Christmas in Antalya falls on a normal working day, and New Year is the big night. The questions that decide the trip are about dates: what shuts on 1 January, which hotel facilities keep running over the holidays, and how busy arrivals get before Christmas.
Quick answer: 25 December 2026 is a Friday and an ordinary working day in Turkey, so shops, banks and buses run as normal. Christmas dinners happen in the hotels that host European guests. New Year’s Eve is the big night and Friday 1 January 2027 is an official holiday. Plan a mild city, spa and sightseeing break, not a beach week.
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Is Christmas celebrated in Antalya?
Not as a holiday. Turkey is a mostly Muslim country, and the public holidays law lists New Year’s Day but not 25 December, so Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are normal working days. The trees, lights and Noel Baba figures that appear in malls and streets in December are there for New Year.
St Paul’s Union Church, an English-speaking congregation, meets every Sunday at 10:30 in the Saint Paul Cultural Center in Kaleiçi; the Sundays either side of Christmas 2026 are 20 and 27 December. Its website listed no Christmas service times when we checked on 2 November 2026, so look again in December. The other church date nearby is 6 December at St Nicholas Church in Demre.
What is open on 25 December and 1 January
Nearly everything is open on 25 December. On 1 January banks and government offices close; shop, café and restaurant hours vary from business to business.
| Place | Fri 25 December 2026 | Fri 1 January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Shops and malls | Normal hours | Vary by business |
| Restaurants and cafés | Normal hours | Vary by business |
| Banks and government offices | Open | Closed (official holiday) |
| Museums and ancient sites | Open as on any Friday | St Nicholas Church in Demre is listed as open every day; check other sites on muze.gov.tr |
| Antalya Museum | Closed for rebuilding | Closed for rebuilding; on 1 November 2026 the Culture and Tourism Minister said the new museum is planned to open in 2027, with no date given |
| City buses and trams | Normal weekday service | No holiday timetable published; check on the day |
| Antalya Airport | Open | Open |
| Land of Legends, Belek | Park lists a winter season of 15 November to 3 February (blog shows no year); no hours published for the day | Park lists a winter season of 15 November to 3 February (blog shows no year); no hours published for the day |
| Olympos cable car | 09:00 to 15:00 on the English timetable, 17:00 on the Turkish one; plan for 15:00 | 09:00 to 15:00, weather permitting |
With banks shut on 1 January, sort out lira before then; our guide to euros or lira in Turkey covers cash and cards.
Christmas dinners and hotels: what to ask before you book
Your Christmas dinner will almost certainly be a hotel dinner, so choose the hotel with care. Many seasonal resort hotels close for the winter. Hotels in Antalya city and most big hotels in Belek, Lara, Kemer, Side and Alanya stay open, usually on a winter programme from about 1 November to 31 March. Travellers on the TripAdvisor Antalya forum describe the same pattern: the hotel is open, but some restaurants, pools and clubs are not.
Before you pay, ask the hotel:
- Whether the 24 or 25 December dinner is included in your board basis or sold as an extra.
- Which restaurants and bars will be open on your dates.
- Whether the kids’ club runs over Christmas, and at what hours.
- Whether there is an indoor or heated pool, and if it is open on your dates.
- Whether the New Year’s Eve gala dinner is included or charged separately.
Get the answers in writing. If you have not picked an area yet, our guide to where to stay in Antalya compares the main areas.
Christmas with children
Ask about the kids’ club first, because a winter programme can cut it. Land of Legends in Belek runs its winter season from 15 November to 3 February according to the park’s blog, which does not show the season year, with shows from 1 December, the theme park open 10:00 to 22:00, and free parades and light shows on the Shopping Avenue. The blog gives nothing specific for 24 or 25 December, so check the park’s site before you go. See our Land of Legends guide and Antalya with kids.
New Year’s Eve in Antalya
Book New Year’s Eve early. The big hotels sell gala dinners with live music, sometimes as a package with the room, and restaurants in Kaleiçi and around the old harbour fill up well before the night.
For example, Megasaray Westbeach Antalya in Konyaaltı lists a gala for 31 December 2026 on its own site: a welcome cocktail, gala dinner, live music and a late-night buffet, with a gala-only ticket if you are not staying there. When we checked on 2 November, gala-only seats started at ₺10,000 per person without the room, and the hotel says prices for the hall tables are updated in stages as they sell.
Muratpaşa Municipality had published no programme for 31 December 2026 when we checked its news list on 2 November. In December 2024 the council announced a New Year market (Yeni Yıl Çarşısı) with the Adalya Foundation on Atatürk Kent Meydanı, open 10:00 to 23:00 until 31 December; local press reported it again in December 2025. We found no source for fireworks this year, so do not plan the night around them.
1 January is slow. Banks and offices are shut, and the Olympos cable car closes at 15:00.
Christmas markets and New Year markets
Small and few. We found no European-style Christmas market listed for Antalya city; the nearest thing is Muratpaşa’s New Year market, if it returns this year, and the free shows on the Land of Legends Shopping Avenue.
Alanya has the one with a track record. An events listing puts the 16th International Christmas Market (Uluslararası Noel Pazarı) on 12 and 13 December 2026, behind the old town hall, organised by Alanya Municipality, and marks the date as an estimate. The 2025 market ran on 13 and 14 December.
St Nicholas Church in Demre: the Christmas day trip
St Nicholas was the 4th-century bishop of Myra, today’s Demre, and the stories of his gifts later grew into Father Christmas. His church, known for its frescoes, is now a Ministry of Culture museum.
- Demre is about 135 to 150 km west of Antalya on the D400 coast road, roughly 2 to 2.5 hours each way by car. Buses from Antalya bus station take about 3 hours.
- The Ministry page lists 08:30 to 19:00, with the ticket office closing at 18:30 and no separate winter timetable, while the guide site demre.net gives 08:30 to 17:00 from November to March. Reports differ, so arrive by early afternoon.
- Entry was €17 for foreign visitors on the Ministry fee list when we checked on 2 November 2026, and the rock tombs and theatre of Myra have their own €13 ticket. A 2027 fee list has been reported for other sites; no Demre figure was found, so check again for a January visit.
- On 6 December, St Nicholas Day, clergy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate usually hold an Orthodox liturgy here, the one day a year the church is used for worship, and it gets crowded. In 2026 it is a Sunday; no programme had been published by 2 November.
Many visitors go on a day tour that pairs the church with Myra, so check that your date runs in December before you pay. With a hire car you set your own pace; compare car hire from local Antalya companies.
Day trips that work in December
Save the sights for dry days and keep an indoor plan for wet ones. Most boat trips are out of season.
- Aspendos and Perge are open all year and best on a clear day. See our Aspendos and Perge guide or compare Perge and Aspendos tours.
- The Olympos cable car is open in winter, weather permitting. The operator’s English timetable gives 09:00 to 15:00 for November and December, its Turkish timetable gives 09:00 to 17:00 and the hours box on its home page shows 09:00 to 16:30 (checked 2 November 2026), so plan for 15:00; both timetables give 09:00 to 15:00 for January, with the last trip up 30 minutes before closing. Cloud can hide the view and the summit is much colder than the coast. Read our Olympos cable car guide or book tickets with hotel pickup.
- Pamukkale is a long day, and the terraces are cold and sometimes frosty in winter. Read is a Pamukkale day trip worth it? or compare Pamukkale tours.
- The Düden waterfalls are at their fullest after winter rain. Our Düden waterfalls guide explains how to reach both.
- A Turkish bath fills a rainy afternoon. See our Turkish bath guide or book a hammam with pickup.
Weather over Christmas week
Rain is the main risk: December is Antalya’s wettest month, with roughly 270 mm over about 12 days, usually in heavy bursts with clear days in between. Daytime highs average around 17°C, nights around 7°C, and the sea is about 18°C. See Antalya weather in December, January for the days after New Year, and Antalya in winter for the whole season.
Flights, arrivals and transfers at Christmas
Book early and give your transfer company the flight number, so the driver follows any delay. The run-up to Christmas gets busy: on 22 December 2024 more than 20,000 visitors arrived in Antalya, and officials projected hotel occupancy above 90% from 24 December to 7 January, Hürriyet Daily News reported.
International flights moved to Terminal 2 on 27 October 2025, so that is where you will land; see our Antalya Airport terminals guide and the airport transfers guide. Check transfer prices to your hotel, or go straight to Lara or Belek transfers; our Lara and Belek guides compare the options.
If you’re flying from the UK, many council schools in England break up on Friday 18 December 2026 and go back on Monday 4 January 2027 (Kent’s dates, for example); academies can set their own. The UK is 3 hours behind Turkey until the UK clocks go forward on 28 March 2027.
FAQ: Christmas and New Year in Antalya
Do they celebrate Christmas in Antalya?
Only in a small way. 25 December is a normal working day and the trees and lights are for New Year. Hotels with European guests hold Christmas dinners, and St Paul’s Union Church in Kaleiçi holds Sunday services in English.
Is Christmas Day a holiday in Turkey?
No. The public holidays law lists 1 January but not 25 December, so on Friday 25 December 2026 banks, offices and shops open as usual. Friday 1 January 2027 is the official holiday.
Which hotel should I book for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
One that confirms in writing that its Christmas dinner, restaurants, kids’ club and indoor pool will run on your dates. City hotels and the big ones in Lara and Belek are the usual picks, since many seasonal resorts close for winter.
Will it be beach weather over Christmas week?
Rarely. Highs average around 17°C and the sea about 18°C, so a sunny lunchtime on the sand is pleasant but few people swim. Many visitors use a heated indoor pool instead.
Is there a Christmas market near Antalya in 2026?
Alanya’s international Christmas market is listed for 12 and 13 December 2026, date marked as an estimate. In Antalya city the nearest thing is Muratpaşa’s New Year market, which ran in the second half of December 2024 and, by local press reports, again in December 2025; Muratpaşa Municipality had published no 2026 dates when we checked its news list on 2 November.
Is there an English church service in Antalya at Christmas?
St Paul’s Union Church meets every Sunday at 10:30 in Kaleiçi, which in 2026 means 20 and 27 December. Its Christmas times were not on its website on 2 November 2026, so look again in December.
Is it better to be in the city or a resort for New Year’s Eve?
The city, if you want to walk to dinner and be out at midnight in Kaleiçi or the old harbour. A resort hotel suits a gala dinner with no late journey home. Book either well ahead.
More AYT Survival Guides
- Antalya in Winter
- Antalya Weather in December
- Antalya Weather in January
- Things to Do in Antalya
- Where to Stay in Antalya
- Aspendos, Perge & Side Tour from Antalya
- Turkish Bath in Antalya
- Antalya Airport Transfers
Sources: public holidays from Law 2429; St Nicholas Church hours from the Ministry of Culture and fees from the Ministry fee list; cable car times from the Olympos Teleferik timetable (English and Turkish); Land of Legends; St Paul’s Union Church; Muratpaşa Municipality (December 2024) and local press (December 2025) for the New Year market; hotel winter pattern from TripAdvisor Antalya forum threads (2026); New Year’s Eve gala example from Megasaray Westbeach Antalya (hotel’s own page, checked 2 November 2026).
More sources: 2027 museum fee reports from Turizm Güncel and bha.net.tr (September 2026); Alanya market from Festivall (2026) and Visit Alanya (2025); Antalya Airport; Hürriyet Daily News (December 2024); museum closure from Antalya Körfez; 2027 museum opening from Star (AA) (1 November 2026); GOV.UK clocks; Kent County Council term dates; Demre winter hours, the 6 December liturgy and the distance from demre.net, distance also from Rome2rio; weather averages as on our December guide. Checked on 2 November 2026. Holiday programmes are often announced late, so confirm with your hotel and the venue before you go.
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