Where's the best bit of Turkey ?

[affinite]

No, not a breast or leg question ...
Just got back from a short 2 week sail over to Turkey from our base in the Dodecanese and, although we went with high expectations, to be honest, we were a little underwhelmed. Admitedly we only managed to visit the first two gulfs down from Bodrum so Im keen to understand if the coast is the same further South/East.

Dont get me wrong, we did enjoy it; the sailing was perfect with great winds which were a 1-2 BF down on the usual Meltemi strengths in the Dodecanese, but after a while we got a little bored of visiting pretty tree lined bays and were hankering after one of the nice little port villages like you find in Greece. We did go to Datca, Palmut, Knidos and Bozborun but they didnt really have the same appeal as Greek places like Vathi and Emborious on Kalymnos which we called in at on the way back, so the question is ...

Can someone give me a overview of the Turkish coast beyond Marmaris, eg Gocek, Fethyi Kas etc. I appreciate that its each to their own but Id welcome opnions on the cruising in that area so we can decide whether to have another go next year or take our chance in the Dodecanese/Cyclades.
Thanks
Steve

 

[Appleyard]

Agree with your opinion on turkey..it is not as interesting a cruising area as Greece,not having the same type of small village harbours etc.however it is a good base to keep the boat..we have been there for some time now and just cross over to the Greek islands when it suits.at the moment we are in a beach restaurant in palamut enjoying the first beer of the day.
Re maramaris,gocek fetiye etc. in my opinion they should be visited only once ,
Very crowded with charter and flotillas ,further east is much more interesting,but is a bit of a trek to get there.

 

[rivonia]

Agree with your opinion on turkey..it is not as interesting a cruising area as Greece,not having the same type of small village harbours etc.however it is a good base to keep the boat..we have been there for some time now and just cross over to the Greek islands when it suits.at the moment we are in a beach restaurant in palamut enjoying the first beer of the day.
Re maramaris,gocek fetiye etc. in my opinion they should be visited only once ,
Very crowded with charter and flotillas ,further east is much more interesting,but is a bit of a trek to get there.

Also crowded with GULLETS full of noisy people! Some places are very nice and peacefull then in comes the GULLETS.

Peter

 

[Appleyard]

Also crowded with GULLETS full of noisy people! Some places are very nice and peacefull then in comes the GULLETS.

Peter

Yes I forgot about the galloots. How could I?

 

[phantomlady]

We weren't impressed with Turkey either

 

[satsuma]

Each to his own I suppose, but I don't like the usual tourist spots on the Aegean and Mediterranean Coast, like Gocek and Fethiye. Once you get further south east around the coast to Kalkan, the coastline and places to see and visit become more interesting and less congested.

Further along is Kas, with Meis (greece) if you like, and then the jewel in the crown of Kekova and Ucagiz. Great anchorages, shelter and enough small villages with character to keep it interesting as well as crystal clear water, ruins and some great restaurants.

Further along is Finike, not so interesting but a few places to anchor on the east side of the bay. Around the corner is Adrasan and anchorages and villages along the coast to Cirali, Olympos (where you can still see the flames burning), Phasalis with a short hop along to Kemer and Antalya Where I'm sure there is something for everyone!

The area is far enough away to keep the usual charter fleets away, though you do get the private hire Gulets around.

 

[OldBawley]

We sailed the coast from Alexandroupolis to Kekova. The area Fethiye Göcek pleased us most.
That is where we decided to winter for 11 years. In summer we fled to the Dodecanese, away from gullets, heat and later super yachts. Never had a problem with charter yachts or flotillas, in fact I admire those people, they are the only ones really sailing.
In winter we ware almost alone. Some small fishing boats, the same amount of coastguard boats and two more non marina liveaboard yachts.
We are in Greece now, and have heard that the peace in the Göcek bays is over now, even in winter. The Turks have discovered their beautiful coast and have bought real big powerboats as floating weekend flat. We had to tack for hours to get from the Fethiye peasants market to one of the many bays, those guys roar in half an hour from one of the six marinas in Göcek to the most remote bay. There they than spend an hour pulling out trees while mooring.
The little port villages as in Greece do not exist. The coastline was till 1912 inhabited by Greeks. After the migration those little Greek villages became ruins. The whole Turkish coast stands full of ruin chapels and churches. Göcek was a village up the slope of the hill. Some fishing family’s ( Scum in the eyes of Turks ) ware living near the sea.
Then came yachting. The village near the waterline grew and was completely demolished and rebuild in 2005. All original vegitation cut down and palm trees replanted. Now Göcek looks like all resorts. Ike*cr*p.

 

[jimbaerselman]

Probably east of Kalkan.

Gulets, charter fleets, fish farms and these wretched wandering live-aboards all fight for space from Çeşme to Kaş. From Bodrum to Ayvalik the hillsides are lined with quadrilaterals of seaside housing developments.

Sea of Marmara is nice . . . but a shorter season than further south.

Detail on my site.

 

[suebabsthenoo]

as I ramble ,e mail...

..we are moored in Bayindir Limani with wifi from a nearby hotel..with Kas opposite,near enough to look purdy and far enough away to be seen and not heard!
This year we have done all the Korfezi's from Bodders down,it just gets gorgeouser.Off to Kastellers on Mon for a pork chop stock up then off to Kekova where I expect more gorgeouseness before back to Dodecers mid Oct.Well....I luuurve it bit luurve Greece too!
Moi

 

[Appleyard]

To be perfectly honest,it's what you make of it yourself. Turkey is not much different from many other med. countries definitely avoid places like maramaris,gocek etc. and follow your instincts. As I write,we are sitting outside a harbour cafe in datca at 8 pm,the place is nicely busy,but we are almost entirely surrounded by Turkish people on holiday. The atmosphere is pleasant,and it is as nice a harbour as anywhere in Greece.
You pays your money and takes your chance.

 

[affinite]

To be perfectly honest,it's what you make of it yourself. Turkey is not much different from many other med. countries definitely avoid places like maramaris,gocek etc. and follow your instincts. As I write,we are sitting outside a harbour cafe in datca at 8 pm,the place is nicely busy,but we are almost entirely surrounded by Turkish people on holiday. The atmosphere is pleasant,and it is as nice a harbour as anywhere in Greece.
You pays your money and takes your chance.

Agree re Datca - Its a nice harbour. I just hope the harbour masters friends from the nightclubs didnt keep you awake last night by chatting on the quayside until 5am like they did for us a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps my opinion of Datca got a little clouded by this incident and the one before when a couple of drunken (English) kids jumped on board at 3am "to have their photo taken" We will go back to Datca (incidents like these aren't exclusive to Turkey) but think we'll anchor in the Sth bay next time

 

[Tricia]

Agree re Datca - Its a nice harbour. I just hope the harbour masters friends from the nightclubs didnt keep you awake last night by chatting on the quayside until 5am like they did for us a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps my opinion of Datca got a little clouded by this incident and the one before when a couple of drunken (English) kids jumped on board at 3am "to have their photo taken" We will go back to Datca (incidents like these are exclusive to Turkey) but think we'll anchor in the Sth bay next time

No, incidents like those are not exclusive to Turkey, they happen everywhere but very rarely. In Rumania, they all wanted their photos taken doing the Kate Winslet 'Titanic' pose, it made them very happy and they were always very grateful, but often jumped on board without permission. We asked them, nicely, to get off the boat and take their shoes off then to come back on board. No harm done and some very happy people.

Personally, I love the Black Sea coast of Turkey and would recommend it to anyone. Not much in the way of anchorages, but plenty of semi completed harbours that you can use free of charge. If there is no water at the harbour, you can get water from the local mosque or someone in the harbour will offer help.

The season is short and it is hard work to get there and a bit scary in the Bosphorus, but well worth it.

Kekova Roads out of season was a joy (Jan - Feb) and so was most of the coast from Marmaris.