The pretty riverbank town of Dalyan, 27 km west of Dalaman Airport. It is quite different from other resort towns on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

People come for its setting on the placid Dalyan Creek, for the dramatic Lycian tombs hewn into the rockfaces that dominate the town on the west bank of the river, for the ruins of ancient Roman city of Caunos, and for broad İztuzu Beach, a natural nesting-ground for Carretta Carretta.

Upstream, on the shore of placid Koycegiz Lake, is the Sultaniye hot springs, with their therapeutic  mud baths.
Many of the fields surrounding this farming town now grow new hotels, and the smooth-flowing creek is often thronged with excursion boats both local and from as far away as Fethiye and Marmaris. Even so, Dalyan is still an interesting place to stop for one or two days.
The center of town is marked by the tall, modern Post Office building (PTT). Dalyan’s weekly market takes place on Saturday at the center of town.
To the west of the PTT across a park is the riverside docks from which motorboats leave for Iztuzu Beach, Koycegiz Lake. Also day excursions that include a river cruise, a swim in the lake, a stop at the Sultaniye hot springs, the ruins of the Roman city of Caunos, and Iztuzu Beach.

By the way, Koycegiz has its weekly market on Monday, and Ortaca has it’s on Friday.
Further afield, you can take a minibus east to Gocek, halfway to Fethiye, to board a day excursion boat for a sailing cruise of the 12 Islands in the bay of Fethiye.
If you prefer the mountains, day trip minibusses leave Dalyan for Yuvarlak Cay, a mountain forest stream that provides a peaceful respite from the town.