Loryma and Serçe: a week from Marmaris
7 days · 110 nm · starts in Marmaris · Turkey
Marmaris
Fly into Dalaman, an hour and a half by transfer, and take over the yacht at one of the Marmaris marinas. The big shop happens here too: further along the route there are almost no shops, only restaurants.
Marmaris → Çiftlik
A short, easy first leg west — exactly what a crew needs to get used to the boat. Sandy bottom, restaurant pontoons, swimming and an evening right by the water; on the way, a lunch stop off Kadırga island.
Çiftlik → Bozukkale
Along the southern shore of the peninsula past Gebekse bay and the ruins of its old church. Bozukkale is an enormous natural harbour with the walls of ancient Loryma above its entrance: a Rhodian outpost that guarded the way into the gulf. Anchor or take the Sailor's House pontoon, then walk up to the fort in the evening.
Bozukkale → Söğüt
Round the tip of the peninsula and into the Hisarönü Gulf from its northern side. Söğüt is a village with a handful of restaurant pontoons and a long shallow bay; it is usually quieter than neighbouring Selimiye and the water is calmer.
Söğüt → Kocabahçe (Sailors Paradise)
The shortest leg of the week — a whole day for swimming. Sailors Paradise in Kocabahçe bay: a small enclosed cove, a pontoon, a garden and the feeling that someone forgot to build a road to it. Dirsekbükü is worth a look on the way.
Kocabahçe → Serçe Limanı
Back around the southern shore of the peninsula. Serçe Limanı is an almost completely enclosed bay where the sea turns to glass in the evening and everything goes suspiciously quiet. Anchor or take the Captain Nemo's Farm Restaurant pontoon for a last night with no noise.
Serçe Limanı → Marmaris
A calm leg back with a swim on the way, into your own marina, fuel and handover.
The gentlest of the Marmaris loops: legs of two to three hours, not a single stretch of open water and nights in bays with no road to them. This is a route for a crew that wants to swim and have dinner on a pontoon rather than clock up miles. About 110 nm, and at almost every stop dinner at the restaurant takes the place of a berthing fee.
Practicalities
- Wind: a steady 12–20 knots from the west during the day in summer, dying in the evening. The windiest part of the loop is the tip of the peninsula between Bozukkale and Söğüt — plan that leg for the morning.
- Berths: restaurant pontoons are free with dinner — Çiftlik, Bozukkale, Söğüt, Kocabahçe, Serçe Limanı. There is one marina on the route, in Marmaris; budget for it on the first and last night if it is not included in the charter.
- Signal and shops: Bozukkale and Serçe Limanı have almost no internet and no shops at all. Bread and vegetables can be topped up in Söğüt and Bozburun; everything else comes from Marmaris before you leave.
- Formalities: the transit log and the security deposit are paid at the base at the fleet's price list. Greek Symi and Rhodes are very close, but sailing into Greek waters needs separate clearance and rarely makes sense within a week.
When to go and what it costs
Turkey is cheapest in winter — a median €252 per person per week; spring, by contrast, is the most expensive (€442) because of the May holidays. In summer reckon on about €350 per person, and two years of data show Turkish prices barely rising (+2% year on year).
RYC Rentals data, 2,062 offers from 2024–2026, as of 13 Aug 2026 · full breakdown →