Dalyan

Last update September 30, 2026

The town of Dalyan is situated on the river which flows from the Mediterranean Sea to Köyceğiz Lake and has based its whole identity on this water. Boats are the means of getting around here, moving through reed beds and wetlands inhabited by storks and kingfishers, and passing by Lycian tombs that have been cut directly into the cliff face above the river. These tombs are the first thing you notice when you arrive by boat, even though you have seen them in plenty of photographs beforehand.

If you follow the river downwards, you will come to İztuzu Beach, a three-mile-long sandbar which separates the sea from the delta and is more commonly called Turtle Beach. Between May and October loggerhead sea turtles come here to nest, and each year about 300 nests are recorded, each marked with a wooden stake so that people will know to stay away. The beach is only open during daylight hours in the summer, pets and vehicles are not permitted, and the rules are there for a genuine reason and not merely for the sake of it. You can swim in the shallow, warm water and then walk along the sand slowly, since this part of the coast is also serving as a nursery.

Kaunos is situated a little upriver and is an old port city whose history stretches back to the 10th century BC, featuring city walls that are more than 4,000 years old as well as Roman remains such as a big palaestra and a number of temples. People interested in history can spend a whole afternoon there, and the ruins go well with the boat trip which is already taking you by the tombs. Finish off the day at the Sultaniye mud baths, where a warm pool containing sulfur has attracted the local population since the Hellenistic period. The mud is truly mineral-rich, and although it really does take ten years off your face is open to discussion, but there’s no doubt that it feels worthwhile to sit in it after a day spent on the water.

It is better to spend a few days in Dalyan slowly rather than making a hurried visit. Hire a boat, visit the tombs and Kaunos during the same trip, spend an afternoon at İztuzu and finish off with the mud baths before returning to town for the Saturday market. This is rural Turkey on its own timetable, and nothing here has been constructed with the idea of rushing you.