The delights of Turkey

If you check any holiday website for cheap summer breaks, I guarantee that somewhere amongst the cheapest on offer will be one of the many southern Turkish beach resorts.

Year upon year Turkey proves to be cheap and extremely cheerful, but this year there is an even bigger bonus. The lira rate is fantastic against the pound at the moment, and has been since the beginning of the year. Whilst it’s not predicted to change that much over the summer, this means more for your money. I actually live here at the moment, and as far as I can see, the prices haven’t gone up either, so it’s win-win all round!

At the initial booking stage you’ll find plentiful self-catering, bed and breakfast and all inclusive holidays, and for families, all inclusive is certainly the way to go. Despite that, it’s always worthwhile getting out and about and exploring. All inclusive also has the added bonus of being the epitome of relaxation, because everything is taken care of, and the big all inclusive hotels usually have a fantastic entertainment programme on offer.

I personally think cutting out the stress is a must do for any holiday, and Turkey certainly gives you the perfect backdrop to relax and recuperate. The only downside I’ve found is that most flights in and out of Turkey, especially to airports such as Dalaman, which is where you will fly if you’re heading to places like Marmaris or Icmeler, Hisaronu or Fethiye, Olu Deniz etc, is that they will be mostly night flights, and that adds over-tiredness to your journey. You can’t really get around this, but you can make sure you’re where you need to be in good time, and as relaxed as possible. I always try and get myself seriously organized before a late or night flight, because I know that I’ll just be too tired to care about anything once I get to the airport. Checking your flight information online before you leave the house will pre-empt any problems and mean you know where you need to be, which goes a long way to helping when flights are at stupid o’clock!

For me, the flight times and sometimes long transfer times are the only downer to a Turkish beach holiday, because once you’re there, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with the place, I know I did, and I’ve been coming for six years now.

The people are warm and friendly, there is plenty to see and do, the food is out of this world, and the sun seems to constantly shine. There’s not a lot else you could want from a good old sunshine holiday really. All I will say is this – ignore the bad press that seems to plague Turkey, there is good and bad everywhere in the world, and after six years of visiting this beautiful country, I haven’t found any reason to stop me returning.

photo credit: photo credit: yilmaz ovunc yilmaz ovunc via photopin cc