Hi again Graham, i've located the Discussion on Dalyan Topic for you, although it is a bit dated, i'm sure that not much has changed, plus there's loads of links on there for you to peruse. All the best.

Les

Aforementioned link: Discussion on Dalyan

Dazbo HT Mod

No idea if it your cup of tea, but it is where the mud baths are that a lot of tourits go to.

It is a bit of a 'tourist trap' particularly in high season with lots of coach loads turning up.

We did it the once and it is a laugh but you have to take it for what it is and not be too serious about it.

I did hear that there were various mud baths around and it is more enjoyable to go one of the others that the main TO's dont use, not sure if it can be done independantly and jsut pay on the door. I'm not recommending as such as it often gets slatted as being too touristy, just as something for you to maybe research a bit further.

The area also is a bit prone to mozzies so if you are the type that they love mabe go armed with skin so soft and the more effect deet type products, you can get something called 'off' there, but it is horrible stuff compared to what you canget here, but seems to work, suppose it is full of deet as well.

Doe

We went to Dalyan in June 2010 and of the three resorts we've stayed in in Turkey this was by far our favourite.

If you're visiting Iztuzu beach I'd definately recommend that you take a boat trip down the river rather than getting the dolmus. It takes about 40 minutes each way and is a nice and relaxing journey. Theres some lovely scenery along the way and you get a great view of the tombs from the river. The beach is also fantastic when you get there, with a snack bar serving kebabs, pancakes etc at reasonable prices.

I'd also suggest getting a boat accross the river to the ancient city of Kaunos. You are taken accross in a small rowing boat and you can then spend as little or as long as you like visting the ruins,ampitheatre etc.

Dalyan itself is also good just to walk around with its mix of holidaymakers and locals going about their everyday lives.

Enjoy!

You've made a great choice there in Dalyan. We had a holiday there a few years ago, before we bought our place in Turunc, and it was one of the places where we would have bought if the right place had come up.
When we were there we went on a boat trip that took us to the mudbaths that aren't the tourist ones, and having been to both these were definitely the better of the two. We then went on to moor in the lake and swim off the boat. This wasn't a trip organised by the tour op, just a little local one. We also went on an early morning trip down the river to feed turtles, which was amazing! This was organised by a barman in our accommodation, so it's well worth talking to the locals and seeing what they can arrange for you. Last year we spent a few days in Koygeciz which was a typical Turkish town, and well worth a boat trip to from Dalyan.
We also went in the rowing boat to the ruins which was a good way of seeing them, as someone else said earlier. We loved the trip down the river to the beach, and also really enjoyed eating by the side of the river in spectacular surroundings.
I think its a lot more built up there than when we went, but you can't take away the lovely scenery around the river and beach, which will remain unspoilt as building is not allowed because of the nesting turtles.
I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

Hi

Thanks for the Dalyan link I don't know how I missed that plenty of info there which I am sure will still hold true, maybe you want to merge this with it Dazbo?

Doe, I fancy going to a mud bath just so I can say I have done that, Alfie mentions some non tourist ones so we will try and find them, the mozzies don't tend to bother me, they probably know they are nothing compared to the midges we have here which eat me alive

I'd also suggest getting a boat accross the river to the ancient city of Kaunos. You are taken accross in a small rowing boat and you can then spend as little or as long as you like visting the ruins,ampitheatre etc.

Thanks Steve, I like the sound of that, can you spend a day there or is it somewhere just for an hour or 2? are there places for lunch or a drink? Is this where the tombs are located? can they be visited?

Thanks for the info about taking a boat down to the beach, I had read that somewhere before but didn't realise that it took about 40 minutes and there was so much to see en-route.

Last year we spent a few days in Koygeciz which was a typical Turkish town, and well worth a boat trip to from Dalyan.

Thanks Alfie, that sounds very pleasant and now included on my list, how long is the boat trip there?Thanks for the advice about asking the locals to organise trips, I understand the owner of our hotel, Kudret is very helpful so I will see what he can do.

We chose Dalyan as it sound more laid back and more traditional as compared to some of the bigger resorts and I love what you have all said so far

Hi Graham,

I found this website which has some info about boat trips among other things:

http://dalyan-information.com/dalyan-boat-trips.shtml

I can never remember how to spell Koycegiz and I spelt it wrong in my last post!

I'm not sure how long it would take to get to Koycegiz from Dalyan, we didn't actually do the trip, but I notice on this website they do a trip to Koycegiz market. When we were staying there last year we saw boats come in from Dalyan. I would think it is possibly about an hour and a half.
When we were staying in Dalyan we asked at our accommodation about hiring a boat, and the owner arranged for us to take his brothers boat out. We were two families on holiday together, there were eight of us - we were given a quick lesson in how to drive the boat and we were off! We headed off to the lake for the day, and it is one of our best memories in Turkey. It was so peaceful out on the lake, we hardly saw any other people all day, all we could hear were the birds overhead, and the goats bleating in the mountains around. The owner left us a coolbox with beer and soft drinks and we took our own lunch, and we just poodled around and stopped anywhere we fancied for a swim off the boat. It was heaven! All he charged us was £25! This was a few years ago so not sure if you could get such a wonderful deal now, but any trip out on the lake would be lovely.

reading this with interest as we are 'Turkey Virgins' too and heading to Dalyan for 2 weeks (god willing if Thomas Cook are still up and running!) in Aug. Normally fans of the beautiful Greek Islands we fancied a change. Staying a the Holiday Calbis.

I saw a programme on tv once about a kind of gorge place you can go to where you eat on little platforms overhanging the river - looked amazing. Anyone know where it is - I think its in the region but not sure if its do-able in a day trip

thanks :-)

Kiltman, the trip accross the river to Kaunos is probably a half day trip at most. Once over the other side you have a twenty minute walk until you reach the ruins and stuff. Its literally just one road so you can't go wrong but there is little shade so probably not best to do at the peak of the day. There aren't any bars or restaurants that I'm aware of, but there are a couple of houses along the route with the locals selling cans of pop, fruit etc. The tombs are high on the cliffside as you walk along the road but you can't get near them unfortunately, as there are fences and such like preventing you from doing so!

If my memory serves me correctly their was a little kiosk at the ruins serving drinks, crisps and ice-creams but nothing substantial.

Rachael, like you we're fans of the Greek islands and visted most years. We tried Turkey for a change 3 years ago and have been back three times since. I think I still prefer Greece but I don't think you'll be disappointed with Turkey.

I wonder if the place you're thinking of is Saklikent Gorge. We visited this when we stayed in Olu Deniz and is similar to what you've described. Check out the images on google. I'm not sure how close this is to Dalyan though.

Thanks Alfie & Steve, the more I read the more I am looing forward to going

Rachael like you we would normaly go to Greece and this was a spur of the moment booking, I hope you enjoy it when you get there, hopefully I will be able to come back on to HT and tell you all about it

Hi Rachael,

Re the gorge ........ sounds like the place we went to some years ago when we were in Olu Deniz. I'm afraid I can't remember what region it is in or what the gorge is called (will look it up), but we went there as part of the Jeep Safari trip. There were platforms over hanging the river, and I seem to recall tree houses over looking the river which you could rent out overnight. There was also several tourist shops, a couple of bars and a restaurant there. We only had about 2 hours there, but we could have quite happily had the whole day there, even staying overnight ....... listening to the sound of the gushing water was so relaxing!

Regards,
Pat

Hi Rachael,

Just found it ..... it's called the Sakikent Gorge and is located between Fethiye and Kas.

http://www.saklikentgorge.net/

Regards,
Pat

you star! Thanks so much, thats the place

That looks nice

can anyone give me some suggestions for the best beaches to go to near to Dalyan - I know about the Turtle beach - just if there are any others. We prefer sand and shallow but any other thoughts welcomed. We'll hire a car and probably be happy to drive about 1h 30 mins away

thanks so much