The Turkish Coast

From Bozcada to Selimiye.

The Turkish coast is truly stunning.  We are making our way South and are stopping along the way to discover it’s small towns, bays and beaches.  Each place has its own character and charm from small busy towns to cute artisan ones; there is a plentitude of greenery, hilly terrain and fields of fruit trees.

At the time of writing this blog, there are still some restrictions because of covid including no outings on Sundays and all restaurants close by 9pm, otherwise life feels normal and masks have just become part of what we wear!  There are plenty of bays to choose from and the distances between them are short, so you can reach a new place in only a 3-4 hour sail.

Some of our favourite places so far: 

Bozcaada looks like a Greek town with its stone-cladded roads, white homes and colored window sills, its walls are adorned with colorful graffiti and you find an ice cream shop at every corner. At the marina they allow visitors to paint on large rocks as a memento for their visit, so of course I did.  If you visit, look out for a blue bayti logo with a sun and boat on one of the rocks.

Cunda is an island next to Ayvalik, an adorable small town filled with small alleys that lead you to cute stores selling trinkets, shells and dream catchers.  There is also a small fishing village near the port where you can buy fresh fish and watch fishermen making fishing nets.

Didim has a large and tranquil bay, one of the most important features of any bay for a comfortable stay is for it not to be rolly.  This one was so calm that we felt we were docked in a marina. There is a town nearby with a long stretch of beach and a wide walkway along the coast.

Turkbuku is a gorgeous bay surrounded by green mountains.   The bay is dotted with pretty restaurants on the water’s edge and sunbathing platforms that extend into the water. Swings and hammocks hang just above the water’s surface for the perfect relaxation spot.

Palamutbuku has a small harbour so we decided to dock there for one night. The strong winds while trying to dock the boat made it quite a challenge and it took us almost an hour to accomplish but it was worth the work because this simple town had a gorgeous stretch of turquoise waters on a pebbled beach with a great fish restaurant above the beach.

Eski Datca is a town within a 10minute drive from Datca Marina and is well worth a visit. Its hilly terrain gives way to narrow winding walkways and homes with backyards of fig, plum and lime trees.  The back drop is a forest of almond and pine trees, you can smell the freshness in the air. Small coffee shops and trinket shops filled the streets and as we sat for a coffee, we looked up to find small green apples hanging over us. It was the first time I’d ever seen an apple tree!

Bencik is a must to visit by boat. The colors and feel in this area are magical, there is a spectrum of greens within a forest of pine trees and palm trees, and the water is completely flat because of its location in a very deep bay.  We spent the day but left before sunset as we were warned that the wasps and bees come out and sunset.

Selimiye is a perfect spot to spend days at anchor.  This large bay is spacious and surrounded by mountains for boats to tie back to so it’s a safe anchorage and extremely calm even when the wind has picked up outside of the bay. The town is cute and has a great ice cream shop with unique flavors made of goat milk.  I tried a combination of cinnamon, turmeric and pumpkin ice cream! The restaurants are all situated on the water’s edge offering an exquisite view from any table.  Our friend, Sailing Yacht Chicago, parked his catamaran right next to us and we were exchanging plates of cake and watermelon through an inflatable that we tied between the two boats 😊.

So far we’ve been awe-struck by the beautiful bays and towns and we’re looking forward to move further south to explore all the other places on the Turkish coast.