Kos to Bodrum Day Trip: Ferry, Passport and How Much You Can Fit In

Bodrum is in Turkey, but from Kos Town it is a short hop: the catamaran takes about 35 minutes. That makes it one of the easiest border crossings in Europe, and one of the few day trips that takes you to another country. What you need to sort out first is the paperwork, not the transport.

Two ways to do it

You can book the organised day trip, or buy a ferry ticket and go alone.

The organised option on GetYourGuide is the Bodrum day trip by ferry with transfer. It costs €56.50 per person, runs for 8 hours, and has a rating of 4.3 from 229 reviews. The description names the Halicarnassus site with the Tomb of Mausolus and the Castle of St Peter as the highlights. It is the only Bodrum trip from Kos in this selection, so there is nothing to compare it with here.

Going alone means buying the ferry ticket directly. One ferry-booking site quotes fares from about €25 one way, and says the crossing runs up to nine times a day in season. Treat both numbers as indications: fares and timetables change, and the operator’s own page has the current ones.

What you need at the port

This is the part that catches people out.

• A passport, or in some cases an ID card. The same booking site says citizens of a list of countries, among them Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, may travel on a national ID card, and everyone else needs a passport. Check that against your own nationality and your document’s validity before you pay, not at the quay.
• A visa, or none. The site also says a one-day visit to Turkey needs no visa. Entry rules depend on your passport. Look up the rule for yours on your government’s travel advice page, or ask the operator.
• Time at the port. The advice is to arrive at least 60 minutes before departure for ticketing and exit passport control, and about 90 minutes in July and August, when queues build. That is a real chunk of the day.

If you book the organised trip, the booking page says what is arranged for you and what you must bring. The passport rules apply to you either way.

How much of Bodrum fits into a day

Eight hours sounds generous, but the border crossing eats into it, once on the way out and once on the way back. In practice you get a few hours in the town itself.

That is enough for the Castle of St Peter, the harbour front and a meal. The Tomb of Mausolus belongs to ancient Halicarnassus, the other highlight in the description. Do not plan more than two or three sights in a day. If you try to add a beach, a market and a boat trip as well, you will rush all of them.

Is it worth it?

Yes, if you have never been to Turkey and want a day of a different kind: another country, Turkish food, a medieval castle. At €56.50 it costs more than the 3-island cruises from Kos, which start at €24.30, but you are paying for the ferry, the transfer and the organisation.

Probably not, if the ferry timetable does not match your day, or if the weather is rough. The crossing can be cancelled in bad weather. Ask what happens to your money when it is.

Going alone is better if you are comfortable organising it yourself and your documents are in order. You choose how long you stay, and the ticket alone is somewhat cheaper, going by the figure above: about €25 each way is roughly €50 return, against €56.50 for the organised trip. The price of that freedom is that no one is responsible for getting you back to the ferry.

Before you book

1. Check your passport or ID card and, for your nationality, the entry rule for Turkey.
2. Look at the return ferry time and plan to be back at the Bodrum terminal well before it.
3. Read the cancellation terms. A day trip you cannot move is a day lost if the crossing is cancelled.
4. Compare it with the Greek alternatives: a day trip to Nisyros or a 3-island boat trip keeps you in Greece and needs no passport check.

All the excursions to other islands and to Bodrum are on the Nisyros and Bodrum day trips page.