Belek has become a premier golf centre in Turkey and boasts over eight championship golf courses, catering for all levels of player, and was recently featured as one of theplaces to go in Golf World's Golf Escapes 2007 supplement. Besides golfing, Belek also offers a wide range of adventure sports like wind surfing, water skiing, sailing, rafting and mountain climbing to enjoy on holiday. Belek's beaches have very calm water, making it ideal for small children. The neighbouring beach resort of Side is also worth a visit, with a 2nd century theatre and Roman Baths, and further afield Antalya has museums, a beautifully preserved old town, and is a good day-out for foodies.

Turkish is the official language, but English is widely understood in the main tourist areas.

The official currency is the New Turkish Lira (TRY), which was introduced on 1 January 2005, whereby six zeros were dropped from the TL and the sub-unit New Kurush was created. Currency can be exchanged at banks, exchange booths, post offices, airports and ferry ports; banks have the worst rates and highest commissions, but will exchange lesser known foreign currencies. Banks open mainly Monday to Friday, but some are open daily in tourist areas. ATMs are widely available in major cities and tourist areas, but Turkish ATM keypads usually do not have letters of the alphabet on their keys. Most bank branches have ATMs which accept Cirrus and Plus. Major credit cards are widely accepted; the most popular are Visa or MasterCard, but American Express is accepted in many of the more expensive places. Travellers cheques can be exchanged at some banks and currency exchange offices, but are not as welcome as cash or credit cards. US dollars or Euros are preferred. Some pensions and hotels in the most popular destinations accept US dollars as payment.

Many shopkeepers can hassle you upon entering their store. If you are not interested, give a polite, yet firm 'no'.

The nightlife in Belek is largely limited to the large hotels, many of which have their own nightclubs, bars and entertainment. There are one or two popular clubs, however, including the large Club 29 on the waterfront.

There is a limited choice of restaurants in Belek with most holiday visitors eating in their hotels, but the village of Kadriye is just two miles (4km) away, and easily reached by dolmus, and has a selection of shops, bars and restaurants. The nearby city of Antalya, 22 miles (35km) away, offers many restaurants which serve up some of the best of local Turkish food. Adana Ockbkbasi is a new restaurant in Belek well worth a visit for its special Turkish fish and kebab dishes. Coco Bar, serving the tastiest lamb shish kebabs around and featuring a cosy open-air terrace from which diners can watch the world go by, is rated as one of the friendliest restaurants in town by tourists and locals alike.

Most of the large Belek hotels have shops selling curios and holiday souvenirs, and the town has some lively street markets that are the perfect place to sample freshly cooked food and do a spot of gift shopping. There is also a huge bazaar every Saturday where shoppers can haggle to their heart's content. Holiday makers can head to the old town of Antalya for more extensive shopping.