Belek
Belek is the golf and mega-resort strip east of Antalya, and the highest resort standard per euro anywhere in the Mediterranean: sprawling five-star properties set in pine forest behind a long dark-sand beach, with a dozen restaurants each, pool complexes the size of parks, championship golf next door, and a plan that covers more than most Caribbean flagships. It is purpose-built and there is no town to speak of, so the resort is the holiday, and the resorts here were built knowing it.
- Airport
- Antalya (AYT), most resorts 30–45 min
- The strip
- Kadriye and Belek along the coast, with Boğazkent at the eastern end
- Best for
- Big-resort value, golf, families who want everything on site
- Season
- April–October
- May–June and September–October are the sweet spots
- Weather risk
- None tropical
- hot, dry summers and wet winters
When to go to Belek
Climate normals for Antalya, and our verdict on each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily high | 59 degrees Fahrenheit | 60 degrees Fahrenheit | 64 degrees Fahrenheit | 70 degrees Fahrenheit | 78 degrees Fahrenheit | 86 degrees Fahrenheit | 93 degrees Fahrenheit | 93 degrees Fahrenheit | 88 degrees Fahrenheit | 80 degrees Fahrenheit | 70 degrees Fahrenheit | 62 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Rainfall | 8.6″ | 5.7″ | 3.5″ | 1.6″ | 1.1″ | 0.3″ | 0.1″ | 0.1″ | 0.5″ | 3.3″ | 6.3″ | 10.4″ |
| Verdict | Off-peak | Shoulder | Shoulder | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Off-peak | Off-peak |
Sweet spot. May–June and September–October; July–August regularly tops 90°F; rainy season runs November–February.
Storm risk. No tropical systems: bone-dry, hot summers, and impressively wet winters that matter only to golfers.
Figures are long-term climate normals for Antalya, good for planning. They are not a forecast.
Why Belek is different
Scale is the trick. The resorts here were built large, with several à la carte restaurants, enormous pools and entertainment programmes that run all day, and there are enough of them competing along one beach that prices stay honest. The plan tends to include most of it: the à la carte rooms, the premium bar and the water sports, at a rate that buys a four-star elsewhere on the Mediterranean.
The beach is long and dark-sand rather than white, and the sea shelves gently; it is the pine forest behind, kept when the strip was planned, that gives Belek its feel. A dozen golf courses sit among the trees, which is why the strip fills with golfers from October to April when the beach crowd has gone.
When to go
May to June and September to October for warm days, a swimmable sea and prices under the peak. July and August regularly top 90°F, which suits people who live in the pool and nobody else. Winters are impressively wet, which is irrelevant to a summer trip and relevant to a golf one: April and October are the golfing months.
Beyond the resort
Aspendos, one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere, is twenty minutes inland, and the ruins of Perge are on the way to Antalya. The old town of Antalya, Kaleiçi, is a half-day with a harbour lunch. Köprülü canyon offers rafting for a day off the sunbed, and the Land of Legends theme park sits at the edge of the strip for families. Most guests, honestly, never leave: that is what the resorts are for.
Where the Belek resorts are
8 resorts mapped stars are five-star properties
The best all-inclusive resorts in Belek
The Belek properties we would actually book. For the full numbered ranking, see the best all-inclusive resorts in Belek.
Resort chains in Belek
The brands operating here. The ones we rank in full link through to the chain, what its plan really covers, and every resort of theirs we track.
Belek, head to head
Price, flights, sand, food and safety, compared honestly.
Belek vs JamaicaMexicoDominican RepublicMaldivesGreeceSpainTurks & CaicosArubaBarbadosSt. LuciaItalyPortugalAntiguaCuraçaoBrazilCosta RicaPhilippinesFrench PolynesiaMoroccoEgyptSouth AfricaMauritiusKenyaTanzaniaMozambiqueThailandIndonesiaMalaysiaPunta CanaCancúnRiviera MayaLos CabosPuerto VallartaMontego BayNegrilOcho RiosGuanacasteCreteBahiaBora BoraMalé AtollsRodney BayBarbados South CoastBarbados West CoastViti LevuVanua LevuCanary IslandsBalearic IslandsCosta del SolSharm el-SheikhHurghada & the Red Sea CoastRhodesFijiCroatiaU.S. Virgin IslandsSri LankaSeychellesBahamasChileArgentinaUnited States
Frequently asked questions
Is Belek good for families?
It is one of the best family all-inclusive strips anywhere: the resorts are huge, the kids' clubs and aqua parks are serious, the sea is gentle, and the plan covers most of what a family eats and drinks. Our ranking below orders every Belek resort in our catalog by real guest data.
Belek, Lara or Kemer?
Belek for the biggest, most lavish resorts and golf, with no town. Lara for the same style of resort on the city's own beach, with Antalya's old town on the doorstep and the shortest transfer. Kemer for scenery: pebble bays under the Taurus mountains, cooler evenings and walking or rafting between beach days.