For most families a gulet is the easier choice. It is bigger, it comes with a crew, and nobody in the party has to skipper. A sailing yacht is the better pick only if the adults want to sail the boat themselves.
How much bigger is a gulet?
Much bigger. The median Turkish gulet is 30 m long with 6 cabins and room for 12 guests. Across the whole fleet, Yacht Cloud's 88 catamarans have a median length of 17 m, 4 cabins and 8 guests. Catamarans are the nearest listed type to a sailing yacht, and none of them are in Turkey, so treat the comparison as a size guide, not a like-for-like test.
Typical listing | Turkish gulet | Catamaran, whole fleet |
|---|---|---|
Length | 30 m | 17 m |
Cabins | 6 | 4 |
Guests | 12 | 8 |
Cabins are mostly twins and doubles. In 160 of the 195 gulets the guest count is exactly twice the cabin count. A family of five with three children needs three cabins, so check how each cabin is bedded before you check the headline guest number. Double Eagle, for example, has a master suite, two VIP cabins and two twin cabins. Torini has a master, a double and a twin. North Wind lists king, queen and single beds.
What the extra space does for a family
A gulet's deck is where the day happens. Meals are served outdoors, children nap in the shade, and there is room to be in separate places without leaving the boat. On a smaller sailing boat everyone shares one cockpit and one saloon, and the deck is sloped when the boat heels.
The trade-off is that a gulet spends much of its time under engine. Typical cruising speed is 7 to 8 knots, and sailing is occasional. If your older children want to trim sails and steer, a sailing yacht gives them that. If they would rather swim, a gulet gives them more water toys. Samarkand, a 24 m gulet, lists kids' water skis, a banana boat, two kayaks, two paddleboards, two tubes, a wakeboard and a 4.2 m Zodiac tender.
Five gulets that show the range
These are real listings, checked on 27 October 2026. Rates are per week, from the cheapest listed date to the dearest, plus APA, and VAT may apply.
Yacht | Length | Cabins | Guests | Crew listed | Weekly rate | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 m | 4 | 8 | Not stated | €12,950 to €17,500 | Four en suite cabins, full air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a long list of water toys | |
30 m | 5 | 10 | Not stated | €21,000 to €32,200 | Refitted 2023, jet ski, paddleboard, large decks | |
38 m | 5 | 10 | Not stated | €35,000 to €52,500 | Onboard chef, refitted 2022, Seabobs and canoes | |
40 m | 8 | 18 | Not stated | €38,500 to €76,500 | Air conditioning, private showers, barbecue, windsurfer | |
47 m | 5 | 10 | 8 | €73,500 to €96,250 | Built 2023, professional chef, Wi-Fi, jet ski |
Divide the lowest rate by the number of guests and the gap narrows. Samarkand works out at about €1,600 per guest for a full boat, Queen of Salmakis at about €2,100. For a family with a fixed number of people, the cheapest boat is not always the cheapest per head, and a bigger boat sometimes costs less per head than a smaller one.
Gulet, motor sailer or motor yacht?
Yacht Cloud lists three types on this coast. Gulets are the classic wooden-style cruiser. Motor sailers sit nearby. Miss B is 30 m with 4 cabins, 8 guests and a crew of 4, at €25,200 to €33,950. Xenos II is 24 m with 4 cabins, 10 guests and a crew of 5, at €8,400. Motor yachts are built for speed and comfort, not sailing, and cover longer distances in a week. Open each listing to see the layout, because the type label alone does not tell you how the cabins are arranged.
Who runs the boat
This matters more with children than anything else on this page.
On a bareboat charter you handle sailing, navigation and cooking yourself. It suits an experienced crew of adults and leaves little attention for toddlers. With a skipper only, a professional handles the boat and you handle everything else, including meals. With a full crew, a captain and usually a cook and deckhands look after the boat and the table.
Turkish gulets are normally chartered with a crew, and the crew count is on the listing. Of the 195, 153 state it. The median is 4, the range is 2 to 8, and 42 listings leave it blank, so ask. Yacht Cloud arranges charters for every occasion, and the arrangement is agreed per yacht. If you want a skipper only or a different setup, say so in your enquiry.
One practical point. When the crew is busy sailing the boat, they have less time to host. If a relaxed lunch matters more to you than sail time, tell the captain at the start.
Questions to ask before you book a family week
Are there life jackets in children's sizes, and how many?
How are the cabins bedded, and can two cabins be next to each other?
Does the crew speak a language every adult in the party understands?
How do passengers get from the boat to shore, and who helps small children into the tender?
Which toys are included, and which cost extra?
Is there a minimum age for children under the charter terms?
What a family week costs
Across the 187 Turkish gulets with a published rate, a typical week is about €9,050 to €22,450. That is the middle half of the fleet, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. The cheapest is Blue Diamond at €4,200. For the median gulet, the dearest date costs about 1.5 times the cheapest, so the week you pick matters as much as the boat. Our gulet cost guide breaks the numbers down by country and size.
How to decide
Choose a sailing yacht if the adults want to sail, the party is small and you are happy running the boat. Choose a gulet if you want space, a cook, and a week where no parent is on watch. For a Turkish itinerary, that is the choice for most families.
When you are ready, send an enquiry with your dates, party size, children's ages and the service level you want. Yacht Cloud replies with a shortlist and indicative prices, and a firm proposal usually takes about 24 hours. You can also browse gulets for families or start an enquiry.
Frequently asked questions
Is a gulet safe for toddlers?
A gulet gives you more flat deck than a sailing boat, but safety depends on the individual yacht and crew. Ask what child-size equipment is on board, how stairs and open decks are handled, and how the crew supervises swimming. These are questions for the broker before you pay a deposit.
Which is faster, a gulet or a sailing yacht?
A sailing yacht is quicker under sail in good wind. A gulet cruises at about 7 to 8 knots under engine, which is why Turkish itineraries are built around short hops of two to four hours between bays.
Can we charter a catamaran in Turkey?
Not through Yacht Cloud at the moment. The 88 catamarans in the fleet are in other destinations, including Greece, the British Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. In Turkey the options are gulets, motor sailers and motor yachts.
