Sun, sea, and anything else you might want from a good holiday will be found on a gulet cruise.

Gulets are traditional wooden boats with accommodation for up to 16 people. they sail around the exquisite coast of Turkey stopping in idyllic bays and occasionally in larger ports.

There are thousands of gulets sailing in the area and one’s enjoyment of the holiday in these mini floating hotels is heavily dependent on the crew and your travelling companions.

FLIGHTS

As we boarded we were given newspapers and comics and children were given goody bags. Soon after take off we were offered ice-lollies which was fun.

The reps were very nice and friendly but absolutely no use at all. They really didn’t seem to know anything about gulet holidays and I think they should be better informed. Being on a gulet is very different from a hotel based holiday because you are quite isolated most of the time – although there is always phone and radio contact if necessary. I think it would be better if the rep had phoned up on a daily basis and spoken to a guest just to check if there were any problems.

The Adonis was a standard gulet and fairly typical. The cabins are very small – not much bigger than a double bed. There is one cupboard and two drawers in which to keep everything so it gets very cramped. In high season, however, most people hardly use their cabins – most sleep outside on deck.

On all gulet holidays the meals are included. The food is quite simple and very healthy but how excellent it is will largely depend on the cook. I’m afraid I did not think the cook on the Adonis was as good as on previous trips but that was just my opinion (I was vegetarian at the time and I think this annoyed the cook but on previous cruises there were several veggies and they were very well catered for)

For more information on the the meals, accommodation, and gulets in general you could look at http://www.bluecruiseturkey.com/index.html

We were able to help ourselves to drinks whenever we wanted – tea, coffee, soft drinks or wine, beer and spirits. But unlike previous cruises there was no ice available for drinks.

The brochure lists the following attractions:

Free use of snorkelling equipment – don’t rely on it. There were a few masks which leaked and no flippers. This was the case on the previous holidays too so take your own equipment. Another essential item is waterproof sandals or jelly shoes as there are a lot of sharp stones and spiky anemones about.

Fri - Ekincik bay – the brochure mentions an ‘after dinner stroll’ which seems to imply landing.
Sat – Dalyan. This is billed as an optional trip. It is a fabulous day out but it is not really optional because if one does not go on the trip the gulet remains all day moored in the middle of a busy (rather diesel fumy) bay so it is not much fun. The Dalyan trip however is really excellent we have been on a full day trip which cost £12 including lunch and a half day trip for £6. You travel up the Dalyan river passing ancient rock tombs, a visit to the ancient ruined city of Caunos and on to the mud baths and hot springs.
Sun – Gocek was the only stop we made in a port. Gocek is a small one street town with several bars and a few shops. There is a wonderful ‘traditional’ bar which has lots of open fires and low tables with cushions and huge hookahs to have a go with. We had a wonderful impromptu “Turkish evening’ there. The host encouraged us to dance, gave us instruments to play and hats and wigs to wear. He said he could have arranged a belly dancer if we had phoned to say we were coming.
Mon – stop at Olu Deniz - Not only does it say this in the brochure but the rep also told us we would have a wonderful day there. In fact it is not possible to land at Olu Deniz because there are restrictions on the number of boats to stop the area being spoiled. In fairness to our Captain he did suggest that we could go into Fetiye a day early and he would arrange a bus to take us to Olu Deniz so we could enjoy it properly. Unfortunately the weather changed – it was the last week of the season - so we didn’t bother.
Tues – Cove with a few tavernas – seems to imply landing but we didn’t.
Wed – We went into Fetiye a day early as planned.

Most brochures tell you about the relaxing tranquil nature of these holidays but they don't tell you about the nightlife. This varies from cruise to cruise depending entirely upon the guests. It can be party night every night or relaxing after dinner chat under the stars. The crew normally 'entertain' at least once during a cruise. We have experienced amongst other things several large captains, dressed in ladies underwear, belly dancing on the table; a midnight sail to capture the captain of another gulet, games with potatoes string and matchboxes and of course parties. Parties usually occur when several boats are moored in the same 'quiet' bay.