Welcome to the Best of Göl-Türkbükü

Turkbuku Bay and Almond Island, Bodrum Peninsula, Turkey

Sister Bays

The bays of Gölköy and Türkbükü are 2km apart, but together, these two towns form the municipality Göl-Türkbükü. Sign posts will reference the full name, but the bays are individual locations and unique destinations.

To confuse matters further – the town of Gölköy is split into two:

Lower Gölköy is the area that surrounds the bay, and
Upper Gölköy (Yukarı Gölköy) is up in the heavily forestested hills.

Lower Gölköy is located ~15 km north of Bodrum, and is the first bay you’ll reach in the Göl-Türkbükü pairing.

If you’re driving to these destinations from the Torba direction, you’ll drive through heavily forested areas full of pines. Drive a couple of km north along the coastline past Lower Gölköy, and you’ll reach Türkbükü – both sit in the shadow of Karadağ Mountain

Lower Gölköy Bay

I found this cute little hand drawn map from yogaturkey, which shows the roads in and around Lower Gölköy. This map alone made me want to visit this area, and the last time we were in the area, we found a place to park and explored the bay.

Yoga Turkey have advised that this map is “woefully” out of date, because more roads are available – but I think we get the picture.

Lower Gölköy is located in a small bay, and at one end is the village and the small harbour, and at the other end of the bay is a man-made beach. In between are an assorted mix of restaurants, hotels and local pansiyons. There are more hotels along the main road which is parallel to the bay.

Click here for a Photo Essay of my Exploration of Lower Gölköy Bay

Türkbükü Bay

The photo shows a view of Türkbükü bay and Almond Island, and this bay is the playground of the glitterati from the big cities, both home and abroad.

Both Gölköy and Türkbükü are nestled within the hugs and shadows of the surrounding mountains, and have very different vibes and personalities. I wonder if they’ll be able to retain their secluded charm?