Antalya is not only a Turkish province, but also the provincial capital of the region. A lot has been built in the Turkish megacity in the course of the last few years. Promoted by a real tourist boom, numerous new buildings have been erected, which now characterize the cityscape next to the old town.
Lara is an area that is about 3 kilometers away from Antalya. Since 2006, an express road connects Lara with the airport of Antalya, thus shortening the transfer to 20 minutes. In Lara, one hotel complex is being built next to the next. Top-modern 5-star facilities are gradually replacing the older hotels, which are only able to attract attention with cheap offers.
So far I have always refused - holidays in Turkey was not imaginable for me. As a Berliner in some districts, you experience the Turkish life more than in some Turkish tourist resorts. So why go there? But for our first winter escape from the Berlin winter the destination was just right.
There is not much to see in Lara. Only if one fancies a stroll through several shopping malls. A main road leads past many large hotels, behind that there are some houses and behind those: nothing.
"Please take a look at the safety precautions and tell me about it!" we were asked by our travel agent Lisa – bless her soul! – who helped arrange many of our adventures through her agency “Lisa’s Reiseagentur”. To fly to Turkey shortly after the attack in Istanbul was apparently unthinkable for some of her…
The Limak Lara De Luxe Resort is a 5-star hotel located directly on the beach in the small coastal town of Lara. We picked this hotel for our first break from the cold German winter and were rewarded for our choice.
Arrival
By plane
Antalya airport is located about 10 kilometers east of the city center. It is served by scheduled flights from many European cities and additionally by numerous charter flights in summer.
From the airport you can take the bus to the center of Antalya. The trip takes quite a long time, because they stop at almost every corner, but it is quite cheap.
There is a tram from the city center to the airport. The travel time is about 40 minutes.
The fastest way is by taxi. But beware! Drivers like to charge tourists an extremely high fare. It is best to negotiate the price of the tour before departure and before getting into the car.
There is of course the possibility to rent a car at Terminal 1.
By car
There are several national roads connecting Antalya with other major Turkish cities.
By boat
There are two marinas in Antalya that offer moorings for boats. Cruise ships dock at Port Akdeniz.