Daily Dalyan City Tour from Dalyan – Kaunos Tombs & Iztuzu Beach (Private)

Daily Dalyan Tour by Boat – Kaunos Rock Tombs, Iztuzu Beach and Koycegiz Lake

This daily Dalyan tour from Dalyan brings together the river town's most celebrated sights in one relaxed, fully guided day. Travelling by boat along the reed-lined delta, you see royal tombs cut into the cliffs, walk through an ancient harbour city, stretch out on a protected turtle-nesting beach and finish beside a large lake shaped by earthquakes thousands of years ago.

• Kaunos Rock Tombs – temple-fronted graves carved high into cliffs that rise at angles of up to 80 degrees
• Ancient city of Kaunos – a former coastal settlement on the old border between Caria and Lycia
• Iztuzu Beach – a long sandy spit where loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to nest
• Koycegiz Lake – about one hour of free time on the shores of a deep, fish-rich lake
• Lunch, an English-speaking guide and entrance fees for the listed sites

The rock tombs are the emblem of Dalyan. Carved for kings and noble families, their facades imitate small temples and were cut directly into steep rock faces – archaeologists read them as proof of how wealthy and powerful Kaunos once was. According to legend the city was founded by Kaunos, a twin son of Miletos, and in the archaic period it lay directly on the coast and served as a busy harbour.

Iztuzu Beach is open to swimmers by day, but it closes at night so that Caretta Caretta turtles, one of the oldest surviving species on Earth, can lay their eggs undisturbed; nesting takes place between May and September, so sightings are most likely in those months. Koycegiz Lake formed roughly 7,500 years ago after strong earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean. Rivers, mountain streams, warm sulphurous springs and sea water pushed in by the tide all mix here, and its depth ranges from 20 to 60 metres. This daily excursion is an easy-paced Dalyan day trip suitable for all ages, with hotel pickup and return in Dalyan included – a gentle day tour that shows why the delta is so loved.