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The town of Dalaman (pop.
20,000) on Turkey's Mediterranean
coast between Marmaris and Fethiye (map),
exists for farming and for Dalaman
International Airport (DLM).
The airport, 5.5 km (3 miles) south
of the town center, receives domestic
flights from Istanbul daily,
and nonstop flights from Europe (charter
and scheduled) several times weekly.
The International
Terminal is
sleek and modern:
Unfortunately, Dalaman can be an expensive
airport to use. Although
your airfare may be a bargain, nothing
else about the airport is. For the
short 6-km taxi ride from Dalaman
Airport to the town center and bus
station, Dalaman
taxi drivers charge
about the same as the 22-km taxi
ride from Istanbul's Atatürk
Airport to the city center, making Dalaman
nearly four times more expensive
than Istanbul! More...
Also, prices
for airport food and drink are quite
high:
TL8
for a small tea, TL10
for coffee,
TL14
for an Efes
beer.
Yikes! You
may want to bring your own provisions.
My quick informal survey of airport
food prices showed that prices at
Turkish airports may be 40% higher
than at expensive Frankfurt Airport,
and twice as high as
pricey Paris-Charles
de Gaulle Airport!
To fly to Dalaman from a Turkish city
other than Istanbul, you will probably
have to connect through Istanbul.
From the airport's Domestic
Terminal, Havaş airport
buses run in conjunction
with all Turkish
Airlines, Onur
Air,
Atlasjet and
other flights, to and from Marmaris and Fethiye,
which means there are about four
daily buses to and from the airport
from each town. (Coming from the
International
Terminal, turn left and walk 200
meters to
the Domestic Terminal to
catch the
Havaş
bus.)
Buses leave Marmaris's Turkish
Airlines office about 2.5 hours
before each flight time,
and return from Dalaman Airport
after the arrival of each flight.
The schedule is similar from Fethiye.
More...
You can also take a Dalaman
Airport Taxi to Dalaman's Otogar (bus terminal), and from there an
intercity
bus. This
only works if you arrive at Dalaman
airport in the
morning or early afternoon, though. More...
Otherwise, private services transfer
passengers to Dalyan, Fethiye, Kalkan, Kas, Köyceğiz, Marmaris, Muğla and
other western Mediterranean resorts
and towns. Transfer services may cost
TL100
to TL200,
plus 15% tax, per
car (one or two persons) depending
upon your destination. More...
There is no train service anywhere
near Dalaman (map).
The nearest railway station is at Denizli (near Pamukkale).
Take the cost of ground
transportation into account if
you plan to fly into or out of Dalaman.
You may end up deciding to use another
airport (such as Bodrum or Antalya),
or to rent
a car (you can check
car rental rates here.)
If you have hotel reservations in
any of these towns, you might ask them
for tips on transferring from
the airport to the hotel.
The Dalaman
Airport Website is
a circus of dancing graphic baloney,
of course, but it does have some
useful features, such as flight
arrivals and departures, a weather
report, and info on passenger
services.
More...
Maps
of Mediterranean Turkey
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