Summer 2012: Destination Advice?

franksel491

Hi all, first time poster here!

We've now got to March and are struggling for holiday ideas having not been able to sort it out until now. Nobody can decide where to go and we keep reading mixed reviews which put us off places. We've considered Cyprus, Turkey, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria but can't decide on which one, what resorts to look at for each or even if we actually want to go any of them. The last two years we've loved our holiday in Los Cristianos, Tenerife but we thought we'd like a change this year, so can anybody advise us on the places I've mentioned, and specific resorts/hotels.
We're going as a family of 3, 2 parents and a 16 year old son around July 29th for 2 weeks on a budget of £2500, preferably half board. My son wants some activity and atmosphere and we don't mind this but although we're not greatly interested in culture we'd like different things to do. My son has suggested Protaras or Marmaris (Cyprus and Turkey) but we're not entirely sure what its like there.
Ideally we'd like a similar thing to Los Cristianos/Las Americas but really we are clueless this year.
Thanks in advance and please ask the necessary questions to help you help us

gibson123

I can help you with Turkey, but not Tenerife. Marmaris at the end of July is a bit of a nightmare for the heat, you are much better going to the Aegean coast in Turkey as you hit August. We holiday in Kusadasi in Turkey. Your son and yourselves would find lots to do there. There are two huge waterparks, lots of beaches, and great excursions like jeep safaris, boat trips and quad biking, as well as the usual watersports, scuba etc. You would get better value renting a two bedroom apartment than 2 hotel rooms, prices are really good this year. You should be able to get something fairly decent for about £500 for two weeks, you can fly to Bodrum or Izmir from the UK, flights will cost you about £900 for all 3 of you. You can spend the other £1,000 on eating out and ordering in. You can look for apartments on owners direct, alternatively there are lots of hotel options. Good Luck

http://www.kusadasi.biz/info/guide/must-do

budgetflyer

Marmaris and Protaras are both great
Marmaris tips it for value though.
Excursion wise, Marmaris has more fun stuff that would suit a 16 yr old. Jeep safari, Quad safari and boat trips.
Donattela Travel are a good company to book your boat trip, The Mega Diana boat trip is one of the best in Marmaris.
You are better off B+B or self catering. Eating out is really cheap. The 3 of you will have a big tasty 4 course with a couple of drinks each for around £30 ish.

This is a guide to hotel prices for a dble/twin room

needaholiday

We are going to the San Miguel Hotel in Puerto San Miguel Ibiza for the 5th time this year because our kids love it so much. It's great for kids of all ages. There's always plenty going on for them and same people return year after yesr so they have many friends there. My son is not coming this year as he's now 19 but he has loved the past 4 years. My daughter is 13 and loves it too. It's a very friendly place and the staff and animation team are great. We've always booked with Thomson but the price has shot up this year so we've booked flights with EasyJet and room direct with hotel. Hotel can also be booked with booking.com but is known as Club Hotel Cartago on their site. it's an all inclusive hotel though.

franksel491

Thanks for the suggestions. We've had a few people mention Kusadasi so are looking deeper into it. Just a quick question is it true you can't flush toilet roll in Cyprus or Turkey?

jhe

we have stayed at grecian sands in cyprus, toilet roll could be flushed at hotel but in aya napa bars there were bins to put it in, turkey stayed grand pasa,marmaris, toilet paper could be flushed .

gibson123

Franksel Turkey has very small gauge pipes so flushing loo roll causes a blockage. All loos in Turkey have a pipe in the back of the loo, you turn on the tap at the side of the loo and a stream of water washes your backside. You use the loo roll to dry off and drop the used tissue in the bin. you actually feel much cleaner, i have looked in to having one fitted to my loo in the UK.