The Bodrum Cup
For a week in late October, Bodrum’s harbour fills with gulets and yachts for the 38th edition of The Bodrum Cup. An independent guide: what makes it special, where to watch from shore, and where to sail around the peninsula.
Photo: Mustang Joe · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
The course
- A multi-stage format: daily legs between Bodrum and nearby bays, so the fleet is often visible from the coast in the mornings and late afternoons.
Where to watch
- The waterfront around Bodrum Castle and the marina is the easiest place to see the gulets leave and return.
- Headlands west of town give a wider view of the fleet heading out along the peninsula.
- On the water, stay clear of the start lines and follow the race committee’s instructions.
What to expect
- Classic wooden gulets racing under sail, a sight you rarely get anywhere else, alongside modern cruiser-racers.
- Racing in stages around the Bodrum peninsula and nearby gulfs, with the town’s harbour as the base.
- A festival atmosphere ashore in the evenings, according to the organiser.
Plan your visit
- Press announcements put the 2026 edition at 19–24 October: the opening ceremony on 19 October, racing from 20 October and the final stage on 24 October.
- The organiser publishes the course for each stage before the start; check it on the organiser’s site, as stages depend on the weather.
- Checked October 2026 from published announcements; confirm the programme with the organiser before you travel.
Sailing nearby: Karaada and the Gulf of Gökova
Karaada lies just a few miles off Bodrum and makes an easy half-day sail, with sheltered water on its northern side in the usual northerly wind.
Further east, the Gulf of Gökova has some of the coast’s most sheltered anchorages; parts of it are a Special Environmental Protection Area with anchoring restrictions. Checked October 2026; confirm locally before you go.
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