Dalyan 2013 The village and surrounding areas.Placed at the edge of the meandering river Dalyan, the village and surrounding area are a nature lover's paradise. If you like simplicity and everything within easy reach Dalyan is ideal. Although vehicles are around there are lots of pedestrian areas and the dogs, cats, hens, goats and the occasional cow don’t really allow for much speed. You don’t need to hire a car, public transport is fine, taxis are cheap as are bike and moped hire. The shops and restaurants we find are absolutely charming and you will never need to go hungry. The locals are warm and friendly hosts and nothing is too much trouble. Leon’s bar is a favourite local meeting place . Askins bar is a favourite place for watching the world go by in the main street and they have great music and wi-fi. Our favourite eateries are the riverside Kordon, the Sahil And in the village - The Metin and the Hidden Garden restaurants but you are really spoilt for choice. Our kids (20 & 23) come out on their own now but if you have younger kids it does feel really safe for them to explore in the pedestrianised streets. Out of town on the Itzuzu beach road is the Golbasi open-air restaurant where you can dine right by the waters edge and feed the turtles and geese or the Ley ley (Stork) restaurant on the road to Orteca where the storks nest and you can dine alongside lovely waterfalls and channels of water. In terms of wild-life Dalyan is a real treat. We have already spotted storks, owls, herons, eagles, kingfishers, tortoises, millions of frogs, turtles, (river Nile and Caretta), reptiles and lots of unusual birds so there is certainly plenty here for nature lovers. This is a link to a truely beautiful video of Dalyan, courtesy of Oruc Travel - http://youtu.be/IEf_c5MI5b0 Trips from DalyanWe would recommend the river cruise to Itzuzu beach along the Dalyan river. There are tall reed beds along the estuary where you can see all sorts of water-fowl and river turtles too. The film the African Queen was filmed here. The beach is a 5km sand spit which is completely devoid of any buildings as it is a conservation area where the Caretta caretta turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. You can drive or take the local bus to the other end of the beach past a beautiful fishing lake and the village of Gokbel over a hill which commands stunning views of the beach and surrounding mountains. At this end of Iztuzu beach you will find the Turtle hospital and a museum which was once the home of Kaptan June MBE who campaigned to make this into a conservation area
If you would like to see more of the wide range of excursions available from Oruc travel then visit please visit http://www.oructravel.com/exclusive_tours.php Call 07545 483864 for more info or go to our contact page to book |
A boat trip to the Sultaniye mud baths is worth a visit, followed by a shower and then a steep in the hot sulphur bath. There is a boat trip across the beautiful Lake Koycegiz where you can swim in the cool, clear fresh water. Not to be missed is the trip across the Dalyan river in a rowing boat to the ancient city of Kaunos which was founded about 9th century BC. It is well preserved and there is a magnificent amphitheatre and an acropolis, baths, a basilica and Byzantine fortifications in a beautiful setting with superb views.
We also really enjoy the 12 island cruise in a gulet (sailing) boat from Fethiye bay. This is a day long trip which is really lovely and relaxing. You drop anchor at a number of pretty locations where you can eat, swim or even water ski, paraglide or banana–ride. Kaunos tours or Oruc travel can take you on a number of exciting trips or the local taxis if you want to be more independent are very helpful. The Saklikent gorge is also a fabulous excursion and just the job for the hot summer months as you wade through icy cool mountain streams to get to the beautiful marble smooth gorge. included in this excursion is also the ancient city of Tlos with it's incredible panoramic views. A cruise along the Dalyan river by moonlight is also a must if you are into star gazing. During the day if you are lucky you will see a Nile turtle 
