A Kos to Bodrum day trip crosses the Aegean by ferry to the Turkish town of Bodrum and back. The full range of tours in Greece is worth a look if you want a different island route.
It covers the sea crossing, border checks, Bodrum Castle, the Mausoleum, the marina, lunch, the return ferry and the season.
What is a Kos to Bodrum day trip, and how does it work?
A Kos to Bodrum day trip is a ferry ride from Kos island to the Turkish town of Bodrum. You spend a free day there, then come home by ferry before the day ends, as the operator pages describe.
Bodrum lies 10 nautical miles off the coast of Kos, according to one ferry page. Another ferry-booking page adds that you can see the Turkish town from the Greek island. That short gap is why a Kos to Bodrum day trip fits into one day. Wikipedia calls Kos the key sea link for the port of Bodrum.
An independent Kos to Bodrum day trip has no tour group. Operator pages list a round-trip boat ticket and free time in Bodrum. One page includes a hotel transfer to the Kos port and back, while another lists the transfer as an option. Food and drinks are not included. One report calls online booking easy.
Your voucher states the meeting point and the pickup time. One page lists pickups in Kos Town, Agios Fokas, Psalidi and Lambi. After the boat docks, you pass ID or passport control and plan the hours yourself. The itinerary lists three steps: arrival in Bodrum, departure from Bodrum, and the return to the original departure point.
The free hours are yours to fill. One operator page lists the castle, the ancient theatre, the bazaar and the old streets. According to Wikivoyage, a day trip in either direction is easy, so no overnight stay is needed. On one operator page, the Kos to Bodrum day trip runs from April to October.
Among the Dodecanese islands, Kos comes third by size, behind Rhodes and Karpathos, says Wikipedia. These islands sit in the Aegean, towards its south-eastern end. The principal town and harbour of the island, also named Kos, is where the day begins.
How long is a Kos to Bodrum day trip, and where does it start?
A Kos to Bodrum day trip fills one full day. One ferry page estimates about 5 to 6 hours in Bodrum between the morning sailing and the return boat. The day starts in Kos Town, at the port where the boats for Bodrum leave.
The first boats leave Kos early. One ferry page gives the first departure as around 8:15 in the morning. Another says departures start as early as 9:15. A third lists daily sailings from 9:30 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening. The sailing times set the shape of each Kos to Bodrum day trip.
The page that gives 5 to 6 hours advises the morning ferry, arriving in Bodrum before 10:00. A second page agrees that the morning boat gives you a full day in town. One operator itinerary ends the free time at about half past three in the afternoon, so that day is shorter.
Clock time matters too. Wikipedia lists Kos at UTC+2, or UTC+3 in summer, and Bodrum at UTC+3. By those figures, the clocks match in Greek summer time. For the rest of the year, Bodrum runs one hour ahead. Local time deserves a look before any Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Your Kos to Bodrum day trip starts in Kos Town. One report says the Bodrum boats leave from the smaller international port, in the north-western corner of the harbour. It warns that online maps can wrongly show the domestic port, a good 20-minute walk away. Where a transfer is included, a driver takes you to the port.
One traveller report says queues at check-in, passport control and boarding eat into the day. It calls the Kos to Bodrum day trip worthwhile in good conditions, not when delays run to two hours.
How does the ferry crossing work on a Kos to Bodrum day trip?
On a Kos to Bodrum day trip, a passenger boat leaves the small international port in Kos Town. It reaches Bodrum in 20 to 30 minutes. Passport checks take place on both shores.
The boats do not sail from the domestic port, where only boats to other Greek islands leave. They sail from a smaller international port, set on the harbour’s north-western side. A travel writer puts the domestic port a good 20 minutes away on foot. So check the departure point of your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
The tour pages for a Kos to Bodrum day trip speak of a ferry or a catamaran. Wikivoyage describes one boat on the route as a small catamaran that takes foot passengers only. One route page lists seating areas and restrooms on board. One traveller found that check-in with the boat company took a couple of minutes.
The sea leg is short. The pages give 20 minutes, 25 minutes, or between 20 and 30 minutes, which varies with the vessel. One traveller reports that the crossing took almost double the advertised time, with no bad weather. The boat docked about 45 minutes late. Plan your Kos to Bodrum day trip with that slack in mind.
In Bodrum, the operator pages say the boat lands at the central port, called the castle pier. Wikivoyage places the landing pier in the marina by the castle. Bodrum Castle overlooks the harbour, steps away from the ferry port, as one traveller notes. So a Kos to Bodrum day trip lands next to the castle.
What are the passport, visa and border checks on a Kos to Bodrum day trip?
Every passenger on a Kos to Bodrum day trip clears passport control in Greece and in Turkey. Carry a valid passport, or a national ID card where the rules allow it.
One operator page says all passengers need a passport or ID. Another page names the countries whose citizens can travel on a national ID card. These are Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. All other citizens need a passport.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes its own list of countries that allow entry on a national ID card. Check yours before a Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Visa rules depend on nationality. The ministry lists visa-free stays of up to 90 days for ordinary passport holders. These include holders of British, American, Canadian, German, French and Greek passports. Other nationalities are listed as needing a visa.
For certain countries the ministry names an e-visa, obtained online at evisa.gov.tr, and set conditions apply to certain nationalities. The system works day and night, and its form wants the traveller’s identity, the passport and the dates of travel. The e-visa is valid only for tourism or commerce. The ministry advises a passport valid for six months from arrival.
Border checks add time. A travel writer describes a small customs area at the Kos port with little shade and a small seating area. Almost all boats leave within an hour of each other, so the area fills up. Passport control took the writer 10 to 15 minutes, and the Turkish side ran more smoothly.
One operator page urges passengers to reach the terminal an hour before departure for passport control and boarding. Another page for the route suggests arriving 45 to 60 minutes early. Leave room for that wait in your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Children need papers too. Two operator pages say a minor travelling without a legal guardian needs signed permission. One adds that a consent form from the second parent must be notarised. The way back into Greece, a Schengen country, depends on nationality as well. Check both foreign ministries before a Kos to Bodrum day trip.
What is Bodrum, and what was it called in ancient times?
Bodrum belongs to Muğla Province in Turkey. The harbour town marks the spot where the Gulf of Gökova begins. It is the goal of the Kos to Bodrum day trip. In classical antiquity the town went by the name Halicarnassus.
Your Kos to Bodrum day trip opens with a view of white houses, yachts and a castle above the harbour. An operator page describes it that way. The same page says Herodotus, the Father of History, was born here. A ferry booking page adds that you can see the Turkish port from Kos.
Halicarnassus is an ancient Greek name, but its ending, -assos, points to an older local name. Wikipedia reports a proposal that the second half means fortress in Luwian. Petronium, the medieval name of the Castle of St Peter, gave the town its modern name, Bodrum. Every Kos to Bodrum day trip ends in a town named after its castle.
The town behind this Kos to Bodrum day trip has a long record. Dorian Greeks founded the city, and it later became the Persian capital of Caria. Mausolus ruled from here until 353 BC. Alexander the Great captured it in 334 BC, and Roman rule began in 129 BC. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in the early fifteenth century.
Bodrum stayed a town of fishermen and sponge divers until the early twentieth century. Later, blue voyages in traditional boats put it on the tourist map, says Wikivoyage. Since the late twentieth century, tourism has been its main industry. Wikipedia ranks Kos first among the port’s ferry links, so every Kos to Bodrum day trip follows its key link.
What is Bodrum Castle, and what does the Museum of Underwater Archaeology show?
Bodrum Castle is a fortress that the Knights Hospitaller began to build in the early fifteenth century. It stands steps from the ferry port of your Kos to Bodrum day trip. Inside is the Museum of Underwater Archaeology.
Four towers take their names from the nations that built them: English, French, German and Italian. The knights built the walls from green volcanic stone. They also reused columns of marble and carved reliefs from the Mausoleum. So any Kos to Bodrum day trip reaches a castle that holds stones from the tomb of Mausolus.
In the early nineteen sixties the Turkish government made the castle a home for finds from ancient Aegean wrecks. Wikipedia calls it the biggest museum of its kind. An operator page tells visitors who book a Kos to Bodrum day trip to spend time there. A blog says it spreads over separate buildings inside the walls.
- The old chapel holds vases and amphoras from the Mycenaean age, and finds from the Bronze Age.
- Commercial amphoras show how these jars developed and how they were used.
- The Italian Tower holds a hall of coins and jewellery.
- A separate hall presents the grave of a Carian princess, dated between 360 and 325 BC.
- The collection of ancient glass is one of the four largest of its kind in the world.
- Two sunken ships have been rebuilt, one of them a Fatimid ship that sank in the eleventh century AD.
Wikivoyage calls the Uluburun wreck the standout of the museum that a Kos to Bodrum day trip can reach. It dates to the fourteenth century BC. The cargo held ten tons of copper ingots from Cyprus, one ton of tin ingots and 150 glass ingots. The other rebuilt ship is the Uluburun ship.
Check what is open before your Kos to Bodrum day trip. Wikipedia notes a renovation that limits visitors to parts of the castle. The ministry for culture and tourism in Turkey runs a page for the museum. A garden inside the walls holds Mediterranean plants and peacocks, and the towers give views of the city.
What was the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and what is left of it?
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a marble tomb for the ruler Mausolus, about 45 metres high. In his list of seven wonders, Antipater of Sidon included the tomb. The Kos to Bodrum day trip brings you to its foundation and a small museum. Earthquakes and later builders took the rest.
Mausolus ruled Caria from Halicarnassus, now Bodrum. That is the town the Kos to Bodrum day trip visits. He was a satrap, a governor, under the Persian Empire. After he died in 353 BC, his sister-wife Artemisia II carried the building on. The Greek architects were Satyros, from Paros, and Pythius, from Priene.
Reconstructions show three stacked parts, each about a third of the height. A square block came first, then thirty-six slim columns, then a pyramid roof. A chariot with four horses stood on top. Four Greek sculptors each decorated one side. Nothing of this tower stands now, so your Kos to Bodrum day trip meets ruins.
Earthquakes destroyed the tomb between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. The Knights of St John, who arrived in the early fifteenth century, used its stones to build Bodrum Castle. Almost every block was gone by the early sixteenth century. Polished marble from the tomb still sits in the castle walls, a sight in the Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Charles Newton of the British Museum searched the ruins in the nineteenth century. He found parts of the reliefs, the stepped roof and a broken chariot wheel about two metres across. Colossal statues traditionally named as Mausolus and Artemisia are in the British Museum today. The Kos to Bodrum day trip therefore shows the site without them.
You walk around the foundation, dug down 2.4 to 2.7 metres. A small museum beside it shows models and a video. A blogger who made the Kos to Bodrum day trip needed imagination to picture the tower. Wikivoyage lists daily opening from half past eight until half past five. Check hours with Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Which other ancient sites lie in Bodrum, from the theatre to Myndos Gate?
The Kos to Bodrum day trip can add the ancient theatre of Bodrum and Myndos Gate. The gate is the only surviving monumental gate of the old city wall. Day-trip pages list the theatre, and Wikivoyage describes the gate.
Mausolus began the ancient theatre in the fourth century BC. Under the Romans, in the second century AD, it took the shape you see now. Cultural events still run there. One Kos to Bodrum day trip page puts the theatre at 13,000 seats.
During the Kos to Bodrum day trip, one blogger climbed steep streets north of the Mausoleum to reach the theatre. It was well preserved, with wide views over the city, the castle, the port and the bay. Wikivoyage lists opening from Tuesday to Sunday, so check before you climb.
Myndos Gate stands in the old city wall, which Mausolus built about 370 BC. The wall is more than seven kilometres long, and far the largest part of its line can still be followed. The gate complex, the Tripylon, is its grandest section. Turkish teams excavated and partly restored the gate around the year two thousand.
Alexander the Great besieged the wall in 334 BC, and the Greek writers Arrian and Diodorus described the siege. When Memnon saw that the city was lost, he set it on fire and withdrew with his army.
The day-trip pages do not list the gate. Add it to your Kos to Bodrum day trip only if time allows. Wikivoyage says the area includes a short stretch of wall foundations.
What can you do at the marina and on the waterfront on a Kos to Bodrum day trip?
Each Kos to Bodrum day trip lands you on the waterfront straight away. Stroll the marina, watch the yachts and tour boats, then find a maritime museum and a sea-view coffee close by.
Wikivoyage says the small catamaran for foot passengers from Kos lands its passengers at the marina next to the castle. A travel blogger who took a ferry found the castle just steps from the ferry port. Either way, the Kos to Bodrum day trip begins beside the harbour, the boats and the castle walls.
The marina has a working past. Long ago it served as the town’s shipyard and main harbour, says Wikivoyage. The same page names the traditional gulet as Bodrum’s main product for a long time. A gulet has two or three masts, though diesel engines drive it today and sails play a minor role.
The Maritime Museum sits just north of the castle. It covers Bodrum’s sailing and fishing traditions, including gulets and sponge fishing. By the twentieth century the town lived mainly from fishing and sponge diving. Any Kos to Bodrum day trip can fit this museum in, and the waterfront has more:
- Follow the marina front to the Tepecik Mosque, halfway along, which dates from the eighteenth century.
- Order a coffee with a view of the sea from the promenade.
- Ride the waterbus from the marina to Camel Beach, a resort strip to the west.
- Swim from a pebble beach in town, which Wikivoyage calls good for swimming.
About a dozen companies run boat trips from the marina, by modern launch or traditional gulet. A boat trip uses free time, so check the return sailing first. Sandy beaches lie further west, at Gümbet and Bitez. Every Kos to Bodrum day trip still ends with the return boat.
What does Bodrum offer for lunch, tea and shopping in the old town?
Lunch can be pide, kebab or meze during the Kos to Bodrum day trip. Tea and Turkish coffee come from a traditional coffee shop. Shopping fills the bazaar and the small streets of the old town.
A ferry page places the local market about ten minutes on foot from where you arrive. It calls the market fairly modern and one of the city’s top attractions. Clothes, jewellery, regional products and Turkish treats are all there to find. Your Kos to Bodrum day trip can fit this market in before or after lunch.
Quick dishes fit the limited free hours that the Kos to Bodrum day trip allows. Wikivoyage says menus lean towards meat, and vegan and gluten-free diners have limited choices. The ferry page and the day-trip page name these treats:
- Pide, a pie that comes with cheese, spinach, pastirma or minced meat.
- Lokma, dough that is deep-fried, then covered with honey.
- Kazandibi, a Turkish sweet for anyone with a sweet tooth.
- Sfiha, flatbread with a mincemeat topping, and baklava, which Wikivoyage lists among bakery desserts.
For tea or coffee, the day-trip page points to a traditional coffee shop. Plan lunch early in the Kos to Bodrum day trip. One blogger whose crossing ran late had no time for even a quick kebab. During Ramadan, the ferry page asks visitors to avoid public eating, drinking or smoking in daylight, out of respect.
The bazaar sells food and souvenirs, plus clothing, folk art and crafts, and its spice stalls give off intense scents. The day-trip page warns that clothing brands on the stalls are not necessarily genuine. Wikivoyage says to haggle at street markets. Keep that in mind when you shop during the Kos to Bodrum day trip.
How do you get around Bodrum on foot, by minibus and by taxi?
Walking carries the Kos to Bodrum day trip. Bodrum’s ferry port lies within walking distance of the bazaar, the bar street and the historical sites. Minibuses and taxis cover the longer rides.
The walks are short. A travel blog puts the city centre ten minutes from the port. A port page puts the Mausoleum about 15 minutes away. The port page also calls the area around the port a pedestrian zone. The Kos to Bodrum day trip therefore starts on foot.
Bodrum has hills. One page calls the town centre, the promenade and the ancient sites pedestrian-friendly. It warns that uneven pavements and inclines tire walkers. A traveller reached the ancient theatre through steep streets north of the Mausoleum. Pace the climbs during your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
A dolmuş is a shared minibus on a fixed route. A port page names two signs to look for: Bodrum Merkez, the centre, and Kale, the castle. One page says to wave a hand at the roadside, while another says each line has set stops. Check the route before each ride during your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Taxis are yellow and carry a TAKSI sign. A travel page lists taxi stands, and you can also hail one or call. It advises you to make sure the meter is on. A blog puts the beaches about 20 minutes from the city by taxi.
Wikivoyage puts the Gümbet beach strip 4 km from the centre. A bus line to it runs every 20 minutes. A beach trip eats into the hours of your Kos to Bodrum day trip. Weigh the distance against the return boat.
How does the return ferry work, and when must you be back at the harbour?
During the Kos to Bodrum day trip, your return boat leaves from Bodrum port at the time on your ticket. The port page wants you there at least one hour early. On busy summer days it asks for one and a half hours.
Return times differ from trip to trip. One operator page sets the departure from Bodrum at about half past three in the afternoon. A travel blog lists daily summer crossings at 9:30 and at 6:00 in the evening. The time on your own ticket is the only deadline for your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Operator pages ask for check-in about an hour before departure, so ticketing and passport control fit in. One traveller found no separate check-in on the return leg. The passport queue formed early, a small security check scanned bags, and boarding was straightforward. Leave that time free at the end of the Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Waiting lounges with air conditioning sit before and after passport control, the port page says. It adds cafeterias with tea, coffee, cold drinks and sandwiches. So the wait before the return boat has seats and cool air.
Check the pier too. Wikivoyage places the landing pier in the marina by the castle. It notes one boat on the route that uses the cruise terminal south of the town instead. Read the pier on your ticket before the Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Landing at Kos is not the end of the day. The same traveller calls the passport queue back in Kos the pinch point of the trip. It reaches onto the quay, and only the front part sits under cover. The Kos to Bodrum day trip ends after Greek passport control.
A missed boat has a plain result. One operator page says late arrival means a missed ferry. A travel blog says you stay the night in Bodrum. Another operator page recommends buying the return ticket for the day trip. Ask the operator about rebooking before your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Which season, weather and light suit a Kos to Bodrum day trip?
Long, dry and sunny days from late spring into early autumn suit a Kos to Bodrum day trip. The summers in Bodrum are very hot and mostly sunny, says Wikipedia, and the winters mild and humid.
One blogger who crossed in October found the weather great and called Bodrum a real sun-trap. Wikipedia’s weather table for Bodrum shows how far apart the seasons sit, month by month:
- July: 320.7 hours of sun, 0.1 millimetres of rain and a daily high of 35.2 degrees Celsius.
- August: a high of 35.3 degrees Celsius and 0.4 millimetres of rain.
- January: a high of 15.5 degrees Celsius, 138.3 millimetres of rain and 148.5 hours of sun.
July gives your Kos to Bodrum day trip about twice the sunshine of January, with almost no rain. Wikivoyage says the water lags a month behind the land. So late spring suits shore-based activities, and June to October suits water sports. Wikipedia’s sea table gives 24.5 degrees Celsius in June and 27.4 in August.
A ferry-booking page says the route runs all year. Sailings are more frequent from late spring to October and fewer in winter. It calls two windows optimal for Bodrum: the end of late spring into early June, and September into early October. Check the timetable for the date of your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Opening hours follow the season too. A Turkish museum portal gives the castle museum summer hours from the first of June to the first of October. Those run to ten at night. Winter hours end at half past five, and Wikivoyage lists the same closing time. Check the hours before your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
How does a Kos to Bodrum day trip compare with an organised tour, a flight or a private boat?
An independent Kos to Bodrum day trip pairs a ferry ticket with a free day in Bodrum. An organised tour adds a tour guide, a flight means a connection, and a private boat brings a crew.
The independent version lists return ferry tickets and free time in Bodrum. One listing sets the day at eight hours. A travel blog confirms that this Kos to Bodrum day trip has no guided tour. You explore on your own and choose the sights, the lunch and the pace.
Organised options add a tour guide. One listing offers an optional guided tour of Bodrum and its landmarks, or free time instead. A private sightseeing page for Bodrum lists an English-speaking tour guide, a driver and an air-conditioned vehicle. Its eight-hour route covers the castle, the underwater museum, the Mausoleum ruins, the windmills, Myndos Gate and the theatre.
A ferry-booking page says flying between Kos and Bodrum is possible but generally needs connecting flights. It calls the direct ferry more time-efficient. Bodrum’s airport at Milas stands 36 kilometres away to the north-east, says Wikipedia. It adds that Kos airport’s traffic is seasonal, apart from year-round flights to Greek destinations. A Kos to Bodrum day trip skips both airports.
A private boat is the third route. Wikivoyage and a yacht-charter page give three points:
- Agencies in Bodrum charter yachts and traditional gulets, and Wikivoyage puts the good sailing conditions in June to September.
- On a charter, the crew handles passports and port clearance on each side, says the yacht-charter page.
- Wikivoyage tells sailors to check the Greek regulations before they enter Greek waters.
A blogger who saw Turkish-flagged sailboats in the Kos marina suggests a yacht trip as a smoother option. The ferry keeps your Kos to Bodrum day trip simple: a return ticket, a free day and your own route.
What else do travellers ask about a Kos to Bodrum day trip?
How do you dress and what goes in the bag for your Kos to Bodrum day trip?
Dress for heat and for walking. An operator page calls the summer heat in Bodrum insufferable. Its advice for your Kos to Bodrum day trip is water, a hat and shoes made for walking.
Add a light cover-up for mosques. Wikivoyage Turkey says respectable clothing means no bare shoulders or legs for anyone, plus covered hair for women. A scarf can be borrowed at the entrance, and all footwear comes off at the door. Wikivoyage Bodrum lists four mosques in the town, one just north of the castle.
Which money works in town during the Kos to Bodrum day trip, euros or Turkish lira?
Wikivoyage Turkey names the Turkish lira as the national currency. It says tourism-oriented shops can accept euros, and it tells you to ask before you buy. An operator page adds that a good number of bazaar stallholders take euros. It says nearly everyone speaks Greek or English.
Wikivoyage says Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted, American Express much less so. Shop staff have the right to ask for photo ID with a card. Cash machines in central areas give out Turkish lira to foreign Visa and MasterCard debit cards and offer English instructions. Decline any offer of dynamic currency conversion, which bills you in your home currency.
Will your phone connect, and is wi-fi easy to find, during the Kos to Bodrum day trip?
According to Wikivoyage, 4G from all Turkish carriers covers Bodrum and its peninsula. Only the city centre gets 5G. The same page points to free wi-fi in public squares and cafes, handy during your Kos to Bodrum day trip.
Wikivoyage Turkey says cafes and restaurants share their network with guests. Ask the waiter for the name and password. Municipal wi-fi in squares asks you to register by phone for a password. Line providers abroad hold roaming agreements with the Turkish companies, so ask your own provider before the day. The emergency number 112 works from any phone.
Are children, buggies and slow walkers welcome during your Kos to Bodrum day trip?
All physical fitness levels are welcome on this independent Kos to Bodrum day trip, says the listing. A pram or stroller is fine for infants and small children, and infant seats are available.
A minor who travels alone needs an extra official document signed by a parent or guardian. The same goes for a minor with adults who are not legal guardians, or with only one parent. Wikivoyage Bodrum says to keep children away from the stray dogs. It adds that Turkey counts as a high rabies risk, so a bite needs immunising.
What do you do when wind or rough sea interrupts the Kos to Bodrum day trip?
A Turkish ferry-news notice describes strong wind and rough sea at Kos port on one October evening. Such weather can disrupt a Kos to Bodrum day trip. Passengers were told that the return sailings to Bodrum were merged onto a single vessel. The notice tells travellers to read the operator announcements before and during the journey.
One boat excursion listing from Kos to Bodrum carries a weather guarantee. A weather cancellation brings a free new date or a refund. A ferry-booking help page says a ticket for a sailing cancelled in bad weather can be changed or refunded. No refund applies to a missed trip that the operator itself did not cancel.