Holiday advice required - anyone been to Turkey?

[deanprez]

Yes i've been to T*****.......unfortunately 2 of my fellow football fan's also went,to sample the 'magic' of 'european football' in Is****** and never returned home to their families !

Stabbed to death,all in the name of supporting their team.

 

Personally i cannot understand anyone wanting to go to a place where 'knife culture' is just an everyday part of life.

 

I for one will NEVER return to that place ....and know many other people who won't go as well !

 

Lanzarote is beautiful, give it a try !

[Herbaliser]

I went to Side (small town an hour from Antalya) a couple of years ago. I'd definitely go back to Turkey. The restaurant people leave you alone once you've got a bit of a tan. The beach wasn't particularly nice (big though) but we stayed in a family-run chalet/ hotel complex. The least friendly people we met there were the bar staff of the stupidly over-priced English owned places.

 

Saw no signs of trouble, but because of what happened to the two Leeds fans, I certainly didn't feel I could wander round at ease in a footy shirt

[royjames]

Been to Turkye 5 times and all the resorts,for me turunc near ichmiler was lovely a nice quiet resort with a lovely beech and you dont get hassled there.

Side is great if you like to explore the apollo temple and the coloseum which is well worth a visit.

Marmaris is rubbish too comercial and a lousy brown beech and all the hasstle you get there is awfull,unless you want to shop give that one a miss.

[pj66]

we went to olu deniz last year what a fantastic place, we stayed all inc. at sun city hotel, my mate who has2/3 holidays a year has only ever been twice to one place,, olu deniz, it is not as cheap as bodrum, icmeler and the likes but definatly worth going you will not be dissapointed have a look on holidays uncovered website for olu deniz and see what reviews say on there, the people are friendly not clingy, they love kids, the sense of humour is just like being at home (very funny) if you dont want to be hassled by shopkeepers then just make friends with one of the hotel staff get them to walk along the street with you and hey presto no hassle in short get yourself off and book you will love it

[kirky]

Originally posted by deanprez

Yes i've been to T*****.......unfortunately 2 of my fellow football fan's also went,to sample the 'magic' of 'european football' in Is****** and never returned home to their families !

Stabbed to death,all in the name of supporting their team.

 

Personally i cannot understand anyone wanting to go to a place where 'knife culture' is just an everyday part of life.

 

I for one will NEVER return to that place ....and know many other people who won't go as well

 

well said pal

[Cols]

I've been using a brilliant site to research a holiday.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk

 

Lists all holiday destinations and honest opinions on the resorts and hotels by holidaymakers who have been there. Very useful.

[missb]

I've been to

 

* Bodrum ( around 15 years ago ) lovely town with harbour and castle, no beach - you have/had to go to Gumbet. Good shops and restaurants.

 

* Side - big place spread out over a wide area. Got pestered quite a bit there due to lack of tourists. Just say 'no thanks' and don't keep eye contact and walk away. Good base for exploring and great beaches.

 

* Marmaris - Commercialised , big, busy, nice harbour and castle, poor beach, good for sightseeing.

 

Turkey is a great place to visit if you like history and sightseeing. There are some great and cheap boat trips ( don't book through rep ) The Turks can be a pest though if you let them. You get pestered to go into restaurants and bars as you walk by, you get used to it and a polite no and walk briskly on usually works. Great for buying gold ( 14 carat ) and cheap copies of Nike etc. Food is pretty standard fare and dirt cheap ( or was ) If you are a lone female then beware! Or if you are a couple of young ladies ( or old come to that ) they are right creepy Casanovas!

 

We may visit this year after a few years off visiting Greece.

[ZIPPYZ]

I love Turkey. I went 2 years ago to Hisaronu and loved every minute. We're going back in June this year. The people are so friendly and aren't just after your money. Its cheaper than Greece and Spain and a much more beaufiful country. The blue lagoon is perfect.

Hurry up June!

[sheffexpat]

I lived in Turkey for 6 or 7 years , on and off so maybe I could mention somewhere a bit more off-beat .

The Black Sea coast , eastwards of Samsun to the border with Georgia is beautiful and comparitively unspoilt. There are holiday -makers but they are mainly Turks. The people are even more friendly and helpful than the average Turk and it's a lot , lot cheaper than the Bodrum area.

Trabzon is quite a big city and is at one end of the old Silk Route into China.

It's not that difficult to go independently , alone or in a small group.

If you're in Istanbul . for example , just go to the main bus station and there are dozens of coach companies which go to the Black Sea Coast. Don't try it by train if time is important and the train only goes to just past Samsun.Samsun takes about 11 hours by coach but they do stop every 3 hours or so for toilets ...meals....etc...

Samsun to Trabzon is about 7 hours but there are a lot of beautiful places in between. From Trabzon to the Georgian border is about 1 or 2 hours. If you're feeling really reckless , get a visa in Trabzon and visit Georgia.

People are friendly everywhere and in the bigger hotels they can usually speak English but , in general , don't expect it to be like Bournemouth or even Bodrum !

I would guess that a single coach journey to Samsun from Istanbul is about £15--£20 nowadays.There's a network all over Turkey---really you can get anywhere. You could even do a circular tour and see even more of the country. Great place.! I'm determined to retire there !

[teeb]

Been to Turkery a few times and loved it. My favourite resorts are Gumbert and Marmaris - the only one I wold never go back to is Alanya which is very much German orientated, the Turkish people are much less friendly, and it is more expensive.