Turkey All inclusive info ( never been, never done all in)

lea2012

I have to be honest and say that as a general rule I dislike AI. I have been AI and did a week and still went out to eat twice for evening meals as I was fed up being in the same place each night, although admittedly the AI was very good where we stayed.
I went with a large group of friends the first time and I was only 20, but now a decade or so on and with a 7 year old I can see the appeal of it. Not just for budget but also for the ease of not having to say yes or no to every request for a drink / ice cream etc and also for the entertainments side of things.

AI may have been the fastest growing sector at one point, but a lot of people are wising up to the fact that in some cases it's a false economy and I do believe bookings for AI have dropped off a little this year. I also know of several hotels in Turkey that went from SC to completely AI to meet with demand and who have now switched back to SC or BB. The issue for me is that AI has killed off many smaller businesses, particularly in Turkey. Having lived there I know many restaurant owners that shut up shop as they couldn't make ends meet anymore as everyone was holed up in there hotels.

The other thing to bear in mind with AI in turkey is that the cheaper ones don't offer entertainment, or if they do the entertainment is in a bar attached to the hotel where you can't get AI drinks anyway and therefore making more money!

citykid5

PompeyPete wrote: »

Excellent deal. The transfer from Dalaman is 90 minutes each way, longer if the coach has several stops before yours.

If it's not too hot have a walk along the coastal path from Marmaris to Icmeler - great views along the way. Plenty of places to stop for a drink. Icmeler's a really nice place, with a busy Wednesday (?) Market. Get the frequent dolmus (orange) back to Marmaris, or even better take the water taxi from Icmeler to the Marmaris marina. Stunning views on the boat, takes 45 minutes, and costs 10 Lira.

Another good trip out by Dolmus (white) from Marmaris is to Turunc. It passes by Icmeler and then up and up into the pine forests. You'll feel like the man in the moon at the top, but it's a lovely drive with stunning views, and Turunc is pretty, low-key resort.

The orange (frequent) and white (hourly) dolmus run all the way along the hotel strip in Marmaris. If you want to go to the Otogar (main bus station) to venture a bit further afield then you need the green dolmus to get to the Otogar

Towards the Marina from the Ataturk statue on the prom there's a permanent covered indoor market on the left. It's not that exiting, but behind the market re a few decent inexpensive places to eat. Bar street is behind the marina.

Wow thanks for all the tips on the area. Even more excited now:j

~Chameleon~

Thanks, but I'd never go to Marmaris. Reminds me too much of Agaluf and Malia etc

Pollycat

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Thanks, but I'd never go to Marmaris. Reminds me too much of Agaluf and Malia etc

We went to Malia last September. I found a good deal and after reading that there is an old town with some traditional restaurants, we decided to risk it.

It was very nice, you do not need to go down 'The Strip' if you don't want to.
We did go down one evening and even at 1am found it quieter than we'd expected.

Malia might be 'party, party' in July and August but it's not like that all the time.
We had some very good food in some nice local restaurants.

PompeyPete

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Thanks, but I'd never go to Marmaris. Reminds me too much of Agaluf and Malia etc

It depends when you go, where you stay, and what you do with your time there.

I had similar thoughts to you and was happily proved wrong!

Went just after Easter, the place was very low key, and we had a great time. We stayed just down the road in Icmeler, which is admittedly quieter than Marmari. But we spent a fair bit of time in Marmaris, and really enjoyed it.

Self-catering btw, and ate out in some excellent inexpensive locally run restaurants.

suki1964

One year we bought a cheap holiday to marmaris, about 150pp for 14 nights sc, used the flights and transfer, stayed the one night, then jumped on the bus the following day over to Icemelar and booked into our hotel of choice for the duration of the holiday.

That year flights only were costing more then £200pp

Done the same another year, got a cheap holiday to Fetyhie and took the bus from there to icmelar for a few days

Hotels are very cheap, as is bus travel and food,it's the flights out that are so expensive

Op, there's a great little forum called icmelaronline go take a read of the trip reviews and blogs. There's a lot of detail in them about the costs of meals out and trips. Might give you an idea of how your budget will pan out if you decide not to go AI

citykid5

I know what you mean about marmarris , but at the end of the day it's turkey, the country is wonderfully and full of realy nice friendly people.
And yes I have been going to turkey for about 8 yrs, so I know that while they're smiling at you, the locals would fleece you bling given the opertunaty. LOL

DKLS

All depends on AI, my inlaws love it as they are retired and on a fixed budget so know exactly what they have to spend.


I have only tried AI once in Egypt, we only stayed at the hotel for one night and checked out for a non AI hotel. The reason we left was because the hotel population seemed to be made up of extra's from Shameless who couldn't wait for the bar to open at 10.30am so they "could get their monies worth"

deva

I think dkls has identified one of the main issues people have when on ai holidays, and one that is largely out of hotels control: other people.

Some people want to get their monies worth so queue repeatedly for food and drinks and monoplise the sun beds for the duration as they don't leave site, as that would involve spending extra money. When I repped the common issues were people annoyed to pay extra for branded drinks, plastic glasses that were sometimes "too small" and the repetition of food.

As mentioned earlier, the majority of al food is buffet so is unlikely to be piping hot or on hot plates if that bothers you. It does become repetitive if you try to have some of everything each night, my advice would be to stick to a starter, main a dessert and you'll never have any issue. Also people get very fed up of queuing for food, for it to be refilled and even more so when other nationalities don't follow British queuing protocol!

Finally for me entertainment isn't my thing, I enjoy talking over a meal or reading a book by the pool and sometimes Loud music or acts spoil this.

It's ultimately personal choice but our 9 year old enjoys playing with others in a pool rather than organised activities that restricted the use.

lea2012

Marmaris will be lovely at that time of year, it won't be overly busy as the season is just starting but everything will be open. I always used to love the start and end of the season as everything was much more relaxed and people really took the time to talk with you rather than just serving food and rushing off. All the tourist spots are quieter and everything is much more relaxed.
PompeyPete has given some really good advice, I definitely second his recommendation to visit Icmeler and Turunc. You can take a water taxi across to Turunc too which is another good way to get there but the bus ride does give spectacular views.
A couple of other places you can get to via water taxi are Amos and Kumlubuk. Amos is literally just a tiny bay with one bar, the taxi drops you off in the morning and collects you late afternoon. It's ideal if you like secluded beaches and being off the beaten track but a nightmare if you can't manage more than a couple of hours sunbathing!
Kumlubuk is similar but there are 2-3 hotels with beachside bars and pools that you can use. The water taxis are a little more frequent perhaps every couple of hours.
If you like getting out and about a bit then I would also recommend Akyaka, about 30mins from Marmaris. You can get a bus from the main bus station and again it's a really nice turkish resort. A handful of restaurants and a lovely beach make it a great place to spend the day.
The only thing I wouldn't recommend at that time of year would be the boat trip to Rhodes as the sea can be quite choppy on that crossing at that time of year so unless you have an iron stomach it's not that wise!