If you're chasing late-season sunshine but can't face a ten-hour flight, an ancient Roman town on Turkey's southern coast is quietly becoming the answer. Side, founded in the seventh century BC, pairs 2,000-year-old ruins with a beach-club coastline that now has serious luxury credentials — and just a four-hour flight from London.
The old city itself is worth the trip. A Roman forum and theatre stand alongside a restored Greek fountain, and the engineering is surprisingly forward-thinking: builders ran water pipes through the walls rather than under the streets, so repairs never meant digging up the roads. Local guides claim the 2,000-year-old drainage system still works — it reportedly coped perfectly with a recent downpour. Side once sat at the crossroads of ancient trade routes, and today its ruins overlook a seafront lined with restaurants and cafes.
The real draw for autumn travellers is the climate. The region gets around 320 sunny days a year, and by October and November daytime temperatures sit near 27C with the sea still pleasantly warm — plus far smaller crowds than summer. It's the shoulder-season sweet spot the Maldives can't match on convenience.
For a more upscale base, the new Bijal resort, a five-minute drive from Side, is trying to shift the Turkish Riviera's cheap-and-cheerful package image. Its owners, the Gürok Group, also run the Joali resorts in the Maldives, and the influence shows. There are just 19 villas, each with a private pool, plus a beach club, cabanas and a high-tech gym a short walk or cycle away. Stays start from €850 (£750) a night for a one-bedroom villa, B&B, based on two sharing.
One thing setting Bijal apart is its art programme. London painter and ceramicist Venetia Berry runs multi-session pottery and painting classes, with easels set up facing the beach. Guests describe it as meditative — a rare excuse to put the phone down — and the resort says complete novices have gone home and signed up for courses. Between sessions there's table tennis, darts, chess and a sandy beach to fall back on.
The pitch is simple: Maldives-style style and serenity, minus the jet lag and the long-haul price of getting there. For a week of autumn warmth, ancient history and a private pool, Side is a genuinely competitive alternative.
