Aspendos, Side & Manavgat Waterfall – Three Classics in One Day

Most ancient theatres are ruins you have to imagine full. Aspendos is different: more than 1,800 years after it was built, its stage wall still stands to full height and it still fills up for concerts, opera and ballet. Standing in its upper rows is the highlight of a day that also takes in the seaside town of Side and the Manavgat Waterfall – three of the best-known names on this coast, linked by short drives.

Aspendos – a theatre that never closed

The theatre dates from the 2nd century AD and once held many thousands of spectators. Its acoustics are famous: drop a coin on the stage and it can be heard right at the top. Your guide tells the story of the city and explains why this building, unlike so many others, came through the centuries almost undamaged.

Side – ruins between the shops

In Side, the ancient town and the modern resort share the same small peninsula. You enter through the monumental gate, pass the agora and the great theatre and walk down to the Temple of Apollo at the water’s edge. After the guided part there is time to wander the lanes of the old town and browse the harbour shops.

Riverside lunch and the waterfall

An open-buffet lunch is served at a restaurant on the Manavgat River. The day ends at the Manavgat Waterfall, where the river spills over a wide, low rock step into a green park dotted with tea gardens – a pleasant place to sit with a glass of tea before the drive back.

Good to know

The tour runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with pickup at about 09:00 and return around 17:00. Entrance to Aspendos and the waterfall, transport, the guide and lunch are included; drinks and photos are not. In total you walk for one to two hours, partly on uneven ancient paving, so wear comfortable shoes. Adults pay €50 and children aged 3–11 €30; under-3s travel free on a parent’s lap. If you would rather swim in a forest pool, our Side and Hidden Paradise trip is the alternative, and for Lycia’s rock tombs and a sunken city see Demre, Myra and Kekova.