Turkey?

pokerking said:
I guess if I am asking a question like this then I probably won't visit Turkey, I have a feeling it seems wrong. Been mega cheap 5* holiday for £700 vs Rhodes 3* for £900 it has to be cheap for a reason.

It will probably be amazing but as you say it's the what if. I am asking this before I go, if I do I can't imagine I would relax properly. That isn't a point of a holiday.

But it appeals because of the price, LOL I'm a tight git. :)
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if it's a case of £200 then yeah you're def being a tight git. you'll have a great holiday at both for sure. £200 is nothing to remove any tniy doubt in your mind of being at risk.
 
I honestly feel safer walking round the working town of Fethiye at night than Nottingham, I've never seen or heard anything terror related in or around Oludeniz in the 8 years I've been going. With the enhanced security checks at Dalaman Airport there is no way a terrorist is getting on a flight!

Turkey as so much to offer you'd be crazy not to at least look in to it and Turkey is not just Marmaris;)
 
Have been to icmeler a few years ago, nice little place away from all the brits i seen in the gutter at Marmaris, i find it embarrassing being a brit when abroad sometimes when you see the way the clowns carry on and wearing daft football shirts in resorts, would like to visit Istanbul one day but not at the moment the way it is.
 
pumaz said:
I honestly feel safer walking round the working town of Fethiye at night than Nottingham, I've never seen or heard anything terror related in or around Oludeniz in the 8 years I've been going. With the enhanced security checks at Dalaman Airport there is no way a terrorist is getting on a flight!

Turkey as so much to offer you'd be crazy not to at least look in to it and Turkey is not just Marmaris;)
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Agreed, I flew home from Izmir and the security was much better than what I experienced at Manchester.
 
JUst back from a week in Istanbul. I was expecting pushy touts, leering men, and an unsafe atmosphere.
People were lovely, sure you got a few who asked if you want a table but it was confined to a few tourist streets. They were doing it to the locals as well.
Where we ate, drank and smoked the staff were fantastic and couldn’t be more Loren helpful.
My girlfriend said British men in pubs leered a hell of a lot more than the Turkish men.
Police presence was obviously, with them stopping people and checking ids though never stopped us. All well armed. Metal detectors and scanners at major spots - the palace, grand bazaar. Never felt Unsafe.
City was amazingly clean. One of the best cities I’ve visited.

Spent last night in Amsterdam. Was a hell hole. Felt dangerous, lots of louts and felt it was going to kick off. Had a lovely day walking around the city today though.
 
I spent a week in Istanbul recently on business. Security is high at airports - expect 2 or 3 security checks rather than one, but other than that nothing that I noticed. I have friends there who are "modern Turks" and they are very unhappy with the current regime, feeling that it's taking the country backwards at a rapid rate.

Istanbul is noisy, hectic and crowded - but at no point (city centre or more remote industrial areas) did I feel unsafe. You get touts anywhere where you have tourists, the ones in Turkey are nowhere near the level of those in Egypt for example - a straightforward "No thanks" is generally sufficient.
I'd rather walk through Istanbul alone at night than Birmingham.

As for the holiday resorts I'm not sure as I have been out of the travel industry for a while.
 
Went to Turkey a couple of years ago and thought it was ok and the locals were friendly, food was good. My only problem with Turkey was that because it is a cheap place to visit, you got a lot of Russians and they behave like savages.
 
Ahleckz said:
JUst back from a week in Istanbul. I was expecting pushy touts, leering men, and an unsafe atmosphere.
People were lovely, sure you got a few who asked if you want a table but it was confined to a few tourist streets. They were doing it to the locals as well.
Where we ate, drank and smoked the staff were fantastic and couldn’t be more Loren helpful.
My girlfriend said British men in pubs leered a hell of a lot more than the Turkish men.
Police presence was obviously, with them stopping people and checking ids though never stopped us. All well armed. Metal detectors and scanners at major spots - the palace, grand bazaar. Never felt Unsafe.
City was amazingly clean. One of the best cities I’ve visited.

Spent last night in Amsterdam. Was a hell hole. Felt dangerous, lots of louts and felt it was going to kick off. Had a lovely day walking around the city today though.
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I know it doesn't really have much to do with the actual topic. But how was prices for meals and so in Istanbul? I'm going there in mid-May to celebrate my birthday.
 
Weather wise Turkey is the place to go. When I went a few years ago was sunny every single day while Europe was having rain. This was in September too.

Went along the south coast on a road trip from Bodrum to Antalya, was good fun. Some stunning scenery. Food was good but not that great portion wise, they seem to proper measure how much to give you, opposite of Greece. Although this was the case for the tourist places. The local places were much better.

Constant haggling on price did get annoying thought. Literally everything is a tourist price and you have to battle with them to get a normal price.
 
I went to oludeniz a few years ago. Might end up back there this year. 5* isn't 5* having said that the prices at the moment still mean you can get an incredible deal compared to almost anywhere else.

People are friendly, food tends to be Good, weather is amazing. As far as chilled out switch off your brain beach holidays go it's high on my list of destinations.
 
neviditelny said:
I know it doesn't really have much to do with the actual topic. But how was prices for meals and so in Istanbul? I'm going there in mid-May to celebrate my birthday.
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Very cheap by Western standards. A decent meal and drink at a restaurant was around a tenner when I was there, maybe a bit less.

Even hotel dining, I paid 80TRL in a 4 star business hotel for two large beers and a mixed grill which is about £14.
 
Lopéz said:
Very cheap by Western standards. A decent meal and drink at a restaurant was around a tenner when I was there, maybe a bit less.

Even hotel dining, I paid 80TRL in a 4 star business hotel for two large beers and a mixed grill which is about £14.
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That sounds very promising. I've got a what seems to be very nice hotel booked for 4 nights. £170 for 4 nights in a double room in a 4 star hotel in central Istanbul, not that far from Taksim Square. Just trying to budget a bit for meals and possible shopping while I'm there.
 
I would go. Why not? Why let all these issues get in the way? If you want to enjoy a country you have never been to go for it. Plan in advance and know where you will be staying etc.

Why let all this crap happening in the world stop you from enjoying it?
 
pokerking said:
OK seems like the general consensus is to avoid like the plague then? It's very tempting mind been soooo cheap.

With the stuff happening in London and Madrid even more so France, places like Portugal caneries etc are a rip off this year. Like double the price of a few years back :(
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Don't let these lot put you off - most people spouting hearsay. I've been to Turkey around 5-6 times and am completely baffled by what most are saying. Somewhere like Marmaris is just as safe as anywhere in Spain or France right now. Turkey have seriously stepped up their game in security.

I've never had to put toilet paper in a bin - but have in Greece...

Turkey is a great cheap place to visit with amazing weather and a great culture. Marmaris is also close to Rhodes for a nice visit. Turkish people are friendly and a polite 'no thanks' will stop them bothering you. You have to understand you're in their country and that's the way of doing things - you're on holiday, just think of it as part of the culture to enjoy and play with.

If going to Marmaris however, i would highly recommend booking a private taxi transfer which is very cheap (i think we used DLM Transfers?). It will cut over an hour off each transfer direction plus any waiting at the hotel and airport!
 
Jean-F said:
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Christ knows what airport we flew into, but it was a fairly long coach ride to Marmaris.
No big deal, all part of the holiday, but when we arrived, the first shock was to be told at reception, do NOT flush used toilet tissue down the toilet, put it in a bin next to the toilet bowl, the maid would collect and empty it daily, ewww.
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went to turkey too and we didnt get hassled. The thing with the toilet is they have this water (bidet?) which you are supposed to use to clean your backside and then use tissue, not the other way around.
 
rainbowGuy said:
went to turkey too and we didnt get hassled. The thing with the toilet is they have this water (bidet?) which you are supposed to use to clean your backside and then use tissue, not the other way around.
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Although this makes perfect sense, particularly to me as someone with French blood, who has long been familiar with bidets in my French relatives homes, and in French hotels, it was emphatically NOT the case when we went to Turkey.
I don’t recall seeing a bidet in the hotel that we stayed at, if there had been, as civilised people we would have used it.
I vaguely recall, (this was many years back now), it being explained that the diameter of the sewage pipes there was inadequate to take toilet paper, and that whenever we used the toilet paper, to put the soiled paper in a small bin in the bathroom.
 
I wouldn't go -- just because of the hassling in the street. Can't stand that anywhere. The girlfriend and I have a rule -- if the restaurant has someone outside trying to get you in then we'll automatically not go in. The same if they have a menu with pictures :o
 
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