After sailing Croatia with the boys in 2012 with Busabout, I thought I’d spend some “brother sister” time abroad. We chose to sail Turkey as we had heard many great things about the beautiful country, but most importantly, their spectacular coastline. We chose Busabout for the trip, seeing as I had travelled with them in the past and was a huge fan of their packages.
The sail cost us $629 each and we managed to purchase return flights from Beirut for $500 each. So basically we had spend close to $1,200 for an eight day adventure across the waters of the Mediterranean.
My sister and I made our way to Fethiye from Istanbul via Turkey Airlines. Once we arrived in Fethiye, we caught a taxi from outside the airport to Fethiye harbour, where our Gulets we awaiting us along with 70 other sailors who would be joining us on the memorable eight day experience.
This is how our amazing eight days sail panned out:
Day 1: Fethiye to Samanlik Bay
Out check in was at 4pm, so we got to Fethiye harbour a solid three hours prior to that time just to be safe. I have had man bad experiences in my previous Europe trips, and I didn’t want anything to go wrong this time. Once we arrived to the V-Go Yachting and Travel Agency Office, we bumped into dozens of fellow sailors who would be joining us. We get to know each other briefly before we were then divided into our groups. So, the guys at the office thought my sister and I were a couple, so we were allocated onto the couple’s yacht…bloody great!
We didn’t do anything exciting on the first day. Just lunch, an afternoon swim in a cove and then dinner and drinks with our cabin mates and crew.
Day 2: Samanlik Bay to St Nicholas Island
We were woken up early along the coast of Fethiye for breakfast and lunch in a secluded bay. After our afternoon swim, we set sail to Butterfly Valley where we had the chance to visit this amazing bay, which hosts 136 different varieties of butterflies.
We were then off to Oludeniz (the Blue Lagoon) for a visit and swim. Oludeniz is a virtual paradise, with the warm turquoise waters flanked by some sheer mountains; it’s a real place to escape to.
Tonight we dock near Saint Nicholas island where we had the chance to explore the ruins of a Byzantine settlement before another succulent dinner on deck.
Day 3: St Nicholas Island to Kas
A sunrise departure to Yesilkoy for breakfast and a swim in a quiet bay surrounded by olive groves, is how we started our day three of the sail. After this it was off to Kas, the pearl of the Med, where we spent the afternoon shopping for silver through tiny little streets and markets.
Kas is one of the best shopping ports along the Mediterranean so we had to make the most of our time here.
Later in the day we departed for Limanagzi bay for a well-earned swim and dinner.
Day 4: Kas to Smugglers Cove
Today we visited the city of Simena, a traditional fishing village with no car access. Here we visited the impressive castle overlooking the bay.
The natural amphitheatre of Ucagiz bay with its Lycian tomb is a perfect mooring point to catch a fiery sunset. Today was also great to explore the ancient sites of Turkey’s Med coast, with lots of time for swimming as well.
Tonight was the night I have been waiting for all week, the big party! We were picked up by speedboat and escorted to a top party on the pirates’ island, Smugglers Cove.
Day 5: Smugglers Cove to Gokkaya
On the morning of day 5 we didn’t move that fast. We had a chance to snorkel the bay and the Pirates Cave around breakfast. This is a deep blue water cave with a small beach inside.
Kekova is the home of the sunken city, so of course we made the captain stop and take time to view, before mooring in the wide bay near Gokkaya. Here we had a chance to experience all water sports such as paragliding and diving, before mooring in our little hidden hideaway. The sunsets here were fantastic.
Day 6: Gokkaya to Kalkan
After breakfast we motored on a short cruise to Bayindir Limani for a swim.
Then we were off to Kalkan, a picturesque little town of true unspoilt beauty. Here we explore the cobbled streets, but more importantly bought some tailored clothes, made on the spot for us…YIEW! We spent most of the day here. We also had the option to take a day trip to Patara beach, probably one of the most beautiful beaches in Turkey.
Day 7: Kalkan to Fethiye
After an early start we moored up in Camli Barun, a sheltered bay surrounded by pine clad ridges. After breakfast we set sail to Batikkaya bay for some more leisure sunbathing and swimming. At night we set port back in Fethiye to discover the long history of this important hub.
We all then headed out for what was certainly a memorable week sailing along the Turkish Turquoise coast.
Day 8: Fethiye
Check out after breakfast at 9am and that’s it…it’s all over 🙁
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All in all, my sister and I had a great time sailing Turkey with Busabout. So if you’re down for a relaxing, refreshing and heaps chilled sail across culturally filled islands and towns, the you should definitely consider sailing the Turkey Antalya coast. You will spend the majority of your day tanning, swimming and drinking though. Something that annoyed me a little with the cruise. We spend the majority of our days on the boat.
So on the other hand, if you’r up for a more crazy, alcohol/party filled cruise within Europe, then I highly recommend you look into sailing Croatia. I did the amazing eight day sail two years ago and can honestly say it was one of the greatest things I have ever done (another with running of the bulls). You can check out my review on it HERE!
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E.
