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Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Bodrum

Bodrum round-trip.

A week-long yacht charter from Bodrum around the Gulf of Gökova: thermal springs at Kara Ada, Çökertme's buoys, Cleopatra's beach and calm Mersincik.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Kara Ada
Day 1

Bodrum → Kara Ada

A gentle four-mile hop south to Black Island, where warm mineral springs bubble up beside a sand cove made for the first swim.

Distance

1 NM

Sailing

~0.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Bodrum

Sailing area

Bodrum

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Kara Ada
1
Day 1

Bodrum → Kara Ada

Kara Ada sits just four miles below Bodrum, which makes day one less a passage than a warm-up. We usually slip the marina lines mid-afternoon, once the boat is stowed and the paperwork is done, and let the crew find their sea legs on flat water. The island is volcanic, and its south end has shallow pools fed by warm mineral springs; locals have soaked here for generations, and the short dinghy trip ashore is worth it. Drop the hook in the cove on good holding sand, four to six metres, tucked in from the north. That matters in July and August, when the Meltemi funnels down from the north at fifteen to twenty-five knots and strengthens through the afternoon. There is no quay and no shop, so top up water and provisions before you leave.

Things to do

Bathe in the warm spring pools ashore

Snorkel the black volcanic ledges

Sundowners and meze in the cove

Scramble the goat tracks for the view

Mooring tip

Anchoring is free in the cove; the sand holds well at four to six metres and screens you from the northerly. Nothing ashore to tie to, so if you want power and water, Bodrum Marina is four miles back and runs €80–130 a night in peak season.

Çökertme
2
Day 2

Kara Ada → Çökertme

Turn east from Kara Ada and the character of the sailing changes. Once you round into the Gulf of Gökova the swell settles and the wind eases off the outer coast, so the fifteen miles to Çökertme tend to pass easily under a broad reach. The bay opens as a wide horseshoe with pine coming down to the shore, quiet enough that you hear the cicadas before you spot the moorings. A handful of family restaurants lay out buoys, and the deal is old and simple: take a buoy, have dinner under the vines, and you pay nothing for the night. That name belongs to an old boatmen's song still sung along this coast. If you would rather lie to your own anchor, the sand holds at five to seven metres with good shelter from the north. Grilled köfte and a cold Efes usually close the evening.

Things to do

Köfte grilled over olive wood ashore

Night swim in the still bay

Walk up through the pines above

Listen for the old Çökertme song

Mooring tip

Grab one of the restaurant buoys and your only bill is dinner. If they are full, or you prefer privacy, anchor mid-bay on sand at five to seven metres, well protected from the north. No need to book ahead outside the August peak.

Çökertme
3
Day 3

Çökertme → Cleopatra Island

Another fifteen miles carries you east to Sedir Adası, better known abroad as Cleopatra Island. The story goes that Mark Antony shipped the fine golden sand here from North Africa for the queen, and grain analysis does place its origin well south of the Aegean, so the legend has more legs than most. The catch: the beach is protected, and rangers allow swimming from the water but no footsteps on the sand itself. Come by tender and float, do not stroll. Above the shore lie the walls and small theatre of ancient Kedreai, an easy wander among pines and fallen columns. Snorkellers can trace the old harbour moles just under the surface. Anchor in the channel on the north side, sand at five to seven metres, sheltered from the prevailing northerly. Arrive by early afternoon; the day boats from Marmaris thin out later.

Things to do

Swim to the roped-off Cleopatra Beach

Wander the ruins of ancient Kedreai

Snorkel the sunken harbour walls

Sea bass and rakı at a quay table

Mooring tip

Anchor off the north channel on sand at five to seven metres, shielded from the north. This is a national-park zone, so respect the rope lines on the beach and keep off the sand. Get in before the afternoon tour boats crowd the anchorage.

Karaca
4
Day 4

Cleopatra Island → Karaca

Karaca lies twelve miles across the gulf on its southern shore, a fold in the coast where a small fishing village tucks behind a pebble beach. Oleander crowds the water's edge and the pace drops another notch; this is the sort of place where the afternoon is spent doing very little. The restaurants here run the same buoy-for-dinner deal as Çökertme, so a table ashore earns you a free night on the mooring. We tend to arrive by mid-afternoon, swim off the stern, then row in for an early rakı. The holding in the inlet is good sand at four to six metres, and the hills close it off from the northerly completely. Ask about the lamb turned on a spit; it is the local specialty and worth the wait. Bring cash, as card machines are unreliable this far along.

Things to do

Hunt for sea glass along the shingle

Backgammon under the old fig tree

Spit-roast lamb at a family table

Cool off the stern in glassy water

Mooring tip

Take a restaurant buoy and settle the mooring with the price of dinner. Prefer independence? The inlet holds well on sand at four to six metres, fully boxed in from the north. It rarely fills, so no booking needed.

Mersincik
5
Day 5

Karaca → Mersincik

Turn the bow west and retrace fifteen miles along the gulf to Mersincik, one of the wilder anchorages on this loop. The entrance narrows between grey granite, and at the head of the bay a low sea cave invites a paddle in with the kayak or tender. There is nothing built here, which is rather the point. Behind the beach a rough path climbs a ridge thick with wild thyme; crush a sprig between your fingers and you will smell why the honey along this coast is prized. Holding is reliable sand at four to six metres, and the surrounding hills shut out swell from every quarter. Because it sits inside the protected Gökova reserve, there is no shop and no fuel, so stock the fridge and fill the tanks before you leave Karaca. After dark the sky opens up; with no town for miles, the stars come down to the water.

Things to do

Paddle the kayak into the sea cave

Climb the thyme ridge above the bay

Cold zeytinyağlı dishes served on deck

Stargaze with zero light pollution

Mooring tip

Free anchoring throughout on sand at four to six metres, with all-round shelter from the granite hills. There is no marina and no provisioning, so arrive fully stocked and with full water and fuel.

Bodrum
6
Day 6

Mersincik → Bodrum

The final passage runs fifteen miles back to Bodrum, ideally sailed in the morning before the Meltemi builds. As the town rises ahead, the honey-coloured Castle of St Peter dominates the harbour mouth, thrown up by the Knights of St John in the fifteenth century. Inside it now sits the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, and its centrepiece is the Uluburun wreck, a Bronze Age trader that went down more than three thousand years ago with a cargo of copper, glass and ivory. Give yourself an afternoon for it. Afterwards the back streets and bazaar reward a slow browse, especially for hand-loomed cotton and the local peştemal towels; haggling is expected and half the fun. Call the marina a day ahead to confirm your slot, and swing by the fuel berth to top up before you take a stern-to berth for the night.

Things to do

Tour the Castle of St Peter museum

Stand before the Uluburun shipwreck finds

Haggle for peştemal towels in the bazaar

Top up fuel at the harbour berth

Mooring tip

Bodrum Marina berths stern-to on lazy lines, roughly €80–130 a night at peak. Fuel up at the berth by the entrance before you go in, and phone ahead to lock your slot, since space is tight in high summer.

Bodrum
7
Day 7

Bodrum → Bodrum

Checkout comes early. Most bases want the boat alongside and handed over by nine, so it pays to be packed the night before and to run a last look through lockers and bilges at first light. The base manager walks the deck with you, checks the inventory, and notes anything amiss; photograph any mark that goes on the sheet before you sign, and keep a copy. Deposits usually clear back to your card within a week. If your flight is later in the day, there is no rush to leave the quay: order a Turkish coffee at a harbourside café, or slip out to a nearby beach club for a final swim. When it is time, Bodrum airport is a straightforward thirty-five-minute drive, and the marina can arrange a transfer. A relaxed end to a week that stayed sheltered the whole way round.

Things to do

Walk the handover with the base manager

Final swim at a Bodrum beach club

Turkish coffee on the harbourside quay

Arrange the transfer to Bodrum airport

Mooring tip

Have the boat back on its berth before nine for the handover. Photograph anything logged as damage before you sign the inspection sheet. The deposit is normally returned within seven days.

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