing 21 and comfortable by the end of the month, prices low. Excellent for couples and for families with school-age children who can travel outside term.
June. Low thirties, sea around 25, everything open, the bay busy but not overwhelmed.
July and August. Mid to high thirties with humidity, sea at 28 or more. This is when İncekum shows its other face: on weekends the beach fills with domestic visitors, parking near the bay becomes difficult, and the shallow water is warm as a bath. Hotels are full and rates peak.
September. The strongest month. Still hot, sea at its warmest, domestic crowds gone after the first week and the beach noticeably calmer.
October. High twenties, sea around 24, prices sharply down and the town relaxed. A very good month here.
November to March. Many hotels close, though Avsallar does not shut down entirely the way a pure resort pocket does, because people live here. Shops, bakeries and some restaurants stay open. It rains properly, the sea is cold, and the appeal is limited unless you are visiting property or want a quiet, cheap base.
Alanya is the main one: thirty to thirty-five minutes east by dolmuş, with the castle on its headland, the red tower by the harbour, Damlataş cave and a long promenade. Go for an afternoon and evening rather than midday in summer.
Inland from Alanya, the Dim river valley has restaurants built over the cold water on platforms, and Dim cave sits above it; the Sapadere canyon is a longer half day of walkways and rock pools. Westwards, Side and its Roman ruins are around forty-five minutes, and Manavgat with its waterfall, river boats and big weekly market is a little closer. Boat trips along the Alanya coast, including the caves under the castle, are sold with hotel pickup.
The İncekum pine forest itself is a destination for Turkish visitors: shaded picnic areas, tables under the trees, and a short walk that gets you a view over the bay. It costs nothing and is at its best early in the morning.
Because there is a real town, eating outside the hotel is a genuine option here rather than a theoretical one. The centre has kebab and pide places, a couple of fish restaurants, breakfast salons that do a full Turkish spread, bakeries selling börek in the morning, and lokantas where you point at trays and pay very little. Prices drop noticeably as you move away from the beachfront.
The weekly market is a proper local market with produce, cheese, olives and household goods alongside the textiles and counterfeit brands aimed at visitors. Ask at reception which day it runs. Cash in Turkish lira is the way to pay, and haggling is expected on clothing.
Practically: pharmacies and small clinics are in the centre, the nearest hospital is in Alanya, several banks have cash machines, and there are supermarkets where water, sun cream and nappies cost a fraction of hotel shop prices. English and Russian are widely understood in the tourist-facing businesses and less so in the back streets.
Anyone who wants nightlife should be in Alanya itself, where it exists at scale. Anyone who wants archaeology on the doorstep belongs at Side. Golfers belong in Belek. Anyone unwilling to spend a hundred minutes in a vehicle after landing should look at Lara, Kundu or Belek instead. And anyone imagining a private resort beach with no public access will not find one, because on this coast that arrangement does not exist.
Come here if you have small children and want the shallowest water on the coast, if you want a hotel holiday with a real town attached, or if you want Alanya's surroundings without staying in a city.
Send your dates, the number of adults and children with ages, whether you want all-inclusive or an apartment with a kitchen, and roughly what you want to spend. Say if the shallow İncekum bay is the priority, because that decides which hotels are worth quoting. A consultant prices it with our partner agencies, who issue the booking and the voucher, and comes back with a short list stating for each hotel whether it is on the sea side of the road and which beach section it actually uses. The quote is free and non-binding, nothing is paid on this website, and we normally reply within one working day.
This is the part we run ourselves. A driver meets you inside the terminal with your name on a sign and takes you straight to your hotel door, at a price fixed before you fly.
Because of the shape of the seabed. A low pine headland shelters the bay and the sand shelves so gradually that the water stays roughly waist-deep fifty metres or more from shore, so a small child can walk out a long way without swimming. The sand is fine and pale, and the headland also keeps the afternoon swell down.
Roughly one hundred minutes on the D400, about five minutes past Okurcalar and twenty short of central Alanya. Summer traffic beyond Manavgat and Saturday arrivals add time. We run these transfers ourselves with our own vehicles and drivers, the driver meets you inside arrivals with a name board, and the price is per vehicle rather than per person.
Not necessarily, and it is worth checking before anything else. The D400 runs through Avsallar and a proportion of hotels sit on the inland side, reaching their beach club by footbridge, underpass or shuttle. With a pushchair that is four crossings a day. Ask us and we will state it plainly for every hotel we quote.
Okurcalar is a resort pocket with essentially nothing outside the hotel gates. Avsallar is a working town: bakeries, pharmacies, banks, restaurants and a market you can walk to, plus the shallow İncekum bay. If you plan to stay inside the hotel all week, Okurcalar is fine and often cheaper. If you want to walk out, choose Avsallar.
Easily. Dolmuş minibuses run along the D400 through the day and reach central Alanya in about thirty to thirty-five minutes for a small fare. Evening frequency drops, so confirm the last service before dinner plans. A taxi is available but costs substantially more each way, especially late at night.
Yes, more so than at most resorts on this coast, because the residential market has produced a real supply of apartments and apart-hotels. There are supermarkets, bakeries, greengrocers and a weekly market within walking distance of most of the town, so a kitchen is genuinely usable. Tell us if you want that instead of all-inclusive and we will price it.
Early May and the second half of October give warm days, a swimmable sea and low rates. September is the best all-round month but not the cheapest. Avoid summer weekends at İncekum if crowds bother you, since domestic visitors fill the bay on Saturdays and Sundays from June through August.
You send dates, guest numbers and ages, board preference and a rough budget, and say whether the shallow İncekum bay matters. A consultant prices it with our partner agencies, who issue the booking and the voucher, and replies with a short list noting each hotel's road position and beach section. The quote is free, nothing is paid here, and we normally answer within one working day.
Rates here move a lot between low and high season, so we quote each request individually rather than publish a number that would be wrong most of the year.
Free, non-binding, answered by a person.
