Lara Beach Holidays 2024/2025
At eight kilometres, Lara Beach is one of the longest beaches in Turkey and you’ll discover that some of the best hotels in the country cradle these sandy Mediterranean shores. Fun is the name of the game here with themed hotels and a huge annual sandcastle festival.
Lara Beach Holiday Deals
The Las Vegas of Turkey
As soon as you arrive at your hotel you’ll be in awe of its location along this wonderful stretch of beach. Many of the hotels are themed, hence Lara Beach’s given name: ‘The Las Vegas of Turkey’. One hotel looks like the Kremlin in Moscow, and another has even been constructed to resemble the Titanic.
All of the resorts have a private stretch of beach, and the space is nicely utilised to offer activities such as volleyball. You can enjoy snorkelling and even diving, both are exciting activities to take to part in as the Aegean Sea is beautifully clear, meaning you can spot an array of colourful fish such as loaches, and crabs. Depending where you venture to you might could even witness some unusual underwater rock formations, too.
Antalya Airport is just 10km away from this attractive beach resort, so it couldn’t be easier to get to. For a bit of traditional Turkey, you’re located near the sprawling City of Antalya. Its historic centre, Old Kaleici, has enchanting cobbled, winding streets featuring quaint shops, restaurants and cafes with outdoor terraces to enjoy fantastic views from.
Nightlife
The hotels along this stretch of beach provide some fantastic entertainment including live music, cabaret performances and casinos, all bundled in to your Turkey holiday deals. After all, it’s not called Turkey’s Las Vegas for nothing.
If you fancy a stroll along the beach at sunset, there are a smattering of bars and restaurants. But if you’re looking for more of a legendary night out, head into the largest city on the Turkish Med, Antalya. At only 12km away, it’s easy to get to and the award-winning marina is surrounded by a good selection of discos, bars and pubs that are popular with tourists and locals. If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional on cheap holidays to Turkey, you’ll find some lovely venues in the city’s Old Town – Kaleici.
Sandland Festival
Lara actually means sand – so there couldn’t be a better place to hold one of the largest sand sculpture festivals in the world, Sandland International Sand Sculpture Festival. Sculptors from around the world descend on the area, using 100 tonnes of sand to create sand art on a giant scale to a different theme each year.
It’s a great day out for all the family, with plenty of refreshments and a children’s sand pit for fun – the perfect opportunity to see if your child is a budding artist. Lasting from May to October, the 2016 theme was the 14 Wonders of the World & Mythology, and featured creations such as the ancient city of Petra, Greek goddess Aphrodite and Scandinavian god Thor. If you can stay until dusk, the sculptures even light up, giving you a totally different perspective of the art.
Exploring the surrounding areas
Being that Lara Beach is located in the diverse region of Antalya, there’s plenty to see in the surrounding areas. Perge is only half an hour from Lara Beach, and is one of the most preserved ancient areas in the world – once the capital city of Pamphylia.
Located on the coastal plain, it’s surrounded by forests and mountains, and is worth every bit of Turkish Lira to enter this site, which is a major tourist attraction. Once you walk through the Byzantine archway, you’ll be in awe of the Hellenistic-Roman towers directly in front of you.
Just a bit further from Lara Beach is Kursunlu Waterfall – an incredible area of natural beauty, where you’ll see water cascading down the mountainside leaving small rock pools and a gorgeous lagoon in its wake. Set among the pine forests of the Kursunlu National Park, it’s a great spot for a picnic – you might even spot some trout swimming and ducks bobbing around.
You mustn’t miss the Duden Waterfalls – which cascade into the sea from a 40ft high cliff face. It’s just a boat ride away from Lara Beach, and if you’re lucky, the boat may even go underneath one of the waterfalls.