Crystal Waters Daily Tour: Discover Darboğaz, Eşek Adası, and Jandarma Koyu

Dalyan Yat Limanı(Marina) and its surroundings allow visitors to immerse themselves in nature and explore the sea and cultural riches. With these features, Dalyan Yat Limanı is an ideal and perfect starting point for day trips.

With its sheltered geographical structure, Marina, the jewel of the Çeşme district, is one of the most preferred marinas in the region. Its proximity to popular spots for yacht and sea enthusiasts, such as Ayayorgi Bay and Eşek Island, and its extremely safe natural structure accessed through a strait, make it a standout location.

Darboğaz (\"Narrow Strait\") is a sheltered passage between a small islet and the mainland in the Hisarönü Gulf, on the route between Marmaris and Bozburun. The channel is shallow and narrow enough that the islet shelters anchored yachts from open-sea swell on both sides, with the seabed dropping from 3 metres at the islet to 12 metres mid-channel. Pine-covered slopes line both shores with no road access. Yachts use Darboğaz as a swim and lunch anchorage on the way south to Selimiye or Bozburun — both reachable within 30 minutes — and at evenings either continue to one of those villages or backtrack to Orhaniye. Darboğaz is 3 hours from Marmaris by sail. Season runs May through October.

Eşek Adası (\"Donkey Island\") is a small uninhabited islet in the Gökova Gulf, on the route between Bodrum and the inner Gökova bays. The narrow channel between the islet and the mainland coast offers a sheltered anchorage in 6-10 metres of sand, popular as a lunch and swim stop for yachts working west from Bodrum toward Cleopatra Beach, Sedir Island, and Çökertme. The islet itself is scrub-covered with no facilities — the name comes from the wild donkeys that historically grazed here. The clarity of the water allows seabed visibility to 10 metres in calm conditions. Eşek Adası is 90 minutes from Bodrum and 3 hours from Çökertme by sail. Season runs May through October.

Jandarma Koyu is a sheltered anchorage on the south side of the Hisarönü Gulf, between Marmaris and the Datça peninsula. The bay is shallow at the head, with a sandy seabed and good holding, and offers protection from the prevailing meltemi wind that blows down the gulf in summer. Surrounded by pine-covered slopes with no road access, the cove stays quieter than the larger Hisarönü ports and is used mainly as a lunch or swim stop by sailing yachts on the Marmaris-Datça route. There are no village facilities — boats provision in Marmaris or the village of Bozburun before arriving. Jandarma Koyu is 90 minutes from Marmaris and 3 hours from Datça by sail. Season runs May through October.

Dalyan Yat Limanı sits at the mouth of the Dalyan River in Muğla, on the coast between Marmaris and Fethiye. The marina serves as the south access point for the Dalyan delta — a 14-kilometre river that snakes through reed channels to İztuzu beach, the protected nesting site of Caretta caretta loggerhead turtles, which lay eggs on the 4-kilometre sand spit between May and September. Above the village, the rock-cut Lycian tombs of Kaunos face the river from a cliff dating to the 4th century BC. Yachts based at the marina day-sail the outer coast or take river boats up to the tombs and the mud baths at Sultaniye. Dalyan Yat Limanı is 3 hours from Göcek and 4 hours from Marmaris by sail. Season runs May through October.