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

Bodrum via Didim.

A 7-day yacht charter from Bodrum up the Turkish Aegean: Yalıkavak, Güllük, Didim's Apollo temple, Kuşadası for Ephesus, then a downwind run home.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Bodrum
Day 1

Bodrum → Bodrum

Ease into the charter at Bodrum Marina: stock the boat, climb the Castle of St Peter, and stand among the Mausoleum's ruins.

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
Bodrum
1
Day 1

Bodrum → Bodrum

Most crews spend the first day getting the boat ready rather than rushing off, and Bodrum rewards the pause. The marina sits below the Castle of St Peter, a fifteenth-century Crusader fortress that now holds the Museum of Underwater Archaeology — the Uluburun wreck inside is one of the oldest ever excavated. Give it a couple of hours. A short walk inland brings you to the scattered stones of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, once counted among the Seven Wonders. Not much stands, but the scale still registers. Load fresh produce, water and ice before the afternoon meltemi picks up, then find a waterfront meyhane at dusk for meze and a glass of rakı. Refuel at the fuel berth by the entrance so you leave with full tanks tomorrow.

Things to do

Tour the Museum of Underwater Archaeology

Find the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus stones

Haggle in the Bodrum bazaar for spices

Meze and rakı at a waterfront meyhane

Mooring tip

Bodrum Marina berths stern-to with lazy lines and shelters you fully; reckon on €80–130 a night at peak. Top up at the fuel berth by the harbour entrance before you head north.

Yalıkavak & Göl Türkbükü
2
Day 2

Bodrum → Yalıkavak & Göl Türkbükü

Twelve miles takes you around the northwest corner of the peninsula, so expect the meltemi on the nose for the last stretch — worth leaving by nine to beat the afternoon build. Yalıkavak's Palmarina is the show-off stop: superyachts, designer alleys and a marble quay that opened in 2014. It is an easy place to lose an afternoon window-shopping, less easy on the wallet. Four miles east, Göltürkbükü is the gentler choice. The bay is ringed with pine and the beach clubs run their swimming platforms out over shallow water. Anchor off, swim before lunch, then take the tender in for a long, lazy meal. Gümüşlük and its sunken Myndos ruins lie just west if you fancy a seafood dinner and a sunset ashore.

Things to do

Walk the Palmarina superyacht quay

Swim off Göltürkbükü's platform beach clubs

Sunset seafood at Gümüşlük's sunken Myndos

Browse the boutiques along Palmarina's alleys

Mooring tip

Palmarina takes you stern-to but charges premium rates, often €200–400 a night in July. Göltürkbükü's small harbour runs €100–160, or simply anchor off the beach clubs on sand in 4–6 m.

Güllük
3
Day 3

Göl Türkbükü → Güllük

South and west across the Gulf of Mandalya, Güllük feels a world away from the marina glamour behind you. This is a real fishing port: boats land their catch at the quay, and the fish you eat at dinner probably came off one that morning. The pace slows the moment you tie up. The reason to stop, beyond the quiet, is Iasos. The ancient Carian-Greek city sits on the headland a short walk or tender-ride south, with a Roman agora, Byzantine walls and a theatre looking back over the water. Go in the cooler evening light. Afterwards, the quayside grills do çöp şiş, the thin lamb skewers this corner of the Aegean is known for, and the bay itself stays glassy calm once the meltemi drops.

Things to do

Walk the Carian and Roman ruins of Iasos

Eat çöp şiş at the fishing quay

Swim in glassy Güllük Bay

Watch the day's catch land at dawn

Mooring tip

Güllük's small marina takes you stern-to at €60–100 a night and shelters well from the north. If it is full, anchor on good holding sand in 5–7 m inside the bay.

Didim
4
Day 4

Güllük → Didim

A twenty-mile leg brings you to Didim and one of the great sights of the Turkish coast. The Temple of Apollo at Didyma was among the largest ever raised by the Greeks, and even half-ruined its columns run nineteen metres into the sky. This was the oracle of the Branchidae, second only to Delphi in its day. It sits a couple of kilometres inland, an easy taxi from the marina. D-Marin Didim is a big, well-run harbour and the standard overnight here, sheltered whatever the wind does. Once you have seen the temple, drop down to Altınkum, a mile south, for soft golden sand and shallow swimming. Pick up a box of lokum from a family confectioner in town before you leave.

Things to do

Stand beneath the Temple of Apollo's columns

Swim off Altınkum's golden sand

Buy lokum from a family confectioner

Browse the harbour bazaar for textiles

Mooring tip

D-Marin Didim berths stern-to with lazy lines, fully sheltered, around €100–160 a night at peak. It is popular in season, so call ahead to hold a slot and refuel at the entrance berth.

Kuşadası
5
Day 5

Didim → Kuşadası

This is the longest passage of the outbound half, thirty-two miles into the prevailing north wind, so treat it as a proper sailing day and start early. The reward at the far end is Ephesus, and it is worth every tack. Kuşadası is a busy cruise port with a full-service marina, so book the berth. From there Ephesus is a short taxi and a half-day on foot: the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre that once held twenty-five thousand, marble streets you can still walk. Go first thing before the tour buses and the heat arrive. Back in town, Ladies Beach (Kadınlar Denizi) is where locals swim, and Güvercinada's little castle guards the harbour. The bazaar is good for silk and spices if you have time.

Things to do

Explore Ephesus and the Library of Celsus

Sit in the Great Theatre's stone tiers

Swim at Ladies Beach (Kadınlar Denizi)

Climb Güvercinada's harbour castle

Mooring tip

Setur Kuşadası Marina berths stern-to, fully sheltered, and runs roughly €100–160 a night at peak. It is busy in cruise season, so reserve ahead and refuel at the entrance berth before the long haul back.

Özdere
6
Day 6

Kuşadası → Özdere

After the crowds of Kuşadası, Özdere is a deliberate change of gear. Fifteen easy miles up the coast bring you to a low-key resort strip that most charter routes skip, which is exactly its appeal. The beaches run long and shallow, the coves between them stay quiet, and a paddleboard is the best way to nose along the shore. Inland, above Ahmetbeyli, lie the ruins of Claros, an oracle sanctuary of Apollo with a temple and the stumps of colossal statues. It sees a fraction of Ephesus's visitors. Back aboard, this stretch is olive country, so look for zeytinyağlı vegetable dishes cooked in local oil and a cool Aegean white to go with a taverna dinner ashore. A calm, restful night before the long haul south.

Things to do

Visit the oracle ruins of Claros

Paddleboard the quiet coves along the shore

Try zeytinyağlı olive-oil dishes at a taverna

Sample a chilled Aegean white wine

Mooring tip

Özdere's small harbour is modest and cheap at around €40–70 a night, sheltered from the north. Infrastructure is limited, so if you would rather swing free, anchor on sand in 4–6 m off the bay.

Bodrum
7
Day 7

Özdere → Bodrum

The last day is the big one: sixty miles back to Bodrum. The saving grace is direction. Everything you clawed into on the way up now sits behind you, so this is a downwind run with the meltemi doing the work — fast, but it can get lumpy, so reef early and leave at first light. Aim to be off the peninsula by mid-afternoon. If there is time and the sea allows, Kara Ada, the island off Bodrum, has warm sulphur springs where you can anchor and swim in bath-temperature water. It is a fitting last stop. Refuel before you berth, give the boat a rinse, and confirm your handover slot for the morning. Then it is one more sunset over the castle and a final crew dinner ashore to close the week.

Things to do

Soak in Kara Ada's warm sulphur springs

Rinse and refuel back at Bodrum Marina

Final crew dinner above the harbour

Last sunset over the Castle of St Peter

Mooring tip

Back in Bodrum Marina it is stern-to with lazy lines, €80–130 a night. Refuel at the entrance berth on the way in and confirm your handover slot 24 hours ahead so the morning stays relaxed.

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