Türkiye · Aegean & Lycian coast
Yacht Charter Turkey
Crewed charter from Göcek — twelve sheltered bays, pine forest to the waterline, and Lycian cities under the sea.
The Turkish coast between Bodrum and Antalya is the least developed serious cruising ground left in the Mediterranean. Pine forest comes down to the waterline, the bays are deep and properly sheltered, and the archaeology is largely unfenced — you anchor above a Lycian city that subsided two thousand years ago and swim over its foundations before breakfast.
Göcek, and the twelve bays
Almost every Turkish week starts at Göcek, and the reason is the geography rather than the marina: twelve deep bays sit within a few hours of it, most of them wooded to the shoreline and all of them sheltered. It is possible to spend four days without a passage longer than ninety minutes, which is rare anywhere in the Mediterranean and unheard of in the Aegean.
East from there the coast becomes Lycian — Kaş, Kekova, Kalkan — and the water goes over drowned cities. Kekova is the one people remember: a shoreline of half-submerged stairways and foundations, protected, and best seen from a tender in the first hour of light.
North toward Bodrum the character changes. The peninsula is busier and more social, the meltemi builds through high summer, and the fish tavernas of Gümüşlük are worth the passage on their own. It is a different week, and worth saying so before you book one expecting the other.
How the yacht gets there
No yacht in this fleet is based in Turkey. What sails here is positioned — brought across from the eastern Mediterranean for your dates — and we would rather write that plainly than let a booking form imply a boat waiting in Göcek.
In practice it means two things. Turkish weeks are planned earlier than Italian ones, because positioning takes days and is scheduled rather than improvised. And the choice of yacht is narrower than on the Amalfi Coast, where a dozen boats sit within sight of one another.
What it does not mean is a compromise on the water. The Lycian coast is among the best cruising in the Mediterranean, and a positioned yacht is how nearly everyone charters here.
The wind decides the shape of the week
The meltemi is a northerly that builds through July and August, hardest in the north around Bodrum and the Aegean, and much gentler on the Lycian coast further east. That single fact is why the standard Turkish week runs east from Göcek rather than north.
It also makes June and September the best months here by a wider margin than in Italy: the same water, the same temperature, and a fraction of the wind. If your dates are flexible, this is the ground where flexibility pays most.
Practical notes
- Göcek is the usual embarkation point — twelve sheltered bays within a few hours of it
- No yacht is based in Turkey: what sails here is positioned from the eastern Mediterranean, so book earlier
- Dalaman airport is about half an hour from Göcek; Bodrum serves the northern coast
- Meltemi wind builds in high summer in the north and stays much gentler on the Lycian coast east of Göcek
- June and September give the same sea with a fraction of the wind and the traffic
Reached from: Göcek
Cruising grounds
The areas we know well enough to tell you which one suits your week — and which does not.
Where to dine
A table by the water
Orfoz
BodrumA small seafood kitchen on the rocks east of the castle, working entirely from the day's catch.
Maça Kızı
TürkbüküThe Bodrum peninsula's long-established hotel and waterfront restaurant. Tender access from the bay.
The fish tavernas of Gümüşlük
Bodrum peninsulaTables set on the sand above the sunken city of Myndos. Choose the fish, then wait.
Kalkan's rooftop restaurants
KalkanThe old town stacks up the hillside; nearly every roof is a terrace looking down at the harbour.
Gulet lunches, Göcek
GöcekMezze brought out to the anchorage by boat — the local way of eating, and the best of it.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Kekova and the sunken city
Simena's Lycian ruins slid into the sea after earthquakes — swim over walls and staircases in clear water.
The Twelve Islands, Göcek
A cluster of sheltered bays within a morning of each other. The reason the fleet is based here.
Butterfly Valley, Ölüdeniz
A steep canyon opening onto a beach, reachable only by sea.
Ephesus
One of the most complete classical cities anywhere — the Library of Celsus and a theatre seating 25,000.
Knidos
An ancient city on the tip of the Datça peninsula with two harbours; still best reached by yacht.
The fleet
Yachts available for Turkey
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Itineraries
Yacht charter itineraries in Turkey
What a week here actually looks like, day by day.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Turkey
- Where does a Turkish charter usually start?
- Göcek, almost always. Twelve deep, wooded bays sit within a few hours of it, and the Lycian coast runs east from there — so the week can be unhurried without a single long passage.
- Do you have yachts based in Turkey?
- No. Yachts are positioned here from the eastern Mediterranean for your dates. It is how nearly everyone charters this coast, but it means Turkish weeks want deciding earlier than Italian ones, and the choice of boat is narrower.
- Is the meltemi a problem?
- Not on the Lycian coast, which is where the standard week goes. It builds through July and August in the north around Bodrum and the Aegean; east of Göcek it is much gentler. June and September avoid it almost entirely.
- Can we combine Turkey with the Greek islands?
- Physically yes — Rhodes and Symi are close. It is a border crossing with paperwork on both sides, so it costs part of a day and needs arranging in advance rather than on the morning. Tell us early and we will build it in.
- What does a yacht charter in Turkey cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season, the crew and the positioning, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks. Send us your dates and party size.
Charter here
Enquire about a charter in Turkey
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the right yacht and a full quotation.