Crewed Gulet Cruises

Blue cruise (cruising in Southwest Turkey) is one of the most relaxing vacations on earth. It is a unique form of cruising and yachting experience, an adventure that takes you to the magic of myths three millennia old, under the Mediterranean sun and in the turquoise blue of the crystal clear waters. It is also an opportunity to taste Turkish cuisine as well as fresh fish.

Blue Voyages with Gulets

A yachting holiday is the ideal way to see the best of Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coastline. Many of the archaeological sites are accessible from the sea and the turquoise waters are a joy to swim in. Gulets are traditionally designed and locally built wooden motor sailing yachts . These yachts range in size from two to eight cabins and all cabins usually have wc/shower en-suite.


The cabins of the crew are completely separeted from those of the passengers. The gulets offer enough space to the passengers in the cabins, in the aisles and on the deck.

The crew consists of a captain, a cook and one or two deckhands who are all experienced in their work. Although the gulets are essentially motor yachts, it is possible to sail certain distances during a Blue Cruise.

You can shape your cruise itinerary as you wish before booking. Usually the daily duration of cruising is not longer than 3-4 hours, and the rest of the day can be spent in a gorgeous cove enjoying the sun and the sea. Sunbathing on the deck, swimming in clear waters, snorkeling, windsurfing, waterskiing or just fishing...

Or anchoring in a cove and trekking in the wild nature, visiting a nearby village and coming closer to local people and their traditions or visiting an ancient ruin. Here, in the midst of the idyll, you can feel the touch of nature and history.

True to its spirit, the ideal itinerary for a Blue Voyage must allow you to best penetrate the sense and soul of places where you anchor. So, instead of rushing from one spot to the next, a program has to strike a balance between the time spent at sea, the time passed in various bays, villages or ancient sites and the time required to enjoy them. For those on a private cruise, we recommend an itinerary visiting as many places as possible without making the cruise tiresome. Cabin charter tours are scheduled in accordance with this philosophy, as well.

It is possible to charter private yacht cruises that combine the Dodecanese (Rhodes, Cos, Patmos, etc.) and Cycladic (Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, Naxos, Amargos, etc.) Islands of Greece and The Turkish coasts. But there are harbour taxes and additional cruising fees for much longer distances associated with this type of cruise.

The South Western coast of Turkey is one of the best cruising areas in the world.

You could spend a year cruising this coast from Kusadasi to Antalya and still not see everything.

When you come on a Transbalkan Gulets Holiday for a week, two weeks or longer, whichever itinerary you choose, will definitely give plenty of time to relax and explore, cruising no more then 4 - 5 hours a day with stops for swimming and long leisurely lunches.

Visiting historical sites, shopping in resort towns, or anchoring in secluded bays with just the sound of water lapping against the side of the boat are all possible. We believe that every taste can easily be satisfied along this diverse coastline.

Once you are on board a Transbalkan Gulet, one of our staff will show you the possibilities, make suggestions and then let you to decide your own program.

FOOD
The food on board, for guests and crew is not included in the price of the yacht. Shopping and cooking services are included in the price of the yacht.
All meals are cooked on board by the cook unless guests wish to eat out at any time.
Meals are based on fresh vegetables, fresh fish, meat (beef or lamb), chicken, fresh fruits, cheese, eggs and yoghurt.
Cuisine is mainly based on Turkish Mediterranean home cooking.
VEGETERIAN dishes can also be cooked upon request.

DRINK
On our gulets, we do not run a bar. All the drinks requested by the charterer are purchased by us at cost and put on board. Crew does the service.
There is a large selection of good quality Turkish wines as well as beer, imported spirits, mixers, fruit juices and other soft drinks.
The traditional Turkish drink, RAKI is certainly worth a try.

PROVISIONING
Stocking up a boat for a week or two, takes time and careful planning. We do not want our guests to lose that time from their holiday. Our policy is to prepare the yacht according to personal requirements of the charterers before their arrival. We suggest the charterers to choose either our full board on a fixed price or provisioning according to their personal requirements at cost.

WEATHER CONDITIONS
The cruising season on the Aegean Coast lasts from May to October.
In MAY, days are warm, evenings cool. The sea is warm enough for swimming, the countryside is very green.

JUNE and SEPTEMBER are hot, evenings are warm. A dependable breeze makes these two months very pleasant for cruising.

JULY and AUGUST are warmest months, blue skies are guaranteed every day.

In OCTOBER, good weather can last right through the end of the month except for the occasional rain showers but sea is warmer than May.

For clients who wish to take advantage of lower season prices and prefer to cruise at a time when bays are far less crowded with other boats, May, June, September and October are ideal.