Turkey · Carian Coast
Yacht Charter Marmaris
One of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, with two empty gulfs on either side of it.
Marmaris sits at the head of an inlet so enclosed that Süleyman the Magnificent gathered a fleet of four hundred ships here in 1522 before taking Rhodes, and the shelter has not changed since. The town itself is a large resort and makes no secret of it. What matters from a boat is what lies either side: the Gulf of Gökova to the north and the Gulf of Hisarönü to the south, both pine-covered, deeply indented and almost empty.
The Gulf of Gökova
North of the peninsula, Gökova runs eighty kilometres inland between mountains that come down to the water in pine forest. There is almost nothing built on the southern shore, and the anchorages — English Harbour, Longoz, Değirmen Bükü — are reached only by sea.
English Harbour is called that because a Royal Navy flotilla hid in it during the Second World War: it is a bay inside a bay, invisible from outside, and the trick still works. Sedir island, further in, has a beach of coarse pale grains that are not sand at all but ooids, and walking on them with shoes is forbidden — the story that Antony shipped them from Egypt for Cleopatra is charming and geologically wrong.
The Gulf of Hisarönü, and Bozburun
South of the town the Hisarönü gulf runs west towards Datça, and it is the quieter of the two. Selimiye is a village of one street on a bay ringed by mountains, and it has become the evening most crews plan the week around without meaning to.
Bozburun, further out, is where gulets are still built: the yards are on the waterfront and the frames are laid out in the open. It is a working village rather than a resort, and the difference is obvious within a minute of stepping ashore.
The town, and what it is for
Marmaris is a port of entry, which is the practical reason boats come here: it is where the paperwork is done coming from or going to Rhodes, two hours west across the water.
The castle above the old quarter is Süleyman's, rebuilt on older foundations, and the lanes below it are the one part of town that predates the hotels. Beyond that, the town is a place to provision and clear in rather than to spend the week — and the two gulfs are the reason nobody minds.
Practical notes
- A port of entry: the formalities for Rhodes, two hours west, are done here
- The Gulf of Gökova runs north-east and is almost entirely undeveloped on its southern shore
- The Gulf of Hisarönü runs west towards Datça and is the quieter of the two, with Selimiye and Bozburun on it
- English Harbour is a bay inside a bay, invisible from outside, and was used as cover by the Royal Navy
- Dalaman airport is ninety minutes east; Bodrum is three hours north by sea
Reached from: Göcek, Bodrum and Rhodes
Where to dine
A table by the water
Ney
MarmarisIn the lanes below the castle, in the one part of town older than the hotels, and small enough to need booking.
Osman'ın Yeri
SelimiyeOn the water in the one-street village, where the fish is whatever the boat brought in that afternoon.
Sabrina's Haus
BozburunReached by tender in the gulet-building village, with a garden that grows most of what arrives at the table.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
The Gulf of Gökova
Eighty kilometres of pine forest running inland, with almost nothing built on the southern shore.
English Harbour
A bay inside a bay, invisible from outside, where a Royal Navy flotilla sheltered during the Second World War.
Sedir island
A beach of ooids rather than sand — spheres formed in the water — where shoes are forbidden on the stones.
Selimiye and Bozburun
A one-street village on a mountain-ringed bay, and beyond it the yards where gulets are still built in the open.
The fleet
Yachts available for Marmaris
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Marmaris
- Is Marmaris worth a week?
- The town, no. The water either side of it, very much: Gökova to the north is eighty kilometres of pine forest with almost nothing built on the southern shore, and Hisarönü to the south has Selimiye and Bozburun. Most weeks provision in Marmaris and leave the same day.
- What is the sand on Sedir island?
- Not sand. They are ooids — small spheres formed in the water rather than ground down from rock — and they occur in only a handful of places. Walking on them in shoes is prohibited and the beach is roped accordingly. The story that Antony shipped them from Egypt for Cleopatra is repeated everywhere and is not true.
- Can we sail to Rhodes from here?
- Two hours west, and Marmaris is a port of entry so the clearance is done properly rather than improvised. The crew handle it. Symi is a little further and is the more rewarding first Greek stop.
- What does a yacht charter from Marmaris cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season and the crew, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks. Send us your dates and party size.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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Enquire about a charter at Marmaris
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.