Dinopark Kemer: The Day the Children Choose

Most family days out are a compromise — the children endure a museum, the adults endure a playground. Dinopark works because the setting is genuinely pleasant for everyone: a pine forest on the slope above Kemer, sea on one side and the Taurus wall on the other, with dinosaurs standing between the trees.

The park is laid out as walking trails through mature pine, which means shade for most of the route and air that smells of resin rather than hot tarmac. Life-size models are placed along the paths and among the trees, some of them with sound and movement, so they arrive as small surprises rather than as a row of exhibits behind a rope.

For children of roughly three to twelve this hits exactly right. Younger ones get scale and noise; older ones start reading the name plates and correcting the adults, which is the real measure of a successful visit.

Beyond the trails there are play areas, so the visit is not purely a walk-and-look. The important thing for parents is that the whole place is enclosed and quiet — you can let a five-year-old get ten metres ahead without your heart rate changing.

Kemer itself sits between the mountains and a pebble shore, and the drive up from the coast road is one of the better stretches of scenery in the region. The town is compact, with a marina and a long seafront promenade, so the rest of the day has somewhere to go after the dinosaurs have been dealt with.

• A full day, with hotel pickup and drop-off, air-conditioned transport and a guide with you.
• Entrance fees, lunch at a local restaurant, bottled water and insurance are covered.
• Trainers rather than sandals for the children — the trails are forest paths, not pavement.
• Pack sun cream anyway. The canopy is good but not continuous, and the middle of the day is hot from May onwards.
• Buggies are workable on the main paths but hard work on the narrower ones; a carrier is easier with a toddler.