International & Erasmus students in Bodrum
You're here. Now make it count.
Smileys helps international students experience Bodrum, meet people outside their campus and build a social life early — alongside members from all over the world and locals.
Not instead of your university's orientation or student network — alongside it, for the people and plans beyond campus.
Your first week in Bodrum
Five steps, roughly in this order — save this page before you fly.
Get connected
A working phone number first: maps, banking codes and every group chat depend on it.
SIM and mobile internetLearn the city
Get a transport card, work out your commute, and save the emergency number before you need it.
Emergency numbers Scams and staying safeEat and explore
Spend your first free afternoons finding out what Bodrum is like — much of it costs little or nothing.
FoodieMeet people
Pick one event and go — plenty of people come on their own.
See upcoming eventsFind your rhythm
Something every week is how acquaintances become friends. Find a regular activity, and the part of the city that suits you.
Neighbourhoods Clubs
Your semester, stage by stage
A semester goes faster than it looks from week one. What to do when.
Before arrival
Check how long you can stay, and ask your university’s international office what your programme needs for a residence permit. Applying to Smileys now means you’re in before you land — reviews take 24–48 hours.
Entry rules and stay limits How residence permits workWelcome week
Get in from the airport, get a SIM and a transport card, and go to one event on your own.
From the airport Your first week, step by stepFirst month
Go back to something you liked the first time. Join a club or a weekly activity — the faces you see every week become your friends.
Bodrum clubsMake the most of it
Try the parts of Bodrum that aren’t on the first-week list, and bring a classmate to something new.
Slow Bodrum
Your first event
Nothing is marked first-timer friendly right now — here is everything on in Bodrum.
Explore Bodrum
Experiences from the Bodrum Guide, by what you're in the mood for.
The practical side
From the Bodrum Handbook.
Entry rules and how long you can stay
Entering Türkiye: Visa-Free Stays, e-Visas and the 90/180 Rule
Links official sources
How residence permits work
Residence Permit (Ikamet): Your first application, without the panic
Links official sources
SIM, eSIM and mobile internet
Getting a SIM Card and Home Internet in Türkiye
Links official sources
From the airport into the city
Getting Around Bodrum: Dolmuş, Ferries, Taxis & the Airport
Links official sources
Money and bank accounts
Opening a Turkish bank account as a foreigner
Links official sources
Scams and staying safe
Scams & Tourist Traps in Türkiye: How to stay safe without becoming paranoid
Links official sources
Emergency numbers
Emergency Numbers in Türkiye: Call 112 and Other Numbers Worth Saving
Links official sources
Practical guidance, not legal advice. Residence permits and other paperwork depend on your nationality and your programme, and the rules change — your university's international office and the official sources each guide links to are where to confirm your own case.
Before you join
- International students — Erasmus, exchange or a full degree — are welcome. You apply like anyone else, with no university details asked.
- Anyone can browse this page, the events calendar, the Guide and the Handbook. Members can RSVP, join clubs and meet other members; some events are for members only, and their cards say so.
- Joining is free. You only pay for events you choose, and the price is on every event before you RSVP.
- A person reads every application, within 24–48 hours — it keeps events safe to walk into on your own. The form explains why it asks for each detail, and your phone number is never shown publicly. Privacy policy.