turkey -pros and cons

jumpingjackd

Thanks for the photos SOUF_OF_THE_RIVER, they are beautiful.

milkydrink

Yeah, wheres the last photo of, or are you not going to let us in on the secret in case it gets swamped:rolleyes:

SOUF_OF_THE_RIVER

The last pic is actually "Kaputash" beach, its near "Kemer" which is inbetween Antalya-Alanya and Fethiye, quite close to "Kas".

There are some nice pics if you google it

http://images.google.co.uk/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2005-18%2CGGLD%3Aen&q=kaputas+BEACH

Its not that well known yet, the beach it beautiful and the best part is not too crowded.

If you like having the place to yourselves, I'd recommend renting out a boat (gullet) there are some great beaches and coves unreachable or hard to get to by road.

Lemmingjuice

Sounds like some people have had bad experiences of Turkey but I'm willing to bet people have similar problems in all mass tourism destinations. Avoid the really large resorts and your experience should be much better.

We've been 5 times with no problems - it's reasonably cheap, with friendly locals, good food, good beaches and loads of interesting natural & ancient sites to see.

We've been to Hisaronu (busy, touristy), Turgutreis (good beach, good compromise between touristy & real Turkey), Akyaka (tiny place, good for a quiet relaxing holiday) and Kalkan twice (quaint, a little busy but laid back, tiny beach but short dolmus ride from either Kaputaş or Patara beaches).

Hope this helps!

Edfunk

We have been to Olu Deniz, Fethiye, and Calis Beach and can honestly say that we have never been harrased in any of these areas/resorts !!

There has been the odd occasion when we have been beconed in to a restaurant, but a polite no thanks or maybe tomorrow and all is ok !!

We love the area and will definately be going back soon !!

Nobjocki

I once had a close shave in Turkey.
No,really ... a visit to a Turkish barber was an absolute delight.
And yes,I'm sure we're all generalising madly about the Turks.
But ..I don't know ... you tend to find first impressions are normally the right ones.
And my first impression of the Turks were that they were untrustworthy,doltish and prone to serious bouts of female intimidation.
Two weeks later I'd seen nothing to change my mind.
I mean here's the difference - the Greeks brought us democracy,Plato and the Hippocratic Oath.
And the Turks - a rather sickly chocolate bar and the kebab.
I rest my case !

MrSmartprice

I have only been to Turkey once, and the pros and cons as I recall them are:

The weather is extremely hot without being too humid,
The beer was cheap and quite drinkable.
The accommodation was quite good value, well maintained and kept clean.
There were some little eating places where the locals used, where the food was fresh, tasty and cheap.

:mad: Walking through resorts you are continually hassled by touts trying to entice you into their tat shops or their overpriced tourist restaurants.
:mad: The behaviour of males aged 15-50 is disgusting, they clearly regard any western woman as a tart and treat them as such in the street with innuendo and sometimes worse.
:mad: When you do decide to try somewhere after being enticed by special offers, the food is, at best, mediocre and the bill always comes to more than you expect due to overpriced 'extras' and drinks.
:mad: The standards of hygiene are utterly dreadful in many places, including the pricey ones. Eating kebabs, seafood or salads is on par with blindfold trapeze in terms of danger to life.
:mad: It is a huge country and the transfers can be daunting. I recall ours being 4hrs each way, fortunately at night.

So you pays your money and takes your choice. Personally I wouldn't go again, mainly due to the insanitary food hygiene. We were both off work for a week with bad guts when we got home. There is no control or inspection and vermin are everywhere. And you only need to be unlucky once and the holiday could be a write-off.

alba37

No one mentioned the price of spirits? I was there once (2 years ago) I couldn't drink the AI wine or spirits, I couldn't find a decent bottle of Vodka or Whiskey anywhere unless I wanted to pay a fortune for it. So, I would say, if your going all inc, and a fussy drinker like me, take duty free.

I agree with all the hassle etc too, but the turkish baths, massages, and skin peels were fantastic. I stayed near Marmaris, the beach was dark sand, and the sea chilly (in Oct)

I would like to hear the differences between the med area & aegean sea area? Is one preferential to the other?

askintstudent

I am very suprised about some of the negative comments towards Turkey. I have been Istanbul a few times and absolutely love it.

For those people who are still undecided I highly recommend having a look on the Turkey tripadvisor forums here. Once you click the link there is a box which says 'Search in:' Click the area you are interested in and have a look round the forums or post a question if you like. There are some 'local experts' who can help you with any questions you may have.

I have posted on their before and there are some really friendly people who can give you loads of advice and have helped me a lot with their info in the past.

HTH!

taxiphil

Prices in Dalaman Airport are eye-watering. Imagine the worst rip-off prices you've ever seen in a UK airport, then double them and add a bit more.

To give you an example, feeding two adults and two kids in McDonalds (one burger, one drink and one fries each) is £42.

A single measure of whisky and Coke at the bar is £16.

Cheapest tiny 250ml bottle of water is £3 (and you're going to need plenty of them if your flight gets delayed).

They also have a scam going on in the duty free shop where prices are only marked in Euros. Unless you pay in Euro banknotes (which is highly unlikely as a UK tourist probably wouldn't take a wad of Euros to Turkey) you get a terrible deal on their own "special" exchange rate in the shop - and they LIE to you by giving a quote in £s/Turkish Lira which is far lower than what you will actually pay.

Example - I was told I would be charged £82 (it even said this on the electronic display at the till), and when I got my credit card bill I'd been charged £91.

I am sure this deceitful practice would be illegal in a European country.

It's all a bit of a shame as it's the last thing you remember about Turkey, and it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.