Bodrum Nightlife
If there’s one thing that the locals of Bodrum love more than fishing, it’s partying. The nightlife of Bodrum is surprisingly always going on and the locals really know how to party. All of the restaurants, nightclubs and even the cafes will stay open all night to make sure they can accommodate the partygoers. It’s such a hot spot for partygoers, that even the Turkish people will consider Bodrum as the number 2 nightlife destination right after Istanbul.
One of the most impressive things is that Bodrum has more bars per square mile than almost every single area in Turkey. The number of bars and nightlife has something for everyone, no matter what your taste is. When you visit Bodrum, even if you don’t party often, you’ll be thoroughly impressed by the amount of options you have from relaxing lounges to party resorts. If you want to sit back and kick back your feet at a nice café with a seaside view, you might even get a nice view of the Bodrum castle.
There’s a street called Bar Street and it’s approximately one-mile long. It runs directly parallel to the seaside so you’ll always have a great view regardless of your destination. You’ll be able to get a stunning view of the castle from almost any destination and it’s illuminated at night for a nice glowing effect.
If you’re looking for live music, you can visit a bar called the VELI BAR which is considered to be one of the oldest bars in Bodrum. The M&M DANCING bar has probably one of the best sound systems in Bodrum and the interior is rather pleasant to look at as well. There’s other options such as the YETTIGARI and the HADIGARI BAR AND RESTAURANT. Make sure to visit the FORA BAR which offers a nice view of the castle at night that you’ll want to take a picture of.
Then, you have the FASIL CAFÉ RASIT which offers an upstairs bar and has live belly dancers for an authentic Turkish feel. They also play original Turkish music. You’ll have to wait until 11PM however for the live action to start. What if you’re looking for something with a nice Victorian style of music? You can visit THE WHITE HOUSE BAR in that case.
You can also find plenty of bars that have a nice open view of the Aegean Sea as well, which offers a nice scenic view where you can enjoy your wine in peace with a fresh breath of air from the calm sea. Nearby, there’s a quiet and really nice bar called the MAVI BAR (which is also known as the blue bar). In only 50 meters, you can find one of the most exotic and nicest bars around known as the HALIKARNAS DISCO. They don’t offer advertise the bar because it’s very popular among the locals and it should be one of the must visit destinations on your list before you leave Bodrum.
Bodrum Festivals
Boat Racing – If you’re into some wooden boat racing, there’s an event held by the ETA Bodrum Sailing Club. This event is held on third Sunday of October.
Biking Festival – If you’re more into biking and an enthusiast, there’s an event that’s organized by the Bodrum Nature Sports Clubs (BODOSC). This event is held around May. There are multiple different organizations including civil and state institutions that help make this event possible. They’ve also got quite a few sponsors to help fund the event. They even have their own slogan, which is “Hand in Hand for a Bodrum free of exhaust, get on bicycles”. This event isn’t all about bicycles though, because you’ll find some live performances from music artists, acrobatic performances and even dance shows. This event tends to attract a pretty large crowd.
If you’re looking for some other events, there’s three events you may want to attend:
#1 – There’s the Padasa Festival which runs from August 27 to September 1
#2 – There’s the Turgutreis Commemoration Festival which only runs on June 23
#3 – Finally, there’s the Turkbuku Culture and Art Festival which runs from September 3rd to September 9th
There are additionally some open market fleas and bazaar locations you can check out on certain days. The majority of these events are located directly in Bodrum or relatively close.
- On Mondays, be sure to check out Guvercinlik
- On Tuesdays, you can visit the Bodrum clothing center and the Milas food and clothing store
- On Wednesdays, you can visit Gumusluk and Ortakent
- On Thursdays, there’s a wide selection of food in Bodrum, some food and clothing available in Mugal and additionally, some food and clothing in Yalikavak
- On Fridays, Bodrum is open for a wide selection of food again
- On Saturdays, Turgutreis has a wide selection of clothing and food available
- On Sundays, check out Mumcular for clothing and food and be sure to check out Gumbet as well
A lot of these markets when they’re open offer a lot of organic fruit that’s grown and harvested locally. You’ll also find fresh fish caught by the local fisherman.
