Marmaris Mountains

Walking in Marmaris mountains. You can start your walk at the almost hidden entrance along Kenan Everan BL (the main Marmaris / Iclemer road. take the Iclemer Dolmus and ask to be dropped off at the National Forest). walk along past roads numbered 108 and 103 on the right as you go towards Iclemer. the entrance is just past the Dolmus parking area. take the middle track up the hill. it is a gravel road and sometimes steep. keep to the main track. after you come down the first hill you come to a cross roads with an official forest map on a large board.(difficult to read as it doesn't tell you where you are on the map?) This marks about half way on the walk. take the right track,(take the left and you may get lost). this goes up hill again and has a nice viewing point at the top. after this the track slopes down again back into Marmaris. the track ends at roads numbered 230 and 239 down to a main road. turn right onto the main road past the cemetery to get back into Marmaris. to get back to Kenan Everan Bl take a right along Ayhanlar Cd past the water park. allow at least 2 to 3 hours. The street map from the Tourist information office near the harbour (past the Attaturk statue) is useful as the start and end of the walk is marked but not the complete walk. Let some one know where you are going in case you get lost (and we did see a large snake). It is a pretty, scenic and very quiet walk. worth doing.

during the day very nice views form where ever you are the best veiws are late afternoon and just before it gets dark so take a good camera with to get some good pics while wondering about dont buy fruit from men in the street they try and steel your money if you are eldery

Well worth seeing, fantastic scenery. A visit to honey producer & tastings, local villages, mosque. Also visit to Turkish carpet factory and 2 beaches. Were shown various fruit production, avocado, figs, citrus, ground nuts etc. Lunch was included

Marmaris had some nice views and they do some good boat trips round the bays or the sea which are worthwhile doing. And there are some good water activities. Unfortunately the people are very pushy with you ! Always wanting money. Begging or selling they follow you and you can't walk down the street! And there are tip jars everywhere.. we stayed in a hotel which was not great, but preferable to finding somewhere to eat or drink. If you are going change some money to turkish lira, you can do it there but if you are spending money things are cheaper if you are paying with tl. Most places accept euro and gap.

We went up into the mountains by jeep few directions with no indication of Kilometres and just tracks to villages. But the back drop to the port is something we will never forget. Sunset over the sea and mountains was stunning and best viewed from a roof top Turkish restaurant or if brave whilst parasailing

This was a good trip we went by coach stopped at the mud baths for some to wallow in, then a boat trip down the Dalyan river, admire the remarkable rock cut tombs, then on to turtle beach, before going to a hotel for our trip to the airport. well worth the money.

There aren't many obvious options if you fancy a walk in the forest to escape the loveliness of Marmaris, but here are some directions if you nevertheless want to give it a go.

First of all, you need to get to Armutalan via the No. 2 dolmus (or a taxi). If it's the dolmus, get off once you reach a parade of the usual bars/shops on a straight road which is heading for the hills - look for New York Bar / J&J Steakhouse and get off there. Then head up the road between the Red Rose and Amadeus restaurants, past Club Alpina and then shortly afterwards past the Blue Park hotel. At a crossroads, carry straight on past 'Nature Homes' on your left. You'll see a board with maps of footpaths (see photos) which gives the impression there's a well-marked set of trails. There isn't.

Anyway, walk up 233 Sokak (street) to the right of the board, and you'll see a sign ("For walking"). Stay on the tarmac road which swings to the right. At a T-junction, turn left. At the next fork (where there's a wooden post which used to be a marker), take the right-hand track. At the next fork (where there's lots of rubbish and a view back down to the sea) go left. After that, it's up to you. You need some sort of GPS to stop yourself getting horribly lost - I followed what looked like it ought to be a track towards Iclemer, but it was almost vertical with lots of loose earth and I thought my lungs were going to burst. However, it did allow me to get to another track which led back down to Siteler (and the sea). If you've got GPS, you could just go exploring and if the worst comes to the worst, you can retrace your steps.

Is it worth it? Sort of. There's lots of rubbish (people seem to drive up these tracks for picnics or "courting" and then leave plastic bottles and all sorts of crap), but the views are good, and it's quiet up there.

'Viewranger' is a brilliant free app with maps/GPS which I used on my tablet; you need to download the savable map of the area before you set off (and do so in adequate detail).

take a trip up here you will not be dissapointed , the views are out of this world , i recommend this to everyone

Lovely footpaths through pine forests filled with wildlife. Basic maps at the start of the trails and I did get lost once but was able to correct myself. Superb views over the bay from the viewpoint above the town.

As an alternative to the many organised trips out of Marmaris and into the surrounding countryside, why not try a local bus ride? There are numerous local 'mini-bus' services to local towns and attractions. All are very reasonably priced (YTL20 to Bodrum, YTL10 to Datca single), buses are air conditioned, make frequent comfort stops and are quite used to dealing with non-Turkish speaking travellers. Indeed the Turkish respect of the traveller and their wishes, come to the fore with the natural hospitality on these services.

Tickets can be purchased from the various bus company offices in the town centre, in the same block as Tansas. A complimentary service is provided from here to the bus station (Otogar). A ticket purchased before boarding guarantees a seat.

Local rides include, but not limited to: Datca, Bodrum, Mugla, Dalaman, Fethiye and Oludeniz and Koycegiz. and many places en route.

One word of caution, these buses run to schedule. So when enjoying a comfort stop, make sure you check how long the stop lasts. All buses carry a driver and assistant. The latter checks seating and tickets, as well as serving simple drinks and snacks. and ensuring that his passengers needs are adhered to.

Quick snacks can also be purchased at all reasonably sized bus stations, as well as local delicacies and sourvenirs.