Private, fixed-price transfers from Dalaman Airport to Fethiye, Marmaris and the resorts along the coast — plus what to see once you arrive.
Dalaman Airport does not serve one city but a whole stretch of coast. It lies about 5 km from the centre of the small town of Dalaman, and the resorts spread out on either side. East of the airport, the road passes Göcek on its secluded bay and runs through the Göcek tunnel to Fethiye, Ölüdeniz, Hisarönü and Ovacık, then on towards Kalkan and Kaş. West of it, the road heads inland past Köyceğiz before dropping down to Marmaris, with Turunç and Bozburun beyond. Even the MUTTAŞ airport bus line to Fethiye’s bus station is 55 km long, which makes the transfer worth settling before you fly.
The coast in between is varied. Ölüdeniz is known for its Blue Lagoon and for paragliding, and shuttle boats run from its beach to Butterfly Valley, where the valley walls rise 350–400 metres. Inland, the Saklıkent canyon is 300 metres deep. History is never far away: Fethiye stands on the site of ancient Telmessos, rock-cut tombs look down from the cliffs above the river at Dalyan, and the abandoned houses of Kayaköy cover a hillside south of Fethiye. In the west, Marmaris is a centre for sailing and diving with a castle rebuilt in 1522, while Göcek is a departure point for Blue Cruises among its islands and coves.
14 km south of Fethiye
Ölüdeniz — literally “Dead Sea”, after its calm water even during storms — is officially translated as Blue Lagoon. A sandy bay opens onto the lagoon, and the seawater is famous for its shades of turquoise and aquamarine. The lagoon is a national nature reserve where construction is strictly prohibited, and the beach is an official Blue Flag beach. Ölüdeniz is also known for paragliding, thanks to its views, stable weather and the height of Mount Babadağ. From Belceğiz Beach, shuttle boats run hourly in the daytime to Butterfly Valley.
Dalyan, across the river from the town
The weathered façades of rock-cut tombs look down from the sheer cliffs above the Dalyan river, their fronts carved to resemble Hellenistic temples. They belong to Kaunos, whose ruins are a short boat trip across the river from Dalyan. The river once marked the border between Caria and Lycia, and Kaunos was an important sea port whose history is thought to go back to the 10th century BC; silting has since left it about 8 km from the coast. Its theatre, 75 metres in diameter, held 5,000 spectators.
Seydikemer, 50 km from Fethiye
Saklıkent — “hidden city” in Turkish — is a canyon 300 metres deep and 18 km long, formed as flowing water wore away the rock over thousands of years, and protected as a national park established in 1996. Visitors can enter the canyon all year round, but the water level rises in winter and the deeper parts are only accessible in summer. After April, once most of the snow in the Taurus Mountains has melted, 4 km of the canyon are walkable. Exploring the full length requires professional equipment and knowledge of advanced canyoning.
8 km south of Fethiye
Kayaköy, known in Greek as Livissi, is a ghost town: hundreds of Greek-style houses and churches, most of them still standing, cover a small mountainside. Much of what remains was built in the 18th century, and Greek and Ottoman sources put the population at over 6,000. Its Greek Orthodox residents were driven out in the years of the First World War and the Greco-Turkish War that followed, which ended in 1922. Today the village serves as a museum and historical monument, and its two Greek Orthodox churches remain the most important sites.
Marmaris, west of the airport
Marmaris Castle was rebuilt from scratch in 1522, when Suleiman the Magnificent used Marmaris as a base for the Ottoman navy in his campaign against Rhodes. It survived the 1957 earthquakes that almost completely destroyed the town, and locals still lived inside its walls until 1979. Restored since then, it opened as a museum in 1991, with seven galleries and a courtyard full of seasonal flowers. The town around it is a centre for sailing and diving, and ferries cross from Marmaris to Rhodes and Symi in Greece.
Prices start from the lowest published fare for this airport and depend on the destination and vehicle class. Cancel up to 24 hours before pickup for a 90% refund.
Photo credits Dan Taylor (CC BY 2.0) · Tolga Kanik (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rrburke (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mutlu88 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Nikodem Nijaki (CC BY-SA 3.0) · George Chernilevsky (CC BY 4.0)
