- Gulet boat description
- Alanya gulets cruise
- Alanya Castle – Outer Sector
- Alanya Castle – Southern Side
- Gulet or maybe not…
- Lunch Time
- On The Way Back
- Costs
Sailing Turkish Gulet (traditional Turkish boat) on a day cruise in Alanya is very popular among the younger crowd. So if you are in that category or feel like one, please join us on the journey description.
We encourage you to read the whole article since we addressed some nuances that might put you off the cruise. So please, read through the article and find out if you might be in that category.
However, we strongly believe that majority will love it and take one on your next trip to Turkey.
Here is a map of our gulet voyage. You will experience a similar route on your trip, we guess.
Gulets are in Alanya’s east port. Close to Red Tower and the municipality’s public beach. The cruise is a half-day trip. So make sure you have dedicated time and are not in a hurry. After all, this should be a relaxing trip as well.
The cruise starts at the port close by Red Tower on Alanya’s east side, circles around the peninsula, and sailes to the west side, overviewing Kleopatra beach up to the west harbor. There is a lunch break at west Alanya port, and finally, return to the starting point.
Turkish Gulet (Yacht) – Description
The gulet is a traditional Turkish wooden vessel. The boat is broad and consists of two decks. The bottom deck provides sun protection. The upper is usually open sky or can have some improvised shade. Inside the deck (bottom) can be benches, chairs, and tables. On the upper deck, might be sunbathing lounge cushions.
The hull’s upper part is usually wooden, and the bottom is in different colors (white, blue, red, green, etc.).
The green carpet covers the bow area to avoid slipperiness. It can have sunbathing cushions as well.
Under the bow pulpit is a net. One can lay in it during the cruise. However, you should be extremely careful if doing so. Safety first and the adrenaline thrill last.
The mast is usually white but can be brown as well. However, we have hardly seen any boat using sails most are on a diesel engine as primary power.
Alanya Gulet Cruise – Voyage Description
If you have not visited Alanya Castle by land, the sea provides spectacular views of the castle’s different sections. The castle consists of three major walled sectors: the outer, the middle, and the inner sectors.
We have described wall sectors in more detail in our Alanya Guide. So read about sectors, shipyard, armory, Ehmedek fortress, etc. in that article. Especially about the middle and inner sectors since they are less visible from the sea.
Alanya Castle – Outer Sector
The outer sector stretches up the hill, from the Red Tower at the bottom to the Ehmedek fortress at the hilltop as you can see in the photo below. The second (lower) part follows the shoreline in the direction of the shipyard (Tersane) and armory (Tophane).
At the top of the hill is the upper part which can be seen in the photos that follow below.
Shipyard (Tersane) & Armory (Tophane) Tower
Next, close to the shore, we could see the walls leading to the shipyard (Tersane) and armory (Tophane). On the hilltop is the upper section of Alanya castle’s outer sector walls. It stretches from the Ehmedek fortress via the Arap Evliyasi tower all the way to the shorelines.
We had the first stop for a quick jump into the water and a short swim here. The water was a fantastic, warm, and deep blue color.
Further, we could see the outer section of the castle’s walls going down from the hilltop eventually all the way to sea level, the shipyard, and the Red Tower.
Alanya Castle – Southern Side (Civarda Cape)
As the gulet turned to the peninsula’s south side, we could see less and less of the walls. The walls were so up on the cliffs that we could only see massive rock formations as you can see in the photos below.
Our next stop was at the Civarda Cape southwest part of the peninsula. Look at the photo above how the cliff suddenly drops and then gradually Civarda Cape’s rock formations get into the sea. In the right photo above, the cliff drop is not that obvious and intimidating.
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Darphane & Monastery
At the Civarda Cape, we could see the remains of the walls, an old Byzantine church, and a monastery, as you can see in the closer-look photo below.
However, the main thrill is the exploration of the Lovers Cave. Volunteers in adventure mode jump into the water, swim under the cave entrance, climb up to the cave’s entrance, enter the cave, go deep into the cave, and suddenly emerge on the other side of the peninsula. The bravest adventures jump off the cliff into the water.
We, less courageous, watched all of this from the yacht and were excited to see what would happen next. One of the crew members jumped from the highest cliff. It looked like cliff divers in Acapulco.
Gulet Cruise or maybe not…
So far so good. As we finished the peninsula’s southern tip escapades, there is a twist in this story.
However, we would like to address something that bothered us on our cruise trip.
For no reason, the captain decided to sail on the open sea, where we experienced some waves and not a pleasant cruise for many with weak stomachs. The only logical explanation, at least in my mind, was either the captain wanted to empty our stomachs before the lunch break or make us lose our appetite. Some passengers, especially parents with small children, left the boat when we stopped at the west harbor.
The worst part was when one crew member flushed the vomiting rest with a bucket of water on the deck. Personally, I would not like to walk barefoot on a such deck.
We do not know whether every captain is doing this but we think it is important to inform you about this. Personally, we did not like that.
Gulet Cruise – Lunch-Time
At Alanya’s west harbor, we had a lunch break. Do not expect too much since it will be something on the grill (fish or meat) and some cheap wine.
The food and drink were not the reasons to take this voyage, so not a big deal, at least not for us.
Gulet Cruise On The Way Back
We passed by Kleopatra Beach which is the most beautiful beach in Alanya, on our way back. However, it is more crowded compared to east-side beaches.
Next, we stopped (for the fifth and last time since departure) close by the Phosphorous Cave for another deep in the sea. The water was still fantastic, clean, and refreshing.
Our impression is that Alanya Castle is less attractive from this west side of the peninsula. Maybe due to the fact that slopes are a lot steeper and not building settlement friendly.
As you can see in the photos below, at the bottom are rocks. in the middle is green vegetation, and at the top are the walls and Ehmedek Fortress.
Maybe this is just deceiving since the west side hides some hidden treasures. Such as many caves, lagoons, and who knows perhaps even secret pirate treasure.
The rest of the voyage was not that entertaining and pretty much everything that we have already seen and described. Basically, this is relaxing and sunbathing time on the boat. Finally, we reached the port where the whole cruise started.
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Gulet Cruise Costs
We really cannot remember the exact price for the trip per person. However, if the price had been really high we would have remembered that for sure. That means it is not super costly since Turkey is not that expensive country.
Since bargaining in Turkey is second nature it is always worth trying to negotiate a better price.
Just as a reminder, there are many locations around Alanya to visit and further explore. Read our escapades to Side, Perge, Aspendos, Manavgat, Antalya waterfalls, Sapadere Canyon, and many more.
We wish you an epic trip!
