Turkey Blue Cruise Itinerary

Seven Nights, Day by Day

Each day below names the overnight stop. On a crewed charter the captain adjusts the plan to the weather and to how busy the anchorages are, but this is the shape most one-way weeks follow.

• Day 1, Bodrum: board in the afternoon, settle in and meet the crew. Most boats spend the first night in Bodrum harbour or in a bay a short way along the coast, which leaves time for dinner ashore or a walk up to the Castle of St Peter, built by the Knights of St John and now home to a museum of underwater archaeology.
• Day 2, Bodrum to Knidos: about 20 miles south across the mouth of the Gulf of Gökova to the western tip of the Datça peninsula. Boats anchor in the ancient harbour, and the ruins of the Greek city of Knidos rise on the slopes behind it, with a theatre, temple terraces and the old harbour walls. Allow a couple of hours to walk the site.
• Day 3, Knidos to Datça: follow the peninsula's south coast east, with a swim and lunch stop in Palamutbükü, a long bay with restaurants along the beach, then moor in Datça harbour for the night. The stone houses of Eski Datça, the old village, are a short drive inland.
• Day 4, Datça to Bozburun: cross the mouth of the Gulf of Hisarönü to the Bozburun peninsula, about 15 to 20 miles. Bozburun has built gulets for generations and boatyards still work around the bay. Selimiye, a quieter village a few miles away on the same peninsula, is the usual alternative for the night.
• Day 5, Bozburun to Marmaris: one of the two longest days. Head south down the peninsula and round its tip, stopping for lunch at Bozukkale below the walls of ancient Loryma, then north-east up the coast to Marmaris. It is 15 miles in a straight line over the hills but 25 to 30 by sea. Marmaris is a large resort town and charter base with a marina, a castle above the old town and a bazaar, so it is the place to restock or eat ashore.
• Day 6, Marmaris to Ekincik: leave Marmaris bay and run east along the coast to Ekincik, about 15 to 20 miles. The yacht stays in the bay while small local boats take you up the reed-lined Dalyan river to the ruins of Kaunos and the tombs cut into the cliff above the river, with a stop at Iztuzu beach at the river mouth.
• Day 7, Ekincik to the Göcek islands: follow the coast south-east past the Dalyan delta and Dalaman, round into the Gulf of Fethiye and spend the afternoon among the Twelve Islands off Göcek. The hops between coves are short, so this is a day for swimming and the water toys. Most boats spend the last night at anchor with a line ashore to the pines.
• Day 8, Göcek islands to Fethiye: an early run of about 10 miles across the bay to Fethiye, where you leave the boat in the morning. If you are staying on, the Lycian rock tombs above the town and the lagoon at Ölüdeniz are both close by, and Dalaman is the nearest airport for flights home.

Other Ways to Sail It

The same coast works in other shapes. Which one suits you depends on where you want to fly in and out, and how much time you want to spend under way.

Any one-way week, including the main route on this page, can carry a repositioning fee to cover the boat's return to its base. If one applies, it is confirmed in your quote.

• Fethiye to Bodrum: the same route in reverse, flying into Dalaman and home from Milas-Bodrum. The summer breeze on this coast tends to come from the west or north-west and build through the afternoon, so heading west means more of it on the nose. Skippers handle that by making the longer passages in the morning.
• A Gulf of Gökova round trip from Bodrum: a week inside the gulf, with Orak Island, Çökertme, Sedir Island and its protected sand beach, English Harbour and the Seven Islands. Starting and finishing in the same port keeps flights simple and avoids the one-way question.
• A Göcek Twelve Islands week: a round trip from Göcek with very short hops between the islands and the bays of the Gulf of Fethiye, and the option of a night at Ekincik for the Dalyan river. With Dalaman airport close by, it suits a first charter or a family with young children.
• Fethiye to Kekova: east along the Lycian coast past Gemiler Island, Ölüdeniz and Butterfly Valley to Kalkan, Kaş and Kekova, where the ruins of an ancient town lie half under water along the island's shore, across from the castle at Kaleköy. Kekova is about 45 miles from Fethiye in a straight line, so this works best one way or with a few longer days.

Dalyan, Kaunos and the Protected Coast

The Dalyan river trip is the reason to stop at Ekincik. Yachts stay in the bay, and small local boats take you along the coast and up the river through the reed beds. The temple-fronted tombs cut into the cliff above the river belong to Kaunos, an ancient city on the border of Caria and Lycia, whose ruins, including a theatre, sit on the hill nearby.

Iztuzu, the long sand spit at the river mouth, is a nesting beach for loggerhead sea turtles. Access is managed to protect the nests, so keep to the marked areas and follow the rules posted on the beach and given by the boatmen.

Much of this coast lies inside protected areas, including the Dalyan delta and the bays around Göcek. In practice that means rules on where boats may anchor and what they may discharge, which your skipper will know. If you add the Gulf of Gökova, note that the sand on Sedir Island's beach is itself protected.

Which Yacht Suits the Blue Cruise

The gulet is the classic Blue Cruise boat: a broad-beamed wooden yacht, traditionally built in the yards around Bodrum and Bozburun, with shaded deck space for long lunches and cabins below. It carries masts and sails, though much of the time it runs under engine. Gulets usually come with their own crew, typically a captain, a cook and deckhands, who sail the boat and cook aboard.

It is not the only choice. Motor sailers, motor yachts and catamarans all sail this coast. A motor yacht makes short work of the longer legs and leaves more time at anchor, while a catamaran's wide, stable deck suits families. Charters cover every type and occasion, from a couple's week to a family holiday or a celebration with friends.

Gulet charter pages for Turkey, Bodrum, Marmaris, Göcek and Fethiye, the ports this route starts from, passes and ends at, are linked at the foot of this page.