Trip Report Turkey: Bodrum

[BoltSnap]

Thank you for the report and information. It is a destination to consider for me for sure. I'll probably want to do more wreck diving there.

 

[kumimonster]

OK, so you were on a non-diving cruise and called in the dive boat to pick you up to go diving. Got it

Exactly!!

Honestly, I would go there again. But there's plenty of awesome dive destinations closer to you! If you do plan on visiting Turkey there are an INSANE amount of not-to-be-missed land destinations and sites to see.
Bodrum is on the Turquoise coast. It is a European holiday destination. But within the city you have the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world (the site at least). Bodrum Castle and the Museum of Underwater Archaeology is a great stop - I spent a good half day there. This is also where you can learn about the town's history of sponge diving.

Around this area of Turkey you have Priene, Miletus, Didyma - all worth a visit. You can hit all 3 for a day trip. A few hours north is Ephesus - Efes - another ancient city. The Temple of Artemis is another wonder of the ancient world (a little underwhelming though). The old city up on the hill is immense. It is amazing and considered one of the most important Greek/Roman cities of Asia Minor. Many of the old buildings are still standing. The Library of Celsus is just beautiful.

To the east a few hours drive is Aphrodisias and Hierapolis and the travertine terraces of Pamukkale. Definitely worth looking up and visiting if you're in the area. Obviously, if you're not into history or ancient stuff, it might not be all that interesting ;-)

 

[kumimonster]

Thank you for the report and information. It is a destination to consider for me for sure. I'll probably want to do more wreck diving there.

Unfortunately, I did not get to dive when I got to Istanbul. I would have loved to have visited Gallipoli and seen the wrecks of WW1. I just didn't have time! (My major at uni was history/military history with a focus on 20th century genocide/politicide). Instead, I spent time visiting Rumeli Fortress and the Ayasofya and Blue mosque and topkapi and then back to the Ayasofya...

 

[kumimonster]

Thank you for the report and information. It is a destination to consider for me for sure. I'll probably want to do more wreck diving there.

"But there's plenty of awesome dive destinations closer to you!"

Sorry. I responded earlier thinking that you were in Australia but it was ScubaClient that asked a question and had Australia on his little profile for location.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Are the WWI wrecks in Gallipoli reachable by recreational divers? I didn't even think of diving when I was visiting Turkey--it just didn't occur to me--but certainly WWI wrecks, and now you mention the abundance of nudibranchs, catch my interest.

 

[kumimonster]

Are the WWI wrecks in Gallipoli reachable by recreational divers? I didn't even think of diving when I was visiting Turkey--it just didn't occur to me--but certainly WWI wrecks, and now you mention the abundance of nudibranchs, catch my interest.

I did not dive when I left Bodrum. I was planning on visiting Çanakkale but I didn't want to rush my visits to the other stops.
But from the research I did, that is the city you want to stay at to dive the area. There are 200+ recognized wrecks at varying depths and some are are reachable with recreational certs! (The Milo, The Lundi...) There must be someone on this board who can expand further with personal experience!

There were definitely nudies! Not on the scale of SE Asia destinations, but they were definitely a few I was happy to cross of my list... (1,2,3,4... of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 !! HAHA)

 

[BoltSnap]

"But there's plenty of awesome dive destinations closer to you!"

Sorry. I responded earlier thinking that you were in Australia but it was ScubaClient that asked a question and had Australia on his little profile for location.

Istanbul is our gateway airport to go anywhere in Europe and the rest of the world now, it is only a 3 hour flight from where I am and there are plans to have an overnight ferry to Turkey later this year so that we can take our car with us. I have done some of the land tours in Istanbul a while back. I am thinking of a "dive" vacation now. I also hear that Antalya is good for diving too. The antiquities above water are also of interest since my wife doesn't dive and I may bring my mother with us too (when the vaccination issue is sorted out).

 

[NeilA.]

Additionally, Turkey is one of the “good food” capitals of the world.

 

[kumimonster]

Additionally, Turkey is one of the “good food” capitals of the world.

I can definitely say that it is not a good place to visit if you're on a diet.
Plus, life is uncertain, you should eat dessert first. (and last just in case).

 

[scubaozy]

Actually you could do a liveaboard on a Gulet type of boat for a similar itinary (bit more south): Home | J-Dive Sailing Cruises (Diving-Yoga-Blue Cruise-Free Diving)