Accommodation

My wife and I stayed at the ‘Asur’ Hotel, situated just south of the village. I should point out that no building is permitted to be more than two floors high, other than the local mosque, therefore hotels etc. are very low key. The hotel really only consists of the reception and dining areas with apartments dotted throughout the grounds. These apartments are all on a single level, therefore no noise from above.

All are airconditioned. We found the whole arrangement ideal, including the lovely pool flanked by a refreshment bar and gardens that lead down to a private jetty at the edge of the river.

Things to See, Places to Go

Dalyan Town is a short walk from the hotel with many café’s and restaurants; not forgetting numerous souvenir shops, supermarket, including the proverbial carpet emporium! It is from here that you can obtain the many boat trips, both up the river and down to the sea, together with the buses that virtually go everywhere. There are taxis but we prefer to use the local bus service that is both very friendly and efficient. Dalyan is a quiet resort as you drive to Dalyan from the main routes, therefore no through traffic.

Mud baths are situated a short boat trip up river where you can ‘pamper’ yourself in evil smelling mud; not for the faint hearted but we are told by ‘dubious’ locals that it does you good…well as they say “you have to suffer a little in order to obtain benefits” etc. and I guess this fits the bill.

Storks (of the flying variety) are to be found living just outside Dalyan on the left of the main road as you leave the village. This is quite a rare sight and should be top of your list of visit. There is a restaurant etc. in the grounds where these amazing birds are to be found, so you can have a delicious Turkish cup of tea (apple flavour preferred) while you watch them sailing around with their enormous wing spans.

They have been living here successfully for many years and have increased to the point where every sizable tree has been occupied, therefore the locals have erected makeshift trees constructed of telegraph poles etc…..not a patch on the real thing mind but the storks don’t seem to be bothered!

Excursions As I said, you can travel all over the place on the local bus network although there are plenty of local sights that shouldn't be missed.

Marmaris is a very busy town, full of shops selling everything, including the kitchen sink! There is a very large market held there once a week where copy Rolex watches are sold by the dozen at the price of a pair of shoes.

Fethiye is a marina town to the east of Dalyan and is worth a visit to see some of the luxury Mediterranean yachts that dock there. Once again there is a market, except on this occasion this seems to be a permanent one!
You can travel there by local bus from Dalyan and we found that the driver not only got into the swing of being a courier/ coach driver by stopping on the way for ‘photo calls’, but once at Fethiye he shut the bus down and waited for us some four hours later to return to Dalyan. I just can’t see ‘National Express’ adopting this system somehow…..