Bodrum

The approach to the lovely harbour is dramatic: the Crusader castle of St. Peter commands a small promontory, while polished gulets, or sailing boats, glide in and out of port.

Bodrum’s new Cruise Ship Terminal is near the centre, around 1500m away. The pleasant 20 min. waterfront walk passes plenty of cafés, including some on the beach. Part of the route is called “Bar Street”; continue to reach the castle and bustling central Bodrum.

At times, the port organizes a shuttle boat from the pier to a location beside the castle. The fare is about 1 Euro each way.

The terminal building contains customs offices, a duty-free area, restaurant and cafeteria. Fast ferries to nearby Kos also leave from here, departing around 9am and returning late afternoon.

A printable map is available to take along.

No visit to this great city is complete without Bodrum Castle, which overlooks the harbour and international marina. Knights of Rhodes constructed it in the 15th century during the Crusades of the Middle Ages, and gave it the name Castle of St. Petrus, or Petronium.

In Bodrum Castle of the Knights of St. John, the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology is an original, creative and exciting experience rather than a dusty collection of lifeless relics.

Bodrum is easy to explore on foot.

Town taxis are cheap, regulated and easy to find. On longer journeys, drivers may ask more than the meter, so agree the fare in advance. Turkey’s most unusual transport is the Dolmus, meaning “To Fill”, serving routes buses do not. These minibuses, jeeps or vans fill quickly, leave when full and, as a bonus, drop passengers anywhere along the route. For the ship, look for the “Ismeler” dolmus from the central bus station; the trip is 10 minutes. Lira, Euros and USD are all accepted...

While most visitors stay in Bodrum, the surrounding villages make good day trips. Gumusluk is particularly worthwhile for its fish restaurants, and dolmus taxis are both cheap and efficient.

Open-air restaurants line the curved harbour, looking onto the beautiful old gulets.

Behind these restaurants, narrow streets lead toward the castle and are full of shops, nightclubs and rooftop bars. Natural sponges are sold here.

Beyond the usual souvenir shops, explore Bodrum’s weekly farmer’s markets on Friday. On Tuesdays, local vendors set up stalls of tapestries, handicrafts, pottery, plentiful textiles and even well known fake Rolex watches. It is a good place to bargain and talk to Bodrum locals. The covered market is on the first floor beside the central bus station.

Turkish cuisine is among the world’s best, with enough climatic zones to grow most ingredients locally and a vast range of tempting produce. Beyond kebabs, there are many traditional foods. Turkey is especially known for meze, hundreds of small appetiser dishes ranging from cheese with melon to elaborately stuffed vegetables. Turkish restaurants serve these traditionally with Raki, a clear anise-flavoured spirit claimed to be the national alcoholic drink.

Turkey uses the Turkish Lira. In coastal resorts and large cities, many shops and restaurants take Euros and USD, including coins. For travel elsewhere in the country, carrying some Turkish Lira is advisable. Cash machines in convenient city, town and resort locations allow credit- and debit-card withdrawals of local currency.

The terminal has decent free WiFi near Duty Free.

A handful of cafés offering customers free WiFi are in the town centre.

For emergencies throughout Turkey, call Ambulance 112 or Police 155.

In tourist and coastal areas, hours are very flexible. During summer, many shops open late into the evening seven days a week, allowing tourists to browse at leisure and avoid the heat of the day.