Iztuzu Beach Shuttle Boat
This is not a tour and does not pretend to be one. It is a boat that runs down the river to Iztuzu, puts you on the sand and comes back for you later, which for a great many people is exactly the right thing to buy.
- Duration
- Roughly 30 to 40 minutes each way
- Departure
- Boats through the morning
- Departs from
- Dalyan quay, town centre
- Returns
- Last boat back in the late afternoon
- Group
- Shared boat
- Season
- April to October
- Price
- Prices are on our sister site
You get the same reed channels and the same view up at the tombs as the day trip, without lunch, without the mud, and without a schedule that pulls you off the beach in the middle of the best part of the afternoon.
The route, stop by stop
- Out through the reed channelsAbout 20 minutes
The boat leaves the quay and drops into the maze of channels below town. In high summer the reeds stand taller than the wheelhouse and the driver takes the turns from memory.
- The delta and the river mouthAbout 15 minutes
The channels open out, the water goes pale over sand, and the last bend puts the open sea in front of you.
- Iztuzu, the river-mouth endAs long as you like
Boats land at the river end, where the kiosks, the lavatories and the shallow warm water are. The road end is four and a half kilometres away along soft sand, and there is no quick way between the two.
- The boat backTimetabled
Boats run back through the afternoon until the last one. Check that hour with your own boat rather than the one moored beside it, because they do not all finish at the same time.
Included
- The boat down and the boat back
- Shade on deck
- A landing at the river-mouth end of Iztuzu
Not included
- Lunch and drinks
- Beach umbrella and sunbed
- Anything resembling a guide
When the shuttle beats the day trip
If the beach is the reason you came, take this. The day trip gives Iztuzu two and a half hours because it has three other things to fit in; the shuttle gives it the whole day, and you leave when the light goes rather than when the whistle goes.
It is also the sensible second visit. People do the full day early in the week, decide the beach was the best part of it, and come back on the shuttle with a book and a towel.
The beach rules are not decorative
- During the nesting season the beach is closed between 20:00 and 08:00.
- Nests are staked and signed. Do not walk inside a marked area.
- No umbrella and no sunbed on or beside a marked nest.
- No powered speedboats within one kilometre of the beach.
- No lights and no flash photography on the sand after dark.
Wardens enforce these and the signs on the sand are what count on the day, because the season shifts a little from year to year.
What to bring
- Towel
- Sun cream
- Hat
- Cash for the kiosks and umbrella hire
- Water
- Something to read
Frequently asked questions
Is it the same boat as the day trip?
Same river, different job. The shuttle carries people to the beach and back and does nothing else, so there is no lunch, no mud pool and no commentary.
Can I come back on a later boat than I planned?
Within the timetable, generally yes. Ask the driver when you land what the last departure is, and treat that hour as fixed.
Is there shade at Iztuzu?
None that is natural, anywhere on four and a half kilometres of sand. Umbrellas are for hire at the river-mouth end and they go quickly in August.
Will I see a turtle?
You might. Loggerheads nest here and are sometimes seen in the river mouth, but nobody can promise you one and we would rather not start.
You may also want to read
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Upriver to the lake for the sulphur pools and the grey mud, and back before the afternoon is gone.
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