Best Blue Cruise Tours

On a blue cruise you spend several days living on a gulet, a broad wooden motor-sailer of the kind built in Bodrum's boatyards and in other yards along the Turkish coast. Your bed is a cabin aboard, the crew prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner, and each day the boat drifts from one bay to the next, pausing for a swim, an ancient site or a small harbour town. There is no slower way to see this coastline, and plenty of guests find it the calmest week of their entire holiday.

Our four itineraries

All of the cruises we offer follow the Lycian and Carian shores of south-west Turkey.

• Our 4-day Fethiye to Olympos gulet cruise travels east out of Fethiye by way of Butterfly Valley, the Blue Lagoon, Kas and Kekova. If you prefer to start at the other end, the 4-day Olympos to Fethiye gulet cruise covers that coast in reverse.
• The 7-day Fethiye-Kekova-Fethiye cruise is a round trip from a single port, so booking your flights stays simple.
• Heading west instead, the 8-day Fethiye to Bodrum gulet cruise makes for the Aegean and the coves of the Bodrum peninsula.

Cost depends on the boat and the week you choose, so send us your dates and the size of your group and we will price the cruise for you.

What the price covers

On every itinerary you get the cabin, three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), a plate of fruit, bottled water, use of the boat's gear and the local taxes. Drinks other than water are extra, and the bill is usually paid on board on the last day. Tickets for places like the Kekova ruins or the rock tombs are your own expense, and crew tips are not part of the price either.

Cabins on a gulet are small, and most come with their own shower and toilet; when the nights are warm, lots of people take their mattress up on deck. Should room be important to you, ask us about a larger gulet or fewer guests sharing each cabin.

Is it right for you

• Friends and couples who like to swim, read and linger over lunch.
• Families with children who can swim, since the gulet anchors in sheltered coves.
• People who have done Istanbul and Cappadocia already and now want seven days with no schedule.

It suits you less if you get seasick easily, dislike small spaces or want bars and clubs at night. After dark things stay quiet, at anchor in a cove or tied up in a little port.

Best months

Gulets sail from roughly May through October. The sea is warmest in August and September. Peak crowds and the hottest days on land come in July and August. Along the Aegean, the summer wind from the north can make afternoons choppy near Bodrum on the 8-day itinerary, whereas the Lycian shore east of Fethiye is usually calmer.

Fitting a cruise into your Turkey holiday

Dalaman airport, with direct flights from Istanbul, lies about one hour from Fethiye. The usual plan is to fly south, spend the days at sea, then fly back to Istanbul or continue to Cappadocia. Among our multi-day trips is the 20-day private tour of Western Turkey, which has a three-day blue cruise built in. Near Fethiye you can also try tandem paragliding over the Blue Lagoon, found under experiences, a nice way to spend the day before or after you sail. Couples on honeymoon may like our Turkey honeymoon packages guide.