Natural Beauty in a Classical Setting along the Turquoise Coast
Cruising along Turkey's Turquoise Coast between Bodrum and Kas, you will discover some of the most pristine and historical cruising waters in the world. You will quickly find that Turkish people are as friendly as those you will meet anywhere. Turkey's expansive sailing grounds offer Mediterranean sailing holidays like no other; a unique place to explore by sailboat that's quite apart from better-known locations further west.
From ancient forts to tranquil seaside villages, dense pine forests to arid rocky mountains and deserted bays, there’s breathtaking natural beauty and so much history of ages past that you can't help but reflect on how young we are! The Turquoise Coast is blessed by sunshine and good winds, providing great sailing on moderate seas. Discover towns untouched by tourism, and beautiful bays only accessible by boat, where mountain rivers run through the lush forests that fringe the shore.
Absolutely suberp! Thanks Robert for our best yacht ever! Omar who runs the show was excellent. We couldn't fault anything.
Anchorages were superb. Place is just so cheap with lira in free fall. Beer $2 a 500ml can. Everyday the wind comes up at 1pm and dies by 7pm so decent sailing a big cat at 10 knots .
Boat had everything you needed... icemaker fantastic! We didn't use air con as cool in evening and hot in day. Sea temp was 24 degrees so lovely swimming. Historic sites are a really neat addition. Some superb restaurants just built for yachts with fantastic food. Easy to get freshwater just about everywhere.
Turkiye is incredible sailing and anchorages so scenic. Fethiye really works well with supermarket 400m from boat plus free swimming pool and wifi.
Fantastic job Sue and Robert!
Lou, New Zealand
June 2023
Where to Sail on a Bareboat or Crewed Charter in Turkey
There are a number of charter bases along the Turkish coast, meaning a wide range of itinerary options. If your schedule allows, we can arrange for you a one-way downwind charter from Bodrum to Gocek near Fethiya and beyond to the Lycian Coast. This is the ultimate in Turkish coastal exploration, enabling you to visit a nice blend of wide-open natural spaces, historical sites, towns and villages with friendly people and great restaurants.
Alternatively, shorter charters can be conveniently based in any one of several main centers, depending on the section of coast you wish to cover.
The best way to illustrate the extent of the Turqoise Coast and the sailing possibilities that exist there is to break it into three sailing regions:
Gulf of Gokova & north: Sailing out of Bodrum or Turgutreis as far as Didim, and down to the northern coast of Datca Peninsula.
Bozburun & Datca: Easily accessible from Marmaris, your cruise can extend as far as the south side of Datca Peninsular, taking in Bozburun and Orhaniye.
Lycian Coast: Bases in Gocek and Fethiye open the Lycian Coast to exploration. A coarse towards Marmaris takes in the western sector of this historic area. Or sail eastwards to Kas and its offshore islands, places welcoming, exotic and beautiful.
Even further afield, there is plenty more coastline and offshore island territory to explore. Turkey is made for a customised itinerary, with all charter bases within short sailing distances of some of the most interesting coastal destinations in the Mediterranean. And if you wish to do some sailing in the Dodecanese islands of Greece at the same time, they are easy to get to from the Turkish coast. And the formalities required for a two-country itinerary are smoother when the trip is done from Turkey.
The above division of the Turkish coast and accompanying information is determined around Turkey's main charter bases. There are however a number of alternative start and finish points for your holiday, so don't hesitate to talk to us about your options.
Weather and Sailing Conditions in the Turkish Mediterranean
The Meltemi thermal wind can operated from May to October, peaking in July and August. During the summer the skies are clear and the weather warm. Winds build from gentle in the morning to cooling afternoon breezes that can become fresh, dropping to complete stillness at night. Winds are usually west to northwest between 10 -20 knots, an ideal wind strength for just leisurely sailing around the coast and calling at places that take your fancy along the way.
At the northern end of the charter region, the Gulf of Gulluk is open to the Aegean Sea and is more exposed to the Meltimi than are the cruising grounds further south and east. Overall, being further south than most Mediterranean sailing destinations, Turkey has a longer sailing season. Thus the opportunity to enjoy sailing there when the peak season crowds have gone; or before they arrive.
Our client reviews about charter sailing in Turkey
Rating: 5 / 5The boat was excellent. We were the 2nd charters so it was effectively new. The Jeauneau 41 is a great boat for3 couples in a family. Easy to handle, enough performance to get where you want to each day, good facilities, good size cockpit etc.
SK Yachting were excellent at checkin and checkout. Friendly service, helpful and knowledgable. The checkout process on our arrival back was a well oiled machine. We sailed to the West of the base in Marmaris and the coast and villages were not as good as a previous charter out of Gocek. Perhaps if we had gone east it would have been better.
Bruce, Australia, Jul 21st, 2023
The Best Turkish Charter Sailing Destinations
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