Golden Book Travelers: A Turkish Blue Cruise
Lonely Planet review for Almila Boat Cruise; Run by a Turkish-Australian couple, who own two superior boats and offer the popular 12-islands cruise. Numbers are limited to 10 people and the food has garnered good reports.
Almila Gulet
We are Available for Charter
Skippered/Crewed, Hire
Skippered/Crewed, Hire
Turquoise-coloured paradise
by Mark Hotton6 Jul 2004
When you’re travelling, it’s amazing how the smallest things can make a difference to a trip. Like deciding to walk back to the hostel in a small Italian village rather than catch a bus, and finding a stadium filled with 2000 screaming volleyball fans watching a close game. Or getting on the wrong train and ending up in a quaint little English village with the best pub food in the world.
Small moments like those seem to happen more frequently in Turkey for some reason. Whether that’s the nature of backpacking in general or simply because the country operates at a more relaxed pace and on ‘Turkey time’, I’m yet to determine.
So it wasn’t really surprising that when we discovered our much-anticipated yacht cruise around Turkey’s southern coast had departed the previous day what could have been a major logistical nightmare turned out to be only a minor hiccup.
Rather than turn our trip into a disaster, it simply meant another night in the Kadir tree huts in Olympos, which in turn provided an extended opportunity to get to know our new travel friends better and to learn new card games.
Time ticks by differently in Turkey and working out onward travel plans, particularly those that have been upset, can often be difficult. But with the help of our Kadir hosts, we were soon booked on to another boat cruise with a different and more reliable company – Almila Yachting Travel.
Part of that reliability comes from Rose, an Australian who went on a trip to Turkey several years ago, fell in love with one of the guys on the boat, and ended up staying. She and her husband now operate two boats – one 15m long with four double cabins and two bathrooms, and the other 25m long with eight double cabins with ensuites – which do three night/four day trips between Olympos and Fetihye, as well as around nearby islands.
There are dozens of yacht hire companies plying their trade around the Turkish coast and it’s not hard to see why. There’s nothing quite like boating around the Turquoise coastline, with hundreds of little bays and inlets providing great opportunities to moor and swim.
Of course being in Turkey, it also wasn’t a surprise that the booking mistake actually turned out to work in our favour. Those on the boat turned out to be like-minded travellers from Australia and New Zealand who weren’t looking for a booze-cruise.
Sure a fair amount of alcohol was drunk but there was no loutish behaviour, except maybe the traditional nude swim undertaken by a couple of the lads. But let’s be honest, you put a couple of Kiwi boys near water and what do you expect? Our first afternoon was spent in a bay with the sun beating down. It doesn’t take long to get to know your fellow boat cruisers, with the lack of clothing seemingly helping aid conversation – as well as the tasty Efes beer.
All food is provided on the boats and with beer costing less than a pound, it’s easy to just lie back and relax. The crew are relaxed and despite some obvious language barriers great fun to spend time with – and the local dishes they produce are excellent. They were also taken by the rubber chicken which one member of our party travels with although relationships soured slightly when they turned it into a chicken salad, complete with lettuce, tomato and cucumber and tried to carve ‘chicken’ up.
The yachts did make landfall a couple of times including Kaz, a wonderful little town sitting at the base of a massive hill and mooring near the stunning Blue Lagoon near Oludinez, but the rest of the time is spent lolling about on the Med.
And that’s the attraction of the boat cruises. You can’t do anything or go anywhere except chill. It’s the perfect way to unwind from the hassles of UK living and what a way to do it. Crystal clear and warm water, deep blue skies, and the knowledge that you have nowhere to be.
We made some great friends from those four days and it’s funny to think that had our original booking been honoured, we would never have met them. It’s amazing how those small things can change everything.
by Mark Hotton6 Jul 2004
When you’re travelling, it’s amazing how the smallest things can make a difference to a trip. Like deciding to walk back to the hostel in a small Italian village rather than catch a bus, and finding a stadium filled with 2000 screaming volleyball fans watching a close game. Or getting on the wrong train and ending up in a quaint little English village with the best pub food in the world.
Small moments like those seem to happen more frequently in Turkey for some reason. Whether that’s the nature of backpacking in general or simply because the country operates at a more relaxed pace and on ‘Turkey time’, I’m yet to determine.
So it wasn’t really surprising that when we discovered our much-anticipated yacht cruise around Turkey’s southern coast had departed the previous day what could have been a major logistical nightmare turned out to be only a minor hiccup.
Rather than turn our trip into a disaster, it simply meant another night in the Kadir tree huts in Olympos, which in turn provided an extended opportunity to get to know our new travel friends better and to learn new card games.
Time ticks by differently in Turkey and working out onward travel plans, particularly those that have been upset, can often be difficult. But with the help of our Kadir hosts, we were soon booked on to another boat cruise with a different and more reliable company – Almila Yachting Travel.
Part of that reliability comes from Rose, an Australian who went on a trip to Turkey several years ago, fell in love with one of the guys on the boat, and ended up staying. She and her husband now operate two boats – one 15m long with four double cabins and two bathrooms, and the other 25m long with eight double cabins with ensuites – which do three night/four day trips between Olympos and Fetihye, as well as around nearby islands.
There are dozens of yacht hire companies plying their trade around the Turkish coast and it’s not hard to see why. There’s nothing quite like boating around the Turquoise coastline, with hundreds of little bays and inlets providing great opportunities to moor and swim.
Of course being in Turkey, it also wasn’t a surprise that the booking mistake actually turned out to work in our favour. Those on the boat turned out to be like-minded travellers from Australia and New Zealand who weren’t looking for a booze-cruise.
Sure a fair amount of alcohol was drunk but there was no loutish behaviour, except maybe the traditional nude swim undertaken by a couple of the lads. But let’s be honest, you put a couple of Kiwi boys near water and what do you expect? Our first afternoon was spent in a bay with the sun beating down. It doesn’t take long to get to know your fellow boat cruisers, with the lack of clothing seemingly helping aid conversation – as well as the tasty Efes beer.
All food is provided on the boats and with beer costing less than a pound, it’s easy to just lie back and relax. The crew are relaxed and despite some obvious language barriers great fun to spend time with – and the local dishes they produce are excellent. They were also taken by the rubber chicken which one member of our party travels with although relationships soured slightly when they turned it into a chicken salad, complete with lettuce, tomato and cucumber and tried to carve ‘chicken’ up.
The yachts did make landfall a couple of times including Kaz, a wonderful little town sitting at the base of a massive hill and mooring near the stunning Blue Lagoon near Oludinez, but the rest of the time is spent lolling about on the Med.
And that’s the attraction of the boat cruises. You can’t do anything or go anywhere except chill. It’s the perfect way to unwind from the hassles of UK living and what a way to do it. Crystal clear and warm water, deep blue skies, and the knowledge that you have nowhere to be.
We made some great friends from those four days and it’s funny to think that had our original booking been honoured, we would never have met them. It’s amazing how those small things can change everything.
