Turkey sailing questions

[rohat]

Hello,
We are planning to sail for 5-7 days in Turkey in July. I need some help on this. Please offer your wisdom. My wife and 4 kids (9,9,14,17). The wife is not big on sailing so I need something non-sailor friendly.

-Where is best place to launch from considering I only want to be sailing max 4 hour/day?
-I hear its frick'n hot. I would never consider air conditioning bc we are from Canada but should we for sleeping at night?
-Any recommended charter companies?
-Has anybody chartered with a captain? good? bad? ugly?

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

[Buena Vista]

Hi Rohat, welcome to the site. There are plenty of people with lots more experience in this area than me, but as nobody else has picked up the challenge yet, here goes.

Yes July is very hot, we were there all over last summer and will be headed back there next week. Will you need A/C at night? That depends on your tolerence levels I guess. We have a power boat and it does have A/C but we never ran it at night, but then we are from Oz and used to a bit of hot weather.

If you just have a week, I would suggest Bodrum or Marmaris as a start and then head for the gulfs of Hisaronu and Yesilova, about in the middle of Bodrum and Marmaris. Fantastic cruising area, lots of anchorages, our favourite area.

The Gocek & Fethiye area is also very nice but all the anchorages were crowded and all seemed to be stern to, which with a inexperienced crew and a short time to learn, may raise the tension if there is any breeze about, unless the wife is happy to jump in the tender and drag a line ashore.

Have not chartered so can't help with the rest. There are a plethora of charter companies there and in general the people are great, so I don't think there should be a problem with crewed or bareboat.

One final point, if you are considering a crewed charter for 5 - 7 days, you might want to look into a gulet, best of all worlds for a short cruise and they know all the good spots.

[Crimea Cruiser]

If you are Canadian you will find the nights hot and unwelcoming on still nights. With a breeze you should not be bothered. As Buena Vista mentioned, you will find plenty of charter offerings from traditional gulets to cats and monos. The kids would love the gulets. Best cruising from Izmir to Mamaris. I agree, that the best option for fun for entire family would be a crewed gulet. Wife would feel more assured with crew that knows the local sea and it leaves time for you and family just to enjoy experience.

[Dockhead]

5-7 days is very little to even dip your toe into this fabulous cruising ground. You should try to swing two weeks.

If you really only have 5 days, then signing up for a crewed gulet charter, as suggested above, is probably best, but you will hardly experience anything.

My favorite jumping off place in Turkey is Bodrum. Fabulous variety of wonderful places within a daysail away, and Bodrum itself is also charming and wonderful.

[jackdale]

From a fellow Canadian.

I sailed there in 1985, 86, and 88 for two week stretches in July.

5-7 days is really not enough time to see much.

You do not want to be on land or in a marina. We had to re-provision in Fethiye when it was 43C. The Turkish bath was cooler that the air outside.

Swinging on a hook is best. Stern-to works if you can get a breeze.

I cannot comment on recent developments.

[rohat]

Thanks for replies! A gullet? really? Gee, the ease and comfort is kinda tempting but the sailor in me says that's for Bradgelina types squeezing OJ in their champaign for morning breaky where I kinda like to get my hands and fingers pinched in a rusty winch. Upon everybody's advice I'll make sure we do 7 days. We are trying also to get to Cappadocia and Ephesus as well in the 21 days we have.

[rohat]

Originally Posted by jackdale

From a fellow Canadian.

I sailed there in 1985, 86, and 88 for two week stretches in July.

5-7 days is really not enough time to see much.

You do not want to be on land or in a marina. We had to re-provision in Fethiye when it was 43C. The Turkish bath was cooler that the air outside.

Swinging on a hook is best. Stern-to works if you can get a breeze.

I cannot comment on recent developments.

Yikes! that's hot. The dream sail may turn into the sail from hell. Now you got me thinking the aircon gullet is the way to go...

[rohat]

Anybody done the gullet? They seem expensive. $7-10K/week.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by rohat

Thanks for replies! A gullet? really? Gee, the ease and comfort is kinda tempting but the sailor in me says that's for Bradgelina types squeezing OJ in their champaign for morning breaky where I kinda like to get my hands and fingers pinched in a rusty winch. Upon everybody's advice I'll make sure we do 7 days. We are trying also to get to Cappadocia and Ephesus as well in the 21 days we have.

Ah, a Christian vacation! I see.

Well, then, don't miss Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was the main temple of Christianity for 1000 years. You could easily spend your 21 days never leaving the borders of Stambul, and still be pressed for time.

If I were you, I would probably spend 14 days sailing, and 7 days seeing Istanbul and Ephesus. Cappadocia is magical, but far away and hard to get to, and not that much to see. I would not spend the time getting there, in only 21 days.

[Crimea Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Ah, a Christian vacation! I see.

Well, then, don't miss Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was the main temple of Christianity for 1000 years. You could easily spend your 21 days never leaving the borders of Stambul, and still be pressed for time.

If I were you, I would probably spend 14 days sailing, and 7 days seeing Istanbul and Ephesus. Cappadocia is magical, but far away and hard to get to, and not that much to see. I would not spend the time getting there, in only 21 days.

Agreed! From Istanbul to Bodrum you will find all you need to keep you occupied for 21 days between sailing and land travel. It does get hot. 35c+ days are not uncommon in summer. So you will want to leave time for siestas. Not sure how you plan on getting around but do not count on air conditioned public transportation.

[rohat]

We could skip Cap but that would mean I'd be in the doghouse for oh maybe 60-90 days when we get home. The sailing is for me and kids. Cap and Ist is for her. That would be one loooonng flight home.

[athene]

Have to disagree about Cappadocia. Don't miss it, even if you have to cut your sailing days. We based Athene of Lymington in Turkey for five years, cruising from the Black Sea round to Antalya and visiting most of the inland areas, and I can tell you nothing we saw on land held a candle to Cappadocia - Ephesus and Istanbul included.

[Katiusha]

I agree about not missing Cappadoccia, but going there in July? If you think the coast is hot, you'll melt in Cappadoccia (think dessert planes heat). Locals avoid Cappadoccia until Sept or so.

More about the heat: the water really warms up towards the end of July, depending on the year. If you go to Fethiye or Gocek, it'll get hot earlier. The trick is to anchor stern-to in small bays where there are sweet water springs - fresh water is cold, so at least the bottom of the hull will be cool.

Note that Ramazan/Ramadan starts on July 9th this year and will continue for 30 days. This will mean business closures in the beginning (if I remember correctly) and end of the fast. At the end there will be Seker Bayrami (sweet holiday) - huge celebration with fireworks, common town celebrations, etc. more about it here: http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/R...zan_dates.html

After the first 3 days of Ramazan people start making mistakes because of crazy eating schedule, so double-check whatever somebody else is doing for you. Oh, and there will be lineups to sweet shops the moment sunset is announced. On the plus side, there will be very little locals out during the day.

If I were going to visit Ephesus, Cappadoccia, and sail in 3 weeks, I'd do the following: fly to Izmir via Istanbul (easiest in terms of baggage and transfer is to buy Turkish Airlines to Izmir), rent a car one way to Ankara, drive to Ephesus (3 days), drive to Marmaris, charter there for 5 days sailing to Dalyan or Bozburun (NW Meltem switches on around 10am or noon every day), then drive through Fethyie to Cirali (Turkish mount Olympos with Chimerea fires), stay there in a guest house right on the beach (check TripAdvisor and book ahead as the best guest house is very popular), then drive to Cappadoccia, maybe with another stop somewhere on the coast in an air conditioned hotel. Finish by flying out of Ankara.

This is a lot of driving, but the landscape is spectacular, especially once you're south of Izmir until Antalya. Just note that once you're on mountainous roads, some twists and turns, while being safe, are not for very fainthearted. And whatever you rent, don't rent Hyundai Accent - absolutely terrible gas mileage. Speed traps are rare until close to Kaiseri. From there until Ankara it's sped trap heaven. Speed traps before Kaiseri are an "economy" car parked on the right facing traffic direction. A few kilometres later is a police car flagging people down. Cars driving towards you will flash lights to let you know there is a ap ahead. Sometimes it's 5-10 min out, so don't lose vigilance

Sorry for tmi, but I really enjoyed this trip, though was tired towards the end. The only difference was that we returned to Bodrum where our boat was.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy it and don't feel obligated to respond to vendors harassing you. A curt "nod" upwards while looking in the eyes and strict "no" is usually all that's needed to get them to leave you alone.

[sycankiz]

All you need is a phone number of a forum friend... here is mine : +90 533 577 0303...

[rohat]

Originally Posted by Katiusha

I agree about not missing Cappadoccia, but going there in July? If you think the coast is hot, you'll melt in Cappadoccia (think dessert planes heat). Locals avoid Cappadoccia until Sept or so.

More about the heat: the water really warms up towards the end of July, depending on the year. If you go to Fethiye or Gocek, it'll get hot earlier. The trick is to anchor stern-to in small bays where there are sweet water springs - fresh water is cold, so at least the bottom of the hull will be cool.

Note that Ramazan/Ramadan starts on July 9th this year and will continue for 30 days. This will mean business closures in the beginning (if I remember correctly) and end of the fast. At the end there will be Seker Bayrami (sweet holiday) - huge celebration with fireworks, common town celebrations, etc. more about it here: Ramazan (Ramadan) Dates 2013

After the first 3 days of Ramazan people start making mistakes because of crazy eating schedule, so double-check whatever somebody else is doing for you. Oh, and there will be lineups to sweet shops the moment sunset is announced. On the plus side, there will be very little locals out during the day.

If I were going to visit Ephesus, Cappadoccia, and sail in 3 weeks, I'd do the following: fly to Izmir via Istanbul (easiest in terms of baggage and transfer is to buy Turkish Airlines to Izmir), rent a car one way to Ankara, drive to Ephesus (3 days), drive to Marmaris, charter there for 5 days sailing to Dalyan or Bozburun (NW Meltem switches on around 10am or noon every day), then drive through Fethyie to Cirali (Turkish mount Olympos with Chimerea fires), stay there in a guest house right on the beach (check TripAdvisor and book ahead as the best guest house is very popular), then drive to Cappadoccia, maybe with another stop somewhere on the coast in an air conditioned hotel. Finish by flying out of Ankara.

This is a lot of driving, but the landscape is spectacular, especially once you're south of Izmir until Antalya. Just note that once you're on mountainous roads, some twists and turns, while being safe, are not for very fainthearted. And whatever you rent, don't rent Hyundai Accent - absolutely terrible gas mileage. Speed traps are rare until close to Kaiseri. From there until Ankara it's sped trap heaven. Speed traps before Kaiseri are an "economy" car parked on the right facing traffic direction. A few kilometres later is a police car flagging people down. Cars driving towards you will flash lights to let you know there is a ap ahead. Sometimes it's 5-10 min out, so don't lose vigilance

Sorry for tmi, but I really enjoyed this trip, though was tired towards the end. The only difference was that we returned to Bodrum where our boat was.

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy it and don't feel obligated to respond to vendors harassing you. A curt "nod" upwards while looking in the eyes and strict "no" is usually all that's needed to get them to leave you alone.

Thanks for the valuable input!
We are considering Ist-Cap(3days)-Izmir drive to Marmaris (7 days sail, 1 day Ephesus) and fly back to Ist from either Izmir or Dalaman. Researching flights now. They seem reasonable. Any suggestions of how to get from Izmir to Ephesus to Marmaris? We are actually thinking of a tour company if such a thing exists or renting a one way van. With 6 people sometimes tour company's are very reasonable compared to buses. Any suggestions are much appreciated.