Discover Gocek’s six marinas, calm island-dotted bays and highlights like Yassica, Tersane, Sarsala and Cleopatra’s Baths. See how turkey blue cruises use this hub, when to choose a private yacht charter, and why it’s ideal for blue cruise holidays in turkey.
Gocek is a compact resort west of Fethiye on the Turkish Riviera. In antiquity it was known as Kalimche, and local lore even claims Icarus touched down here after his fateful flight. With six modern marinas wrapped around a deep natural harbour, Gocek is a true yachting hub—prime territory for turkey blue cruises, weeklong gulet itineraries and every kind of private yacht charter. In peak season you’ll often spot international celebrities enjoying blue cruise holidays in Turkey among the sheltered coves and pine-clad islets. Its ideal position between Fethiye and Dalaman Airport adds to the appeal, and the maze of small islands keeps the sea calm for leisurely cruising.
Though the permanent population is only about 4,500, numbers swell several times over in summer as day-boats and gulets tie up for a few hours on Turkey sailing routes. The waterfront promenade—where many boats berth—lines up cafés, bars and restaurants, with a compact shopping street just behind. On a Fethiye–Marmaris schedule, Gocek is an easy half-day stop to stretch your legs, stock up and savour the harbour scene during your blue cruise holidays in Turkey.
This little archipelago—five low islands scattered close together—invites easy exploration. In places the channels are so narrow you can almost swim across, and snorkellers love scanning for traces of antiquity, including the remains of a submerged stone bridge linking two islets. The largest island offers a sandy strand for a lazy sun session. Many Fethiye-to-Marmaris cruises include the Yassicas, and because they’re uninhabited, guests on turkey blue cruises can roam at will between bushes of pine and juniper before slipping back into the water.
The biggest island in the Gulf of Gocek, Tersane once hosted a Greek community and later operated as an Ottoman-era shipyard—hence its “Dockyard Island” moniker. Today you’ll find silent stone shells of old houses across the hillsides and knee-deep, glass-clear shallows perfect after a short walk ashore. A naturally protected bay in the northwest offers reliable shelter and good holding, so it’s a favourite anchorage for gulets and private yacht charter crews alike; bring a mask to nose around the shoreline remains.
About 15 km from Dalaman Airport, Sarsala unfurls a long pebble beach and luminous, clear water. Reached by a winding road—and all the prettier for it—the cove has a small pier and a simple restaurant, and it’s one of the most popular swim stops for blue cruise holidays in Turkey on the Marmaris run. Climb a nearby viewpoint for a panorama of indented coast and island-dotted sea.
The bay is named for poet-painter Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, who left a fish motif on a prominent shoreline rock during a 1974 voyage. Many sailors simply call the spot “Fish Rock,” and it’s regarded as a signature anchorage in the Gulf of Gocek. Forested slopes of pine and olive roll down to the water, splashes of oleander dot the shore, and small coves open to still, sapphire shallows—photogenic and peaceful, and a regular feature of turkey blue cruises and private yacht charter routes.
A coastal favourite, this cove reveals broken foundations of ancient baths visible beneath remarkably clear water. Local lore ties the site to a gift from Mark Antony to Cleopatra, chosen for its naturally warm, spring-fed shallows. Slip on a mask to glide over walls and steps, then, if you fancy a leg-stretch, follow a half-hour trail to the ruins of the Lycian city of Lydia tucked in the hills. There’s no road access, which keeps the magic intact—happily, it’s a fixture on our blue cruise holidays in Turkey itineraries.
