How To Get From Fethiye To Dalyan By Bus

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For lots of visitors to the Fethiye area, Dalyan has always been that place where you go on an organised day trip from Fethiye. A transfer from Fethiye to Dalyan, before getting in a boat and sailing along the river to look at the Lycian ruins and going on to the sulphur mud baths before caking yourself in smelly dark stuff and then taking lots of photos.

All very well, if that’s your wont – and the organised Fethiye day trips with companies do tend to be very reasonably priced, especially if you’re a family.

But what about those of us who just want to go it alone and take in Dalyan in our own time? Well, driving there is easy enough – we’ve done that many times – and, of course, jumping on the bus is also easy.

Lots of you asked us how to get from Fethiye to Dalyan by bus, so let’s get that one sorted…

How To Get From Fethiye To Dalyan By Bus

The main thing to point out here is, as with most independent travel in Turkey – however far your road may be taking you – it’s very easy!

We’ve written about our love of Fethiye otogar in the past. It’s your opening to travelling the rest of Turkey, buses labelled with all sorts of oh-so-tempting destinations, near and far…and, of course, the otogar is also that welcome sight when you are returning to Fethiye from elsewhere. We love coming home to Fethiye, as well as going away.

Muğla Büyükşehir Belediyesi

These days, the whole of the Muğla province is covered by a network of white minibuses known as the dolmuş. They are all operated by the main administrative council that presides over the whole of the province, Muğla Büyükşehir Belediyesi (Müğla City Council). You will see the minibuses in all otogars (bus stations) around the province and they are all clearly marked with this council name.

Now all you need to do is look at the destination in the window. To get from Fethiye to Dalyan by bus, you need to change at Ortaca bus station; a small town just outside Dalyan. In Fethiye, your minibus might have Muğla or Marmaris as the destination in the window. When you get to Fethiye otogar, just tell the drivers milling around the buses that you are going to Ortaca and they’ll point out your bus.

All these minibuses heading west make a stop at Ortaca so don’t panic. You’ll get there.  They are also numerous. This is very handy as you can’t book seats ahead of your journey. It’s a case of turning up and grabbing a seat.

Fethiye to Ortaca – How long does it take?

This first stretch of the Fethiye to Dalyan journey takes around 50-60 minutes depending on stops. Ortaca otogar is clearly signposted and marked so you shouldn’t miss it.

Ortaca to Dalyan – How long does it take?

Ortaca otogar is pretty small. When you get off the bus, you’ll see the neat rows of white minibuses waiting to take you to other places around the area. The Dalyan dolmuş waits at platform 1 and they are every few minutes so you shouldn’t have a long wait.

Journey time: Around 20 minutes

The Dalyan dolmuş drops you off in the centre. From there, if you are doing a day trip from Fethiye to Dalyan, it is easy to explore from here. If, like we did, you are staying overnight, Dalyan hotels are easy to find as the area is very compact, flat and easy to walk around. You’ll find your digs soon enough!

Fethiye to Dalyan By Bus – Summary

• Total journey time: 70-90 minutes (depending on stops and how quickly you get a dolmuş from Ortaca to Dalyan).
• Dolmuş prices are reasonable and you can make the Fethiye to Dalyan journey cheaper by purchasing a pre-paid Muğla Kentkart. These are available at the otogar and you can top them up there, too.
• Fethiye to Ortaca buses are at intervals throughout the day. Usually every 15 minutes, but, at some times, there will be a 30 minute gap. The first bus leaves at 6am. Last bus is 23:15.
• Ortaca to Dalyan buses are every 15 minutes until 21:00 (the first bus is 06:30). After 21:00, they are every 30 minutes until midnight.
• Schedules change for winter and summer seasons so, especially in low season and winter months, double check with your driver about the time of the last dolmuş.
• All buses are air-conditioned.
• You can’t pre-book seats on these buses so arrive in good time if you want to make sure you get a seat.

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