Dalyan

Laid-back little Dalyan may be prime package-tour fodder, but away from the main street, lined cheek-to-jowl with restaurants and bars, it retains much of its original sleepy riverside character. Once a small farming community, today the atmospheric ruins of Kaunos and the hinterland of fertile, beautiful waterways bring an armada of excursion boats from Marmaris and Fethiye during summer.

As well as the ruins on its doorstep, Dalyan is an excellent base for exploring Köyceğiz Gölü (Lake Köyceğiz) and the turtle rehabilitation centre at nearby İztuzu Beach. Once you're done lapping up the sun on a boat trip or traversing ancient city ruins, pull up a pew riverside to admire Dalyan's most famous feature: the mighty Kings' Tombs of ancient Kaunos. Hewn into the cliffs, they take on a golden glow as the sun sets.