Yassica Islands

The Yassica Islands are a cluster of small, low islands in the Gulf of Fethiye, about five kilometres from Gocek. There are no buildings on them and no road to them, and the flat profile that gives them their name (yassi means flat in Turkish) is exactly what makes the water between them so shallow and so calm.

What the Islands Are Like

Several of the islets are joined by a spit of sand and shingle, so at low water you can walk between them. Small coves and short beaches sit on either side of the spit, and the interiors are covered in pine and olive, which gives you somewhere shaded to sit when the afternoon sun is at its worst. There are birds on the islands and reef life in the shallows, and no permanent facilities of any kind, although floating vendors work the anchorage in season selling ice cream and cold drinks.

The shore underfoot is a mix of pebble and sand rather than soft beach, so water shoes are worth having on board.

Swimming and Diving

The lagoon in the middle of the group, known locally as Spoon Island, is the reason families keep coming back: waist-deep water over fine sand, effectively a natural swimming pool with no current in it. Small children can be let loose there in a way they cannot be in most anchorages on this coast.

The diving is at the other end of the scale. The channel between the largest of the Yassica islands and Devil's Island drops away sharply, and that deeper water is where boats take divers. Snorkelling around the rocky edges works well too, since visibility here is usually good.

Anchoring at Yassica

The islands are set up for visiting boats without being developed. There are mooring buoys in the anchorage, and rings set into the rock in the bays for taking a line ashore, which is the normal practice in these narrow coves. Nothing about the approach is complicated in settled weather.

Because the group is so close to town, it is often the first stop out of the marina rather than an overnight destination, and many charter guests anchor here for the afternoon before carrying on deeper into the gulf. Boats that stay the night generally shift to the sheltered side depending on where the wind is coming from.

Getting There

Gocek is the usual point of departure. It sits at the head of the Gulf of Fethiye with six marinas along its waterfront, and the Yassica group is close enough that you are at anchor within half an hour of dropping lines. Gulets, the traditional wooden yachts built along this coast, are the most common way to visit, mainly because their broad decks and shallow draught suit an anchorage like this one.