The 12 Islands Boat Trip from Fethiye Harbour (Göcek Bays)

Because the outer Gulf of Fethiye is protected from open Mediterranean swells by a natural archipelago of pine-forested islands and deep fjord-like mainland inlets (stretching between Fethiye and the yachting town of Göcek), the 12 Islands Boat Trip (12 Adalar Tekne Turu) takes place on water that stays as flat and calm as an inland lake all day. If anyone in your group is prone to seasickness on open-sea waves, choose this route departing from Fethiye Town Harbour (Kordon) over the open-sea boats departing from Ölüdeniz.

The Classic 5-Stop Route (Departing in the late morning to in the late morning, Returning in the early evening to in the early evening)

Traditional double-deck wooden gulets line the Kordon promenade just west of the town centre; your ticket includes a freshly grilled sea bream, sea bass or chicken lunch with meze salads cooked in the galley:

1. Yassıca Islands (Yassıcalar): a cluster of five low, pine-covered islets where the largest island pushes a shallow golden sandspit out into a natural swimming lagoon between the islands.
2. Tersane Island (Dockyard Island): the largest island in the gulf, where a deep, windless natural harbour holds the stone ruins of an ancient Greek and Ottoman winter shipyard and deserted stone cottages along the shore.
3. Cleopatra's Bath Bay (Hamam Koyu) or Göbün Bay: tucked into the mainland pine forest of the Kapıdağ Peninsula (accessible only by boat or hiking trail), where you can snorkel right through the half-submerged stone arches of a Roman-Byzantine monastery bathhouse sitting in waist-deep turquoise water.
4. Aquarium Bay (Akvaryum Koyu) and Bedri Rahmi Bay: crystal-clear snorkelling channels between Domuz Island and Tersane.
5. Red Island (Kızılada): the final late-afternoon swim stop off an island whose beach pebbles and hillside stones glow rust-red at sunset beneath a working 1910 stone lighthouse.

How to Pick the Right Boat on the Fethiye Kordon

Walk along the harbour promenade near the municipal park the evening before your trip (or early in the morning) and look for authentic single-level or classic two-mast wooden gulets that cap passenger numbers at 25 to 40 people with guaranteed cushioned sunbeds for every guest, avoiding overcrowded 120-passenger multi-deck party boats.