Booking excursions

[kinger8938]

We are off on our first all inclusive trip in a few weeks to Marmaris in Turkey

Obviously we want to explore a bit and have a few days trips out.

Is it best to play this by ear and just arrange stuff while we are there?

Or is precooking before we travel essential? (Surely not?)

I imagine Jet2 would prefer us to pre-book with them, but I imagine there's loads to find when we get there.

Sorry if this seems a silly question, not really done a big package holiday before

 

[ivrytwr3]

Each to their own, but we join location FB pages and get recommendations from there.

We pre-book before we go as obvs the best providers fill up quickly, we've also found that they are cheaper and sometimes for the prices TUI, Jet2 etc charge, we have been able to spend the same cost but a private tour ie we did a trip to Chichen Itza, just the 4 of us. Private mini van, snacks and drinks, in video entertainment, private guide on arrival. We left a bit later, but still arrived back earlier than the TUI coach! The driver was also to stop off and show us different spots, talk about the places as he was local. To finish off the day he took us swimming in the caves where locals went.

I'm not saying holiday company tours are bad, it's just they are usually more expensive and your herded around like cattle. We prebook to get the trip we want, costs and it means you can relax more on holiday knowing stuff is prebooked.

Bear in mind though if anything happens when doing tours outside of the holiday provider, then you're on your own!

 

[ivrytwr3]

Just had another thought, when we did Turkey (Olu Deniz) we booked a booked a jeep safari - it was not as advertised! We thought we would be sat in a jeep doing a tranquil tour of the place. We got picked up at the hotel and drove to meet a load of other jeeps and we all got handed water pistols. Whistles, loud music, lots of drink and zero road safety! We were hurtling through roads, woods, rivers and stood up firing at other jeeps, overtaking, undertaking - not what we were expecting, but it was mega!

There was a very prim German family who also did not know what the actual trip would be, the wifey covered the family in towels and hid. However, the father had a Sparta moment and sprung up from the towel and started shooting everyone. He was yelling to his kids "MEHR WASSER!" - more water!

So yeah, we book boat and local sight tours and also some restaurants - but in Marmaris, there's loads going on!

 

[Baldbloke]

Jeep safari in Bodrum, Turkey. 6 or 7 people in the jeep. All squashed and sardined in. Fortunately one couple were so irate at the tight arrangement they declined to continue the trip. So they exited at the first stop and this thankfully gave the rest of us a chance to breathe.

 

[kinger8938]

We actually did a jeep tour when we visited Marmaris before kids like 10+ years ago and hated it

I just remember it being like you described above, totally not what we were expecting and I get kept stopping in random villages to try and make you buy stuff