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

Göcek round-trip.

A week-long sailing loop from Göcek through Sarsala, Fethiye, Gemiler, Ölüdeniz, Kapı Creek and Ruin Bay across the Gulf of Fethiye.

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.

Sarsala
Day 1

Göcek → Sarsala

An easy five-mile warm-up south from D-Marin Göcek into Sarsala, a pine-ringed cove that stays calm whatever the breeze does.

Distance

1 NM

Sailing

~0.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

April – November (peak May – Oct)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Göcek

Sailing area

Gocek

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
Sarsala
1
Day 1

Göcek → Sarsala

First day out is rarely about covering ground. We usually cast off from D-Marin Göcek around midday, once the provisioning is stowed and the crew has stopped rummaging for their swimsuits, and point south for Sarsala. Five miles later you drop the hook on sand in four to six metres, tucked under pine ridges that seem to close in from every side. The wind here is the imbat, a thermal sea breeze that fills in from the west by early afternoon at ten to fifteen knots and fades once the sun drops. Nothing like the Aegean Meltemi. Swim off the transom, then walk the ridge path through thyme and pine for a look back over the bay. Nights are dark and quiet. Grill something on the stern, count satellites, and turn in early.

Things to do

Snorkel the pine-cliff shoreline for bream

Walk the thyme-and-pine ridge above the bay

Grill fresh fish on the stern at dusk

Stargaze with zero light pollution

Mooring tip

Sarsala is free anchoring on good sand at four to six metres, sheltered from every direction, so there is no need to book. There is no marina or reliable shop, so top up water and provisions in Göcek before you leave.

Fethiye
2
Day 2

Sarsala Bay → Fethiye

Fethiye is the one proper town on this loop, so it earns a night. The passage runs about twelve miles east-southeast, and if the imbat cooperates you can sail most of it on a beam reach. Tie up at Marina di Fethiye, the ECE marina, and the town is a short walk along the front. Above the houses, the rock-cut tomb of Amyntas stares down from the cliff, a full Ionic façade carved into the stone in the fourth century BC. The climb up is worth doing before the heat builds. Wander the Paspatur bazaar afterwards, then head for the fish market, where you buy your catch from the stalls and a surrounding restaurant grills it for you. If you happen to be here on a Tuesday, the sprawling weekly market is reason enough to stay ashore.

Things to do

Climb to the Amyntas rock-cut tomb

Buy and grill your catch at the fish market

Wander the Paspatur old bazaar

Hit the Tuesday street market for spices

Mooring tip

Marina di Fethiye (ECE) is stern-to with lazy lines, roughly €70–110 a night in peak season and fully sheltered. Book a day or two ahead in July and August, and refuel at the fuel berth by the entrance on the way in.

Gemiler
3
Day 3

Fethiye → Gemiler Island

Gemiler Island, marked on some charts as St Nicholas Island, is one of the quieter surprises of the gulf. Eight miles south of Fethiye, its slopes are covered in Byzantine ruins, churches and a covered processional way that climbs to the summit, built between the fourth and sixth centuries when this was a pilgrimage stop tied to St Nicholas of Myra, long before his remains were carried off to Bari in 1087. Go ashore in the late afternoon, once the tour boats thin out. For the night, drop back across to Coldwater Bay, Soğuksu on the mainland side. Freshwater springs bleed straight into the sea here, and you feel it the moment you swim through a cold patch on an otherwise warm surface. A local trick worth trying at least once.

Things to do

Walk the Byzantine processional path on Gemiler

Swim through the cold freshwater springs

Catch sunset over the Gemiler ruins

Order meze at a Coldwater Bay jetty

Mooring tip

Coldwater Bay works on the restaurant-buoy system: pick up a free mooring and settle the deal by eating ashore. If you would rather anchor, there is sand at five to seven metres, sheltered from the north.

Butterfly Valley
4
Day 4

Coldwater Bay → Butterfly Valley

Only four miles today, but they lead somewhere memorable. Butterfly Valley sits at the foot of a canyon that rises 350 metres of near-vertical rock, and in high summer it fills with Jersey tiger butterflies, orange-and-cream wings you will spot on the walk up to the waterfall at the back of the gorge. Anchor off the pebble beach, go ashore, and be back aboard before the afternoon wind funnels down the valley. This is a daytime stop, not a berth for the night. Move the last mile or so round to Ölüdeniz, where the famous lagoon curls behind its sandspit and paragliders spiral down off Babadağ, the mountain standing 1,969 metres over the beach. Watching them land while you swim off the boat never quite gets old.

Things to do

Hike the gorge to Butterfly Valley waterfall

Spot the endemic Jersey tiger butterflies

Swim off the boat at Ölüdeniz

Watch paragliders land from Babadağ

Mooring tip

Butterfly Valley is a day-anchorage only, on rock at six to eight metres, and a gusty katabatic wind runs down the canyon by afternoon, so do not linger past mid-afternoon. Overnight instead at Ölüdeniz on sand in five to seven metres.

Kapı Creek
5
Day 5

Ölüdeniz → Kapı Creek

After the open feel of Ölüdeniz, Kapı Creek comes as a complete contrast. The inlet cuts deep into the hills of Skopea Limanı and narrows to about eighty metres at the entrance, so you nose in through a gap that genuinely feels like a fjord before the water opens out inside. It is protected from anything the weather throws at it. Grab a buoy off the little restaurant at the head, where a pebble beach makes an easy swim step. Late in the afternoon, paddle the tender out to the narrows and back for the light on the cliffs. Dinner ashore usually runs to grilled fish, mountain herbs and a glass of rakı, and if there is local thyme honey on the table, buy a jar. With the cliffs closing overhead, the stars come out framed in a narrow strip.

Things to do

Swim off the pebble beach at the creek head

Paddle the tender to the eighty-metre narrows

Try rakı and thyme honey ashore

Stargaze framed by the creek walls

Mooring tip

Kapı Creek runs on restaurant buoys: the mooring is free if you eat at the taverna at the head of the inlet. Space is tight and popular in season, so arrive by mid-afternoon to be sure of a buoy, or anchor on sand at five to seven metres.

Ruin Bay
6
Day 6

Kapı Creek → Ruin Bay

Another easy four miles brings you to Ruin Bay, sometimes called Tomb Bay, and the name is earned. Under the cliffs at the water's edge lie the remains of a Lycian settlement that slipped below the sea centuries ago. Mask and fins are all you need: Roman column drums and worked stone sit in two or three metres of clear water, close enough to reach on a single breath. Above the bay, the ruins of ancient Lydae stand half-swallowed by olive trees and grazing goats, a rough scramble uphill for anyone who wants the walk. We tend to leave the ruins for late afternoon and spend the middle of the day in the water. A barbecue on the stern, köfte and cold beer, closes it out well. Warm nights, still water, no reason to rush.

Things to do

Snorkel over the submerged Roman columns

Scramble up to the Lydae ruins

Grill lamb köfte on the stern at sunset

Dive off the bow into warm water

Mooring tip

Ruin Bay uses the same restaurant-buoy setup, free with dinner ashore and sheltered from the north. If the buoys are taken, anchor on sand at five to seven metres and take the tender in.

Göcek
7
Day 7

Ruin Bay → Göcek

The last leg is short, only six miles back to D-Marin Göcek, so there is time for one more swim. The Yassıca Islands lie roughly on the way, a scatter of low, rocky islets with sandy spits and shallow water that turns pale green over the bottom. Drop the hook, jump in, and let the crew have a proper last morning before the boat has to be tidied. Aim to be alongside in Göcek by around two, which leaves the afternoon to refuel, rinse the salt off and sort the gear for handover. Göcek itself rewards a wander: the marina promenade is lined with small boutiques and cafés, and more than one shop will let you taste local saffron-scented honey before you buy. A quiet dinner in town is a fitting way to end the week.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at the Yassıca Islands

Browse the D-Marin promenade boutiques

Taste local saffron honey in town

Refuel and rinse down before handover

Mooring tip

D-Marin Göcek is stern-to on lazy lines, around €100–160 a night at peak and fully sheltered. Confirm your handover slot 24 hours out, and top up at the fuel berth by the entrance before you take the berth.

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