Antalya to Alanya: Riding the Eastern Turquoise Coast

Route Overview

The D400 runs east from Antalya toward Alanya for approximately 135km, hugging the coast for most of the journey before the road briefly climbs over a limestone headland at Gazipasa. Unlike the western D400 — which is sinuous, narrow, and best described as a mountain road with sea views — the eastern stretch is wide, smooth, and fast, more akin to a grand touring road than a twisties route.

Most riders do this as a one-day round trip, leaving Antalya in the morning, stopping at Aspendos and Side, reaching Alanya by early afternoon, and returning via the same road in the golden hour. With more time, Side and Alanya both warrant overnight stays. The Dim River valley, the Sapadere Canyon, and the Dim Cave all make compelling half-day additions.

Leaving Antalya: Lara Beach to Aspendos

Exit Antalya heading east on the D400 past Lara Beach — a 12km strip of five-star hotels, casinos, and waterparks that is most impressive from a motorcycle saddle at 06:30 on a weekday, when the boulevard is yours alone and the sea turns copper in the early light. Past Lara, the road narrows and quickens as the urban sprawl gives way to citrus groves and cotton fields.

Aspendos sits 47km east of Antalya, a short turn north off the D400. The Roman theatre here is genuinely one of the best-preserved in the world — 15,000-seat capacity, 98% of the original stone still standing, built in 155 AD by the architect Zenon. It is still used for concerts. Even if ancient ruins are not usually your focus, thirty minutes at Aspendos is time well spent — and the approach road through flat river plains is a pleasant contrast to the coastal highway.

Side: The Ancient City Worth the Detour

Side sits on a small peninsula 75km east of Antalya. The turn south off the D400 takes you along a 3km avenue of restaurants and shops before arriving at the ancient city gate — where, in a moment that surprises most visitors, the road simply ends and you are standing between two-thousand-year-old columns with the Mediterranean visible on both sides. Park the bike at the gate (there is secure parking) and walk from here.

The Temple of Apollo — two standing columns with carved capitals reflecting in a small pool — is Side's most-photographed spot, and it is more beautiful in person than in any photograph. The site also contains well-preserved Roman baths, a colonnaded main street, and a small but excellent museum. The harbour at the tip of the peninsula has half a dozen excellent restaurants serving freshly caught fish. Allow at least two hours.

Alanya: The Castle Above the Sea

The approach to Alanya from the west is one of the great motorcycle moments on the entire Turkish coast. The road bends around a headland and suddenly the fortress appears: a 250-metre red limestone cliff with a Seljuk citadel covering its summit, dropping directly into the sea on three sides. The Red Tower (Kızıl Kule), built in 1226, stands at the base of the cliff and now houses a small ethnographic museum.

The castle road — a 6km winding ascent through the old quarter of town — is best ridden in the late afternoon when the light is most dramatic and the cruise-ship tourists have returned to their ships. The views from the summit take in the entire bay in both directions, with banana and citrus plantations covering the hillsides and the narrow strip of white sand beach stretching west. The old town below the castle has some of the most atmospheric small restaurants on the entire Riviera.

Best Motorcycles for This Route

The eastern D400 is a wide, well-surfaced highway and genuinely suits any motorcycle in our fleet — including the smaller 125cc models. The relaxed pace of a touring route rewards comfortable, upright riding positions. The Yamaha XMAX 400 and Honda Forza 250 are the most popular choices: automatic transmission, smooth power delivery, and comfortable seats make the 135km distance easy to cover without fatigue.

For those who want to add the mountain return via Akseki (see below), or explore the unpaved tracks that descend to the Sapadere Canyon, an adventure bike — the BMW R1250GS, Honda Africa Twin, or Yamaha NC750X — is the better choice. The canyon track is only about 4km of unpaved road, but it is loose gravel and a low-clearance scooter would struggle.

Hidden Spots and River Valley Detours

The Dim River valley, accessible via a signed turn north of Alanya, is one of the region's most undervisited gems. The road follows the river upstream for 14km through dense vegetation, passing a succession of riverside trout restaurants (freshwater trout sourced directly from the river) before reaching Dim Cave — a 360-metre-long stalactite cavern with an underground lake. The road is paved throughout and easy on any motorcycle.

Sapadere Canyon, 25km northeast of Alanya, requires a short unpaved section but rewards with a narrow gorge accessible only on foot from the car park. The walking path follows a cold-water stream for 1.5km through canyon walls that narrow to just a few metres apart in places. Combined with the Dim River valley, this makes a full-day addition to an Alanya visit. Both are best timed for mid-morning to avoid the coach tour groups that arrive after midday.

Practical Information

Fuel stations are plentiful along the entire eastern D400 and throughout Alanya. The road itself has no challenging sections — it is suitable for riders of all experience levels, including those on their first day on an unfamiliar motorcycle. The most common issue is navigating Alanya's one-way system in the town centre; use Google Maps from the castle road turnoff.

The ideal time for this route is April–June or September–October. July and August are perfectly rideable but the D400 east of Antalya carries heavy truck traffic serving the hotel construction boom in the area — morning departure before 08:30 avoids most of it. We deliver to all major hotels in Alanya at no extra charge for rentals of three days or more — meaning you can pick up in Alanya and return in Antalya, or vice versa.

The Mountain Return: Akseki Road

For those with a second day or an appetite for a longer loop, the return from Alanya via Akseki and the Taurus highlands is one of Turkey's finest mountain drives. The D695 turns north from Alanya and climbs steadily through cedar and pine forests to the plateau town of Akseki at 1,100 metres altitude. From Akseki, the road crosses the plateau before a dramatic descent back toward Antalya via Kırkgöz.

The full Alanya–Akseki–Antalya circuit is approximately 220km and takes four to five hours including stops. The road quality is good throughout, though the Akseki plateau can be cold (down to 10°C) even in summer — bring a light layer. This route is not recommended in winter when the mountain roads may be icy. The views on the descent toward Antalya, with the entire coastal plain laid out below, are among the best on any road in Turkey.

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