Gocek Bay deserves a blog on its own because this place is truly stunning and the ultimate place for boat lovers! Secluded from neighbouring cities, Gocek is made up of small inlets and bays within a massive bay surrounded by lush, green mountains and a backdrop of clear blue skies. Reachable predominately by boat with only one snaky road in the mountains that leads to Sarsala, a small beach with a parking lot and a taxi station. The water is clear and turquoise close to the coast and most of the time completely flat because of its protected location from the open sea.
We spent two months in and around the Gocek bay area and had several visitors come and stay with us here. Its an ideal spot to hang out with visitors as its scenic, there’s access to Dalaman Airport and more importantly, there’s lots to do here; you can swim, take a ride on an inflatable, go snorkelling, cliff jumping, hiking or stop at any of the few restaurants in the area for a coffee or something to eat.
The best part for boaters is that you can stay at sea without going back to land for supplies or services because in Gocek everything comes to you! A massive Migros boat (Migros is a large supermarket chain) visits the bays every day and to get to it, you hop on to your dingy and drive behind it giving the ropes to an attendant who ties it for you. The boat continues to move as you do your shopping and it’s surprising how much stock they have on there. We bought the most delicious apricots, peaches and watermelons from the Migros boat. They even have a baking oven on board so you can buy fresh bread and pastries!
We were also visited by a water sports boat, a fruit and vegetable boat, a boat that sells doner kebab and an ice cream boat, which was a favourite of course! We also saw a boat called “ RELAX “ that offers massages, they tie their boat to yours and the masseuse hops on to your boat to give you a massage! In all of Europe, we haven’t encountered such service at sea for boats, truly impressive
There’s also “Cleopatra’s Bath”, ancient ruins in the water that are believed to be the place where Cleopatra came for rest and relaxation. There are a number of chambers in the ruins and it makes for a great place to take photos.
You get up close to wildlife in the area, in some bays we saw meerkats at night, donkeys, goats and chickens. On one morning we had two donkeys come too close for comfort while untying our lines from the rocks, they have a loud and jarring bray which startled us all but thankfully we were able to untie our ropes before the donkey reached us.
Everyone here drops their anchor and reverses back to tie back to land because of the depth of the bay which reaches about 60 meters. In some places there are small metal posts installed that you can use for your tie back otherwise there is the option to dock on the pier of some of the restaurants out there. At the pier who have access to water and electricity so it’s a good option if you want to refill your water. When you dock at the pier you are expected to have lunch or dinner at the restaurant in return, a fair deal!
Only 4 nautical miles away is Gocek town, a cute little town with a long street of small shops selling authentic Turkish-made jewelry, accessories and clothing. Restaurants and cafes line the sea front offering a great view of Gocek pier and the bay.
If you’re on a boat in Turkey, Gocek is a must visit, its beauty will blow you away.
What an amazing spot! The water is very tempting. Looks to be the best place to relax with a good book.
I am guessing Sara is the writer in the family. Her prose flows and incites the reader to continue. This is a memorable journey. Savor and enjoy