Turkey vs Greece for Families: Holiday Compared

Side-by-Side Comparison

Category	Turkey	Greece	Edge
All-inclusive package (7 nights, family of 4)	From ~£720 total	From ~£1,000+ total	Edge: Turkey
All-inclusive quality	Large resorts, waterparks, kids' clubs, evening shows	Smaller hotels, fewer resort-style options	Edge: Turkey
Eating out costs	~£30-£40 family meal	~£50-£70 family meal	Edge: Turkey
Food quality (local restaurants)	Excellent kebabs, meze, fresh bread	Outstanding taverna culture, fresh seafood	Edge: Greece
Flight time from UK	3.5-4.5 hours	3-4 hours	Edge: Greece
Airport-to-resort logistics	Direct transfer, no ferries	Many islands require ferry from mainland	Edge: Turkey
Cultural experience	Good but resort-focused	Whitewashed villages, history, island atmosphere	Edge: Greece
Beach quality	Beautiful, less crowded	World-famous, can be very busy	Tie
Currency	Turkish Lira (very favourable for GBP)	Euro (less favourable)	Edge: Turkey

The Cost Gap

Let's talk money, because this is where Turkey pulls away from Greece so dramatically that it changes the entire holiday calculation for most UK families.

All-inclusive holidays to Turkey start from around £179 per person with operators like loveholidays, which means a family of four can get a week's holiday with flights, accommodation, and all meals for under £720 in off-peak periods. Even during summer school holidays, Turkey's all-inclusive packages remain significantly cheaper than equivalent Greek options. The weak Turkish lira (which has fallen sharply against the pound over recent years) makes everything from ice cream to boat trips absurdly cheap by UK standards.

Greece uses the euro, which means UK families face a less favourable exchange rate. A family meal at a Greek taverna costs £50-£70 — pleasant, charming, delicious — but do that every evening for a week and you've spent £350-£490 just on dinners. The same quality of food in Turkey runs £30-£40. Over a seven-night stay, that gap adds up to hundreds of pounds.

One parent on Mumsnet summed it up: "everywhere seems so much more expensive than Turkey and not as much for your money." That's a common refrain among families who've done both.

The All-Inclusive Question

Turkey doesn't just do all-inclusive. Turkey owns all-inclusive. The country's tourism industry has been built around massive, purpose-built resorts that deliver exactly what families want: big pools, waterslides, kids' clubs that actually keep children entertained, multiple buffet restaurants, and evening shows. These aren't modest guesthouses with a breakfast buffet — they're mini cities designed to ensure you never need to leave.

Greece's all-inclusive scene exists but it's smaller and more recent. Crete and Rhodes have proper family resorts (TUI and Jet2 run several excellent ones), but the traditional Greek holiday is self-catering apartments plus eating out. That's a fundamentally different experience — more adventurous, more immersive, but also more expensive and more work for parents who just want to switch off.

So here's the honest question: do you want a holiday where everything's done for you, or a holiday where you're out exploring? There's no wrong answer. But the decision shapes whether Turkey or Greece is right for your family far more than beach quality or flight times ever will. For families who've done both types, our all-inclusive vs self-catering comparison goes deeper on this question.

Getting There and Getting Around

This is where Turkey has a massive, underappreciated advantage for families with young children. Fly to Antalya or Dalaman, get on a transfer bus, and you're at your resort within 30-90 minutes. No ferries. No connecting flights. No dragging luggage onto boats while holding a screaming toddler. Done.

Greek mainland resorts — Halkidiki, the Peloponnese — work the same way. But the popular Greek islands require an extra step. Crete and Rhodes have direct flights from UK airports, which keeps things simple. Corfu too. But islands like Santorini, Naxos, Paros, or Kefalonia either have limited direct flights or need a ferry connection from Athens or a nearby island. With kids under five, that ferry is the single most stressful part of a Greek holiday. Don't underestimate it.

Within Turkey, resort areas are surprisingly well set up for families who want to explore. Rental cars are cheap (£15-£25 per day), and the coastal roads between Fethiye, Oludeniz, and Kas are stunning. In Greece, getting around the bigger islands like Crete requires a car — distances surprise first-time visitors. Smaller islands are walkable or bikeable, which has its own charm.

Activities and Attractions

Turkey's resorts handle activities in-house. Waterslides, animation teams, beach volleyball, evening entertainment — it's all within the resort walls. For families who want to venture out, Turkey offers paragliding in Oludeniz, boat trips along the Turquoise Coast, and ancient ruins at Ephesus and Side. These cost a fraction of equivalent experiences in Greece.

Greece's attractions are different. Ancient history comes alive in a way that Turkey can't quite match for most families — the Acropolis, Knossos on Crete, the old town of Rhodes. Island-hopping creates an adventure narrative: "today we're taking a boat to a new island." Older kids and teenagers find that genuinely exciting. Younger kids just want the pool, though, and the pool at a Turkish mega resort beats most Greek hotel pools without contest.

Food Culture

Both countries have outstanding food. Turkey's kebabs, fresh bread, meze platters, and baklava are genuinely excellent, and resort buffets in Turkey tend to be impressively varied — multiple live cooking stations, fresh fruit, local specialities alongside child-friendly pasta and chips. Kids who eat nothing at home somehow hoover up plates of food at a Turkish buffet.

Greek food has a different pull. The taverna experience — grilled octopus, fresh feta with tomatoes, souvlaki on the harbourfront — creates memories in a way that a resort buffet simply can't. And Greek food is extremely kid-friendly: simple, fresh, and familiar enough that even picky eaters find something. But you're paying for every meal, every drink, every snack. At a Turkish all-inclusive, it's all covered.

Beaches and Swimming

Both countries have stunning coastlines. Turkey's Turquoise Coast is appropriately named — the colour of the water between Fethiye and Kas is genuinely breathtaking. Oludeniz lagoon is one of the most photographed beaches in the Mediterranean, and it lives up to the pictures. Beaches along the Antalya coast tend to be a mix of sand and pebble, which matters if you have toddlers who eat sand.

Greece's beaches are legendary. The pink sand of Elafonissi on Crete, the shipwreck beach on Zakynthos, the black sand of Santorini — these are Instagram-famous for a reason. The best Greek beaches regularly appear on "world's best" lists. But the most famous ones are also the most crowded, and access can require boats or long drives on narrow island roads.

Water temperature is similar in both countries during summer — 24-27°C from June to September. Sea conditions are generally calm in both the Aegean and the Turkish Mediterranean coast, making both safe for children to swim. Turkey's resort beaches tend to be better maintained with sunbeds and umbrellas included, while Greek beach facilities vary wildly from fully serviced to completely wild.