Side→Antalya Airport

A transfer from Side to Antalya Airport is a different job from the ride in. On the way in, nobody minds if the car is twenty minutes late. On the way out, the whole day is built backwards from one number on your boarding pass. The car has to be outside your hotel before you have finished your coffee, and the driver has to know which terminal you are flying from.

The journey covers 65 km and takes about 70 minutes with normal traffic. Turkey Transfer sets the pickup against your departure time, then drives west along the coast to the terminal. Nothing on the road is complicated, so the real work happens before you leave. It comes down to choosing the right pickup time, being ready at the right door, and knowing what happens once the bags come out of the boot. This page walks through the morning in that order.

Antalya Airport asks departing passengers to check in at least two to three hours before take-off. That advice already assumes you are standing inside the terminal. Add the drive from Side on top of it, then add a cushion for the coast road in July. The sensible pickup then lands roughly four hours before an international departure.

Four hours sounds generous until you count it out. Here is a simple example for a midday flight:

• The flight leaves at 12:00.
• Check-in desks should be reached by about 09:00, or earlier if your airline asks for it.
• The drive takes about 70 minutes, so the car should reach the terminal around 09:00 and leave Side before 08:00.
• Add the time it takes to load cases and the margin for a slow stretch of road, and the pickup is closer to 07:45 or 08:00.

Domestic flights need less time at the airport. Charter flights in the small hours also need less traffic allowance, because the roads are almost empty. If you would rather leave earlier and drink tea airside, tell us and we will set the time you ask for. A relaxed wait in the departure hall costs you nothing. A missed check-in desk costs you a lot.

If your hotel serves breakfast only from a set hour, check it the evening before. Ask whether the kitchen can pack a breakfast box for a very early start, so you do not leave hungry at dawn.

Side is not one kind of place, and the pickup works differently depending on where you sleep.

Most of the larger hotels sit along the East Beach and out towards Çolaklı and Titreyengöl. For a hotel pickup on the beach strips, the car comes to the entrance itself. The driver rings the room or the front desk when he arrives. If your resort is spread over a big garden, tell the driver which block you are in and where the cases will be waiting.

We pick up regularly at TUI BLUE Barut Andiz, Acanthus and the Cennet Barut Collection. The Acanthus and Cennet Barut Collection properties sit next to each other, and guests sometimes confuse the two. Send us the exact hotel name and your booking reference in advance, so that the driver arrives at the right gate. At a large beachfront resort, the pickup point can also be a short way from the main gate, and our drivers know the layout.

The old town works differently. The ancient street is closed to traffic, and the barrier by the theatre is as far as any vehicle gets. Hotels and pensions inside the peninsula, including those near the Bellissima Hotel, are reached on foot from that point. You meet the driver at the agreed corner, and the walk out with the cases is short. If you have heavy luggage, ask the reception staff whether a porter can bring the cases down to the barrier. Wheeled cases on old paving stones are noisy and slow, so leave a few extra minutes for this stage.

At a hotel or an address, the driver can hold the spot for 15 minutes. Being downstairs with your bags at the agreed minute is the one thing that keeps a departure calm. Do the room check the night before. Settle the minibar bill and any other extras early. Keep passports, boarding passes and phone chargers in a hand bag, not in the main case. The car will not wait for a late final bill at the reception desk, and neither will your flight.

The route retraces the coastal highway through the farmland behind the resorts. It passes the Serik and Aksu junctions and turns off at the airport link. The road follows the D-400 corridor, so its character depends on the hour.

• Early morning and night: The road runs almost empty. A dawn departure for a morning flight is the easiest version of this journey, and the drive often feels shorter than the 70 minutes planned.
• Mid-morning and late afternoon in high season: The road fills up, partly with the same holiday traffic you are part of.

The scenery changes as you go. You leave behind the pine shade and the beach hotels of the Side area and cross flat, open farmland. Greenhouses and orchards sit beside the road, and the Taurus mountains stand along the northern horizon. About halfway you reach the Serik and Aksu stretch, where the countryside gives way to the first suburbs of the Antalya urban area. After that, the airport link takes you off the main road and to the terminals.

Tell the driver if you want the air conditioning cooler or warmer, and ask for a stop only if you really need one. A planned stop adds minutes to a journey that already has a tight margin.

The airport works from two international buildings and a separate domestic one. Tell the driver your terminal when you book, and check it again on the morning if your airline changed the plan. The difference matters once you are on the approach road. A wrong turn at the last junction costs time that nobody has on a departure day.

If you are not sure which terminal your airline uses, look at your booking confirmation or the airline app before the day of travel. Do not leave this to the last hour.

Cars pull in on the departures level of each terminal. The stop there is brief by rule. Your driver unloads the bags at the kerb and cannot park up and walk you in. Check your pockets and the back seat before you close the door. Then collect a trolley and go in together.

After that, the sequence is the same for every passenger:

1. The first of Turkey's two obligatory security checks sits at the terminal entrance. Bags go through the scanner before you reach the desks.
2. Next comes your airline's check-in desk, where you drop the main luggage.
3. Then you pass passport control.
4. The second security check follows before you reach the gates.

Keep the passport out of the case for all of it. Remember too that some destinations expect six months of validity on the passport, so check the date before you leave the hotel, not at the desk. If you buy duty-free goods, leave time for the walk to your gate. The terminals are large, and the gate number is sometimes announced only shortly before boarding.

Many departures from Antalya leave in the small hours, and a Side hotel is a quiet place at that time. The streets are empty, the old town is dark and the receptionist may be the only person awake. That works in your favour. The road is clear, and the drive usually takes the full 70 minutes or less.

• Night flight: Pack before dinner, not after. Take a short rest in the late afternoon if you can. Ask the hotel for a late checkout so the room is available until the car arrives.
• Dawn flight: Ask the hotel the evening before to prepare a breakfast box and to have the front desk open. Say your pickup time to the night staff, not only to the day team.
• Afternoon flight: This is the easiest case. You have time for a relaxed breakfast, and the car can leave Side after the morning traffic on the coast road has thinned out.

If your flight is delayed, tell us as early as you can. For a departure, a later flight usually means a later pickup, but only if we know before the car is on its way.

A 70-minute ride is a long time for small children, and a departure morning is stressful for everyone. A few habits make it easier:

• Keep snacks, water and one favourite toy in a hand bag, not in the suitcase.
• Tell us in advance if you need a child seat, so the car is ready when it arrives at your door.
• Pack the buggy last and tell the driver. It needs to go in the boot in a way that lets you take it out first at the terminal.
• Put the passports and boarding passes in one place that a parent holds, and do not let them travel in a child's backpack.

Large groups should tell us the number of passengers and bags at the time of booking. A family with several big cases and a pushchair needs more space than the passenger count alone suggests. It is much easier to match the vehicle to the luggage in advance than to rearrange cases on the pavement.

If your flight leaves late enough, the town is worth a final hour. Side is small, and a good part of it can be seen in a short walk.

• The Saturday street market at the entrance to Side is the easiest souvenir run in the district. It is close to the road you will take out of town, so it fits well before an afternoon pickup.
• The museum inside the Roman bath takes less time than most people expect.
• The harbour end of the old street is still cool early on. The Temple of Apollo stands there, with five marble columns from the second century AD still upright on the harbour point.
• The Roman theatre, a few minutes' walk from the temple, was built for close to 15,000 spectators. It was later converted into a gladiator arena and, in Byzantine times, into an open-air church. Both sites sit at the tip of a peninsula that has worked as a port for the better part of two thousand years.

Leave the swim for the morning only if your hotel keeps a late-checkout room or a luggage store. A wet swimsuit in a packed case is a poor way to start a flight. Sunset at the West Beach, the quieter beach on the peninsula, is better kept for your last evening. A final dinner by the old harbour, next to the lit columns of the temple, makes a gentler goodbye than a rushed lunch.

If you have not booked the arrival yet, the same coast road runs the other way. The trip in from the airport to Side takes the same 65 km, and a driver who knows the old town barrier will meet you at arrivals.

The evening before a departure is the time to remove all the small risks. A short checklist helps:

• Confirm the pickup time with us, and check the terminal name on your ticket.
• Check out of the hotel account, or arrange it with reception, so that nothing is left for the morning.
• Charge your phone, because boarding passes live on it.
• Keep local cash for a snack or a tip, and keep cards where you can reach them.
• Set two alarms, and ask reception for a wake-up call.

Side is busiest from late spring to early autumn. In July and August the coast road carries the most traffic, and the heat adds to the effort of a long day. The early morning is the best time to travel in those months. Outside the high season, the road is calmer and the town is quieter, and a pickup can be a little later without any stress.

A few last points to remember:

• Tell us your flight number so that we can follow any change to your time.
• Give the exact hotel name, and say whether you are at the beach end or in the old town.
• Be at the door on time, with all your bags.
• Keep the passport and boarding pass in your hand, not in the boot.

That is all the journey needs. The road is straight, the drive is about 70 minutes, and the airport is ready for you. A calm morning in Side leads to a calm start to the flight, and the aim of the transfer is to keep it that way.

The best departure mornings start the day before. If your flight leaves early, use the last full day in Side for sightseeing and keep the departure day empty. Side is well placed for day trips, and most fit between breakfast and an early dinner.

• Aspendos is about 25 to 30 minutes from Side by taxi. It has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere in the world, and it hosts the annual Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival. It lies in the Serik direction, the same way you drive to the airport.
• Manavgat Waterfall is another short ride, with a boat-trip jetty beside it.
• The Green Canyon is reached by boat tour on the lake formed by the Oymapınar Dam. Allow most of a day.
• Köprülü Canyon National Park is the rafting destination. Groups usually leave early from their Side hotel.

Be back at your hotel by late afternoon on the day before you fly. If a trip runs late, you pack at the hour when you should be asleep before an early pickup.

Side has two beaches, one on each side of the peninsula. The long East Beach runs along most of the larger hotels. The West Beach is the quieter one and the better choice for sunset.

Titreyengöl lies a short drive east of the old town. It is a pine-shaded area named after its small lagoon lake, and guests who stay there usually want a calmer base than the old town offers. The trade-off is distance. From Titreyengöl or Çolaklı you cannot walk into the old town for a final coffee and still be back for the car. Decide on your last outing the evening before, and keep the departure morning for packing.

The Manavgat River lies a few kilometres north of Side. Its riverside restaurants make a pleasant lunch, and the town hosts a well-known Friday market. If your holiday includes a Friday, this is an easy half-day trip. It also gives you a second chance to buy souvenirs.

Evenings in Side centre on the old harbour. Fish restaurants line the water there, and the main street has a relaxed, family-friendly feel. Ice-cream stands are easy to find. The glassware stalls in the old town lanes sell small, decorative gifts.

Glass needs care on the way home. Buy it on the last full day, so that you have time to wrap it properly.

• Wrap glass in clothes and put it in the middle of the main case, away from the edge.
• Ask the stall to pack each item separately.
• Check your airline's rules for hand luggage before you buy liquids or sharp items as presents.

For the last meal, choose a restaurant close to your hotel. Fish by the harbour is the classic last supper, but only if you can walk back easily afterwards.

Rafting groups come back from Köprülü Canyon with wet clothes. Families on a beach holiday often add inflatables, snorkelling kit and a buggy to their normal bags. Count all of it before you book, and tell us the total.

• Dry wet gear on the balcony the night before, then bag it separately. A damp towel spoils everything around it in a main case.
• Tell us about anything long or awkward, such as a folded buggy or a sunshade, so that we choose the vehicle for the load as well as the number of passengers.
• Large groups from several rooms should agree on one meeting point and one person to count the bags.

If your group stays inside the old town, remember the barrier. Only people on foot go beyond it, so everyone carries luggage to the car. Ask reception about a porter, or move the cases down together.

In high summer, Side is hot and busy from mid-morning, and the coast road is at its slowest in the middle of the day. Sightsee at either end of the day. The ruins are cooler early, the harbour is softer in the evening, and the theatre is still used for summer performances.

In the shoulder season, the pace slows. The ruins are pleasant to walk at any hour, and a late morning at the harbour is realistic. The drive to the airport is usually calmer. The sea is cooler, however, so do not plan a final swim as the focus of your last morning.

The same rule applies in every season. Do the tiring things early in your stay. Let the departure morning be nothing more than breakfast, a final room check and the car at the door.