Settled a few miles in from the coast on the banks of a river, Dalyan is a very popular resort for Brits wanting a relaxing holiday in Turkey. I’d been there once before briefly on a works trip but had never stayed and had no plans to. Therefore the below run was very much “The Unexpected Run”. We had been staying at Club Tuana Fethiye but just as we were due to fly home, ATC issues in the UK saw our flight cancelled and we were put up at the beautiful Asur Hotel in Dalyan until a replacement flight could be found, and I wasn’t going to miss a chance for a run.
www.plotaroute.com/route/2381405
I have done a lot of Running in Turkey, often taking in promenades but Dalyan sits on a rabbit Warren of a grid system, perfect for finding routes (although a risk of getting lost!) and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to explore. I did a couple of runs during my time in Dalyan but this one is a slightly easier loop to follow and could be picked up from wherever you are staying in town.
My hotel was on a small set of roads just off of the main road from town to the car ferry crossing. First stop was on to this road and head towards the river. If you get to the river itself you have gone too far as for this route you need to have turned right about 50m before. Keep following this road as it takes a sharp right and continues. I had hoped that this road would take me along the river but instead you see the fronts of all the hotels and villas that have the river at their rear. If you do want to run the river you can a little further upstream from town but the path is uneven flagstones.
After a short while you will get to a small junction. You need to take the first road to your left, there is a small store on it. This road takes you into town past a couple of lovely little restaurants. As you hit the town centre, you could carry straight on but I took a quick left that takes you up to a decked area with some of the best views of the Lycian Rock Tombs in the whole of Dalyan. A lovely view to start the day. Then head back down the next road and turn left to rejoin the main strip through town.
You are now about 2km into your run and can follow the main street through town. At night this is pedestrianised but in the morning, before it gets too warm there are quite a few delivery trucks. As you follow the road round you will see the Mosque on your left and ahead of you, the Turtle Roundabout (because of the big Turtle statue). It is here that you can head to the river path and on a run later in the trip I did see several other Brits also out for an early run in that part of town.
I then took the main boulevard out of town. In much of the town there are either no footpath or often they are a bit overgrown so I tended to run in the road, you just need to be aware that Turkish drivers often have a tendency to follow their own rules. However, with this two lane boulevard I kept very much to the footpath. This stretch is just over 1km long and you will eventually find yourselves at a roundabout on the main road to Ortaca. At this stage you need to run about 200m along the main road. You are in a protected cycle lane but if this sounds too much, then turn right about 200m before you get to the roundabout and go across some residential streets.
This road goes down for a couple of hundred metres and as you hit a T junction, turn right. Another couple of hundred metres down the road you need to take a left again down 210Sk. This road works well as you then get a nice long stretch of almost 2km without changing roads (other than the smallest offset crossroads). You keep going right up until you hit the roundabout by the large Migros store.
Here it is a simple left hand turn and the road will take you all the way back to the river crossing that you started out on.
Dalyan is perfect for some holiday running and with the grid you can adjust easily. Hopefully though this is a good start for day one as you find your feet.
If you have done this route yourself, or have any questions, then please do leave a comment below!
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