Blog
Longer pieces than a guide page allows: routes compared, and the small local details that decide how a day goes.
Yacht Charter and Dalyan: Why Your Gulet Stops at Ekincik
You cannot sail to Dalyan. You can anchor an hour away and come up the river in something that floats in a metre of water.
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What to Bring on a Dalyan Boat Trip (and What to Leave Behind)
The day has mud in the middle of it. Pack for that and everything else looks after itself.
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Seeing the Rock Tombs from the River: Where to Sit and When to Go
The famous view lasts about four minutes. Here is how to not spend them looking the wrong way.
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Dalyan to Koycegiz by Boat: the Trip Upstream Nobody Books
Everyone goes downstream to the beach. The lake is in the other direction and it is emptier.
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Visiting Kaunos: the Ancient City Behind the Rock Tombs
Everyone photographs the tombs from the river. Far fewer cross over and walk up to the city they belong to.
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The Kaunos Rock Tombs Up Close: How They Were Cut and Who They Were For
From the river they are a skyline. From the path below they are a building site that stopped mid-job.
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The History of Kaunos: a Port City the Sea Walked Away From
The city did not fall to an army. It was buried, slowly, by its own river.
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The Climb to the Kaunos Acropolis and the View That Explains Everything
Most people stop at the theatre. The hour above it is the part of Kaunos that stays with you.
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How Iztuzu Beach Was Saved, and Who Saved It
The empty beach is not an accident. It is the result of a fight that nearly went the other way.
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The Dalyan Delta from Above: Where to Stand for the View
From the water the delta is a corridor. From two hundred metres up it is a map, and the map explains the town.
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Dalyan from Fethiye: What the Day Actually Involves
Ten hours, two of them on a bus, and four stops. Whether that adds up depends on what you want from the river.
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Is There a Ferry in Dalyan? Yes, and It Crosses in Under a Minute
There is no ferry to Dalyan. There is a ferry in Dalyan, and it is about fifty seconds long.
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A Dalyan Boat Trip, Hour by Hour
Eight hours, five stops and two of them longer than you expect. Here is the shape of the day before you book it.
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The Kaunos Rock Tombs at Night: Where to Stand and What You Will See
Four places to stand, one reason the reflection fails, and what the lighting actually shows.
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Dalyan’s Street Cats and Dogs: What to Do and What Not To
They are not strays in the way you are imagining. What the ear notch means and why food is the wrong gift.
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The Dalyan Pomegranate Festival: What It Is and How to Fit It Into a Trip
Four days on the riverfront in October, and why the timing is better than it looks.
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Parking in Dalyan and Getting Around Town Without a Car
Leave the car once and walk. Where to put it, and what moves you when you do not want to.
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Dalyan in Late September and October: What Is Still Open
The best weeks for the river and the worst weeks to assume everything is open.
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Dalyan After Dark: What the Riverfront Is Like at Night
The town changes at nine in the evening. Here is what is still open, what gets lit, and how to walk it.
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Wind, Rain and Heat: What Actually Changes on a Dalyan Boat Day
The river and the sea react to weather very differently. Here is how to tell which of your plans is actually at risk.
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Dalyan on Your Own: Boat Trips for Solo Travellers
Shared boats are made for people travelling alone. How to get the best of a Dalyan boat day without a companion.
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Prone to Seasickness? Which Dalyan Trips Stay on Flat Water
The river barely moves, the open sea does. How to plan a boat holiday around a stomach that disagrees.
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Before You Board: Safety Questions Worth Asking in Dalyan
A calm river is still water. The handful of questions that tell you whether a boat is being run with care.
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A Boat Day Inside a Protected Area: How to Visit Dalyan Well
The river, the lake and Turtle Beach are protected ground. What that asks of a visitor, and why it is worth doing.
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Cash, Cards and Tips on a Dalyan Boat Day: How Paying Works
Not what the day costs, but how you pay for it: the stops that want cash, the tab on board and the question of tips.
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Dalyan Boat Trips With Limited Mobility: Steps, Sand and Boarding
Where the physical effort sits in a Dalyan boat day, which parts you can skip, and what to ask before booking.
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Lunch on a Dalyan Boat: Vegetarians, Allergies and Fussy Eaters
What usually comes out of the galley, how to get food you can eat, and the Turkish words that make it easier.
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Fitting a Dalyan Boat Trip Around Your Dalaman Flight
Your first and last days are not lost. Which trips fit around a flight, and the ones to leave for the middle of the week.
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Beyond the Turtles: Birds and River Life in the Dalyan Delta
Everyone looks for the loggerheads. Here is the rest of the river, and how to see more of it from the deck.
Read moreRiver Boat, Shuttle, Gulet or Rowing Boat: The Boats of Dalyan
The boats on the quay are not all the same. What each kind is built for, and how to match the boat to the day you want.
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The Perfect 2-Day Plan: Dalyan River Cruise Then Gocek's 12 Islands
One river day, one island day, one base. Here is how the two fit together without wasting either.
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Koycegiz Lake by Sunset and Moonlight: A Quieter Evening
Two different evening trips share one name, and the moon decides which night you want.
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Villa or Boutique Hotel: Deciding Where to Stay in Dalyan
A candid comparison of Dalyan's two accommodation styles: private pool villas and small riverside hotels.
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Caretta Caretta in Dalyan: Where the River Beats the Beach
Where and when loggerheads actually surface in Dalyan, and what the İztuzu rules are for.
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Dalyan by Boat From Sarigerme: A Day That Works With Children
A family's view of the river day from Sarigerme: which ages love which stop, and where it sags.
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The Whole Boat to Yourselves: Private Hire in Dalyan
The case for the whole boat, argued from the hours rather than the deck.
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Shared Seat or Whole Boat: Comparing Dalyan Trip Costs
How to compare two Dalyan boat quotes when neither of them is really the same day.
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The Dalyan Mud Baths by River: Sultaniye Thermal Springs
Where the warm water comes from, which boat reaches it, and how the stop changes hour by hour.
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Marmaris to Dalyan: The Bus, the Boat and the Hours Between
The Marmaris day trip seen from the Dalyan quay: which hours the road takes, and which stop to give up.
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From the Water: How to Photograph the Kaunos Rock Tombs
The photograph of the tombs is decided at the quay, not on the deck, and mostly by the weather.
Read moreGetting to Turtle Beach by Boat: Iztuzu Timings and Tips
The boat down to Turtle Beach, the hour you have to be back on it, and what the sand allows.
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Family Villas in Gulpinar and Maras: A Straight-Talking Rental Guide
Two quiet neighbourhoods, one river town nearby, and the questions worth asking before you book.
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Planning a River Day in Dalyan from Fethiye or Gocek
A river with a road at either end: where the driving takes its hours from, and how to win some back.
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Dalyan Boat Trips: Choosing the Right Day on the Water
Six different boat days leave the same quay. How to work out which of them is actually yours.
Read moreBlue Crab in Dalyan: How to Eat It Around a Boat Day
The one thing on the menu that comes out of the water you spent the day on.
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