Children in Alanya

The children's programme in Alanya starts with water. The water park about twenty-five minutes out of town is sold as a full day: slides, a wave pool, a buffet and hotel transfer in a single package, so parents are not counting extra charges on site. The dolphinarium runs a half-hour show with dolphins and seals and suits anyone who needs a short outing between the beach and lunch. The pirate ship Legend Big Kral fills seven hours and keeps children busy with games and swim stops.

The second block is Land of Legends near Belek, the country's largest theme park. The drive from Alanya takes about two hours each way, so it is booked as a separate full day: roller coasters, a water zone and shows inside, and in the evening a fountain and water-projection performance that is also sold as a standalone ticket. A pass with priority entry saves noticeable time in high season.

Teenagers get the active formats: a buggy safari of a couple of hours along forest tracks, and bundled programmes fitting rafting, buggy and zipline into one day. Here it pays to ask about limits in advance: rafting usually starts at seven years old, buggy drivers must be eighteen, and ziplines count weight rather than age. Hotel transfer is included in almost every programme, and a towel and sun cream are worth packing for the water park and the boat.