The following is taken from with permission from the book:
Bareboat Yacht Chartering in Turkey 2012
By Franz Amussen
©2012 Franz Amussen All Rights Reserved
None of this material may be reproduced or distributed without the permission of the author
- Primary Charter Areas Of Turkey
The three most popular yacht chartering areas of Turkey are Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye (which also would include the town of Gocek).
This is for good reason being areas around these towns has wonderful scenery, good restaurants, in the area around Gocek flat waters because it is protected, and safe anchorages. We will cover the companies who charter yachts in these areas in this book but will also talk about some of the out-of-the-way places where you can charter boats for those who wish to explore further afield.
- Ayvalik
Ayvalik is located in an archipelago and on a peninsula on the North West coast of Turkey. The archipelago consists of about 30 small islands which are scattered both in the Greek and Turkish islands. Directly to the West in a very short sail away is the Greek island of Lesbos.
It is tempting as you’ll find out throughout your sail in Turkey to enter Greek waters and visit some Greek islands. However as it stands right now in order to do this legally you will first need to clear out of Turkey and all the customs regulations involved with that and then re-clear in the Greece with all the bureaucracy and expenses on that side. And do the reverse when you return back to Turkey. It is my suggestion that you choose to either sail in Greece or Turkey until some sort of arrangement can be made between the two countries which allows charter sailors to visit both countries without the excessive bureaucracy which is required at this point in time.
In the town of most services and good shopping is available. Good restaurants abound and it is a working community gradually moving into more toward tourism.
The only problem with chartering of Ayvalik is the difficulty of getting here. The nearest airport is in is in Izmir which according to Google maps is 151 km away and driving your own vehicle should take about two hours and 18 minutes. I have no idea how long will it take your by bus from the airport. From Istanbul the bus ride is about six hours.
The Marina which you would charter from would most likely be the Setur Marina. I have only wonderful things to say about the management and organization of this Marina.
A personal anecdote is appropriate here. I wintered my boat in this Marina two consecutive years when I wanted to sail the sea of Marmara. My boat was fine on both occasions. This is not uncommon what impressed me was the manager of this Marina. My family and I had put up the boat and taken the long bus ride to get back to Istanbul to fly home at the end of the sailing season. When I put up the boat I put on a full cover and do all the necessary chores to secure the boat for the long cold winter.
Upon arriving in Istanbul we spent the day wandering around involved in typical tourist activities. Our flight was out on Sunday so on Friday night I started repackaging all of my gear, looking for my passport, my passport was nowhere to be found.
I was in a panic and I started calculating how long it would take to get back to the boat in search for the passport on the boat which is where I suspected I had left it. I called the Marina and talk to the manager he asked me where I thought I might have left the passport on the boat and I describe the location. He personally went to my boat took off the cover so that he could enter the boat and search for my passport in what would be the equivalent of sauna degree temperatures. I called back an hour later and the manager had my passport in his hand.
Now I needed to figure out how to get from Ayvalik to Istanbul. I asked for suggestions and he said to call back and a half an hour. When I called back he’d gone from boat to boat in the Marina and asking if anybody was going back to Istanbul. It turned out that none of the sailors were heading back so he drove down to the bus station and talk to a bus driver that was coming to Istanbul. He gave my passport to the bus driver and told me the name of the bus and the location where I could pick it up the next morning in Istanbul. When I arrived at the bus station the next morning I identified myself and the lady who was helping me open up a locked cabinet and handed me my passport I offered to pay for the service but no money would be taken. I cannot think of anywhere I’ve ever traveled were people bend over backwards to help you as much as Turkey.
A great day trip to take from Ayvalik is a visit to the ancient Greek ruins at Pergamum. To do this you can neither charter a car and drive to the town of Bergamon or do it by bus. Either way I suggest that you take a taxi to the Temple which is located high on the hill overlooking the town of Bergamon, visit the ruins at the top of the hill and then wander down through the ruins through the paths that eventually take you into the city and back to your bus or car. My family and I did this and it is one of our fondest memories of visiting Greek ruins, and believe me we’ve seen most of them. You can have Ephesus with its hordes of just off the ship package tourists and chattering tourist guides, I’ll take Pergamum with the air perfumed by flowers and the only sounds being the wind, bees and birds.
Charter companies in Ayvalik:
At the writing of this book there were no major yacht charter companies operating out of Ayvalik. However yachts can be chartered directly from owners through the yacht charter site “Yacht Owners Direct”
http://www.yachtownersdirect.com/
Additionally the Marina may be able to help you with yacht charters. Below is information on the Marina obtained from the companies’ website.
| Marina Information | |
| Marina Name | Setur Auvalik Marina |
| Address | Atatürk Bulvarı Yat Limanı Ayvalık / Balıkesir |
| Phone Number | +90 266 312 26 96 |
| Fax | +90 266 312 23 16 |
| ayvalik@seturmarinas.com | |
| Web Page | http://www.seturmarinas.com/en/index.php?page=ayvalik-contact |
| Coordinates | 39° 18.9 07” N – 026° 41.2′ 78” E |
| VHF Channel | 73 & 16 |
| Mooring | Laid Moorings for various size boats |
| Haul Out Facilities | 88 Ton Travel Lift |
| Hard Standing | Yes |
| Prices | Moderate |
| Services | Lifting and launching, Hull pressure washing |
| General Technical Services | |
| Sewage collection | |
| Bilge and waste oil collection | |
| Maintenance (Engine running, battery and bilge control and airing) | |
| Fire control | |
| ATM in town | |
| Ship‘s Chandlery | |
| Electricity | |
| Water | |
| Mechanics | |
| Fuel | The Marina fuel station |
| Yacht Charter Companies | http://www.yachtownersdirect.com/ |
| Contact Marina directly of other possibilities | |
| Personal Observations | Out-of-the-way and difficult to get to but I can’t say enough good things about the management of this marina. The facilities are top-notch and cleaning and if you like out-of-the-way places this is a great place charter boats if you can find one. |
Check back often I may be adding more information from the book when I get around to it. The next chapter will be Cesme
If you are impatient then you may always purchase the full book for Kindle it at the link below
This book is intended to be a source of information for those who wish to charter yachts and Turkey. As time goes on I will be using the same model outlined in this book to provide your chartering information or other popular sailing areas.