 – perhaps stuffed peppers, salad and fruit. Then out would come the canoes, paddleboards, dinghies and water-skis. Dinner, with the children asleep, was a more sophisticated affair than lunch. Movie night on her iPad was Olive's treat for being such a good girl, which she was, before she settled down. Twice we moored at the quayside and ate dinner ashore, in quiet Bozburun and, on our last evening, in buzzing Bodrum, while the crew stayed on board with the sleeping children. The gods of myth and legend who circulate in these parts looked down kindly on us during our memorable Turkish holiday. In a week full of happiness, the most magical moments came when the sails went up, the engine was switched off and the wind blew us gently to our next destination. Essentials Fiona Duncan was a guest of Salamander Voyages ( salamandervoyages.com ). A seven-night private charter, sleeping up to 12, including food, drink, airport transfers, sailing lessons, use of equipment (canoes, dinghies, paddleboards, etc), costs from £16,950. EasyJet (0330 551 5151; easyjet.com ) flies from London Gatwick to Bodrum from £186pp return Have you taken a gulet cruise? Are you tempted to swap an all-inclusive hotel for a holiday on a boat? Please join the conversation in the comments below){kind=link}
I packed three generations of my family onto a Turkish sailing boat – and it was the best thing I did all year
My favourite holiday? Hands down, a week on a gulet cruising the Turquoise Coast – and that’s after a lifetime of varied happy holidays. If you are into flopping and floating, there is nothing more beguiling than doing so on one of the classic wooden yachts of the glorious south-western Turkish coast, which is peppered with empty bays, sand and pebble beaches, pretty waterfront towns and villages, and historical sights. With groups of friends, we have been on three gulet holidays in the past: relaxing and feasting on the chefs’ endless supply of Turkish dishes.
It has been 15 years since our last gulet trip with friends, however, and since then, like many our age, we have begun holidaying once more with our children – and their children. The oldest in our party of seven was 73, the youngest 16 months. “How about a nice, easy, all-inclusive family resort?” I thought when it came to the planning. “Surely that would be the simplest answer?”
And it nearly was, until I came across Salamander Voyages, which has a proven history of successful holidays with children aboard. I was convinced that a gulet holiday could work for us and made it my mission to persuade my son and daughter-in-law that a holiday afloat would be not just a cinch, but a thrill, too. Never mind that Olive, a city child through and through, is happiest in a playground or a shop, or that Max, a prop forward in nappies, destroys everything in his path. What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, to begin with. On day one, Olive, aged three, tearfully announced that a boat was not her idea of a holiday and what she had really been hoping for was a funfair. A meltdown ensued. “Funfair, funfair, funfair,” she intoned, over and over, beating her fists.