There are lots of things to do in and around Dalyan

• You can visit the local Dalyan mud baths
• You can visit thermal springs at the edge of Koycegiz Lake
• The local Turkish baths are a must
• The beach can be visited, either by river taxi boat or the local bus service.
• A large variety of massages and therapies at the Roof Top Retreat where you can receive excellent massages from qualified English, German or Turkish Therapists, at very reasonable prices with many 2 hour packages for the price of 1 hour in England.
• The local market held in the main square every Saturday, a good place for bargains and local fresh produce
• Visit the ancient city of Caunos (3000 B.C)
• Dalyans rock tombs are best viewed from many of the restaurants lining the riverfront
• Horse riding and climbing in the mountains
• Diving and sea fishing
• Micro light aircraft flying
• The 12 Islands tour – private tours can be arranged or just book with any tour operator
• Chartering a traditional gullet with crew for the day
• Boat trips are a big part of Dalyan life
• Try the moonlight boat trip on Koycegiz Lake
• Boat trips out into the Mediterranean, look out for turtles, dolphins, and flying fish
• White water rafting on the Dalaman River (grade 4/5)
• Jeep safari into the mountains
• Guided walks
• Birdwatching with English experts who now live here

 "Dalyan is a way of life" June Haimoff, Conservationist and Author

ALL ABOUT DALYAN

Dalyan has been described as "One of the last corners of paradise", and being surrounded by pine-clad hills, cotton fields and bulrushes, it really is a beautiful place.  The un-spoilt Mediterranean village of Dalyan will offer you a fantastic family holiday experience.  You have the choice of hundreds of first class bars, restaurants and even a few discos.

Dalyan and Turtle Beach are in a National Park of Turkey and also a wildlife sanctuary.
Because of this, the small resort has kept it's typical Turkish Mediterranean charm and appeal.
Many people return to Turkey and Dalyan year after year, many people never leave.  There are many things to do in Dalyan and Turkey including sailing, mud baths, turtle spotting in the river, Turkish baths, white water rafting, snorkelling, and diving.  Please visit beautiful Turtle Beach and the ancient ruins of Kaunos. (Some of the oldest in Turkey).

Dalyan sits on the river fed from Lake Koycegiz, the local mountain streams converge on Lake Koycegiz and then gently flow from the lake past Dalyan to the Mediterranean Sea and Turtle Beach.  Beautiful Iztuzu Beach or better known as Turtle Beach is home to the endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle.  Locals and tourists alike enjoy the natural mud baths and thermal springs at the side of Lake Koycegiz and then sail though the maze of reed beds past Dalyan to Turtle Beach, passing the ancient Dalyan rock tombs carved over 3000 years ago that look over Dalyan.
Dalyan is an area of stunning natural beauty, an area of sea, river, lakes, mountains and pine forests.

Wonderful un-spoilt Dalyan in this fantastic corner of Turkey is the perfect place to enjoy the relaxing and exotic culture of Mediterranean Turkey.  Brief TV fame was brought to Dalyan in the late 1980s by loggerhead turtles or, more accurately, by David Bellamy who led a worldwide campaign to halt a proposed development on the pristine five mile Iztuzu beach.  The conservation battle was won and the whole Dalyan delta turned into a wildlife sanctuary in order to preserve its unique flora, fauna and way of life.

Dalyan has everything - an outstanding beach, fascinating wildlife, strong local traditions and the majestic remains of an ancient city.  Boat is the best way to reach the many attractions of Dalyan, including mud baths where you have the privilege - if that's the word - of being caked in sulphurous, but reputedly therapeutic, mud.  Drifting downstream you pass the haunting, 4th-century BC tombs, which loom, like miniature Greek temples hewn out of the cliffs high above the river right opposite the town. Marsh frogs croak in the rushes, stripe-necked terrapins and little freshwater turtles dart in and out of the water and, if you are quick, you may catch the dazzling turquoise and gold arc of a kingfisher in flight.

Further down river towards the 'Dalyans' - the fish hatcheries - you can be dropped off at the dramatically situated ruins of ancient Caunos, which boast some of the most impressively fortified walls still standing in western Turkey, along with a well-preserved Greek-style theatre, Roman baths and a Byzantine basilica.

You can wander among the shattered columns and the huge chunks of masonry of ancient temples for hours, photographing, drawing or just musing on the beauty of the scene and on glories past.
So much is to be discovered by boat; the variety of birds is bewildering and the sight of small turtles basking at the water's edge, with their bodies submerged and their heads on the surface, is unforgettable. If you are very lucky you may even find one of the rare loggerhead turtles, the 95-million-year-old species Carretta Carretta, swimming right under the boat in nesting season, if you head beyond the river mouth. You can also disembark here at the end of Dalyans beautiful sandy beach, forty minutes by boat from the town quay. However, those few who know will head by regular dolmus (a twenty minute journey) to the opposite end of the beach where the views are as spectacular as the peace.

From one tip to the other, the swimming from this vast and unblemished stretch of sand is excellent.  As well as the large fleet of boats, other provisions have been made for visitors to Dalyan, which has developed from a small village into a pleasant little town.

There is now a good choice of restaurants (with fresh river fish a specialty), carpet, jewellery and spice shops and small grocers.

Development is strictly controlled and despite the bustle, the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed and traditional. Local inhabitants still hang their corn and peppers up to dry on strings hung from cottage eaves on the back streets and every Saturday is market day.

T he people are so incredibly friendly you will probably never want to leave.

Devotees of the wonderful.

FROM THE SUN NEWSPAPER 01/10/2005 THE TURKISH DELIGHT TO WALLOW IN - MUDDY LOVELYWITH the prospect of months of wind, rain and cold, my favourite pre-winter pick-me-up is to escape to Dalyan, a pretty fishing village on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
I have just returned from my third trip there. And nearly every holiday maker I met had been at least as often as I had - some every year for a decade.
Dalyan is not for those who want Ibiza or Ayia Napa-style boozing and clubbing but it is hard to imagine a better beach.
There are no buildings alongside the sands because it is a conservation area as a habitat for loggerhead turtles.
Holiday accommodation is in the village a short distance from the beach, which is shut at night to allow the turtles peace and privacy. Morning fun is trying to spot their tracks.
The water is so clear you can see the fish darting around. Even the hottest afternoons are comfortable because of a cooling breeze.
Lunch on the beach is a special treat, with a couple of ladies cooking traditional Turkish-style sweet or savoury pancakes for £1.
Or you can choose toasties, salads, soft drinks, beer, wine ... all on offer from 75p to £1.50.
Dalyan village lies on the banks of a river meandering from Koycegiz lake to the Mediterranean sea, which it joins at Iztuzu beach, You can cruise the river and spot herons, fish jumping three feet out of the water and brilliant blue kingfishers darting among the reed beds.
In the centre of Dalyan, scores of boats along the quay offer trips around nearby islands. You can go to the well preserved ruins of the ancient city of

Turtle Beach at Dalyan

Please visit the beautiful, 5km (two and a half miles) strand of golden brown sand called Iztuzu Beach or better known as Turtle Beach. The beach can be reached by road or even better by sailing down to the beautiful turquoise sea of Turtle Beach on the river from the gorgeous river frontage at Dalyan.

The beach is famous as a breeding ground for the loggerhead turtle. These giants of the sea lumber ashore on summer nights to lay their eggs in the sand. Turtle beach hit the headlines in 1987 when the foundations for a luxury hotel were laid at the south end of the beach.

There was a storm of protest from conservationists throughout the world (including Britons David Bellamy and our local celebrity Kaptan June – June Haimoff, Conservationist and Author), backed by public opinion the Turkish government scrapped the project and declared the beach a protected area for ever more.

With its fine crystal sand, shallow turquoise sea and abundant sunshine, Turtle Beach is the ideal holiday beach, perfect for swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea.

The Turkish seriously protect this truly outstanding Mediterranean beach and keep it beautifully clean. As you reach the beach, please obey the rules.  The rules help to protect the Sea Turtles and let them live and breed in peace. "Take only pictures, leave nothing but footprints" "Its your paradise"