Ground

Turquoise Coast

The Turquoise Coast runs from the İzmir coast on the Aegean to Kaş on the Mediterranean. It is where we run nature-led team offsites, on land or on the water.

Best for: Nature-led offsites
Group size: 12–80
Airports: DLM, BJV, ADB
Season: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

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Why the Turquoise Coast

We use the coast in three stretches. The İzmir end: the Çeşme peninsula, Alaçatı and the vineyards of Urla. The middle: the Gulf of Gökova and the Datça peninsula. And the south: Göcek, Fethiye, Kalkan and Kaş, where the Aegean turns into the Mediterranean. Pine comes down to the water most of the way.

The places are mostly small and the bays are quiet. The week is built around the work in the morning and the water in the afternoon. Most of what we run here is team offsites: one team, one problem, one week.

Or the team lives on the water, on a chartered gulet or motoryacht that it sleeps and works on while the boat moves along the coast.

We have run group operations on this coast since 2017, including the KBUD congress in Fethiye. The same team ran the JCI Autumn Summit for around two hundred people, two years running.

Venues in the Turquoise Coast

Every retreat is tailored, so we do not publish a property list. We shortlist for your brief, from places we have walked and stayed in.

Painted stone houses with terraces along a canal in Alaçatı — Alaçatı, Çeşme peninsula, İzmir. Photo: Rento Transfer / Unsplash

At the İzmir end, the Çeşme peninsula and Alaçatı mix large resorts with small hotels in restored stone houses, and Urla has a wine route of vineyards with boutique hotels and tasting rooms. The ancient city of Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is within reach for a day.

Further south, Gökova and Datça are quiet, with small hotels and villas. Göcek is a yachting bay of islands, Fethiye a working town on a large natural harbour, and Kalkan and Kaş are small hillside towns over clear water. Most properties here are small: boutique hotels, eco-lodges and villas, with larger resorts around Fethiye and Dalaman for bigger groups.

Göcek, Fethiye, Bodrum and Marmaris are the main gulet harbours on this coast.

What we can arrange here

Boutique and stone-house hotels
Larger resorts for bigger groups
Vineyard estates around Urla
Villas and eco-lodges in the bays
A gulet or motoryacht, one boat or several
Day boats, walks and cultural days out

What we check

Meeting room size against the whole group
Connectivity in the room and on the terrace
Boat access and the nearest safe mooring
Transfer time on the actual road
How many rooms we can hold, and for how long
What else is happening in the bay that week

Gulet / Motoryacht

Another way to run the week on this coast, tailored like everything else. We match the boat, the route and the number of boats to your group.

The bow of a boat heading into Göcek bay, with a marina and mountains ahead — Göcek bay. Photo: Ray Harrington / Unsplash

A gulet is a wooden schooner of the kind built on this coast for generations, with guest cabins below deck and a crew who sail, cook and run the boat. A motoryacht is faster and covers more coast in a day. Either can be chartered privately, so the boat is the team’s alone, with no fixed itinerary and a different bay every evening.

The day is built around the anchor: sessions on deck in the morning, the boat moving after lunch. Connectivity varies along the coast. We check the route before we commit to it and tell you where it drops.

It does not suit everyone. Cabins are compact, the stairs are steep and there is no step-free access. If that rules anyone out, we plan the week on land, or keep the boat to a day.

Options

Classic and larger luxury gulets
Motoryachts
One boat, or several sailing together
Cabin charters over several nights
Day charters for larger groups
Starts from Göcek, Fethiye, Bodrum or Marmaris

Getting to the Turquoise Coast

Where you land, and which cities fly there direct.

Airports

Dalaman (DLM): Göcek, Fethiye, Kalkan, Kaş, Gökova and Datça.
Milas–Bodrum (BJV): Gökova and Datça, and a gulet start from Bodrum.
İzmir (ADB): Çeşme, Alaçatı and Urla.

Direct flights into Dalaman (DLM)

From	Service	Flight time
Europe
London	Year-round	4 h
Dublin	Summer season	4½ h
Amsterdam	Summer season	3½ h
Brussels	Summer season	3½ h
Berlin	Summer season	3 h
Copenhagen	Summer season	3½ h
Vienna	Summer season	2½ h
Helsinki	Summer season	3½ h
Middle East
Amman	Summer season	1½ h
Beirut	Summer season	1½ h

Direct flights into İzmir (ADB)

From	Service	Flight time
Europe
London	Year-round	4 h
Dublin	Year-round	4½ h
Paris	Summer season	3½ h
Amsterdam	Year-round	3½ h
Brussels	Year-round	3½ h
Berlin	Year-round	3 h
Madrid	Year-round	4 h
Rome	Summer season	2½ h
Vienna	Year-round	2 h
Copenhagen	Summer season	3 h
Stockholm	Summer season	3½ h
Oslo	Summer season	3½ h
Prague	Summer season	2½ h
Warsaw	Summer season	2½ h
Middle East
Dubai	Year-round	4½ h
Abu Dhabi	Year-round	4½ h
Riyadh	Summer season	4 h
Amman	Summer season	2 h
Beirut	Summer season	2 h
Central Asia
Almaty	Year-round	6 h
Tashkent	Year-round	5 h

Direct scheduled flights only, as published in November 2026. Times are approximate and rounded to the half hour. Summer-season routes usually run from spring to autumn and change every year. We check the routes against your team’s home cities in the brief.

Bodrum has its own list: see direct flights into Bodrum. From the United States and anywhere not listed, fly to İstanbul, then take a domestic flight of about an hour and a quarter.

Where you land, by area

Area	Nearest airport
Çeşme and Alaçatı	ADB
Urla	ADB
Gökova	DLM / BJV
Datça	DLM / BJV
Göcek	DLM
Fethiye	DLM
Kalkan	DLM
Kaş	DLM

Best time for a retreat in the Turquoise Coast

The town of Kaş above its harbour and bay, with green hills and islands — Kaş, on the Mediterranean. Photo: Arthur Shuraev / Unsplash

April to June, and September and October. Spring is green and mild; autumn has the warmest sea.

In high summer the heat inland is strong, and the İzmir end is windy: the same summer wind that makes Alaçatı a windsurfing centre. Many small properties close in winter.

Sample programmes in the Turquoise Coast

Starting shapes, not packages. Every week is rebuilt around what it has to achieve.

Four-day offsite, on land

Twelve to thirty people · one small hotel near Fethiye or Göcek

Day 1: Arrivals into DLM. Transfers grouped by flight. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2: Working session 09:00–13:00. Afternoon walk on a section of the Lycian Way. Dinner in town.
Day 3: Working session in the morning. Afternoon on a chartered boat, with swim stops in the bays.
Day 4: Short closing session, written outputs agreed. Departures.

Three nights on the water

One chartered gulet or motoryacht · Göcek to Fethiye

Day 1: Board in Göcek in the afternoon. Short session on deck before dinner at anchor.
Day 2: Morning session at anchor. Swim, lunch on board, move to the next bay. Evening free.
Day 3: Morning session. Afternoon ashore. Last dinner on board.
Day 4: Breakfast, disembark, transfers to DLM.

Land, then water

Twenty to forty people · one hotel, then a gulet or motoryacht

Day 1: Arrivals into DLM. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2: A full working day with the hotel’s rooms and equipment.
Day 3: Board the boats at midday. Afternoon at sea, dinner at anchor.
Day 4: Morning session on deck. Lunch at anchor, back to port by evening.
Day 5: Departures grouped by flight.

Questions about the Turquoise Coast

Where exactly is the Turquoise Coast?

The Aegean and Mediterranean coast from Çeşme, Alaçatı and Urla near İzmir, through the Gulf of Gökova and the Datça peninsula, to Göcek, Fethiye, Kalkan and Kaş.

Which airport is closest?

İzmir (ADB) for Çeşme, Alaçatı and Urla. Dalaman (DLM) for Göcek, Fethiye, Kalkan and Kaş. Dalaman or Bodrum (BJV) for Gökova and Datça. We choose by where the week is and which airport your team can reach directly.

Can we actually work on a gulet or motoryacht?

Yes, with the right boat and a programme built for it: sessions at anchor in the morning, the boat moving in the afternoon. The options are under Gulet / Motoryacht on this page.

How large a group works here?

Twelve to eighty. Above eighty, a single resort in Antalya is usually the better answer.

When is the season?

April to June, and September to October. More on when to come is on this page.

Start a retreat in the Turquoise Coast

Rough dates and a headcount are enough. We reply within one working day, with a real answer.

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