Mugla province holds the entirety of Turkey's premier charter coastline — from the Bodrum peninsula at the Aegean mouth to Fethiye and Dalyan near the Lycian border. Three very different charter bases sit within its boundaries, each serving a different style of sailing holiday.
Bodrum is the histor...
Mugla province holds the entirety of Turkey's premier charter coastline — from the Bodrum peninsula at the Aegean mouth to Fethiye and Dalyan near the Lycian border. Three very different charter bases sit within its boundaries, each serving a different style of sailing holiday.
Bodrum is the historic center of Turkish yachting, its castle-crowned harbor (the Crusader-era Castle of St. Peter, now an underwater archaeology museum) one of the most recognizable waterfronts in the Mediterranean. The Bodrum peninsula's south shore shelters a string of bays — Turkbuku, Golturkbuku, Gumbet, Bitez, Gundogan — each a 3-8 nautical mile hop from the next. The north shore faces the open Aegean and catches the full force of summer Meltemi; experienced crews head north toward the Greek island of Kos (9 nautical miles from Bodrum town) or southeast into the Gulf of Gokova, where Sedir Island's Cleopatra Beach and the Seven Islands anchorage area have been drawing Blue Voyage crews since the 1940s. Milta Bodrum Marina and Palmarina Yalikavak are the main departure points, both modern and full-service.
Marmaris occupies a deep fjord-like bay surrounded by pine forests — the most sheltered natural harbor on the Turkish coast. Netsel Marina has 750 berths and can handle anything from a 30-foot bareboat to a 60-meter motor yacht. The town is lively, provisioning is excellent (the covered bazaar has fresh produce, spices, leather, and everything else), and the Greek islands of Rhodes and Symi are just across the border — Rhodes town is 23 nautical miles from Marmaris. The Gulf of Hisaronu between Bodrum and Marmaris is a concentrated cruising area with anchorages at Bozburun, Selimiye, Orhaniye (home to the "kiz kumu" underwater sandbar you can walk on), and Datca — each 5-10 nautical miles apart. Bozburun is also one of the last traditional gulet-building centers, and you can watch these magnificent wooden boats being constructed on the waterfront.
Gocek and Fethiye, at the southeastern end of Mugla, are the calmest sailing grounds on the Turkish coast. Gocek's bay is so well-protected by surrounding mountains that strong winds rarely penetrate. Six marinas serve the area — D-Marin Gocek, Club Marina, Marinturk, Skopea Marina, and two others — making this one of the highest concentrations of marina berths in Turkey. The "12 Islands" cruising area spreads across the bay between Gocek and Fethiye: Tersane Ada (Shipyard Island) with its ruined Byzantine dock, Yassica islands with their shallow turquoise lagoon, Kizil Ada glowing red at sunset, and Domuz Ada (Pig Island) with its underwater hot spring. Distances between these islands are 2-5 nautical miles, making this area perfect for leisurely morning swims and short afternoon sails.
Fethiye town adds a working Turkish market atmosphere to the sailing. The harbor is overlooked by Lycian rock tombs carved into the cliff face of Amintas, and the Tuesday market is one of the best provisioning opportunities on the coast. From Fethiye, Oludeniz's Blue Lagoon sits 8 nautical miles south — too shallow for keel boats but magnificent as a visual landmark from offshore, with paragliders launching from Babadag mountain 1.960 meters above. The Dalyan river delta, accessible by dinghy from the coast, leads to the ancient city of Kaunos and its Lycian tombs, plus the Iztuzu Beach turtle nesting site. Water temperature reaches 27-28°C in August across the Mugla coast, and the swimming season extends from May through October.
