Side is the rare resort where you can wander out of your hotel and straight into a Roman city. The old town sits on a little peninsula laced with ancient streets, a vast amphitheatre and the famous Temple of Apollo, whose marble columns stand right at the water's edge — at sunset it is one of the most photographed spots on the whole Turkish coast. Around this historic heart spread long, sandy beaches and a band of comfortable all-inclusive resorts, particularly out towards Sorgun and Kumköy, so you get genuine history and a proper beach week in the same holiday. It is about an hour from Antalya Airport, far enough to feel like its own place, close enough for an easy transfer.
Every Side package we sell carries full ATOL financial protection under licence #11211, and your ATOL Certificate arrives the moment you book — you can read how your ATOL financial protection works before you commit. Each resort on this page has been hand-picked and inspected in person against our 22-point criteria, not chosen from a brochure, so when we recommend somewhere it is because a member of our team has walked the grounds, eaten in the restaurants and timed the walk to the sand.
"Side is my answer for anyone who says all-inclusive resorts feel samey — here you've got a two-thousand-year-old temple at the end of the beach," says Raşit Eti, our Turkey Destination Specialist, who has spent more than thirty years in Turkish tourism — from senior management at Sunrise Queen and Mylome Luxury to director roles at Air Tours — and still walks the Antalya coast every season, re-checking the hotels on this page in person. He tastes the buffets on quiet weeknights, times the walk to the water in flip-flops, and reports back honestly when something has slipped. If you want the bigger picture before you choose, his overview of holidays along the Antalya coast sets Side next to Belek, Lara and Alanya, and his shortlist of the best all-inclusive hotels in Antalya is the honest place to start. Meet Raşit Eti, our Turkey specialist.
