Gulf of Gökova

The Gulf of Gökova runs about a hundred kilometres inland between the Bodrum peninsula and the Datça arm, and it is the water most people mean when they picture the Turkish coast: steep pine-forested slopes dropping straight into deep blue, a chain of sheltered inlets - English Harbour, Çökertme, Değirmen Bükü, Sedir Island's bay - and reliable afternoon winds that make it the best cruising ground in the region. Most of it is reachable only by boat, which is why the gulet trade exists. It is also a marine protected area, and one of the more successful ones: no-fishing zones established with local fishing cooperatives from 2010 onward have brought back grouper, sandbar sharks and the endangered Mediterranean monk seal, and the recovery has been documented and internationally recognised. Rangers patrol the zones. Anchoring rules, no-take areas and restrictions on seagrass beds apply to visiting boats and are enforced.

The landscape

• The pine inlets - forested slopes falling into deep water.
• The anchorages - English Harbour, Çökertme and the sheltered bays.
• The protected zones - no-fishing areas and their recovered fish.
• The afternoon wind - the reliable breeze that draws sailors.

When to go

May to June and September to October for wind and quiet water; July and August bring heat and a crowded charter fleet.

Good to know

Most of the gulf is boat-access only - without a charter you see the edges. Marine park rules on anchoring and fishing are real and enforced. Charter prices peak sharply in August.

Nearby

Akyaka is at the head of the gulf; Sedir Island lies within it, and Bodrum and Marmaris are at either end.

Key facts