Bodrum Airport→Türkbükü

Türkbükü sits on the northern shore of the Bodrum peninsula. Turkish writers long ago nicknamed this stretch the "Saint-Tropez of the Aegean". It is the part of Bodrum where holidays move slowly. Days are built around a wooden deck over calm water, a long lunch and a swim before dinner.

The drive from Bodrum-Milas Airport (BJV) is about 48 km and usually takes about 45 minutes. A private car means you step out of arrivals, meet a driver who is holding your name, and ride straight to your hotel or villa. There is no taxi queue at a small regional airport. There are no shared-shuttle stops at other resorts before yours.

This page describes the journey as a holidaymaker lives it. It covers the road, the arrival, the bays and the beach clubs, and the practical points that make the first and last hours of a stay easier.

Bodrum-Milas Airport lies inland, near Milas. Türkbükü lies on the far side of the peninsula, on the north-facing coast. So this is a crossing of the whole peninsula, not a short hop to the nearest beach. The 45-minute figure is for normal conditions.

After the terminal, the road leaves the flat inland ground and climbs. The landscape changes as you go. Pine slopes and olive groves close in on both sides, and the air in the car often feels cooler and more resinous than it did on the apron. The road winds over the wooded interior of the peninsula and then starts to drop toward the northern bays.

This is a good moment to rest. Your driver handles the bends. You can look at the hills, open a window or let the children fall asleep. Most guests are quiet for the first half of the drive and start pointing at things in the second half.

The last part of the journey runs down toward Göltürkbükü. This is the bay where the villages of Gölköy and Türkbükü have grown together into one municipality. As the road drops, the sea comes into view. Often the first things you see are moored gulets and the wooden sunbathing platforms that reach out over the water.

Here the road becomes narrower. Türkbükü is not a compact town with one main square. It threads along the shoreline and climbs the hillsides above it, and many lanes run steeply down to the water. A driver who knows the area does not stop at a junction at the top of the hill. He takes the car to the entrance of your property.

Use 45 minutes as your planning figure for a normal run. In July and August the peninsula fills up. The final approach through Göltürkbükü and the narrow shore road can then add some time, most of all in the early evening. At that hour guests go out to dinner, and cars queue near the beach clubs.

For a morning or mid-afternoon arrival, the road is usually at its easiest. If you land in the early evening on a peak-season weekend, plan for a slightly longer drive. Do not plan a dinner reservation for 30 minutes after you land. Give yourself time to reach the hotel, shower and change.

Your driver tracks your flight. If the aircraft is late, the car is still there. You do not have to ring anyone from the baggage hall.

BJV is a seasonal airport. It is quiet for much of the year. Then on summer weekends charter flights land in clusters, and the terminal fills quickly. Local taxi supply does not always keep pace with the arrivals, so a long wait at the rank is possible.

With a pre-booked private transfer, the driver meets you in arrivals with a name board. He helps with the bags and walks you to the car. Pay attention to these points before you fly:

• Give the flight number when you book, so the driver can follow the real landing time.
• Give the exact name of the hotel, villa or beach club.
• Add a pin location if the property is on an unnamed lane.
• Say how many people and how many large bags travel.
• Tell us about prams, golf clubs, dive gear or other large items, so we assign a vehicle with enough boot space.

The booking is for the whole vehicle. The cost is the same for a couple or for a group, with luggage included. Child seats, including ISOFIX, are available on request. Give the ages of the children when you book, so the correct seats are in the car when you arrive.

Three vehicle types serve this route.

• Economy van. This is the practical choice for couples and small families. It has comfortable seating and space for a normal holiday's worth of luggage.
• Business van. This has more space, more legroom and a higher finish. It suits a guest who wants extra comfort after a long flight, or who travels with more bags than usual.
• 13-seat minibus. This is for larger families and friends who want to ride together. Everyone sits in one vehicle with proper luggage space, and the group does not split across two cars.

The practical side of the arrival matters here, because the area is built on steep lanes and small bays.

Several Türkbükü properties sit on unnamed lanes off the main shore road. Some are boutique hotels with a small gate. Some are villas up the hill above Gölköy. A few stand right beside a beach club. If you give only the name of the bay, the driver has to search. If you give the hotel name and a pin location, the car goes straight to the door.

The same applies to a beach club. Maki, Mandalin and Macakizi are well-known names on this shore. If you plan to go straight from the airport to a lunch table on the deck, tell us at booking. The driver then stops at that entrance on the Türkbükü shore.

On a busy summer weekend the single shore road can be slow near the beach clubs, because of valet traffic and cars arriving at the same time. In that case the driver may choose a quieter approach to your hotel. Do not be surprised if the car turns off the shore road earlier than you expect. It is a decision to save you time.

Türkbükü has almost no natural sandy beach, and that is its character. Life happens on the iskele, the wooden deck built out over the sea. Loungers sit on the planks, ladders lead into the water, and the restaurant is a few steps behind you.

The beach clubs along the shore, such as Maki, Mandalin and the long-established Macakizi, are the centre of the day. You swim off the deck, return to a lounger, eat lunch and swim again. The water in the bay is calm and turquoise, so it suits people who like to float and watch rather than people who want waves.

If you want to be close to this, choose a hotel on the bay itself. The walk from your room to the water is short, and the evening promenade is outside your door.

Families who rent a villa often choose the slopes above Gölköy. The villas are whitewashed and set into bougainvillea. They give you privacy, a pool of your own and a view down to the bay. You pay for this with distance from the water. You will probably go down to the shore by car at least once a day.

A private transfer works well for this type of stay. The car handles the awkward final climb. You do not drag suitcases up a hill on foot.

In high summer the mooring buoys in the bay fill with yachts and gulets. Some guests join a charter that is moored off Türkbükü. For them, the transfer ends at the shore and a tender takes them out to the boat. If you are in this group, tell us the name of the boat or the jetty where the tender waits. The driver can then take you to the correct point on the waterfront.

Türkbükü is popular with travellers who want a quieter and more upmarket base than central Bodrum or Gümbet, and who still want easy access to both. You can spend several days in the bay with no need to leave it. Another day you can drive to the livelier parts of the peninsula for a change of pace. Then you return to the calm of the north shore for the evening.

The pattern of a Türkbükü day is simple.

• Morning: a late breakfast at the hotel, then the deck.
• Midday: a long lunch by the water, with swims in between.
• Afternoon: shade, a book and the boats.
• Evening: a walk along the seafront promenade between the restaurants of the bay.

Evenings are stylish but not loud. The area draws a crowd that comes for calm swimming, good food and quiet luxury rather than nightlife on a grand scale. You will find restaurants with tables near the water. You may want to book your first dinner before you travel, because the bay is busy in high season.

If you arrive in the evening, you do not need to plan a big night. Many guests drop their bags, walk to the nearest waterfront restaurant and sit with a drink while the lights come on across the bay. This is a gentle way to start a holiday after a day of travel.

Türkbükü is not a place of crowds and water parks. That is good news for some families and a point to consider for others.

For small children, the calm water in the bay is a benefit. It is not a surf beach. But the deck has no sand, and some decks have ladders instead of a gentle slope into the sea.

For the journey itself:

• Ask for child seats when you book, and give the ages.
• Bring a small bag with snacks, water and a toy in the cabin, because the drive across the peninsula takes about 45 minutes.
• For a late evening flight, remember that children may sleep in the car. The driver can park close to the entrance, so that you carry them only a short distance.
• If you have a pram, tell us at booking, so the vehicle has the right boot space.

A larger group with grandparents and several children is often best served by the 13-seat minibus.

Evening flights are common into BJV. A pre-booked transfer means a driver is waiting whatever time you land. You do not compete for a taxi at a small airport at the end of a long day.

For a late arrival, send your flight number and the hotel name before you travel. Tell your hotel about your late arrival, so that your room is ready. Tell us if the flight is delayed. The driver follows the aircraft and adjusts.

An early-morning departure is a different case. Türkbükü is on the far side of the peninsula from the airport. A pickup in the dark means that the lanes of the bay are empty and the shore road is quiet. This helps with speed, but you must still leave in good time. See the next section for the planning of the return trip.

The journey home is the same road in reverse: about 48 km, usually about 45 minutes. The driver collects you at your hotel or villa. He takes the bags from the door and drives up from the bay, through the pine and olive slopes of the interior, to the flat ground near Milas.

Plan the pickup around your flight time, and build a margin for the check-in queue at a small airport on a summer weekend. Many guests choose to leave the hotel earlier than they think they need to, because the airport can be busy with charter flights landing and leaving in clusters. A margin also covers the slower shore road on a peak evening.

If you travel in July or August, add extra time for the final climb out of Göltürkbükü. If you travel with young children, add time for the last bathroom stop and the last forgotten toy.

We cover the return from Türkbükü to Bodrum Airport on the same terms. You can book both directions at once. Your departure is then arranged before the holiday begins.

The main season runs roughly from late spring into early autumn. In this period the water is warm and the beach clubs are open. July and August are the busiest months, with full mooring buoys, a busy shore road and a lively evening promenade.

Outside those months the resort is much quieter. Some venues are closed, and the bay feels like a village again. If you want calm, travel at the edges of the season. If you want the full social picture of decks, yachts and long lunches, travel in the middle of summer.

The transfer works in both cases. In the quiet months the road is easy and the driver is waiting. In the busy months the driver knows the shore road and how to reach your entrance.

Whatever you have planned once you arrive, the transfer is the easy part. You land, you meet your driver, and you go straight to your accommodation on the calm north shore of the Bodrum peninsula. For the return, confirm the pickup time with us the day before.

Türkbükü is a good base for a week, but the peninsula rewards a few days away from the deck. Most outings are short coastal drives.

Yalıkavak is the nearest of the larger resort towns on the north-west side of the peninsula. Its marina is lined with yachts, shops and waterfront cafés, and it makes a lively contrast to the quiet of the bay you have left. Gümüşlük lies further along the west coast. It is a small fishing village built around a sheltered bay, with a tiny island just offshore. It is known for simple fish restaurants set right on the sand and for its sunsets. Many guests drive out in the late afternoon and return after dark.

The town of Bodrum sits on the south coast, across the peninsula from Türkbükü. Its landmark is the Castle of St Peter, which stands above the harbour and holds the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Bodrum is also the harbour for ferries to the Greek island of Kos, so a day on the water is possible for travellers who carry their passports.

• Pick one destination per day. The roads wind, and a second stop makes the day tiring.
• In July and August, leave early or return late. The coast roads are busiest in the afternoon.
• Ask us at booking if you want a car for a day trip as well as the airport run.

Bodrum cooking belongs to the Aegean tradition. It uses olive oil, fresh fish and the wild greens that grow on the hillsides.

• Meze. A table of small cold dishes is the usual start to a meal. Look for olive-oil vegetables, wild herb dishes, yoghurt with garlic and fresh seafood plates.
• Grilled or baked fish. Sea bass and sea bream are common choices in the bay. Many restaurants show you the whole fish before they cook it.
• Bodrum tangerines. The peninsula is famous across Turkey for its mandarins. In the cooler months they appear in desserts, juice and jam. Ask your hotel if they are in season during your stay.

Türkbükü has boutiques and small design shops along the shore road. They sell linen, swimwear, ceramics and jewellery. For a wider choice, visit the bazaar streets of Bodrum town or the marina shops in Yalıkavak. Weekly markets run in the towns of the peninsula. Ask at your hotel which day suits the town you want.

Leave room in your bags for what you buy. Olive oil and ceramics add weight.

Many flights from BJV leave in the evening, which gives you a long final day in Türkbükü.

Check out of your hotel at the normal time, then ask the reception to keep your bags. Villa guests should confirm the check-out hour in advance. You can then enjoy a last swim, a long lunch on the deck and one more walk along the promenade.

The drive takes about 45 minutes in normal conditions. In summer, add time for the shore road near the beach clubs and for the check-in queue. Tell us your flight time and we suggest a pickup time. If you plan lunch at a beach club, tell us so the driver collects you from the correct entrance.

A group that has spent a week on the peninsula often travels home with more bags than it brought. Sports gear, golf clubs, dive equipment, prams and shopping all take space. Count the bags on the last morning and tell us the final number. For a large group, the 13-seat minibus keeps everyone in one vehicle.

• Pack the main bags before lunch.
• Leave them at reception or by the door of the villa.
• Spend the afternoon in the bay with a small day bag.
• Return to the hotel in good time, change and be at the entrance when the driver arrives.

With these steps, the last hours of the holiday stay relaxed, and the road to the airport is the final calm part of the trip.