Dalaman

Dalaman is a resort town in Lycia on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The town and surrounding district had a population of 43,036 in 2020.

In tourist literature, "Dalaman" can refer to any of the resorts served by Dalaman airport, the largest being Dalyan and Marmaris west, and Fethiye east, described on their own pages. Dalaman town itself is a workaday nondescript place, but there's a beach and cluster of hotels at Sarıgerme 10 km south.

Understand
This area is rugged, but the small Dalaman river has carved out a fertile plain, so around town is agricultural - one notable landowner was Abbas II the last Ottoman ruler of Egypt and Sudan. Dalaman town was (and remains) an insignificant market centre, until western tourism to Turkey got going from the 1970s. The flat plain was an obvious site for an airport, so this was built just south of town to open in 1981. It's been upgraded since, with the second terminal opening in 2018, and has boosted tourism along a 200 km stretch of coastline that had previously involved a long coach transfer from airports such Izmir or Antalya. (Milas-Bodrum airport gave a similar boost to resorts further north.) Dalaman's own resort strip of Sarıgerme is small, so most tourists who book holidays marketed as "Dalaman" will be whisked away by their package coaches and never set foot here.

By plane
To town: Muttaş Bus 8-11 runs from the airport to Dalaman town centre and the edge-of-town bus station. It's every 90 min or so, timed to connect with the Istanbul flights. Muttaş buses also run direct from the airport to Marmaris and Fethiye. Havaş buses from the airport to Marmaris also stop at the bus station and Ortaca, but they charge you the full fare to Marmaris.

By bus
Buses from Istanbul take 13 hours via Gebze, Bursa, Balıkesir, Akhisar, Manisa, Izmir, Aydin, Muğla, Köyceğiz and Ortaca. In 2023 the single adult fare is 1000 TL. There are about 12 per day, and many of them continue east to Göcek and Fethiye. Buses from Ankara take 10 hours and from Izmir 4 hours 30 min. Intercity bus lines include Metro Turizm, Pamukkale and Flixbus.

Muttaş is the local bus line run by Muğla city. Muttas Bus 48-13 runs from Marmaris every 30 min. Bus 48-2 runs from Fethiye via Göcek every 15 min.

the bus station is on D555 five km north of town - see below for the local buses, but you probably need a taxi or dolmuş to get where you want to be. The station is reasonably clean with helpful staff.

By road
From Istanbul follow O-7 and O-5 (toll) to Izmir, then D550 through Muğla and Akyaka, onto the coast highway D400. This nowadays bypasses Dalaman, loop south on D555 to reach town, the airport and resort strip. D400 wends and winds onwards east through Göcek and Fethiye (for Ölüdeniz) - as one of the historic primary routes of Turkey it continues all the way past Adana to the borders with Syria and Iran.

Get around
Muttas Bus 8-12 runs hourly between Dalaman town centre and Sarıgerme.

Bus 8-5 runs every 15 min from Dalaman Hospital and downtown to the bus station and Ortaca village.

Buses also run to Gürleyik, Köyceğiz, Menteşe and Sarsala beach.

See

 * Dalaman town is modern. The central mosque (Merkez Cami) is in traditional style but only built in 1991, and Düç Mosque west end of main street is similar.
 * is really the State Farm offices, Tarım İşletmesi Müdürlüğü, but a modern myth tells that it's a station built by mistake, hundreds of km away from any railway. Abbās Ḥilmī Pāshā (1874-1944) was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan (the hereditary Ottoman viceroy) and owned vast tracts of farmland around Dalaman. In 1905 he supposedly commissioned a hunting lodge here plus a railway station in Alexandria, and the plans and materials got swopped. Some versions of the legend add a stretch of railway track leading nowhere. The building is a fine late Ottoman mansion that doesn't remotely resemble a railway station (look at that tiny main door, and where's the clocktower?) and Alexandria already had two sturdy stations by that date. Abbās was a better farmer than a statesman, establishing model farms in Egypt; he probably intended the same here and that is what the building has become. But he antagonised the British, who side-lined him and then deposed him in 1914 when the Ottomans allied with Germany in the First World War.
 * village lies below the hilltop ancient city of Kalynda. The ruins are scrappy and you'll probably need a local guide to find them.
 * is a tranquil lagoon and nature reserve south of Sarsala beach. There's no road access, but it's a popular spot for boat trips. The sand is composed of ooids: spherical limestone crystals, like miniature pearls, that grow by accretion. The ruined hamam is also known as Cleopatra's Bath, because of a legend that Mark Antony constructed it and the beach for her - similar ooids are found in Egypt. It's equally likely that he was really trying to build a railway station.
 * Twelve Islands are the archipelago beyond the bay in the Gulf of Göcek, reached by boat trip from Sarıgerme beach or Göcek.

Do

 * Sarıgerme beach is sandy, with water sports shacks.
 * Scuba diving here is mellow and suitable for beginners. Sarigerme Diving offer courses.

Buy

 * Lots of small stores, A101 is the main chain.

Eat

 * The hotels are the best bet and may serve non-residents.
 * Dalaman town has a cluster of little eateries, no stand-out.

Drink

 * As with eating, hotels are the best bet. Several cafes in Dalaman town serve alcohol.

Connect
Dalaman and its approach roads have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of June 2023, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

 * Dalyan the next resort west has the extensive ruins of Kaunos.
 * Göcek the next resort east has easier access to the islands in the gulf.
 * Fethiye is the large resort further east.