Turkish Riviera Yacht Charter
About Turkish Riviera
Bodrum is the modern name for Halicarnassus, the Carian capital where one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World once stood. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was built around 350 BC by Queen Artemisia for her husband Mausolus, and the monument was so famous that English took the word 'mausoleum' from it. A series of medieval earthquakes brought the structure down, and the Knights Hospitaller used the cut stone to build the castle that still sits over Bodrum's harbour today. The Turkish Riviera, also known as the Turquoise Coast, is the southwest corner of Turkey: around 1,000 kilometres of shoreline running from Antalya in the east to Bodrum in the west.
A Turkish charter is usually a gulet charter. The gulet is the traditional wooden two-masted yacht built in Bodrum, originally for sponge-diving and trade, and the modern leisure version was popularised by the writer Cevat Şakir, the so-called Fisherman of Halicarnassus, in the 1940s. Gulets are wide-decked and slow, made for shaded mezze lunches and afternoons at anchor in a quiet bay rather than for moving fast.
The Turkish Riviera has more sheltered bays than any other stretch of the eastern Mediterranean, which is why most of its charters combine swimming, archaeology and food in roughly equal measure. Most yachts anchor off Cleopatra's Beach at Sedir Island for the morning swim, and the route then runs through the sunken Lycian city of Kekova, where the ruins of an ancient town lie just below the water from a 2nd-century earthquake. From there, the gulet rounds the Ölüdeniz lagoon and works through Butterfly Valley, with the option to cross over to the Greek Dodecanese for a few days. Most Turkish charters pick up in Bodrum or Göcek, and the season runs April to November.
Highlights
Destination Info
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Where to sail
Bodrum and Halicarnassus
The usual western start. Bodrum is built on Halicarnassus, the Carian capital, and the Knights Hospitaller castle over the harbour was raised from the stone of the fallen Mausoleum. The town has the liveliest evening side of the coast, and the marina puts you a short walk from the castle and the old quarter. Just off it, Cleopatra's Beach on Sedir Island is where most yachts anchor for the morning swim.
Gocek and Fethiye
The heart of the cruising ground. Gocek is a small marina town ringed by a cluster of sheltered islands and bays, the most protected water on the coast and the reason many charters start here. Fethiye, further east, opens onto a wide bay with its own scatter of anchorages and Lycian rock tombs cut into the cliffs above the town.
Oludeniz and Butterfly Valley
South of Fethiye. The Oludeniz lagoon is the postcard of the coast, a sheltered pool of still blue water behind a sand spit, with the paragliders coming off the mountain above it. Butterfly Valley, a steep gorge reached only from the water, is a short hop on, one of the set anchorages of the run.
Kekova and the Lycian coast
The eastern end. Kekova is a sunken city: an earthquake in the second century AD dropped the ancient town of Simena below the surface, and the harbour walls, steps and foundations lie just under clear water as the yacht glides over them. The village of Kalekoy above it keeps a Lycian sarcophagus standing in the shallows and a crusader castle on the hill.
What it costs
- From
- From about EUR 15,000 per week for a crewed gulet
- Included
- The weekly fee covers the yacht and all its equipment, including the tenders and water toys, the full crew, and the yacht's insurance.
- Extras
- Your running costs are paid separately, through an advance provisioning allowance (APA): a sum of around 25 to 35 percent of the fee that you pay before the charter. The captain uses it to pay for fuel, berthing and harbour dues, provisioning, and the food and drink for your party, then gives you a full account at the end and refunds whatever is left. Turkish charter VAT where it applies and a customary crew gratuity are the other costs on top of the fee.
Prices rise with the size of the yacht and the time of year.
We explain the money side properly: What is included under MYBA terms, APA explained, VAT on yacht charters in 2026, and How much to tip the crew.
Before you go
When to go
The Turkish season is one of the longest in the Mediterranean, running from April to November. July and August are the warmest and busiest, with the bays full and Bodrum at its liveliest. May, June, September and October give you warm water and settled weather with far fewer boats, which is why they are the pick for most charterers. April and November are quieter still, cooler but with the anchorages almost to yourself.
Getting there
Most charters start in Bodrum or Gocek. Bodrum has its own international airport with wide summer flight choices; Gocek is served by Dalaman airport, around half an hour away. From either you can run the coast one way and be collected at the far end, or make a round trip. There is also the option to cross to the Greek Dodecanese, Kos, Symi and Rhodes, for a few days, which needs a little notice for the paperwork.
Choosing the yacht
The Turkish Riviera is gulet country. The traditional wooden gulet is wide, shaded and comfortable at anchor, made for long lunches and swimming rather than fast passages, and it remains the classic choice here. Crewed motor and sailing yachts run the same coast for groups who want more pace or a different style. The bays sit close together in sheltered water, so the hops are short whichever you choose. Tell us your group and your pace and we will match the yacht from the wider Turkish fleet.
Explore Turkish Riviera
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