Bodrum and Göcek sit roughly 165 nautical miles apart on the southwest coast of Turkey, where the Aegean turns the corner into the Mediterranean. Bodrum lies opposite the Greek island of Kos and is the usual starting point for crewed charters heading east; Göcek is a small marina town twenty-five kilometres from Dalaman airport, at the head of a bay scattered with twelve islands. This article sets out how those miles divide across seven days, when the summer wind builds and drops, what sea and air temperatures to expect month by month, and what a one-way charter involves logistically. Distances are averages — hull length, weather and the skipper's judgement move them by a mile or two either way. How the week divides Charters generally begin on Saturday afternoon and turn east into the Gulf of Gökova, a deep inlet roughly sixty miles long with mountains on both shores. Day 1 — Bodrum to Çökertme, about 22 miles. A bay on the northern shore of the gulf, backed by olive groves, with good holding in sand and mud. Day 2 — Çökertme to the Seven Islands, about 18 miles. Sedir Island can be visited en route; its beach sand is legally protected and cannot be removed. The Seven Islands themselves form a natural pool between low islets. The water is deep close in, so yachts anchor and run a stern line ashore rather than swinging free. Day 3 — Seven Islands to Knidos, about 40–45 miles. The longest leg of the week, and the reason an early start matters. Knidos is an ancient city at the tip of the Datça peninsula with two harbours facing opposite directions, which gives shelter in most conditions. Day 4 — Knidos to Bozburun or Selimiye, about 28 miles. Once past Cape Deveboynu the coast changes character: the bays narrow and pine forest runs down to the waterline. Bozburun still builds wooden boats; Selimiye is quieter. Day 5 — Bozburun to Ekincik, about 30 miles, crossing the Gulf of Marmaris. From Ekincik, local river boats run up the Dalyan delta to the rock tombs of Kaunos and to İztuzu beach, a loggerhead turtle nesting site closed to visitors at night between May and October. Day 6 — Ekincik to Göcek, about 22 miles. The water flattens noticeably once you round the Kapıdağ peninsula. Day 7 — short hops inside the Gulf of Fethiye, usually under ten miles in total: the Yassıca islands, Bedri Rahmi bay with its fish painted on a shoreline rock in the 1970s, and Tersane Island, where the ruins of an old Ottoman shipyard stand among the trees. The meltemi and how it shapes the day The prevailing summer wind here is the meltemi, blowing from the northwest. Mornings are usually calm. The wind fills in around 11:00 to midday, peaks between 15:00 and 17:00, and eases after sunset. The Gulf of Gökova funnels it: 12 to 15 knots offshore can become 20 to 25 knots inside the gulf by mid-afternoon. The practical rule is simple — long legs before lunch, anchored by mid-afternoon. For the Knidos passage on day three, most skippers weigh anchor between 07:00 and 08:00. Heading west, into the wind, that timing is the difference between a comfortable three hours and a wearing five. Anchoring technique differs from the Balearics or the Ionian. Bays drop away steeply, with fifteen metres of water five metres off the rocks, so the standard method is to drop anchor and take a line ashore to a tree or bollard. Crewed yachts handle this themselves; it is worth watching once. Choosing the month The season runs from May to October. June and September are the most balanced. In June the sea sits around 22–23 °C and the meltemi has not yet settled into its pattern. July and August bring coastal air temperatures of 33–35 °C and sea temperatures of 25–27 °C, but also the strongest wind of the year and full anchorages by late afternoon. September holds around 25 °C in the water with lighter wind and far fewer boats. By October the sea drops to about 23 °C and the first southerly weather systems appear. One-way logistics Because the route ends where it does not begin, flights are straightforward: Milas-Bodrum airport is about 36 kilometres from Bodrum town, and Dalaman is a thirty-minute drive from Göcek. Both take direct seasonal flights from several European cities. The yacht, however, has to return, so most owners price a one-way itinerary with a repositioning fee. Ask about it at the enquiry stage rather than at contract stage. Changeover day is normally Saturday. On crewed charters the provisioning list, dietary requirements and any diving equipment are agreed before departure, since restocking mid-week inside the bays is limited. The route also works in reverse, Göcek to Bodrum, though the long leg then falls upwind and an extra day is usually sensible. If you tell us which week you are considering, we can match available yachts to it and set out a realistic day-by-day plan.
