Transportation Two airports serve Kaş, and the obvious answer is the wrong one often enough to be worth explaining. Dalaman is closer on the map. Antalya is further away and usually the better booking. Which one you should fly into depends less on distance than on what the drive actually costs you in time, and on how many flights land there in the week you want to travel.
Both figures below are measured road distances to Luna Kaş, not straight lines, and both assume you drive it yourself without stopping.
- Dalaman Airport (DLM): 154 km, about 2 hours 25 minutes
- Antalya Airport (AYT): 199 km, about 2 hours 45 minutes
Look at those two lines together, because this is the part most guides get wrong. Antalya is 45 kilometres further, and it costs you about twenty minutes. The road from Antalya is faster for most of its length; the road from Dalaman spends longer on the winding coastal stretch. So the airport that looks an hour further on a map is, in practice, barely further at all.
Dalaman Airport
Dalaman sits in Muğla province, west of Kaş. The drive runs out through Göcek and Fethiye, then down the coast road through Kalkan. It is the prettier of the two approaches and the slower one per kilometre, all switchbacks and sea on your right.
Dalaman is strongest in summer, when European charter and low-cost traffic fills it up. Out of season it thins considerably, and you may find yourself connecting through İstanbul for a flight that runs direct in July.
Antalya Airport
Antalya is one of the busiest airports in Europe through the summer and stays properly connected all year, which is the reason to choose it. More airlines, more frequencies, cheaper fares more often, and a far better chance of a direct flight from wherever you are starting.
The drive west follows the D400 the whole way, through Kemer, Finike and Demre. You will pass the turning for the Church of St Nicholas and the Myra ruins about an hour before you reach Kaş, which makes a reasonable excuse to break the journey rather than arrive stiff.
Connecting Through İstanbul
If there is no direct flight, İstanbul is the usual connection, and here is a correction worth making because a lot of older advice still repeats it: Atatürk Airport no longer handles scheduled passenger flights. Everything moved to the new İstanbul Airport in April 2019, which took the IST code with it. Atatürk kept the runway for cargo, general and state aviation, and was reassigned the code ISL.
So your İstanbul connection is either İstanbul Airport (IST) on the European side or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) on the Asian side. They are a long way apart. If your itinerary lands at one and departs from the other, you are looking at a cross-city transfer of well over an hour in traffic, and you should treat that as a separate journey rather than a connection.
Getting From the Airport to Kaş
Four ways down, in rough order of how much thinking each one requires.
Private transfer
Booked ahead, the driver meets you at arrivals and you stop making decisions. The sensible choice after a long flight, with children, or on a late arrival. Tell us your flight number and we will arrange it.
Hire car
Collected at the terminal. Best value for three or four people and the only option that gives you Kaputaş, Patara and the mountain villages without planning each one. The roads are good and well signed.
Taxi
Available at any hour from both airports. Comfortable and immediate, and expensive over 154 or 199 km. Better thought of as a fallback than a plan.
Shuttle plus a bus
From Dalaman, the Havaş shuttle runs to Fethiye otogar and you change onto a coastal bus. From Antalya, Batı Antalya runs the coast road directly. The cheapest way in, and the longest.
One thing worth knowing before you plan around it: the Havaş airport shuttle from Dalaman serves Göcek and Fethiye and stops there. It does not run to Kaş or to Kalkan, whatever you may read elsewhere. Our Kaş transport guide covers the local network in detail, and the Kalkan guide does the same for the coast road west.
So Which One Should You Book?
Book whichever gives you the better flight. That is the honest answer, and the twenty-minute difference in the drive is not worth optimising around.
In practice that means Antalya more often than not, because it has the schedule. Dalaman wins when you find a direct summer charter, or when you are combining Kaş with Fethiye, Ölüdeniz or Kayaköy, all of which sit on that side. If you are arriving late at night, weigh the airports by which one lets you land earlier rather than which one is nearer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which airport is closest to Kaş?
Dalaman, at 154 km by road, about two hours and twenty-five minutes. Antalya is 199 km and about two hours forty-five. The gap is far smaller in time than it looks in kilometres, because the Antalya road is quicker for most of its length.
Is it better to fly into Dalaman or Antalya for Kaş?
Usually Antalya, because it has many more flights all year and better fares. Dalaman is the better choice if you find a direct summer charter, or if you are also visiting Fethiye, Ölüdeniz or Kayaköy on the same trip.
Can I still connect through İstanbul Atatürk?
No. Scheduled passenger flights moved to the new İstanbul Airport in April 2019, and the IST code moved with them. Atatürk now handles cargo, general and state aviation under the code ISL. Your İstanbul connection is either IST or Sabiha Gökçen, SAW.
How do I get from the airport to Kaş without a car?
From Dalaman, take the Havaş shuttle to Fethiye otogar and change onto a coastal bus. From Antalya, Batı Antalya runs along the coast road. A pre-booked private transfer is simpler on a late arrival, and we can arrange one.
Does the Havaş shuttle go all the way to Kaş?
No. From Dalaman it serves Göcek and Fethiye only. You change at Fethiye otogar for anything further down the coast, including Kalkan and Kaş.
How long is the drive from Antalya Airport to Kaş?
About two hours forty-five minutes for 199 km, all of it on the D400 coast road through Kemer, Finike and Demre. Allow longer if you stop, and the Myra ruins and the Church of St Nicholas at Demre are a good reason to.
TELL US YOUR FLIGHT NUMBER
Whichever airport you land at, the last two hours are the easy part.
We will have someone waiting.