8 Best Things to Do in Belek

Belek’s beaches have just about everything you could ask for on a Mediterranean escape on the southern Turkish coast. The Blue Flag-awarded Belek public beach stretches over 200 metres of golden sand and is very accessible from the main road. Kadriye Beach, around 20 minutes’ drive west is a heavily developed coast that’s shared by Belek’s luxury resort.

Just east of the Kopru River’s mouth, Bogazkent Beach has a stunning dune landscape and wide sand. Further east, you’ll find the resort beach of Kumkoy, which is mostly exclusive and dotted with sun loungers, a restaurant and luxurious facilities. You can also find small rustic beach houses built and owned by local villagers.

Aspendos Antik Tiyatrosu (Aspendos Theatre) is one of the many magnificent archaeological sites you can visit near Belek. The Greek and Roman ruins were originally missing many karst stones. They were later restored as part of a project, having been carefully sourced from various quarries. The result is an impressively preserved ancient theatre that often hosts opera and ballet performances.

After admiring Aspendos Theatre’s superb layout, check out the remains of the antique basilica, as well as its expansive agora (public space), grottoes, and parts of an extensive Roman aqueduct that is said to span over 12 km – it also includes the 13th-century Eurymedon Bridge, which straddles Köprüçay River.

Belek, as one of the most well-developed beach resorts in Antalya, features quite a compact collection of luxurious golf courses with manicured greens parallel the 5-star hotels and beautiful coast. Here’s to name a few of the many remarkable and closely-knit golf courses in Belek – there are well over a dozen.

Located at the eastern end of Belek, the par-72 Montgomerie Golf Complex has 8 lakes and a parkland forest within its 104-hectare compound. Carya Golf Club lets you enjoy a round of nighttime golf thanks to its fully lit course, while Sueno Golf Club offers dunes and pines courses that vary in length of play and challenges. Other courses that offer challenging tee-offs include the Nick Faldo-designed Cornelia Golf Course as well as Kaya Palazzo Golf Club with its fast greens and tight fairways.

Koprulu Canyon offers plenty of adventure in the great Turkish outdoors. You can go for its most popular activity – white-water rafting in the national park along Köprü River, passing magnificent greenery of the cypress-forested crags and under the ancient Oluk Bridge.

There are plenty of challenges that most family members can take on at Koprulu Canyon, including ziplining and canyoning, though rafting remains the main attraction. You’ll come across a series of narrow courses featuring a mix of otherworldly geological formations as well as ancient ruins – all along a course that spans around 25 km. Most rafting adventures start from the town of Kasimlar to the village of Degirmenozu. Koprulu Canyon is an hour’s drive north of Belek.

LC Waikiki Belek is a popular shopping destination for good quality and reasonably priced fashion and souvenirs in Belek. If you get past the usually crowded and chaotic scene, there’s more than often a good bargain hiding in plain sight.

The wide variety of clothes on offer often calls for several hours of browsing, but there are also toys, accessories and luggage items you might’ve never thought you needed. The shop is air-conditioned with ample fitting rooms for your convenience. On top of the already reasonable prices, LC Waikiki regularly throws in discounts of up to 60% on select items.

You can enjoy your bar-hopping adventure in Belek town by starting at Mambo Lounge, located on the Karakoyunlular Caddesi main street. While this restaurant is a popular spot for good food during the day, it gets very busy with locals and tourists enjoying cold beers and frozen cocktails after sunset.

Red Castle Belek is a lounge and bistro offering a great selection of steaks and cocktails as well as fruity hookahs. For some fun, Gardners English Bar has a games room with pool tables and dartboards – locals who frequent this bar are quite friendly, making it quite easy to make a new friend over a pint or two.