Things to do in Burdur
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Burdur
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: warm, dry and walkable, with Sagalassos greenest in spring and Salda warm in September.
Hot but workable with morning ruins visits, plus lavender bloom and long light on Salda.
Cold and grey on mountain sites, but the season for wintering birds on Lake Burdur and empty museums.
What's on
- Lavender season at Kuyucak and Lisinia late June to July
Lavender bloom centred on Kuyucak village and Lisinia's fields, with village sales of oils, teas and ice cream.
- Lake Burdur winter bird season December to February
Peak wintering waterfowl on Lake Burdur, including its remaining white headed ducks, for birders in the cold months.
Best things to do in Burdur
Sagalassos Archaeological Site
A Pisidian mountain city above Ağlasun whose restored Antonine fountain flows again, in a vast and almost empty setting.
Burdur Museum
The statues and friezes from Sagalassos and Kibyra, indoors in the city centre, completing a visit to either site.
Burdur Natural History Museum
A southern mammoth and regional fossils inside a restored former Orthodox church, a rewarding 30 minute add on.
Bakibey Mansion
A restored grand konak that anchors a slow walk through the surviving mansion streets of old Burdur.
Burdur Clock Tower
The stone clock tower by the Grand Mosque quarter, the natural start of an old town and bazaar walk.
Lake Burdur
A Ramsar listed saline lake for winter birds and big skies, beautiful and visibly shrinking at the same time.
Lisinia Doğa Proje Alanı
A wildlife rehabilitation project farming lavender and roses without chemicals to model care for Lake Burdur.
Kremna Ancient City
A cliff ringed Pisidian hill city near Bucak with minimal infrastructure, for ruins completists only.
Where to stay in Burdur
Burdur centre
default base, museum and eating
Walkable to the museum, mansions, clock tower quarter and nearly every restaurant, with the widest hotel choice.
Ağlasun
Sagalassos at opening time
Sleep under the mountain and reach the site first, at village pace with the province's best lodge.
Yeşilova and Salda shore
one night for Salda at dawn and dusk
Position on the lake beats facilities here, and one night pairs well with a centre or Ağlasun stay.
Gölhisar
Kibyra and the road to Fethiye
A comfortable town hotel minutes from Kibyra turns a long drive into a relaxed morning on the site.
Best restaurants in Burdur
Taş Oda Gastronomi Mutfağı
Regional Burdur cooking served inside a 17th century mansion and its garden, the city's one special dinner.
Toros Lokantası
The city's classic lokanta for soups, stews, köfte and İskender from early morning to late evening.
Şişçi Musa
By review volume the city's favourite Burdur şiş house, starting with soup and finishing with skewers on soaked pide.
Burdur Şişçi Kadir
Trading since 1985 on şiş and diced meat pide, the second opinion every visitor should test against the first.
Şişçi Salih
The şiş house travellers rate highest in Burdur, in fast, no ceremony diner format.
Şişçi Hasan
The sit down şiş house for a longer group dinner, a band pricier than the lunch counters and still good value.
Şafak Pide Burdur Şiş
Stone oven pide and Burdur şiş under one roof, the best change of pace on day two of a şiş heavy trip.
Altay Pide
A well used second pide house in the centre, the locals' rotation option when the better known name is busy.
Outdoor things to do in Burdur
Lake Salda
A deep crater lake of turquoise water and white microbialite shores, extraordinary to see and fragile to visit.
Kibyra Ancient City
The City of Gladiators above Gölhisar, with a stadium, theatre and an odeon holding a unique Medusa mosaic.
İnsuyu Mağarası
Turkey's first show cave, a cool walkable gallery of formations whose famous underground lakes have largely dried.
Burdur Urban Forest
The pine city forest where Burdur families picnic on Sundays, a calm local leg stretcher between sights.
Kuyucak Village
Turkey's lavender village in Isparta province, purple for a few weeks from late June with oils, teas and ice cream.
Lake Eğirdir
A freshwater lake with swimming beaches and two causeway islands, the honest swim and fish lunch day from Burdur.
Pamukkale
White travertine terraces and the Roman spa city of Hierapolis, worth a guided splurge day only if not visiting separately.
Best hotels in Burdur
Grand Ozeren Otel & Spa
The city's flagship four star with spa, indoor pool and a praised rooftop breakfast, the local luxury ceiling.
Yalçındağ Otel
A small boutique hotel near the centre whose guests praise five star comfort and an exceptional breakfast.
Atam Hotel
A characterful Atatürk themed budget hotel with kind staff, clean rooms and a breakfast rated above pricier rivals.
Kayışlıoğlu Otel
A simple hotel near the museum carried by an exceptional homemade breakfast, at the lowest price in town.
Sagalassos Lodge & Spa
A mountain lodge with pools, hamam and strong dinners minutes from Sagalassos, the best sleep in the province.
Hotel Lago Di Salda
The established lakeside hotel at Salda, worth it for dawn and dusk on the shore rather than for facilities.
Kibyra Hotel
A well rated four star in Gölhisar town that turns Kibyra into a relaxed morning instead of a long drive.
Is Burdur expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | TRY 2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | TRY 3,800 a person |
| Splurge | TRY 8,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Pamukkale: a few days ahead
- Sagalassos Lodge & Spa: weeks ahead
- Taş Oda Gastronomi Mutfağı: a few days ahead
- Book Sagalassos Lodge & Spa first in summer and on Turkish holiday weekends, as rooms are few.
- Reserve Taş Oda for weekend dinners, as the mansion dining room is small.
- Buy a Museum Pass at the first site and carry small cash for the cave and site parking.
Is Burdur safe?
- Take the mountain roads to Sagalassos and Kibyra slowly and never drive them tired.
- Carry water, a hat and closed shoes on treeless ruins in summer.
- Swim only in designated areas at Salda and stay off the White Islands formations. Emergency number 112.
Burdur travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Salda is a fragile geological site, not a beach club, despite the Turkish Maldives slogan.
- Burdur Lake Beach has thin facilities and is not the swimming option; swim at Salda's designated areas or Eğirdir.
- Do not sell Burdur city as a multi day sight in itself; its strength is as a base with superb cheap eating.
Getting around Burdur: public transport and more
- Burdur city is walkable, but Sagalassos, Salda, Kibyra, Kremna and İnsuyu are all drives, so rent a car.
- Dolmuş and bus links exist to Ağlasun, Yeşilova and Gölhisar, but return timings are thin for ruins days.
- Agree any taxi return pickup in advance, as no taxi rank waits at a mountain ruin.
Who Burdur suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Burdur your trip
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