Fly into Antalya, Out of Dalaman: Open-Jaw Riviera Holiday Guide

"Open-jaw" simply means the airport you land at is not the one you fly home from. On the Turkish coast the natural pair is Antalya and Dalaman: two airports at either end of the same stretch of shoreline, with very different holiday areas around each.

A typical shape looks like this:

1. Arrival: land at AYT and transfer to your first hotel, for example in Belek, Side, Lara or Kemer.
2. Hotel change: after a week or so, a private car drives you west along the coast to Kaş, Kalkan, Fethiye or Ölüdeniz.
3. Departure: from your second hotel to Dalaman Airport, and home.

The point is to avoid doing the long coastal drive twice. If you flew in and out of Antalya, a week in Fethiye would mean the same long road back on your last morning.

The two halves feel like different holidays. Around Antalya you have long sandy beaches, large resort hotels, the old town of Kaleiçi, and day trips to places such as Aspendos or the Manavgat waterfall. The western half, often called the Lycian coast, is hillier and quieter: small harbour towns, coves, and the lagoon at Ölüdeniz.

With children it can make sense to put the resort week first, while everyone wants pools and sand, and finish somewhere smaller; if you prefer walking and quiet bays, the reverse order works just as well. Our Kaş and Kalkan guide and the overview of where to stay in Fethiye help you choose the second base. For the general logic of splitting a stay, see two-centre holidays with a hotel change.

Typical road figures (high season and town traffic can add time):

• Antalya Airport → Belek ≈ 33 km / ≈ 40 min
• Antalya Airport → Side ≈ 65 km / ≈ 75 min
• Antalya Airport → Kemer ≈ 58 km / ≈ 70 min
• Antalya Airport → Kaş ≈ 200 km / ≈ 180 min
• Antalya Airport → Kalkan ≈ 215 km / ≈ 200 min
• Antalya Airport → Fethiye ≈ 230 km / ≈ 200 min
• Antalya Airport → Ölüdeniz ≈ 248 km / ≈ 215 min
• Dalaman Airport → Fethiye ≈ 55 km / ≈ 55 min
• Dalaman Airport → Çalış ≈ 49 km / ≈ 50 min
• Dalaman Airport → Hisarönü ≈ 64 km / ≈ 65 min
• Dalaman Airport → Ölüdeniz ≈ 63 km / ≈ 70 min

The honest takeaway: if your second base is Fethiye or Ölüdeniz, Dalaman is far closer for the flight home than Antalya, which is a drive of more than three hours.

This is the longest leg, so plan it like a small travel day rather than a quick taxi ride.

• Where you start matters. Kemer lies west of Antalya, on the way to Kaş and Fethiye, so the drive from there is shorter than from the airport. From Belek or Side you first pass Antalya, so add roughly your hotel's distance to the airport to the figures above.
• Leave after breakfast. A morning start means you reach the second hotel around the usual check-in time, not late at night.
• Check-out and check-in. Ask the first hotel about late check-out only if you plan an afternoon start; ask the second whether an early arrival can leave bags at reception.
• Breaks and stops. A coffee or lunch stop is normal on a drive this long. If you want a sightseeing stop on the way, tell us when booking and we will tell you what is possible.

The vehicle is the same type you would use from the airport: Minivan (1–6), VIP Mercedes-Benz Vito (1–7) or Mercedes Sprinter (8–16), with room for a week's luggage and free child seats on request.

From Fethiye town the run to Dalaman is short, ≈ 55 km and about ≈ 55 minutes; from Ölüdeniz or Hisarönü it is a little longer. From Kaş or Kalkan the airport is further away, so allow more time and ask us for the drive time from your exact hotel.

Choose the pick-up time by working backwards from your flight: your airline's check-in and bag-drop deadlines, plus the drive, plus a buffer for summer traffic. Check those deadlines with your airline rather than guessing. The Dalaman Airport–Fethiye route page shows the live price for this leg.

The same plan works in reverse: land at Dalaman, start in Fethiye or Ölüdeniz, move east to the Antalya coast, and fly home from Antalya. Flight times sometimes make this direction easier, for example when the return from Antalya leaves at a better hour. Ending in Belek or Lara also keeps the final airport run short (Lara ≈ 14 km / ≈ 20 min, Belek ≈ 33 km / ≈ 40 min).

Before you buy tickets, check with the airline or your travel agent that the two one-way flights or the open-jaw combination fit your dates and luggage allowance; we cannot advise on fares.

You do not need three separate conversations. Send everything in one WhatsApp message: arrival flight at AYT, name of hotel one, date of the move, name of hotel two, and departure flight from DLM. We reply with a fixed price per vehicle for each leg within a minute.

Each price is agreed in advance and does not change for traffic, night hours or luggage. There is no prepayment: you pay in the vehicle for each leg, in cash or by card if agreed beforehand, and cancellation is free. At both airports the driver waits with a name sign, and arrival flights are tracked, so a delay costs you nothing extra.