Semercioglu IV - De Luxe Gulet
"We just spent a week aboard the Semercioglu IV and had a fantastic time. This is probably one of the best holidays we have ever had. The organisation and communication by Diamond Sky Holidays was faultless. We were welcomed onto the gulet in Fethiye Harbour, Turkey by Captain Mehmet and his crew who looked after us brilliantly all week. The boat is absolutely beautiful, varnished to within an inch of its life! This must be the most graceful, well-appointed gulet sailing the Mediterranean. The crew clearly took great pride in keeping it that way too, cleaning and polishing whenever they could. The cabins and bathrooms were clean and gleaming. Eda, the captain’s daughter, was delightful and kept us informed in her perfect English. She was so helpful, nothing was too much trouble for her. Ahmet, the amazing chef, served up three delicious meals every day consisting of so many different dishes - the barbecued fish was a highlight, plus afternoon tea and biscuits (or a special treat) to keep us going until dinner time.
We spent the week visiting picturesque, quiet bays where we swam and snorkelled straight off the boat in crystal clear water with a huge variety of wildlife. On two of the days Serkan took us ashore on the tender so we could visit a town or just to enjoy some time on the beach of a small resort. There is plenty of room on the boat whether you want to sit in the shade or sunbathe on the top deck. We spent very little time in our cabin, preferring to be on deck relaxing, reading or chatting in the sunshine and fresh air. We all had to surrender our shoes as soon as we boarded the boat and we enjoyed being barefoot unless we were going ashore.
We have decided we want to do it again next year and are planning to ask more of our family to join us. The cabins can get very hot during the night as the air conditioning is only available in the early evening - the generator has to be switched on for the air-con and it can be noisy for any other boats nearby. We had the option to sleep on deck under the stars but there are some mosquitoes around because the inlets where we moored overnight are close to wooded areas. Swimming off the boat was amazing - this holiday is best for those who are happy swimming in deep water. There are so many different types of fish to discover and we even saw a turtle close to Cleopatra’s Bay. We spent a happy afternoon trying to catch fish with the simple reel and line they have on-board but were unsuccessful, much to the amusement of the crew!
Our experience of Turkey and its people was a very positive and friendly one. We were sad to leave and will certainly be back. All the best"
Mike and Linda Willshare (and on behalf of Jackie and Colin) - 29.5.2018