Bodrum gulet itineraries
Bodrum, the busiest of Turkey’s holiday ports, is especially well located for a variety of one- or two-week gulet itineraries. From Bodrum you can profitably steer in almost any direction.
Popular destinations include the adjacent Gulf of Gököva, with tucked-away wooded retreats at places like English Harbour and Seven Islands. This 40-mile gulf, often inaccessible from the land, remains almost deserted along the Datça Peninsula’s north shore and is perfect for a week’s cruise, with generally great swimming, and spectacular classical ruins at Knidos.
Knydos could also be your first overnight stop on a southerly itinerary taking in the south shore of the Datça Peninsula and also the Loryma Peninsula. Moorings here include Palamutbükü, the lovely and deserted bay at Dirsek Bükü, the raffish little marina town of Bozburun, and the twin bays at low-key and lovely Söğüt. You might reach the remote coastal fortress at Loryma, but you’d be pushing it to get any further in a week unless you’re arranging a different disembarkation point, which is likely to cost extra.
You could also head northwest out of Bodrum, taking in peninsula ports like Gumuşluk, Yalıkavak and Türkbükü though I’ll admit these hyper-trendy spots are less to my taste.
It’s also possible to use Bodrum as a base for cruising the nearest Greek islands like Kos, Symi and Rhodes, though there are hefty extra costs and administrative delays as matters stand. The other major consideration is that almost all overnights on the Greek sections will be in harbour as the shores of these Greek islands do not offer Turkey’s range of safe natural anchorages.