Screw tours, screw sharing a boat with others. Play your own playlist, watch the dolphins, swim carelessly in the Black Sea.
9:30am // START THE DAY WITH A STRONG COFFEE-- CUP OF JOY(Bebek)
One of the best brewed coffee you can have in Istanbul. They are very sophisticated coffee enthusiasts similar to the ones in San Francisco Bay Area.
10am // GROCERY SHOPPING-- SANTRAL SARKUTERI-DELI (Bebek)
Mezes are yummy and fresh. They are easy to carry, and this deli has sandwiches as well. These are my favorites: Patlican ezmesi, sarma, acili ezme, and plenty of bread.
10:30am // SHOPPING FOR BOOZE-- Bebek Ciftligi / Liquor Store (Bebek)
Don't get anything that stains such as red wine, sour cherry juice (Turks love it). The boat will be rocking, and you will most likely spill stuff around.
Don't forget the golden rule: If you have a happy captain, then you will get to swim at the best spots.
10:45am // GETTING SOME FRUITS-- BEBEK MEVSIM MANAVI (Produce Market, Bebek)
Just walk down the street, and you'll find a little produce market, where you can pick delicious fresh fruits for the day.
@11am // START WALKING TOWARDS ARNAVUTKOY
You can either walk for 15-20min by the Bosphorus, or take a cab to get to Arnavutkoy, where all the yatchs are docked. It will be a nice walk.
11:30am // FINDING A BOAT (Arnavutkoy)
The docked boats are going to be the ones that are free for the day. Bringing your own food and booze will help you get a good deal on the price. Make sure they have an ipad doc or an auxilary cable for your ipod, and you have plenty of charge for the day. Otherwise, you'll end up listening to shitty outdated Turkish pop songs all day.
If you go early, then this means that the boat can find another customer in the afternoon. If you only want to swim, then you won't be getting the whole Bosphorus cruise. Instead, you will be heading to north right away. It will help them save gas, and this means you can get another deal b/c of that. You will be anchoring your boat at the best spots to swim and chill.
Don't forget: Kiralik means for rent, Satilik means for sale.
SWIM @ ONE OF THE BEST LOCATIONS-- RUMELI FENERI (Rumeli Lighthouse)
-nice, clean and fun.
-best place to swim.
Perhaps, this will be one of the best days of your life..
