Yalikavak : Boat Captains & Windmills in Bodrum

When people ask for recommendations of where to visit in Turkey, I will add Yalikavak to the list along with Istanbul or Cappadocia. It is strange that I would do this as there is nothing much to the Bodrum resort that stands out.

About Yalikavak in the Bodrum Region of Turkey

There is four main streets, windmills, a beach front and a harbor however the vibes that were buzzing around the town will make you laid back and ready to adopt the easy way of life. Within one day, we felt welcomed by the locals and ex-pats and felt like we had lived in Yakikavak for years.

I would love to name every one of those locals and ex-pats so I could say a big thank you to them. The problem is that copious amounts of rich sea air and bottles of beer, somewhat limited my memory capacity. If you are reading my blog and are one of the people that we met, thank you very much for making it a wonderful day.

I also wonder if the boat captain got our message. While in the Ali Baba restaurant, we struck up a deal with a boat captain to take us out for an hour. It was agreed that we would hop on his fishing boat and watch him laying the catches of the day.

The boat captain had a friendly face, was a very jolly man and I imagined him to be the Turkish equivalent of Del boy. If you don’t know who Del boy was, he was a wheeler and dealer from the comedy called Only Fools and Horses. Often getting himself into various situations otherwise legal or illegal but he was the “man that you went to see about a dog”.

Anyway it turned out that the captain had a soft spot for the alcoholic drink called Raki. When I last saw him that night, his arms were folded and he was quietly nodding away in his chair while everyone was chatting and laughing around him.

I was seriously wondering if the coast guards have breathalyzers and would prosecute for being in drunken charge of a boat however we never made it. The next morning we were due to meet him, but dark clouds were looming in the sky and rain was predicted. Not relishing the thought of going out on a boat in that weather, we decided to leave Yalikavak and left a message with hotel staff to pass on our apologies. I do hope the jolly captain got that message.

Yalikavak Windmills

I was also surprised by the fact that Yalikavak has windmills. Normally associated with Holland, I was eager to check these out. Ok, they are not of the same scale that I saw in the Norfolk broads of England however I was still gob smacked that I had lived on the Aegean Coast of Turkey for ten years of my life and never knew there were windmills in this area.

So windmills, jolly boat captains and friendly ex-pats all helped to make this trip one of my favorites. Those of you who read my last post will remember that we had a bit of drama because we checked out of the hotel I have nicknamed the house of horrors. However it was the ex-pats and staff of Ali Baba restaurant that helped us to get set up again. So if you do visit the resort of Yalikavak, please pop into the Ali Baba restaurant and pass on my best wishes.

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Hi. I'm Natalie, a freelance travel blogger and writer specializing in the country of Turkey. I love hot summer days, historical sites and coffee.

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Comments

Natalie says
at

LOL – Think I will need it. Will get in contact when i make it back
Jeff says
at

Happy to pass on my friends’ info when you do. Maybe they can find you a sober captain.
Natalie says
at

I want to go back Jeff – Miss Yalikavak so much and get the feeling I missed out on a lot
Jeff says
at

I spent time here visiting friends who run a sailing school. BTW, the port is amazingly upscale for such a little place. I spent most of the time on the boat with them. But, I agree that Yalikavak is very charming.
Natalie says
at

Hi Brian, unfortunately things to do for the kids is not my strong point as I have no children. There are watersports but not much else from what I can remember. Bodrum itself has three waterparks. You can also take them on a Jeep safari and a day trip round the coastline on a boat.

The perfect person to ask about bars is Jack over at Perking the Pansies. He lived in the resort as an expat for about three years. http://www.perkingthepansies.com
Brian says
at

Nat,

just booked Yalikavak for 2 weeks – Aug 18th – Sept 1st.
2 adults (2 children 15 and 11)
just my type of place! (have been in Bitez before)
Staying in the Mer Can Story next to the beach.
Is there much to do for kids? besides the beach and pool.

any recomendations for any good bars, etc….

Brian
Alan says
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nice post Natalie; just love the old stone house by the beach – almost good enough to make me want to leave Okcular!
Angela says
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Beautiful town and very evocative pictures, I understand why the place struck a chord on you!
John says
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I’ve visited this place and its really awesome place. It is one of the greenest locations of the peninsula and nature has been very generous in terms of granting it an amazing blue sea and gorgeous coastline.
Natalie says
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Hi Carol. I am so glad you liked it. I would have loved to go back there myself before the summer started but unfortunately other travel plans took place. Thank you for coming back to my blog to comment and letting other people know just how wonderful Yalikavak is.
Carol says
at

Saw this article last week and was visiting Bodrum at the weekend so decided to go there. So glad we did, i loved it there and will go back so thank you for mentioning it
Sarah Wu says
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Beautiful photo essay especially seeing that windmill. I haven’t see a real windmill yet 😛
Natalie says
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@TFL’s. Definitely sure it was the sea air. LOL. Never had memory loss with Efes before.

@jay. Been taking a look at your blog Jay. Did you end up buying in Yalikavak?
Jay says
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Hi – Yalikavak is a great destination. Like you say, not much to do, but he vibe of the place is great.
turkey's for life says
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Looks lovely there, Natalie – I never knew there were windmills there either. Always learning, eh? Are you sure the sea air was involved in making your memory vague? 🙂
Julia
Natalie says
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@Phil and Di. Thanks, glad you liked.

@Steve. It does have a certain charm. Hard to describe it but it is definitely there.

@cathy. Yes, the jolly captain!!!. he did make me laugh.

@Sid. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you got my email.
Siddhartha Joshi says
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What an enchanting looking little town!
Cathy Sweeney says
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What great photos of what sounds like a very interesting place. I can see why you were touched by Yalikavak — I think I would be, too. Quite a character, that boat captain!
Steve says
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Even if there isn’t much to this place, I can see it has a certain charm. It looks like a good place to relax and meet people.
phil + Di marina gateway says
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lovely photos again nat and loved the story of yalikavak the good and the bad