This is Why We Keep Coming Back to Turkey

It’s our third visit to Turkey and so far this one is our very best. And a lot of that has to do with being in the city of Antalya. We’re always on the lookout for cities with that magic combination: a little history, natural beauty, delicious food and an interesting culture. Antalya has all that and it just happens to also be a low-cost destination. 

We originally came here just to chase the sun. We were looking for somewhere sunny and warm to spend the month of February. We were a little worried when we first got here because the weather was a little on the grey and rainy side. Fortunately we had enough beautiful sunny days that we were able to make the most of our time here. Still, it’s definitely not t-shirt weather. 

After an amazing month of enjoying Antalya — eating, drinking, exploring — our time here has come to an end. This means that it’s time once again to do one of our cost of living round ups: how much did we spend and what did we get for it? And if you’ve been following our videos, you’ll know that we’ll finally be answering the big question: how much did we spend on our gorgeous Airbnb? 

We always like to start with entertainment, since enjoying a destination is the primary reason we’re here. Antalya is a good-sized city so there was lots to keep us busy during the month without spending a cent. Of course we had to check out Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya’s most iconic historic sight. We really enjoyed wandering through the old town, which has quite a bit of character and charm. Some of the buildings have been restored to their former glory but many are in disrepair and seem abandoned.

We really enjoyed wandering through the all parks that are dotted along the waterfront. On a clear day, the view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance is spectacular. We checked out Konyaalti Beach on the west end of Antalya and made our way down to the marina, which is a little touristy but very atmospheric. We also went to the east end of Antalya to check out Duden Falls.

I can’t resist a good museum and we had enough rainy days that I could fit in a visit to the Antalya Archaeological Museum. It’s well worth a trip if you’re a fan of Roman statuary.

After taking in the sights around the city, for us it was the rest of the region that was really exciting. We rented a car a few times over the month. On our first road trip, we we drove out to a little village that’s famous for its dozens of restaurants serving huge Turkish breakfasts. After that, we worked off the calories with a hike in Goynuk canyon, just a half hour drive from Antalya. 

The region is just filled with spectacular ancient ruins. We checked out Phaselis and Olympus and spent a beautiful morning at Termessos. And we were joined for day by our friends and fellow nomads the Geekstreamers, who have an awesome blog you can check out.

If you’ve been following our videos, you’ll know that one of the reasons we were excited to be back in Turkey is for the food. And the food here in Antalya was incredible for both the quality and also the price. 

Usually in our videos, this is the part where we say, well we couldn’t eat out for every meal of the day; we had to do some cooking at home. The reality is that, here in Antalya, you really can dine out for every meal of the day if you want to. It’s that affordable.

For groceries, we kept our shopping trips fairly simple. We did a big stock up at the Migros when we first arrived. But once we settled in, we would mostly just pick a few essentials at specialty shops around our neighbourhood. 

Everything we’ve talked about so far — entertainment, transportation, food — it was all very reasonably priced.

It was our Airbnb that hit our budget pretty hard. 

We had one big issue when we first started considering Antalya. We wanted to stay in a really comfortable and stylish Airbnb — like we always do — but we just couldn’t find one at a reasonable price. We normally find that spending a little extra in a low-cost destination can get you something really amazing. But here in Antalya we found we had to spend a lot extra. There just isn’t the inventory of Airbnbs here that suit our taste and the hosts offering nice ones know that they can charge tourists a real premium.

We had a lot of colourful conversations on this topic and even thought about shortening our stay, perhaps doing a road trip down the coast instead. In the end we decided to stay for a whole month and we’re so glad that we did. 

Airbnb aside, Antalya really is a low cost destination — but it’s also so much more than that. This is a really liveable city. It offers a great lifestyle with so much of what we’re looking for: access to nature, a welcoming local culture, great food. Of course, we still care about the costs so let’s see what our month in Antalya added up to.

Our entertainment came in at just $22 USD and this covered entrance fees to multiple sites plus one museum entrance. Transportation was $85 USD and that covered renting a car multiple times plus taking a few cabs. Dining out, our favourite category, came in at an unbelievably low $309 USD. And that covered dining out once if not twice every single day. Groceries cost just $224 USD, another incredibly low spend. We haven’t paid this little for food since the last time we were in Turkey. 

Our Airbnb — this is the one you’ve been waiting for — came in at a whopping $2,000 USD, which is really steep when you compare it to local prices. The total amount we spent for a full month here in Antalya was $2,640 USD. It’s more than you might expect for a low-cost destination but still very reasonable when you look at all the value we got. 

Of course, as soon as we arrived here, we could tell right away that Antalya had a lot to offer. This is a city that makes a great first impression. If you want to come along as we discover Antalya for the first time, just click on the video right here.