Bodrum Map: How the Peninsula Fits Together

Bodrum confuses first-time visitors because the name does three jobs. It is a town of white houses around a castle; it is the peninsula that town sits on, about 30 km from end to end; and it is the administrative district that covers all of it. When a hotel says it is in Bodrum it may be a 40-minute drive from the castle. This piece is the map in words: where Bodrum is in Turkey, how the peninsula is shaped, and what is where along the coast.

Distances from Bodrum town by road

Gümbet

About 3 km (2 miles), 10 minutes

Bitez

About 7 km (4 miles), 15 minutes

Ortakent and Yahşi beach

About 10 to 12 km (6 to 7 miles), 20 minutes

Torba

About 8 km (5 miles), 15 minutes

Göltürkbükü

About 17 km (10 miles), 30 minutes

Yalıkavak and Gündoğan

About 18 km (11 miles), 30 to 35 minutes

Turgutreis

About 20 km (12 miles), 30 to 35 minutes

Gümüşlük and Akyarlar

About 22 to 24 km (14 to 15 miles), 35 to 40 minutes

Milas–Bodrum Airport (BJV)

About 36 km (22 miles), 45 minutes

Where Bodrum is in Turkey

Picture Turkey as a rectangle pointing west into the Mediterranean. Bodrum is at the bottom-left corner, in the southwest, where the Aegean coast turns east to become the Mediterranean coast. It belongs to Muğla province, the same province as Marmaris, Fethiye and Dalaman further along, and it is the last peninsula of the Turkish Aegean before the coast swings around toward Antalya.

Across the water, close enough to see clearly, is Greece. Kos lies to the south and southwest, its eastern tip about 20 km from Bodrum harbor, which is why the ferry takes 20 minutes. Kalymnos and Leros are to the northwest, off the far end of the peninsula. Istanbul is about an hour and a quarter away by air; there are no nonstop flights from the US, so you connect there or in another European hub.

The shape of the peninsula

The Bodrum peninsula pokes west into the Aegean like a thumb, roughly 30 km (19 miles) east to west and 10 to 15 km north to south at its widest, with a mountainous spine down the middle. Almost everything is on the coast; the interior is hills, olive groves, windmills and the roads that cross between the two shores. The south coast faces Kos and the open sea, the north coast faces the Gulf of Güllük and the mainland.

Bodrum town is at the eastern end of the south coast, where the peninsula joins the mainland. From there a loop of villages runs west along the south shore to the tip at Turgutreis, around the end, and back east along the north shore to Torba, which is only a short hop from town over the hills. Drive the whole loop without stopping and it is a couple of hours.

Bodrum town: castle, two bays and the harbor

The castle, built by the Knights of St John from 1402, stands on a small headland and splits the town's waterfront into two bays. To its west is the harbor and the marina, with the old town, the bazaar and most of the restaurants behind. To its east is Kumbahçe bay, a long curve of beach bars that ends in the strip everyone calls Bar Street. The international ferry terminal is beside the castle on the eastern side, so you can walk from the Kos boat to a fish restaurant in five minutes.

The otogar, the bus station, is in the center of town, a few blocks inland on Cevat Şakir Caddesi, the main street running down to the harbor. Every dolmuş minibus to every village on the peninsula starts and ends here, which makes it the practical hub of the whole map. The ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, once one of the Seven Wonders, are a few minutes' walk uphill from the otogar.

Directly opposite the town, a couple of miles offshore, is Karaada, Black Island, a long dark hump that fills the view from every seafront table. It is uninhabited except for a hot spring and the day boats that stop there. If you lose your bearings anywhere in town, Karaada is south.

West along the south coast

Leaving town westward, the first bay is Gümbet, so close it is effectively a suburb: a wide sandy beach, package hotels and the loudest nightlife on the peninsula. Over the next headland is Bitez, a calmer bay with tangerine groves running almost to the sand, a long shallow beach and a row of good restaurants; many repeat visitors base themselves here.

Next is Ortakent, an old village a mile inland with its beach resort, Yahşi, down on the water, one of the longest sandy stretches on the south coast. Past Ortakent the main road climbs away from the shore and the bays below it, Kargı with Camel Beach, Bağla, Karaincir and Akyarlar, are reached by side roads. Akyarlar and Karaincir, on the southwestern corner, have fine sand, strong afternoon wind and a view straight across to Kos.

At the western tip is Turgutreis, the second-largest town on the peninsula, with a marina, a big Saturday market, a long promenade and the islets offshore that give it the best sunsets in Bodrum. Boats to Kalymnos and Leros leave from here in season.

Back east along the north coast

Round the tip and heading east, the first bay on the north shore is Gümüşlük, the fishing village built on ancient Myndos, with its waterfront restaurants and Rabbit Island. The road then climbs over to Yalıkavak, the former sponge-diving village that is now the peninsula's money capital, with the superyacht marina and the most expensive restaurants in Turkey outside Istanbul. Yalıkavak is on the northwest coast, a good 18 km from Bodrum town by the road through Ortakent.

East of Yalıkavak comes Gündoğan, a wide, unfussy bay with a long beach and a mostly Turkish crowd, then Göltürkbükü, the twin villages of Gölköy and Türkbükü, where Istanbul's elite summer on wooden platforms over the water. Further east still is Torba, a quiet, well-kept bay with family hotels and a couple of all-inclusives, facing north across the gulf toward the mainland. From Torba it is a 15-minute drive south over the hill into Bodrum town, which closes the loop.

The roads and the airport

One main road, the D330, comes in from Milas and the airport along the north side of the isthmus, passes the Torba turnoff and drops into Bodrum town from the northeast. Milas–Bodrum Airport is about 36 km from town, around 45 minutes by taxi or shuttle, and it is on the mainland, not the peninsula; from the airport the north-coast villages like Torba and Türkbükü are reached directly without going through Bodrum, while the south-coast villages are reached through or around the town.

From Bodrum town, a second road runs west through Konacık and Ortakent to Turgutreis, with branches off it north to Yalıkavak and Gündoğan and south to the southwest beaches. A newer bypass skirts the town to the north and links the airport road to the west road, which saves time in summer. Distances are short but the roads are two-lane and the summer traffic is not; double any time estimate on a July weekend.

Using the map to choose where to stay

Once the layout is clear the choice gets easier. Want to walk to the castle, the ferry and the restaurants? Stay in Bodrum town or Gümbet. Want sand and calm within 15 minutes of town? Bitez or Ortakent. Want the fashionable north coast? Türkbükü or Yalıkavak, with a car. Want the quiet end? Gümüşlük or Akyarlar, with a car and no plans. The airport is north-east of all of it, so the north-coast villages are a shorter transfer and the south-west corner is the longest, at close to an hour.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Bodrum in Turkey?

Bodrum is in southwestern Turkey, on the Aegean coast in Muğla province, directly opposite the Greek island of Kos. It is about an hour and a quarter by air from Istanbul and roughly a four-hour drive from Izmir.

How big is the Bodrum peninsula?

About 30 km (19 miles) from Bodrum town at the eastern end to Turgutreis at the western tip, and 10 to 15 km north to south. Driving around the whole coastal loop without stopping takes about two hours.

How far is Bodrum airport from Bodrum town?

Milas–Bodrum Airport (BJV) is about 36 km (22 miles) northeast of Bodrum town, about 45 minutes by road. Villages on the north coast such as Torba and Türkbükü are a similar or shorter transfer; Turgutreis and Gümüşlük at the far end are close to an hour.

Which Greek island is closest to Bodrum?

Kos, whose eastern tip is about 20 km across the strait from Bodrum harbor. Ferries take around 20 minutes on a fast boat and up to an hour on a conventional one. Kalymnos and Leros lie to the northwest, off the end of the peninsula.

Is Yalıkavak in Bodrum?

Yes. Yalıkavak is a town on the northwest coast of the Bodrum peninsula, about 18 km (11 miles) and 30 to 35 minutes by road from Bodrum town. It is part of Bodrum district but is a separate place with its own marina and center.

Where is the bus station in Bodrum?

The otogar is in the center of Bodrum town, a few blocks inland from the harbor on Cevat Şakir Caddesi. Dolmuş minibuses to every village on the peninsula and intercity buses to Izmir, Istanbul and the rest of Turkey leave from there.