What to see in Dalaman, Turkey: tips from Milan Bez Mapy

In my view, Dalaman is a starting point: the best experiences are in the area around it. I’d stay in Marmaris or Göcek, hire a car and not skip Fethiye, Ölüdeniz beach or Butterfly Valley. To fit it all in, allow about a week.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

Where I stayed

In Göcek, half an hour from the airport, a quiet little town with a marina and a good base for getting anywhere by car

From the airport

Havas buses to nearby towns wait outside the arrivals terminal, with the destination shown on a board

Getting around

Local buses are chaos, so hire a car or budget for taxis; there’s no Bolt, and Uber only offers ordinary taxis

When to go

April to June and September, according to a local taxi driver; in April the sea was still cold

Not worth it

Staying in Fethiye, which felt chaotic and dusty to me; Göcek or Marmaris is a better bet

What is there to see in Dalaman, Turkey? At some point I promised myself that this blog would have an article on every city you can fly to direct from Bratislava. Ryanair flies non-stop to Dalaman from the Slovak capital. I flew back from Dalaman yesterday. Today I’m sharing my tips and a few things I learnt. Here’s what to see in Dalaman, what to watch out for, how safe Turkey is, where to go and how to find good beaches.

Things to do in Dalaman, Turkey: Milan Bez Mapy’s picks

In 2022 tickets were selling from €15 one way, and the flight from Bratislava takes about three hours. On my Instagram, @milan_bezmapy, I invited you to ask me anything you wanted to know about Dalaman. The questions were mainly about where to stay, getting from the airport, when to go, where the good beaches are and how safe it is.

Practical information and tips before you visit Dalaman

• Which travel documents you need for Turkey
• My tips on getting from the airport and around the area
• When to go to Dalaman and what the weather is like
• How safe Turkey is, especially for women

Travel documents for Turkey and paying by card

This part matters. To travel to Turkey you need a passport valid for at least 150 days from the date of entry. Most countries only ask for three months, and this is exactly the kind of screw-up that gets you turned away at the airport. It happened to a friend of mine who was meant to come with me. His passport ran out in less than six months, and he wasn’t allowed into Turkey. So I went on my own. A Slovak ID card isn’t enough to enter Turkey. Only citizens of some countries, such as Germany, France, Italy or Spain, can enter without a passport, so always check the rules for your own nationality.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to pay by card everywhere in and around Dalaman. Of course, it’s always wise to carry a little cash. There are two exchange offices in the arrivals terminal, and their rates are decent.

Getting from Dalaman Airport and hiring a car

What caught me out most was the complicated local transport. I still haven’t worked out how the buses here work: when they run, where from and how you pay. The bus came when it felt like it, stopped where it felt like it, and I suspect only those who felt like paying actually paid. By some miracle, though, everyone got where they were going. I’d definitely hire a car or set aside a budget for taxis. The alternative is stress, and most of your holiday in Dalaman spent at bus stops. Taxis here aren’t expensive. I stayed in Göcek (pronounced roughly ‘GER-jek’), half an hour from the airport, and in 2022 a taxi from there cost 200 lira, about €12 at the time. Prices in Turkey have risen sharply since then because of high inflation. Bolt doesn’t operate here, and in Dalaman and Fethiye Uber offers only Uber Taxi, so the app just books you an ordinary taxi.

On the other hand, Havas runs regular buses from Dalaman Airport. They’re parked outside the arrivals terminal and go to various places in the area. Just check the destination on the board.

When to go to Dalaman and what the weather is like

The tourist season around Dalaman starts some time in mid-April and lasts into the autumn. When I chatted with a taxi driver, he said Dalaman is definitely worth visiting in April, May and June, and after that not until September. Summers here are extremely hot. He told me the temperature had hit 48°C more than once, which is no fun at all. In countries like this it pays to keep an eye on the forecast so you don’t get roasted. From May, the sea is just right for swimming.

Is Dalaman safe? Islam and Ramadan in Turkey

Turkey is a Muslim country, but of all the Muslim countries I’ve visited, it felt the most tolerant when it comes to religion. One of your questions on Instagram was whether the country is safe for women. From what I saw and experienced, I’d say that Dalaman and the area around it, at least, definitely are. Not all the women here were covered up. If I hadn’t seen a mosque at every turn, I wouldn’t even have known I was in a Muslim country. It’s definitely a good destination for families with children, too.

Ramadan even began while I was there. It lasts a month, and during the day Muslims may not eat, drink, have sex or smoke. The most orthodox don’t even swallow their own saliva. People tend to be more irritable as a result, but I didn’t notice that in Turkey at all. Everything ran as normal. I’ve also put together my tips on how to prepare for travelling during Ramadan.

In many countries, hotels usually run a reduced service during Ramadan, and shops and restaurants close. Not in Turkey. In Dalaman they even served alcohol, which for a Muslim country is veeeery progressive, believe me. The upside of travelling during Ramadan is that everything is cheaper.

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Where to go near Dalaman and what to see: Milan Bez Mapy’s tips

Let’s get one thing straight: Dalaman is the town with the airport. For heaven’s sake, don’t stay there. Around it are four tourist hotspots worth considering, the towns of Marmaris, Göcek, Fethiye and Ölüdeniz. A little further on is popular Antalya. How do you choose? Let’s go through them one by one, and at the end of the article I’ll give you my personal opinion.

You’ll find trips from Dalaman and the surrounding area here:

What is there to see around Dalaman?

• The town of Marmaris and Cleopatra Island
• Quiet Göcek, full of yachts
• Fethiye and Butterfly Valley
• Ölüdeniz and its beaches

Marmaris: beaches, water sports and the castle

This Mediterranean resort is, naturally, all about the sea: swimming, lazing on the beach and sunbathing. Marmaris has lovely beaches, and they’re very popular. You can also hire a boat or a yacht and sail along the coast, or try parasailing, wakeboarding or waterskiing. Marmaris had town walls as early as about 3000 BC, but the castle on the small peninsula between the harbour and the beach came later. Today the castle houses an archaeological museum with finds from the Bronze Age onwards, where you can learn more about the history of the town and its people.

A trip to Cleopatra Island from Marmaris

Sedir Island, nicknamed Cleopatra Island, is one of the best places around Marmaris. Legend has it that Cleopatra met her lover Mark Antony on the island, hence the name. For years the island was idealised because of its link to one of the most romantic stories in history. Today it’s a hotspot for jeep safaris and boat trips from the mainland.

Göcek, where I stayed: a specially protected area

Göcek (pronounced ‘GER-jek’) is a small, romantic town halfway between the airport and Fethiye. This is where I decided to stay. Why? It struck me as very stylish, with a lovely promenade and a marina, and it sits right ‘in the middle’ of everything. It’s pretty, tidy and clean, and it simply has class. If you have a car, you can get anywhere from here in a reasonable time. Göcek has also become popular with Turkish artists and poets.

Its location makes it a natural fit for yachting. In 1988 Göcek was declared a Special Environmental Protection Area. That’s why multi-storey buildings aren’t allowed: tourist accommodation means low-rise hotels, motels, apart-hotels and guesthouses in the centre and on the outskirts. Göcek has all the infrastructure, capacity and facilities you’d expect from a tourist centre, but it’s known for being much quieter than some other resorts nearby.

Thanks to its climate, it’s known for growing mandarins and lemons as well as oranges. Even tropical fruit such as bananas grows here. In Göcek I loved the seafront promenade with its view of the yachts. For breakfast, I’d definitely go to TheWickerbythesea by the jetty. I popped down there for breakfast every day, and the espresso was perfect. On the breakfast menu, I’d go straight for the first and most expensive item: the Turkish breakfast. In 2022 it worked out at about €8, and you won’t need to eat again until the evening. My favourite dinners were at West Café, but there are so many restaurants here that recommending just one would be gastronomic barbarism. Try them all, one by one.

South of town is the long Blue Point Beach, where the sea is beautiful. The water was still cold during my visit in April, but I can picture a perfect summer here with a drink in hand. In town I found D-Resort Göcek, a wellness resort with saunas, a gym and an outdoor pool. In 2022 a full-day pass cost about €24 and had no limit, either on time or on what you could do there. I had a good workout and made the most of the lovely saunas. Whether the day pass is still sold today, check with the resort directly before you visit.

Readers’ tips on Dalaman and where to stay

Tip from Milan I’d recommend reading the discussion under this post on my Facebook page, where my readers suggested more places to visit and shared tips on where to stay:

Fethiye and the Tomb of Amyntas

People have lived in Fethiye for 5,000 years. The town, once Telmessos, was part of ancient Lycia, a confederation of independent city-states. The Lycians were known for their distinctive burial customs. They left 2,500-year-old sarcophagi in the streets of Fethiye and magnificent rock tombs in the cliffs outside the town.

Today Fethiye is a holiday resort and a handy base for the ruins of other Lycian cities, the Saklıkent gorge and the exceptional beach and lagoon at Ölüdeniz. In a national park created in 1996, 40 km east of the town, the scenery is spectacular. The gorge in Saklıkent National Park is 18 km long and 300 m deep. All of it was carved out by the Karaçay, a branch of the Eşen river. Hardly any sunlight reaches the bottom of the gorge, so it’s the best place to escape the summer heat. If you have water shoes, bring them for the slippery rocks, and be ready to get wet up to your waist if you want the full experience.

The town itself didn’t appeal to me at all, and I’m glad I didn’t stay there. It felt a bit chaotic and dusty, though lovely Göcek, where I was staying, had a lot to do with that impression.

Ölüdeniz: the beach and Butterfly Valley

Just 10 km south of Fethiye’s old town are the most beautiful beaches in the area. Ölüdeniz beach, with clear water in a turquoise shade that glows in the sunshine, is where you want to be when it’s hot. Beyond the northern end of the beach is a lagoon, its shores lined with beach clubs and sunloungers. If you’d rather be on the water, you can hire a pedalo for a short trip.

South of Ölüdeniz is a beach you practically can’t reach by land. It lies at the end of a canyon whose rock walls rise to 350 m. Butterfly Valley, named after its many butterflies (more than 80 species), makes a great day trip by boat. The boat drops you in a sandy cove with crystal-clear water and a small café. Butterflies are most numerous between June and September. There are also a few waterfalls that flow all year round, worth a hike through the Mediterranean countryside.

Extra tip: Kabak and where to stay near Dalaman

EXTRA TIP: If you can fit it in, Mandala Camp Kabak is a lovely oasis with superb views all around. It’s well worth a visit. It’s also a hotel where you can stay, today for adults only. In 2022 you could also come as a day visitor and enjoy their facilities and the pool; today, it’s better to check in advance. The beach is a 15-minute walk from the Mandala camp.

So what’s my final word on what to see in Dalaman? There’s a lot here, so if you want to fit it all in, I’d come for a week. I’d stay in either Marmaris or Göcek. From Marmaris it’s a bit further to Fethiye or Butterfly Valley, but if you hire a car, that’s no big deal. Dalaman was my introduction to Turkey and my first visit to the country. I’ll definitely be back.