Bareboat, skippered and gulet sailing holidays along the Turquoise Coast — sheltered gulfs, pine-fringed bays, Lycian ruins and gentle winds. Here’s everything you need to plan your week.
Turkey's Turquoise Coast is one of the Mediterranean's best-kept sailing secrets — sheltered gulfs of pine-fringed bays, ancient Lycian ruins tumbling into the sea, and warm, forgiving winds. It's relaxed, great value, and just different enough from Greece and Croatia to feel like a discovery.
The sailing here is wonderfully gentle. The coastline folds into deep, protected gulfs where you can drift between empty coves, tie a line to a pine tree ashore, and eat dinner at a waterside restaurant that lays on a free jetty for guests. Add crystal water, rich history and prices that stretch further than the euro zone, and Turkey is hard to beat for a laid-back week.
It's also famously beginner-friendly: short distances, calm mornings, reliable afternoon breezes and lots of shelter. And if you'd rather not sail at all, Turkey is the home of the gulet — a traditional wooden crewed yacht — for a fully catered cruise.
Local tip: many of the best bays are "restaurant jetties" — moor up, and mooring is free if you eat ashore. It's one of the great pleasures of a Turkish charter, and the food is superb. We'll point you to the best ones on your route.
Göcek is the sailing capital of the coast: a compact, sheltered gulf studded with a dozen anchorages, all within an easy afternoon's sail. It's the ideal first-time cruising ground and the launch point for the wider Lycian coast.
See our 7-day Göcek & Gulf of Fethiye itinerary →
West of Marmaris, the long Gökova gulf offers some of the most beautiful and unspoilt anchorages in the country — English Harbour, Seven Islands, Longoz — with mountains rising straight from the water.
The Datça peninsula and Hisarönü gulf reward those wanting fewer boats and more nature, with the ancient city of Knidos at the tip.
| Period | What to expect |
|---|---|
| May | Warm, green and blissfully quiet, with light winds. A lovely, uncrowded time to sail. |
| June | Hot sunshine, warm sea and gentle afternoon breezes — excellent conditions. |
| July–August | Very hot and at its busiest, though the gulfs stay sheltered. Book ahead. |
| September | Still hot, sea at its warmest, crowds thinning — a superb month. |
| October | Pleasant and peaceful early on, cooling and quieter towards the end. |
Turkish gulf sailing is dominated by gentle thermal breezes: calm mornings, then a sea breeze that builds to a comfortable 10–15 knots through the afternoon and fades in the evening. The deep gulfs offer plenty of shelter, which is a big part of why the region is so forgiving. Further offshore and towards the Aegean you can feel the edge of the meltem (the Turkish meltemi) in high summer, but the classic cruising gulfs stay protected.
You'll find modern monohulls and catamarans just as in Greece and Croatia — but Turkey is also the spiritual home of the gulet, a broad wooden motor-sailer with crew and cook aboard. For groups who want to be looked after rather than sail hard, a crewed gulet or skippered yacht is a wonderful way to see the coast.
Read our guide to catamaran charters →
Turkey offers excellent value. As a rough guide for the whole boat per week in season:
| Yacht | Sleeps | Typical week (season) |
|---|---|---|
| Monohull 38–42ft | 6–8 | €1,800–€3,500 |
| Monohull 46–50ft | 8–10 | €3,000–€5,500 |
| Catamaran 42–46ft | 8–10 | €4,000–€8,500 |
| Skipper (optional) | — | ≈ €180 / day |
Budget also for a refundable deposit, end cleaning, fuel and any marina fees. Because so many nights are spent in free restaurant bays and anchorages, running costs on a Turkish week are often lower than elsewhere. We provide a full breakdown before you book, with no broker fee.
Turkey has excellent modern marinas at Göcek, Marmaris, Fethiye and Bodrum, but much of the week is spent at anchor or on restaurant jetties, often with a long line ashore to a rock or tree. It's a slightly different technique to Croatian lazy lines, and one we'll brief you on.
Read our Mediterranean mooring guide →
Sample routes to shape your week — each with day-by-day distances, harbours and a coast-following map.
Practical know-how for your Turkey charter, from mooring stern-to to planning each passage.
Tell us your dates, group size and experience and we'll match you to the right yacht and base in Turkey, plan your route and handle the paperwork — at no extra cost over booking direct.
Start my enquiry →