Busabout Sail Turkey Photo Essay
We just returned from what can only be described as the most relaxing 8 days of our lives on the first ever Busabout Sail Turkey adventure cruise. Hopefully you can get a sense of what we were up to from our photo essay below. Enjoy…
Sunset on our Busabout Sail Turkey Cruise
Not only was it Busabout’s first ever Sail Turkey cruise but it was also our first travel adventure to Turkey as well. So after being emotionally drained during the ANZAC Day commemorations around Gallipoli we needed a holiday. And what better way to relax than on a traditional Turkish Sailing Gulet?
For 8 days and 7 nights we cruised the beautiful and refreshing crystal clear waters in the Mediterranean Sea off the southern shores with Busabout Sail Turkey with 18 other lucky passengers.
We swam everyday on our Busabout Sail Turkey cruise
By day we swam and snorkelled. Or jumped off the towering cliffs into the plunging waters. And even though it was only the end of April the water was warm enough that we could spend at least 30 minutes cooling off under the hot Turkish sun.
If we were not sunning ourselves on the deck of the boats then we would be exploring the cultural offerings that Turkey has in abundance. Whether it was the ruins of the sunken villages, ancient Kings Tombs and the old Castle overlooking the small village of Kaleköy (Simena in ancient Lycian).
One of the many beautiful scenes on Simena Island
Our Busabout Sail Turkey boat moored at Simena Island
Or hiking and climbing up to the ice cold glacial waterfalls carving through the quiet and serene Butterfly Valley in Turkey.
Pulling into Butterfly Valley on the Busabout Sail Turkey cruise
Our days could not be better.
Luckily the evenings were just as good, if not better. Hours were spent sitting onboard the Busabout Sail Turkey Gulets with a beer (Efes is delicious) or a wine in hand. Our only cares were watching as the sky changed from royal blue into amazing reds, oranges and yellows as the sun set on each glorious day.
The nights would either be spent playing copious amounts of backgammon and card games on the decks. Or we would consume a few too many Efes and end up partying the night away with the other Sail Turkey boats in remote bars like in Smugglers Cove below.
Unfortunately like all good things, our Busabout Sail Turkey cruise had to come to an end.
Book your Busabout Sail Turkey Trip Here:
Disclaimer: We were provided with a discount for the Busabout 8 Day Sail Turkey trip, however, as always our thoughts here our own.
Category: Adventure Travel, Europe
Brilliant. Can not believe you climbed up to the castle at Simena – I took one look at the height and bottled it!! You had a great view from there though
It was beautiful up there! Make sure next time you visit you head up Natalie
Looks awesome! I did a 3-day cruise there years ago with another company and loved it as well. Although 8-days would have been so much better.
I don’t even think 8 days was long enough!
Gorgeous photos. I have made this the headline news of my Paper li. Cassam’s is anyone there news.
Thanks Anne that’s really nice of you
MMMMmm looks so fabulous, any crays? Are the sunken cities actually below the water and you snorkel them? How deep?
Most of the time we were parked in 10m – 20m of water and actually not even that much fish life around let alone crays! And nope not allowed to snorkel the ruins just spot them as we drove past.
Sounds like a wonderful experience. You really captured the beautiful landscape, too.
It wasn’t hard to capture the beauty when it looks like that Sophie
Wow. This is very high on my travel list, and this post makes it hard not to head for the airport. Thanks for the vicarious escape.
No problem Jeff! If you want to do Sail Turkey then definitely cannot fault Busabout
Oh, Effes!! Yum!!
They have quickly become one of my favourite beers. Although that could be because of where we were drinking them every day haha
Gorgeous photos! I loved Turkey when I was there last month, would be great to see more of the beautiful country. Glad you had a good time on the sailing trip!
Where did you go on your trip Ali? We need to go explore more mainland Turkey now!
Istanbul, Cappadocia, Izmir, Selcuk/Ephesus, Pamukkale. My favorites were Istanbul and Selcuk/Ephesus. Izmir was cool too, we just weren’t there long.
We really missed out on seeing so many places! Definitely locking in another trip there sometime next summer I think
Thanks!
If I didn’t want to go badly enough to Turkey before, this definitely tips the scale.
Haha sorry Ayngelina
We are definitely going to go back and explore mainland Turkey next time so hopefully see you there!
Great photo essay, the first shot is stunning!
I am glad we managed to do the scenery just a little bit of justice! Was one of the best weeks we have had so far on our travels.
Wow, it must have been an amazing experience! Not sure my sea-sickness would have enjoyed it, but it sure looks like you made the best out of it
Fortunately they stick to all the coves and you don’t really get too far out to sea so I am sure your sea-sickness would be fine
Cruises on such small boats are awesome, and spending a week on one! You guys are so lucky!
Highly recommend it Jarmo! And WAY cheaper than Sail Croatia.
So many boats! Kali has a love affair with boats so I sent him this post, and he freaked out a little. =P
Haha awesome. You guys should really do it. It is so much fun!
Ahhh! Turkey! Brings back great memories. Looks like you had fantastic weather.
It was brilliant weather. I think only one day was overcast which was a bit of a blessing so we could get some respite from the sun!
This looks amazing. I would love to hike up to the waterfalls — or, I’d also be content to just sit and relax on the beach for once. Glad you guys seem to be having fun and also getting to relax as well.
Heading up the Butterfly Valley was definitely one of the highlights and we need to write up a whole post on it soon! Was definitely one of the best holidays we have ever done too
Looks like an awesome trip!
Do you think you would ever do it Amanda?
Hey there,
what type of crowd was on board the busabout adventure, and was it a bit less of a party trip than say Greece and Croatia, or a whole lot less?
As a 19 year old, just curious because the scenery aspect looks incredible from your photo journal!
Thanks for getting in touch mate. There was a range on our boat from 20 right through to 29. But everyone got on really well and although we enjoyed a fair few drinks we didn’t get as out of control as I think Greece and Croatia are. In saying that, the other boat travelling with us partied harder than we did so there is always a few that do!
Cheers mate,
Ended up choosing Croatia simply because the flights to/from Split and Dubrovnik were alot cheaper than Istanbul, making the overall costs around the same.
Will certainly look at the Turkey Sail on my next visit to Europe though, I just can’t get over how good your photos look!
Fair enough choosing the cheap option! Loved Sail Turkey but heard good things about Sail Croatia as well. Hope you enjoy it and let us know how you get on
This looks incredible – I want to take this cruise! Great photos!
Cheers Chrystal! Are you visiting Turkey any time soon? Loved your Venice post by the way. Headed there in another week
I have no immediate plans to visit Turkey – but Hopefully I can get there sometime later this year while en route to Australia for next February. Its cheaper for me to connect through Istanbul from Canada so I might as well lay over for 2 months right? haha
Definitely stay for 2 months! You could see so much of Turkey in that time! Do it
We love small sailing trips like this one and had a great experience on a 20 passenger boat in the Galapagos. The water in Turkey looks a lot warmer though!
Water was warm but the Galapagos Islands would be something else!
We were just in Turkey in May as well and were struck with how incredibly sweet they were with our 18 month old baby. In Greece they were sweet with Storsh because they wanted to sell us something, but in Turkey they didn’t necessarily care about us, but they adored the baby. An added plus to a gorgeous country!
Thanks for your photo essay – you have some really lovely shots!