Galley Restaurant & Bar

Haluk and Christina Karamanoğlu sailed around the world on their yacht Deriska between 1988 and 1993. They then settled in Karacasöğüt to build the kind of sailors’ base they had found lacking in Türkiye, and in 2002 they opened the marina, the hotel and the Galley Restaurant. Their children later started the Gökova Sailing Club, and the site is now also a sailing school.

Hürriyet included the Galley in a 2011 list of restaurants worth reaching by boat.

The menu mixes Turkish and international cooking, with seafood and local dishes. The kitchen buys from farmers in the area and puts regional olive oil, pine honey and citrus on the table. There is live music on some evenings, a garden with a roof that closes in bad weather, and a large fireplace for cooler nights.

The Marinette has 35 berths with mooring lines, electricity, water, showers and a laundry, and the owners say it is sheltered from all local winds. Call Global Sailing on VHF channel 72 before you arrive. A Turkish cruising guide says the marina does not take motor yachts, so check first. If it is full, anchor in the bay and come ashore by tender.

The marina works all year, but the restaurant does not publish its hours, so book by phone or through the reservation form on the website. Karacasöğüt is a quiet village with a market on the shore for provisions.