What's on in Antalya (Turkish Riviera), Turkey through the year

Busy — Semester (winter) break in Turkey, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Football winter camp season

  5 Jan – 15 Mar · usuallyOff-season shutdown

  More than 1,500 clubs from twenty-odd countries take over the Belek resort belt for mid-season camps. The hotels are full of squads and physios rather than swimmers, and rates are half of July. Source ↗

Busy — Semester (winter) break in Turkey, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Football winter camp season (5 Jan – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Second-term mid-break in Turkey, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Football winter camp season (5 Jan – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Kurban Bayrami coast exodus, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Kurban Bayrami coast exodus

  27–30 MayRamadan & EidCrowdedBook early

  The longer religious holiday empties the inland cities onto this coast. Domestic bookings go months ahead, the D400 crawls, and the beaches fill before the European season proper starts. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  20 May – 10 Nov · usually

  The Gulf of Antalya holds its heat later than anywhere else in Turkey, which makes late October the quiet reward: the water is still swimmable and the coach tours have gone.

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Wildfire season

  15 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallySmoke season

  The pine and maquis behind the resort strip burns most summers, and 2021 took the Manavgat hills. Most trips are unaffected; the risk is a closed coast road and days of smoke on the wind. Source ↗

Still on: Kurban Bayrami coast exodus (27–30 May), Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival

  12–26 SepMajor festivalBook early

  The state opera plays a Roman theatre that still seats several thousand, an hour east of the city. Performances start after dark and finish late; the return drive is the part nobody plans for. Source ↗

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Golden Orange Film Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Golden Orange Film Festival

  24–31 OctCrowdedBook early

  Turkey's oldest film festival, and the week the old town belongs to the industry rather than to tour groups. Screenings are spread across Kaleici and the newer halls inland. Source ↗

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually))

Busy — First-term mid-break in Turkey

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (20 May – 10 Nov (usually)), Golden Orange Film Festival (24–31 Oct)

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.