Planning a trip to Bodrum

Getting There

By Plane -- Visitors to Bodrum actually fly into Milas, about 32km (20 miles) away and reachable in under a half-hour by way of the coastal road. Turkish Airlines (tel. 444-0849 for call center, or tel. 0252/23-0129 at the airport), Onur Air (tel. 444-6687 for call center), and Fly Air (tel. 0212/444-4359) are all competing for your business, keeping fares as low as 54TL and up to 154TL for a one-way flight from Istanbul. Turkish alone has five daily direct flights from Istanbul (both Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen Airports), as well as one direct flight from Ankara, and connecting flights from other major domestic cities. SunExpress (tel. 444-0797) flies direct from Antalya. There are also several charter companies arriving from Germany, the U.K., France, and the Netherlands; check with your local travel agent for information or log onto the airport's website (www.bodrum-airport.com).

Havas (tel. 444-0487) provides transfer service by bus into Bodrum's bus station from the domestic terminal; the ride takes about 45 minutes and costs 17TL. Havas departures are coordinated with Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Fly Air, Atlasjet and Anadolu Jet flight arrivals. A taxi from the airport costs about 50€.

By Bus -- Buses provide the cheapest and most comprehensive service into Bodrum, from pretty much everywhere in Turkey. The major bus companies serving Bodrum are Pamukkale (tel. 0252/316-1369), Varan (tel. 0252/316-7849), Kamil Koç (tel. 0252/313-0468), and Metro (tel. 0252/313-2233), but remember that rates vary widely from company to company.

By Ferry -- Bodrum Express Lines (tel. 0252/316-1087; www.bodrumexpresslines.com) runs daily ferryboat service between the Greek islands of Kos and Bodrum from May through October departing at 9:30am. The ride takes 1 hour and costs 28€ round-trip.

From June through September, Bodrum Express Lines runs fast hydrofoil service between Bodrum and Rhodes, departing Monday and Friday in high season. The ride takes 2 hours, 15 minutes and costs 60€ for both a one-way and a same-day round-trip.

Bodrum Express Lines also runs twice-weekly hydrofoils between Bodrum and Marmaris April through September. Hydrofoils arrive in the charming town of Gelibolu (where BEL will complete the journey for you with a bus to Marmaris). Total travel time is 1 hour, 50 minutes (the last 20 min. are on the bus). The one-way ticket costs 25€; a round-trip, same-day excursion costs 30€.

The Bodrum Ferryboat Association (tel. 0252/316-0882; www.bodrumferryboat.com) operates a ferry to Kos from Turgutreis, at the extreme western tip of the peninsula. Service runs once daily in July and August and takes 40 minutes. Service to Kos departs at 10am and returns at 4:30pm. Both the one-way and return ticket cost 28€. BFA also runs passenger and car-ferry service to Datça (2 hr.) for 25TL one-way and 40TL return with a bus transfer from Korman landing to Datça town, and 70€ if you're loading a car (add 10TL per passenger in the vehicle). Children under 6 travel free; 6- to 12-year-olds pay 50%. All tickets for ferries and hydrofoils can be purchased through any travel agent in town or at port, moved unceremoniously in February 2010 from under the castle to new digs over on Salvaraga Tepesi, Mantar Brunu Mevkii, just past Halikarnas (tel. 0252/316-4872; www.bodrumcruiseport.com). Allow at least 30 minutes before departure for your arrival at the docks; it can get pretty chaotic.

Visitor Information

The tourist information office (tel. 0252/316-1091) is open daily 9am to 6pm, good for little more than their collection of regional brochures and the latest copy of the Aegean Sun -- a handy English-language publication with the only decent map available of Bodrum. Try to locate a copy of the Bodrum Guide as well. Stick with your hotel concierge for any significant information on Bodrum.

Orientation

The white stucco town of Bodrum acts as the southern coastal entry point to the Bodrum Peninsula, dotting the hillside overlooking twin bays, and separated by a narrow landmass from which the impressive St. Peter's Castle rises imposing above the sea. West of the castle is the Inner Harbor, home to the state-of-the-art Karada Marina. Neyzen Tevfik Caddesi runs the length of the Inner Harbor from the marina to the castle, serving as the nucleus of a neighborhood that caters mostly to the yachting crowd, and thus is quieter and more polished than the Outer Harbor. Cevat Sakir Caddesi bisects Bodrum, connecting downtown Bodrum with the otogar, the weekly market, and the highway, ending up directly at the mouth of the old bazaar.

Working your way clockwise around the peninsula, the first bay over is Gümbet, a popular and crowded budget option mostly populated by a steady flood of weekender Brits. Taking advantage of the bays and coves of Bitez and Akyarlar are a series of condominium developments, followed by the town and yacht marina of Turgutreis. To the north is the idyllic fishing bay of Gümüslük, protected by the remains of ancient Myndos. Yalikavak finds the perfect balance between local character and a tourist infrastructure, with a town bazaar, waterside restaurants and stretches of seafront. Göltürkbükü is the merged name of the neighboring coves of Göl (Gölköy) and Türkbükü, two magnificent seaside villages that have morphed into a destination for the international jet set. To the east of Göltürkbükü is Torba, a semi-enclosed bay lined with design hotels and dotted with odd anchored yacht.

Getting Around

The narrow and one-way streets of Bodrum discourage the use of a car while the spectacular nooks and crannies of the Bodrum Peninsula encourage it. Within downtown Bodrum, the waterfront spreads out over two harbors, making it easy and scenic to cover with a pair of comfortable shoes and a bit of stamina. A scooter is a good option, because aside from solving the parking problem, you can get away with tooling around aimlessly down side streets or weaving unexpectedly through the pedestrian traffic on the waterfront promenade. For those lodging outside the city center, chances are you won't want to leave your little seaside slice of paradise, but if you do, dolmuses provide regular service along all of the major thoroughfares through the otogar to the city center. From the otogar, you're connected to all of the bays and villages of Bodrum's scenic peninsula.