Our Gulet Charter, Sailing the Turkish Coast
Gulet moored in Loryma Bay on the Carian Coast, Turkey. Credit: Barbara Ramsey Orr.
Gulet (Turkish pronunciation gu’ let) is a traditional design of a two- or three-masted wooden sailing vessel from the southwestern coast of Turkey, particularly built in the coastal towns of Bodrum and Marmaris.
I have to thank Wikipedia for this definition. When Malcolm Prince first wrote to me about his exciting journey along the coast of Turkey, I really wasn’t sure what he meant by gulet. Now that I know, and now that I’ve read about his experience, I’ve added “gulet” to my bucket list.
Our beautiful gulet Salmakis.
Enjoy this guest post:
“The difficult choice when planning a gulet cruise is deciding between joining a group tour or opting for the more authentic experience of chartering a boat and going with friends. I’d turned this over in my head for quite some time, thinking how great it would be to have a chef and archaeologist on board while cruising the beautiful waters along the Turkish coast. The archaeologist could be our guide when going ashore to visit the many ancient sites I wanted to see.
Ultimately this became our choice: we shared the cost with 3 other couples so there were 8 of us in total on the gulet. We made arrangements with Peter Sommer Travels to cruise the Carian Coast for 7 nights between Bodrum and Gocek in Turkey. Our beautiful traditional Turkish gulet Salmakis has 6 cabins each with ensuite facilities.
Right from the start, when I emailed back and forth with the staff at Peter Sommer Travels, they were wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble and all arrangements were efficiently completed.
Getting to our gulet
We all travelled independently and met in Bodrum on the day our charter started. Our archaeologist guide, Serdar, went out of his way to meet us all arriving at different times and by different means – some by ferry and some by car or aircraft.
Serdar was a wonderful host and we all deemed ourselves privileged to have been lucky enough to score this very special man as our gulet guide and host. He has personally excavated in this area for some 40 years, so his knowledge of the archaeological sites we visited in the area is extensive.
The Salmakis was a joy! We boarded excitedly and found our cabins, beautifully fitted out with warm honey coloured pine and portholes to let in the cooling breezes at night.
Another very enjoyable meal with friends along the Turkish coast.
The standout surprise was the quantity and lavish gourmet Turkish food that was served up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. We all have different tastes, of course, but we everyone loved meal times, chatting with each other and Serdar about the day’s activities and enjoying Turkish wine.
Our gulet mostly motored, although we did sail a few times. We would normally spend the night moored in a small beautiful secluded bay. Sometimes we had the company of a few other gulets, but privacy was never a problem.
Going ashore to explore.
A day on our gulet
Our days started with breakfast and a morning swim in the beautiful lukewarm, clear, buoyant Mediterranean water. Then we’d sun bake and chat as we motored or sailed to our next stop along the coast.
Arriving in the early afternoon, we would then go ashore in the ship’s inflatable dinghy driven expertly by one of the crew. Once assembled, we would head off with Serdar to visit an ancient site. The 8 of us were often the only visitors, and it was wonderful to be alone and listen to Serdar as he explained the history and details of the site. Just being a small group of friends meant that we were free to ask questions and chat about what we were seeing.
The ancient city of Knidos at sunset.
Going ashore from the gulet
On one of the days we visited the excavations at Kaunos on the Dalyan Delta. Here, we were ferried ashore from our gulet in a local small river boat. Then we walked up the village streets past olive, fig and frankincense trees to a house where Serdar introduced us to the lady who lived there. We soon learned that she was the chef for the digging excavation team at Kaunos.
Our lunch chef borrowed from the excavation team.
With her young daughter helping, she prepared a lunch of Turkish dolma for us on an outside fire. She also taught us all how to make the local dolma (stuffed vine leaves). We all sat around the table, rolling and stuffing the dolmas and then watched as they were cooked. We then consumed them along with an excellent chicken dish that she also cooked on her outside fire. We loved this authentic local experience.
The benefits of a private gulet charter
Many gulets ply this area of coast, yet for the most part we were alone and explored most sites without crowds and with the expert explanation from our guide Serdar. The coast here is beautiful… almost no tidal change, so going ashore or mooring the boat to a nearby tree was never a problem for the crew.
We enjoyed the hikes to the various sites. These ranged from 10 minutes to 1.5 hours. For the longer ones, some of the not so fit elected to laze and sunbake, while the more adventurous of us enjoyed the exercise and the views.
For those of you who know coastal sailing in Europe, Australia, or the US, you will be aware of the effects of population and tides on the ability to enjoy the water. Yet, here in Turkey, with almost no tidal rise and fall, the beautiful coastline with one incredible little bay after another, is just perfect.
Our wonderful guide Serdar at Kaunos.
Following our experience, I can enthusiastically recommend a private charter, it’s an opportunity to go with friends and see these exotic locations with people you know and enjoy.
My wife and I spent 6 weeks away altogether, with the gulet cruise in the middle. Prior to that we visited Greece and the Greek Islands, and after the cruise we visited some of the other lovely parts of Turkey. In light of recent happenings in Turkey, I should mention that we at all times felt safe, but kept away from major cities.
In short, it was a trip of a lifetime and a memory to cherish.
With many thanks to our wonderful guide and to the team at Peter Sommer Travels.
Click here for more info on gulet charters.
Category: Turkey
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