Bodrum and the Gulf of Gökova by yacht
Bodrum's castle town and nightlife, then the green, often empty bays of the Gulf of Gökova. June and September are calmer than high summer, with warm water. It suits friends and celebrations most.
Bodrum is the liveliest town on Turkey's south-west coast: a castle, a harbour, and restaurants and beach clubs along the bay. East of the Bodrum peninsula, the Gulf of Gökova runs inland for a long way. Its bays are green and often empty. Greece's Kos lies just off Bodrum, and Knidos sits at the tip of the Datça peninsula to the south.
Why go, and whom it suits
Friends and celebrations
Bodrum gives the group its nights out, and the gulf gives quiet days afterwards. It is a good fit for a birthday or an anniversary with a crowd.
Couples
The gulf's inner bays are the quieter half of the week: forest down to the water, a jetty restaurant, and few other boats once the day trips have left.
Families
The gulf is sheltered and the legs are short. Bodrum's castle and museum give a day ashore with something to see. For the flattest water on the coast, look at Göcek and Fethiye, further east.
What's there
Bodrum
The Castle of St Peter, with the Museum of Underwater Archaeology inside it, the harbour, and the bays of the peninsula: Türkbükü, Gündoğan and Yalıkavak, with its marina.
Kos (Greece)
Just across the water. Close enough for a day, but it needs exit and entry formalities: Bodrum is one of Turkey's frontier ports, where the yacht clears out and back in.
Knidos
The ruins of an ancient city at the tip of the Datça peninsula, with an anchorage below them.
The Gulf of Gökova
Çökertme, the Seven Islands (Yedi Adalar), English Harbour and the bays near Sedir island, the Cleopatra Island of the brochures, a protected archaeological site where taking the sand of its Cleopatra Beach is forbidden, and Akyaka at the gulf's head.
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When to go
May to October. July and August are hot, and Bodrum is busy. Summer afternoons usually bring a breeze, and the captain chooses the bays to suit it. In June and September the water is warm and the town is calmer.
What it costs
The fee is each yacht's own weekly rate, shown "from" on her page. A foreign-flagged yacht may take charter guests in Turkish waters only as a commercial yacht licensed by Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The yachts we show in Turkey hold that licence. A Turkish-flagged yacht charges 20% VAT; for a foreign-flagged one, any tax or permit cost is in the quote. The APA is paid on top for fuel, food, drinks and berths; budget up to 40% of the charter fee for it, and whatever is not spent is returned to you. Marina berths in Bodrum and Yalıkavak are paid from the APA; most nights in the gulf are at anchor or on a restaurant's jetty. Our guide sets out what a crewed charter costs, line by line.
The weekly rate on each yacht’s page. "From" is her lowest season.
An advance for fuel, food, drinks and berths, spent on your instructions and settled at the end.
Set by the country the charter starts in, added to the fee.
A sample week
Bodrum and the gulf. A round week: two nights near Bodrum, and the rest at anchor or on a bay restaurant's jetty.
- Day 1: Bodrum. Board in the afternoon. The castle at sunset, then dinner in town.
- Day 2: Round the peninsula. Swim in the peninsula's bays on the way round towards the gulf.
- Day 3: Knidos. A crossing to the tip of the Datça peninsula. The ruins at the end of the day, and the night below them.
- Day 4: The Seven Islands. Into the gulf: one of its quietest anchorages, with forest on every side.
- Day 5: English Harbour and the Sedir bays. A sheltered inlet in the morning, then the bays near Sedir.
- Day 6: Çökertme. A small village bay with jetty restaurants. A long evening ashore.
- Day 7: Bodrum. Disembark in the morning.
With a little more time, and the formalities done, a day can be spent on Kos instead. The yacht, the weather and the group decide the real route.
The yachts
Most of the yachts we show in Turkey are motor yachts, many of them over 40 metres. Every one of them also cruises Greece. Soreto also arranges gulets, the wooden motor-sailers of this coast: tell us if a gulet is what you have in mind. The yachts on this site are a selection, not the limit of what we arrange: ask about any yacht, of any size.
Practical questions
Rene GaspersicYour broker
Which airport do we use?
Milas-Bodrum (BJV), north-east of the town on the D330 road.
Can we go to Kos for the day?
Usually, yes. But leaving Turkey and entering Greece means passport and customs formalities at a port of entry (Bodrum is one), and again on the way back. Allow time for it.
Can we start in Kos and end in Bodrum?
On some yachts, yes. A one-way week can carry a delivery fee (fuel, crew, berths), stated before you sign; ask us about the particular yacht and the formalities.
Is Sedir island open for swimming?
Sedir is a protected archaeological and natural site, open to visitors with a ticket, and taking its sand is forbidden. Other rules on the beach have changed over the years, and the captain will know what is allowed on the day.
Is it windy?
Around Bodrum and at the gulf's mouth, the afternoon breeze can be fresh in summer. Inside the gulf it is usually calmer.
Is Bodrum good for a celebration?
Yes. Its restaurants and beach clubs are the liveliest on this coast, and the crew can book ahead.
Do you arrange gulets here?
Yes. Bodrum is one of the traditional homes of the gulet. Tell us what you have in mind and we propose the ones that fit.
Is tax included in the "from" price?
No. Tax, if any, and the APA are added to the fee; each yacht's quote shows both.
Talk to a broker
Tell us roughly when, how many of you there are, and what the week is for: a family summer, a honeymoon, a birthday with friends. Dates and budget can stay loose. We come back with a short list of yachts that fit, say plainly what each one is like, and stay your contact from the first email to the last day on board.
Rene Gaspersic
charter broker
Email info@soretoyachting.com · Phone +44 7342 933198 · WhatsApp +44 7342 933198
Plan
Bodrum and the Gulf of Gökova.
Two short steps. Dates and budget can stay loose. We reply personally, by email, phone or WhatsApp.