5 Days Koycegiz City & Cooking Tour: Lake Koycegiz, Village Cooking Class and Hamam (Private Tour)

Highlights of the Koycegiz City, Cooking and Hamam Tour

For travellers who want a restful base on Turkey's southwest coast with a little culture each day, this five-day, four-night stay in Koycegiz is an easy choice. The small town lies on the northern shore of Lake Koycegiz in Mugla Province, close to Dalaman Airport, and its relaxed pace makes it a pleasant alternative to the busier resorts nearby. Three themed days, nature, food and wellbeing, are arranged between your arrival and departure transfers.

The nature day is a guided introduction to the lake. Formed when an ancient bay was cut off from the sea by river sediment, it is fed by a network of streams and springs including the Namnam, the Kargicak and the Yuvarlakcay, the last of which supports one of the largest trout farms in the country. Your guide explains the reed-fringed deltas that these waters created, the mildly sulphurous character of the lake and the Dalyan Strait, the winding natural outlet, about ten kilometres long, that links it to the Mediterranean. Hot springs along the shoreline, long used for health and bathing, add a further chapter.

On the food day you cook with a local host at a restaurant in a Koycegiz village, learning traditional Turkish recipes and enjoying them as lunch, then spend free time shopping in town. The wellbeing day takes you to a hamam for a classic Turkish bath, followed by more time to browse the centre or simply relax. Four nights of hotel accommodation, four breakfasts, one lunch, Dalaman Airport transfers, an English-speaking guide, air-conditioned transport and the listed entrance fees are included in the price.