Hi - first time poster here. My wife, however, is a long-time fodorite.

Anyway, part of our Turkey trip takes us to the Turquoise Coast from approximately October 4th to 11th. We are, of course, going to book a gulet for a few days. The only problem is, our time in country is limited, and there's so much to see. None of the mini-blue cruises I've found cover exactly what I'd like to see.

First, I was wondering if anyone else would be in the Bodrum to Antalya area during those dates and would be interested in chartering a whole gulet with us. We could see if our interests overlap and customize a schedule.

Second, I was wondering if people who had recently been on the stock mini-cruises would say that the itineraries are well-planned for relaxing and exploring -- or, if you're rushed from place to place with no time swim, walk around, etc.

And third, I wondered if anyone would recommended not pre-booking, and negotiate something at the marina day-of. This would be in the hopes of getting a smaller gulet for just my wife and me, and getting to customize our trip to exactly what we wanted -- for a cheap price, of course.

Sorry to lay so many questions on you at once. Any gulet perspectives are welcome. Thanks so much for reading!

All I know is that we decided not to do the gulet thing when in Turkey a few years ago. But when we were in Marmaris the last week of May, we walked by dozens of neat looking gulets and the guys were begging just the two of us to charter one. Some others already had one couple and were looking for a second couple to go with them. The prices were nothing short of amazing. I frankly think you can do this on your own last minute in October with no problem. The way I understand it is most of these are independently owned and are chartered out by agencies. I strongly suspect the owner and his crew normally get less than half of what you pay to an agency. Dealing with one of them direct when their choice is to do it for cheap or stay in port, seems like a good deal. Besides, you can pick your own captain, crew, and boat that way and see if they want to go to the places you suggest. I did see some boats I wouldn't have been happy if we had booked on.

You cna charter a gulet for a week or partially for 3 days mini cruise.
There are plenty of different itineraries depending on where you will embark and disembark. Yesw you can find gultes on a short time notice that time of the year but cheap ? that depens your measures of what is cheap. I was in Kekova lsat week and the best thing was to charter the boat for two full days altough we were staying on shore for overnight. Swimming from the boat was great and once you charter the boat on your own swimming time is arranged up on your request. Usually on cruise they do not go on engine more than 4- 5 hours anyway.

As for Patrick's assumptions : couple of years ago we were suffering a lot on tourism and this year is a real good season so prices got back to normal ( having said that its still cheaper conparing European standarts with hard currancy... Agencies are not able to doule up the prices but ofcourse they make 10 to 20 % on the hire price. Sometimes you get a rate from the boat owner which is still the same waht an agency quote you. Also an agency when booking you a boat takes responsibility of the quality of the Gulet, good crew which is the most important asset on such trips and in case things are not up to your satisfaction they are able to change the boat. If you fix one yourself you fix it for good and have not much chance to change or correct if things go wrong. So its a matter of choice.Just a friendly reminder on some important details.
Happy travelling,

Murat

Thank you Patrick and Murat. Both helpful advice. I had one thought last night, though -- Ramadan.

Do you think the availability of boats (or anything else, for that matter) will be affected by Ramadan? It begins 3 October. And I wonder if many small gulets and/or private captains will be fasting or with family.

Any thoughts?

Dear Wellchu,

Ramadan is no problem. The captain and the crew can do their job when they are fasting (of course if they are fasting) Turkey is a secular country and everybody is entitled to make his/her own decision whether to fast or not.

With all good wishes

I will be with a group in Turkey from the 3 to 13 October. We will spend two nights in Istanbul and then are planning, with AsiaMinor's help, to drive down the coast (see my earlier posts for details). I know nothing about a gulet..what kind of boat is this? I have to present my group of 8 a couple of different ideas, so I would be interested in hearing more. Do you have to go as far south as Bodrum for this? On another note, I just received, from AmazonUK, a wonderful book on Special Places to Stay in Turkey...I recommend it to anyone planning a trip.

From what I've read, a gulet is a wide, wooden sailing boat (with engine too, though) that is a traditional Turkish craft. It has a rounded stern and a broad deck, perfect for lounging in the sun. They seem to sleep anywhere from 6 to 20 people, so they're not huge cruising vessels. Instead, you charter a whole one (since you're a group, you should do this) or a cabin within one and go into secluded coves and sites along the deeply cranulated Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. A captain and small crew take care of you. Prices seem to run about $400 a day, but includes meals (not drinks). If you charter a whole boat, you can pick the tour schedule. You may find gulets as far north as Izmir, but the books I've read show that the center of gulet culture is from Bodrum south to Fethiye.

Of course, none of this is to say you can't rent a modern power yacht. Though, it does seem like a gulet would be more of a cultural experience, and the new ones claim to have the same amenities (A/C, individual baths/showers per room) as yachts.

This is all book knowledge, having never been there! I'm hoping to discover that when my wife and I get to Bodrum or Fethiye or Marmaris, we'll find a smaller gulet that we can afford to hire for just the two of us. I think you have more options as you're a large group. I'm sure Fodors recommends some good gulet charter companies.

Dear Ekscrunchy,

It's me again. Everybody talks about the Blue Cruise without knowing its origins, and again I feel obliged to intervene....

The whole idea of the Blue Cruise/Voyage originates from the famous Turkish writer Cevat Sakir Kabaagaçlý (Halikarnas Balýkcýsý-Fisherman of Halicarnassus)who was sent on an exile to Bodrum in 1925. During his exile years in Bodrum he fell in love with this fishing village (It was indeed a fishing village at that time only accessible from the sea) and he decided to settle there after completing his exile days. This very well educated Turkish writer, painter, cartoonist, environmentalist, translator, tour guide (by the way he is the guru of tour guides in Turkey) etc. - above all a true philanthropist intellectual- started going on blue cruises with his archaelogist, historian, writer and other intellectual friends to discover the natural, historical, cultural and archaeological treasures of Western Anatolia. These voyages were some sort of nostalgic trips to history, natural beauty and archaelogy where he developed a deep insight in Anatolian culture and history. To him, the roots of the western civiliztion lie in Ionia and Caria (Western shores of Anatolia or Eastern shores of the Aegean Sea) rather than in Greece because the Greek colonists who came to colonize and exploit the wealth and richness of Asia Minor around 1000 B.C. got assimilated and educated in the Ionic culture which had already reached a much higher level in Asia Minor (Anatolia). His theory is quite locigal as these Greek colonists couldn't have created anything in the name of civiliztion and culture in the Greek mainland, whereas they created wonders in the Anatolian soil under the supervision of their wise and educated Ionian/Anatolian masters. In a way, in the hands of a good educator, the apprentice exceeded its master.

(It's a long story but should you wish to hear more we can talk about it later)

So he wrote various books on these voyages and his views reflecting the true nature of the nostalgic past of the area. (Don't ask me if they are translated into English, because I don't know)most of which have become a kind of holy relict for the Turkish elite.

Within the past 10 years or so, these voyages have become quite popular with the Turks and the tourists (you can cleary imagine that these are a bit commercialized)and it is no longer possible to sleep in the deserted silent coves under the stars because you will most probably be disturbed by another gulet (hand made wooden boat)anchored nearby. In a way the gist, the innnocence and the virginity of the experience is a bit ruined nowadays. However, if you are lucky and have a very experienced captain, he will definitely find a deserted place for you to swim, relax, explore and sleep.

For more info visit

http://www.sailingissues.com/gulet-cruises.html

And if you still have any questions to ask (which I believe you have) do not hesitate to contact me.

After all it is a unique experience. As far as the group members are concerned, you are literally in the same boat and it is a good test to get to know the true faces of people.

You can do it anywhere in the Aegean coast, but if you want to follow Cevat Sakir's itinerary and for the practicality of finding good gulets you can start doing it from Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye or even as far as Antalya.

WITH ALL GOOD WISHES

Excuse me Wellchu,

The second sentence in my post has got nothing to do with you. It took me some time to write my post and I read yours after posting mine.

Thank you very much for the information you gave. I was sure ekscrunchy was going to ask me some of the things you talked about in your post regarding the gulets and the Blue Voyage. You saved me