Orak Island: Sailing to the Maldives of Bodrum

Among Bodrum's boat people one comparison keeps coming up: "like the Maldives." Nowhere does it fit better than Orak Island at the mouth of the Gokova gulf. It is uninhabited, unbuilt, and its water reads the seabed back to you from metres above.

Where is it, and how do you get there?

Orak lies about 16 kilometres from Bodrum, and the sea is the only road. At cruising speed the trip takes around two hours, which makes the island a stop for full-day charters and blue cruises rather than quick cove hops. A private day boat leaving in the morning spends its noon here; for gulets, Orak is the traditional first anchorage of the Gokova route.

Below the surface: the famous wall

Orak's reputation does not stop at the waterline. Off the island's southern tip a volcanic wall drops sheer from six metres to seventy, the area's best-known dive site, hiding a cave lined with purple sponges in its depths. No scuba licence? No matter: even with a mask and snorkel the water here hands over its fish and its rock textures generously.

A noon at Orak

The boat anchors, a long swim comes first. Then the deck table: on most day charters lunch is included and cooked fresh on board. After lunch, a second swim, some sun, perhaps a nap. The island is empty, so the plan is simple, and that is exactly the point: the thing to do at Orak is nothing.

Which trip takes you there?

For a day built around Orak, a private charter is the comfortable way: the route and the pace belong to you. Options and current prices are on our Bodrum daily boat tour page. To make Orak a beginning rather than a destination, it is the classic day-one stop of our Bodrum blue cruise routes: swim at Orak by noon, dine on a Cokertme jetty by night. For boat types and budgets, see the price guide, then send your dates and we will plan an Orak day for you.