We wanted to start traveling again as soon as we were both vaccinated. In Europe, only Croatia, Albania, and Turkey would allow Americans in. Our Kiwi friends told us about their dream of chartering a traditional gulet ship to tour. We’d never heard of it, but found a beautiful one available and booked it for two weeks with two other couples. JUST before we went, Turkey went on a Covid lock-down and banned all alcohol sales! But we ordered what we needed before the ban and tourists were still allowed to travel in country, so we took the chance.

We spent a couple of days in Istanbul, which was a different experience it was so clean and quiet due to the lock-down. Then we flew to Bodrum on the southern coast for our charter. The crew, the chef, the boat were spectacular. We wandered along the deserted coast enjoying the crystal clear waters, beautiful scenery and shore excursions to historic sites.

We highly recommend this popular form of vacation frequented by Turks in the summer, though I doubt you’d have the quiet experience we had unless you go in the May and September shoulder period. Many of the boats are cleared to sail to the Greek Islands too, though we weren’t due to Covid rules.

And check out the short video one of the crew took from a drone!

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