I have been to this region of Turkey in 2005 and 2004. Each time I have gone in late October. It is the end of season for them then and there is a wonderful atmosphere in the towns. The weather is still lovely and warm, although the second year it got colder towards the end of the week in the evenings as the mediterranean wind can be quite cold in the evenings. The days are still wonderfully warm this time of year and perfect for lazy days on the beach, especially if like me you dont like the powerful heat of mediterranean summer.
But be prepared to see the locals walking around in coats and thick wooly jumpers complaining about how cold it is and how barking mad you are to be walking around in a bikini.
Both years we stayed at the orange garden apartments in Kemer. This is a small self catering complex in the middle of Kemer. It has a pool (not heated) and bar. It is a joint venture between an English guy and a Turkish guy. Accomodation is spacious and comfortable and rooms above ground floor have a balcony with patio doors. The staff and very friendly and it is a lovely place to stay.
Although the apartments are self catering the kitchens are basic and do not include a cooker so if you like to cook proper meals each night this is not for you. This is quite normal for self catering accomodation in Turkey. However the bar does provide a very good menu with some english dishes. The local efes bottled beer is also very nice! Eating out is also very reasonable but when eating in restaurants you should take into account that meat and fish dish prices are usually quoted by the gram so the price you are looking at is not going to be the price of your meal.
This is very handy for those who like small portions though as you can order a smaller size meal and pay less! There are plenty of supermarket type stores in Kemer and you will find your shopping bill works out very very reasonable. There is always a great selection of bread, fresh produce and cold meats a plenty as well as everything else you will possibly need including extreemly cheap bottled water. The tap water isnt suitable to drink , it is perfectly clean just not what we are used to so it will upset your stomach. Milk isnt great though, its all long life. Fresh milk is unpasturised and will definately give you a bad stomach.
Kemer itself has a lively town centre with many shops and a great expanse of beach. Beaches are clean, with beautifully clear water. There are many bars scattered along the beach front and each of them services a section of the beach. There are sun loungers all along the beach and you rent them for a very small fee. Once you have rented your lounger the bar staff will generally leave you alone but may come over and ask if you want a drink from time to time. Drinks in beach bars arent that reasonable .
You will undoubtedly see dogs wandering about the beach. Dogs are mainly stray but adopted by one of the bars. They are friendly and despite a few dogs wandering about the beaches are extreemly clean. You will also see quite a few cats around, (mainly in the town rather than on the beach) cats are considered vermin so are generally stray.
If you love to shop then Turkey is definately the place for you. Kemer is a relatively small resort but has a thriving town centre of many shops. There are lots of sovenier shops although many of them sell the same sort of thing. It is also a great place for clothes shopping with many high quality fake brands on offer.
If this is the first time you have shopped in Turkey you may find it a bit overwhelming at first, it is a very different experience. The shop workers stand outside the shop trying to entice you in, they will call out to you to get your attention. After a while it gets quite easy to ignore them if you arent looking to buy anything at the moment. Turkish people dont really understand "just looking" so you always get approached when entering a shop. If you do want to browse souveniers to see whats on offer pick on a shop thats quite busy as they dont normally have more than two or three members of staff . Whe you do decide you want to buy something it is customary to haggle over the first price you are offered and if you go late season like we do there is quite a bit of haggling to be done as you are the last customers they will see in a while. If you dont get the price you want say no, shake your head and walk away, they are likely to offer you a lower price to bring you back and if they dont youll probably get the price you want from the shop next door. You dont haggle in shops where items are already priced. This is more the case in city shops such as Antalya and some clothes shops. Trying to haggle in those sorts of shops wont get you very far.
Sightseeing wise there are plenty of excursions on offer. There are boat trips, coach trips to many of the countries ruins and safari trips into the mountains. These are good value for money and can be purchased from many of the travel shops in the town.
We went on one such trip to Myra and Kekova and I thought it was great value for money. We first travelled up into the mountains and stopped off at a small mountain cafe, then continued on to the ruined city of Myra and St Nicholas church both of which were worth a visit. Then we had a boat trip out to see Kekova the sunken city. The boat trip was very pleasant but it was difficult to see the sunken city in October as it involves looking through the glass panels in the bottom of the boat and the see is a bit rough at this time of year. Be warned that boat trips can be cancelled at this time of year as the sea is starting to get "roughy". It was a good day out with dinner thrown in. Even at this time of year trips on buses/coaches can be quite hot and sticky. I would imagine theyd be quite unbearable in high summer.
If you are the adventerous type you can go off wandering on your own. You can catch buses to many places from the local bus station and fares are very good. But transport mainly runs along the coastline as Turkey is still very much a work in progress and as you move away from the coast inland there arent so many roads connecting places. Travelling inland from Antalya takes you up into the mountains which is still largely very undeveloped and home to basic village communities. It is a wonderfully interesting country but there are stark differences between the thriving tourist towns full of shops and restaurants and luxurious hotels and the little shanty communities that the locals live in. And you dont have to wander far to see how many of the locals live. We decided to take a trip to a reptile centre one day which was just outside the next resort along the coast. After a short bus ride and a vist to the town which was a bit smaller than Kemer we walked along a dust road out into the countryside to find this place. On this walk only just around the corner from a busy tourist resort we found a small conmmunity of farmers living a very basic lifestyle in small sheds fashioned out of bits of ply board and corrogated sheets. It was very basic standard of living, with a goat fastened outside for milk in the morning. And this was right on the doorstep of a holiday resort. It was quite surreal.
Turkish people are very friendly and hospitable but their attention can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. They are particularly fond of children and they get much attention from the locals. My middle daughter especially got alot of attention because of her blonde hair. They seem to find blonde hair very fascinating and when we walked through the streets of Antalya on a shopping trip some people actually stroked her hair. English people in general get more attention in Antalya regions as its largely Germans that visit this area so they have fewer english to pratice on.
It is largely a muslem country so there are mosques everywhere,. When we go its during Ramadan so the calls from the Mosques are more often. Also during Ramadan the locals dont eat (much!) during the day so after dark the atmosphere in the town is wonderful when all the shop and restaurant people come out on the street and sit around tables to eat. They never eat alone and every meal is like a social experience to them. One evening when my husband and I took a walk one such group invited us to join them and we sat drinking beer and eating nuts for a couple of hours. Thier hospitality is endless.
Things to look out for -
Avoid Camels. Camel rides are supposed to be illegal but you still see people around with camels. Generally they will be down a side street away from the main areas where the jandarmra are less lilkely to notice them. We had a bad experience with Camels. Our daughters saw them and wanted to go look and the owners grabbed them and put them on. They then took my camera away from me to "take picture take picture". Be warned you will end up having a camel ride if you want one or not and you wont get your camera back until you have paid. It wasnt expensive, but as the camels are very badly treated it isnt something I would have chosen to pay for myself.
On our first trip to Antalya we were mobbed by children trying to sell us things we didnt really want like horrible bread or flags. they are a pain and generally hard to get shot of. BUT we did discover we made our first visit to the city was on republic day and have since gone there without such problems so it may have been because of the day.
If you catch a bus to Antalya, the stop is some way outside the city. When you get off taxi drivers will try and get you to hire them. I wouldnt bother, they arent expensive but they drive like complete lunatics! There is a tram stop just around the corner about 5 minutes walk away or you can easily walk into the city along the beach front.
Public toilets dont have toilet paper, Turkish people dont use it they wash instead, so bring your own when out and about. Most public toilets have a small charge for the attendant
To conclude, Turkey is a amazing country. Steeped in beauty and history. The antalya region has its own charms because its a relatively newer resort and a bit quiter than other areas of Turkey.
I would definately recommend going during Ramadan because the atmosphere is so much different then and the climate is more like a good UK summer rather than blisteringly hot like July and August. I would go again and again to this region and never tire of it..