The short version
Central Antalya and Kaleiçi are made for walking. For anything further — Lara, Konyaaltı, the airport, day-trip sites — you'll use a mix of the tram, dolmuş minibuses, taxis and ride-hailing apps. Very few visitors need a car for the city itself; see our separate car rental guide if you're weighing that option for day trips instead. The system that trips people up isn't any single mode — it's that different modes use different payment methods (card-only on the tram and buses, cash-only on the dolmuş), which is worth knowing before you're standing at a stop deciding.
Tram (AntRay & the nostalgic tram)
Antalya's modern light rail system, AntRay, has run since December 2009 and was extended to the airport in 2016 for Expo Antalya. It operates two lines — one running from the Fatih district out to the airport, the other toward the EXPO area — and along the way passes the old town's edge, the main bus station (otogar), and several of the city's largest shopping malls. Separately, a short heritage tram (Nostalji Tramvayı) runs its own route from the Antalya Museum through Kaleiçi to Zerdalilik — a genuinely scenic ride along the clifftop past Karaalioğlu Park, more suited to sightseeing than serious point-to-point transport, and notably the one part of the network where you can still pay with cash rather than a transit card.
The AntalyaKart
Public buses and the modern AntRay tram both require an AntalyaKart, a rechargeable plastic transit card — cash isn't accepted on either. Cards are sold and topped up at kiosks near tram stops, at the airport, and at authorised dealers around the city; a contactless bank card works as an alternative on the tram in many cases too, but the AntalyaKart is the more universally accepted option and worth picking up on day one if you're planning to use public transport more than once or twice. One transfer within an hour of your first tap is typically included at a reduced rate, which matters if your route needs a bus-to-tram connection. A small non-refundable amount is usually built into the initial card purchase price, on top of whatever balance you load — treat the card itself as a modest one-off cost, refillable for the rest of your stay.
Dolmuş minibuses
Shared minibuses called dolmuş run fixed routes all over the city and out to Lara, Konyaaltı and nearby towns, and are the way most locals get around for routes the tram doesn't cover. They work differently from the tram and bus: you pay cash directly to the driver, no AntalyaKart involved, you can flag one down anywhere along its route rather than only at a formal stop, and to get off you simply say "dur" (stop) or ask the driver directly. Route destinations are displayed in the windscreen, in Turkish only, so they suit visitors who don't mind a bit of trial and error — genuinely cheap and frequent once you've got the hang of it.
Taxis & ride-hailing
Taxis are widely available and metered; confirm the meter is running or agree a price for longer or airport journeys. On ride-hailing apps: BiTaksi is Turkey's dominant local taxi app, working exclusively with licensed taxi drivers and offering both in-app card payment and cash to the driver. Uber is also present in Antalya, but works differently here than in cities like London or Amsterdam — Turkish regulation means Uber functions as a booking layer over the same licensed taxi fleet (sometimes called UberTaksi) rather than connecting you to independent private drivers, so you're still paying standard metered taxi rates, and don't expect the surge-free flat pricing you might get used to elsewhere. YandexGo is a newer third option that in fact launched in Antalya before expanding to other Turkish cities. Any of the three gets you a fixed pickup point and an estimated fare before you commit, which many visitors find more predictable than hailing on the street, particularly for a first airport transfer where you're not yet oriented.
Boat trips
From the old harbour, boat operators run half-day coastal trips past the Lower Düden Falls — less a transport option in the practical sense, more a genuine activity in its own right, but worth knowing it departs right from the old town rather than requiring a separate trip out to a marina. See our boat trips guide for details.
Municipal buses
Alongside the tram and dolmuş, Antalya runs a network of municipal buses covering routes the tram doesn't reach, including connections out to Kepez, Aksu and Döşemealtı districts. They use the same AntalyaKart as the tram — no cash accepted — and are generally the slowest of the public options, useful mainly for routes where neither the tram nor a dolmuş is convenient or timed right. For most visitors sticking to the well-trodden centre-beach-airport triangle, buses matter less than the tram and dolmuş network above.
Getting to nearby towns
Dolmuş minibuses also connect central Antalya to nearby coastal towns — Kemer to the west, and Side, Manavgat and Belek to the east — departing from designated stops or the main otogar (bus station) rather than flagged down mid-route the way in-city dolmuş are. For destinations further along the coast, such as Alanya, a long-distance coach from the otogar or a private transfer is the more practical option than a dolmuş, since the journey is long enough that comfort and a fixed seat start to matter more than cost. If you're staying at a resort in one of these towns rather than in central Antalya itself, check with your hotel directly — many arrange their own shuttle or transfer service that's more convenient than public transport for a single one-off trip.
Reaching day-trip sites without a car
Operating hours worth knowing
Public transport in Antalya generally runs from around 6am to somewhere between 11pm and midnight on weekdays, with a later start on weekends. A reduced network of buses continues running through the small hours in the busiest parts of the city, but don't count on it for a late-night return from somewhere off the main routes — a taxi or ride-hailing app is the reliable fallback once the main tram and bus schedule winds down for the night. Services also increase in frequency through peak summer to handle the seasonal surge in visitors, and correspondingly thin out in the quieter winter months, so build a little extra buffer into off-season evening plans.