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Travel guide
Bodrum
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Bodrum, in a few days
Bodrum is ancient Halicarnassus: a Knights Hospitaller castle built from the stones of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders, and a Greek theatre above the bay. Around it, a peninsula of fishing villages, wooden gulets and the marina at Yalıkavak.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Castle of St Peter and the Museum of Underwater Archaeology · 2 to 3 hBuilt by the Knights of St John in the early 15th century with green marble from the Mausoleum; its towers bear the order's langues.
- Afternoon · The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus · about 30 minThe site of the tomb of Mausolus, finished around 350 BC, 45 metres high and one of the Seven Wonders; it named every mausoleum.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Marina Vista Bodrum€90 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The ancient theatre of Bodrum free · about 1 hCut into the hillside in the 4th century BC, its tiers overlook the whole bay from the castle to the island of Kos.
- Afternoon · The Bodrum windmills free · about 1 hA row of 18th-century stone windmills on the ridge between Bodrum and Gümbet, in use until the 1970s and partly restored.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Costa Maya Bodrum€80 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Bitez beach free · half a dayThe peninsula's family beach west of town: a gently shelving kilometre of sand and gravel, sheltered from the meltem, with windsurfing schools.
- Afternoon · A gulet cruise to Karaada · a full dayBodrum has built wooden gulets for generations; each morning dozens leave the harbour for a day around Karaada, the Black Island across the bay.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Karia Princess€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Yalıkavak Marina free · half a dayA former sponge-diving village on the north coast whose marina, with more than 600 berths, takes some of the largest superyachts in the Mediterranean.
- Afternoon · Gümüşlük and Tavşan Island free · half a dayA fishing village on the site of ancient Myndos; wade knee-deep along the old causeway to Tavşan Island and look for sunken walls.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Diamond of Bodrum€130 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Kebab and doner, in more forms than the two words suggest.
- Meze: a spread of small plates, ordered for the whole table.
- Pide and lahmacun: flatbreads, and the closest thing to a Turkish pizza.
- Baklava and lokum, layered pastry and rose-scented cubes of sugar.
- Cay and Turkish coffee, drunk all day and never in a hurry.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Agree the price first, and be wary of strangers who are too helpful.
- Haggle at the bazaar, and do it with a smile.
- Cover shoulders and knees in mosques, and bring a scarf for the head.
- Tea offered in a shop is a courtesy, not an obligation to buy.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Turkish
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Merhaba |
| Thank you | Teşekkürler |
| Please | Lütfen |
| Yes | Evet |
| No | Hayır |
| Excuse me | Affedersiniz |
| Goodbye | Hoşça kalın |
| Do you speak English? | İngilizce biliyor musunuz? |
| I don't understand | Anlamıyorum |
| How much is it? | Ne kadar? |
| Where are the toilets? | Tuvalet nerede? |
| The bill, please | Hesap, lütfen |
| Help! | İmdat! |
| Cheers! | Şerefe! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyTurkish lira (TRY, ₺)
BudgetAbout €100 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September to October
PlugC/F · 230V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingExpected, around 5 to 10%
Emergency112
EntryVisa-free for 90 days in any 180 with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well outside the tourist trail.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/bodrum
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.