HOLIDAYS IN THE ACROPOLIS
A suitcase mood has been following me for the last couple of months. At first, I managed to get rid of him, setting myself up to think that it was high time to start doing repairs in the apartment.
But with each new day, when the Celsius outside the window increased by one or two degrees, thoughts about repairs became more and more illusory, and the desire to dip the body in the warm waves of the already-some-there sea increased proportionately.
It didn’t matter where to go... Although no, I’m cunning....With all my patriotic mood, my body categorically refused to relax in the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory, reminding me of unkempt beaches, overflowing garbage containers, sellers of churchkhela and corn, service (and or rather, its absence) in the so-called private hotels, the lack of toilets at the most crucial moment (although I already mentioned churchkhela sellers)...
Of course, you can argue that if I'm so fastidious, I could fork out for a Sochi or Adler five-star. And even then, for sure, I would have received all thirty-three pleasures, which the majority of vacationers at OUR resorts are deprived of.
All right! But if (at first glance) there is no difference between ours and, for example, Turkish five-star hotels, then I will answer the question with a question: "Why pay more? " Many times more. . .
Moreover, the echoes of the mind reminding of the need for repairs in the apartment categorically demanded that the trip be as economical as possible, I would even quote the echoes of the mind - "the most budgetary. "
Therefore, I subscribed to all kinds of travel sites that daily offer the most attractive prices for the most popular destinations for Russians: Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Greece, the United Arab Emirates with a departure from Rostov
Sometimes the prices were so ridiculous (5100 rubles for three nights in Turkey) that I wanted to grab and run. Imagine - flight, accommodation, meals for 5100. For two weeks, watching how the prices on the site are growing in pursuit of the rising temperature outside the window, and realizing that the planes still fly to the resorts without me, I decided - it's time !!!
Phoned the manager of the travel agency agreed to meet. I had already picked up several hotels at home on my own, it remained to confirm the choice with an application and wait for departure.
ADVICE. Subscribe on the websites of travel agencies for updates, or for offers of last-minute tours (if you have the opportunity to get together in 1-2 days). Be sure to look at the reviews of the chosen hotel of other tourists. But do it without fanaticism. There are always people who are impossible to please at all. I doubt that at least one hotel such picky wrote a good review.
Therefore - read the reviews and try to add up a general idea about the hotel: a quiet family or nearby disco until the morning; near the sea, but there are not enough free sunbeds, or a bus takes you to the sea, but there are enough sun loungers for everyone; the food is varied, but there is no children's menu, or the choice is not very large, but always nutritious and original. In general, pay attention to the little things that are important to you.
Manager Olga approved my choice of a Turkish hotel in Marmaris, but... there were no more seats on the plane for the stated dates. Knowing that my friend and I didn’t care where to fly, she showed us a great offer for Greece.
But with Greece there are small troubles in obtaining a visa, this would postpone the trip for 1-2 weeks. I really wanted to fly right now! We returned to the choice of Turkish hotels, and chose a nice quiet hotel on the heights of Alanya with the Greek name "Acropolis".
Departure in three days. Tickets and insurance were collected at the airport before departure.
ADVICE. Be sure to take warm clothes in your hand luggage, especially for children. In airplanes, air conditioners work in full, but blankets are not given out. By the way, when you go on long excursions, take warm clothes too. All Turkish buses and minibuses are air-conditioned.
We flew perfectly, we were assigned to buses and taken to hotels. From Antalya airport to the hotel in Alanya where we lived, it took 2.5 hours. Too far. certainly. But it was early in the morning, and given the night flight, we just took a nap.
At the hotel we were settled immediately, and, without any additional payments, immediately in a good room overlooking the sea and the mountains at the same time. The room is absolutely bezpofosno: very small, but clean and comfortable. To my surprise, everything worked: the balcony door closed, the toilet taps in the bathroom did not flow, the shower was in good condition, the air conditioner and refrigerator performed their functions. Those. no complaints at all.
There was only one disappointment, neither with the number, nor with Turkey at all. Literally on the day of departure, I bought a small travel iron in Auchan so as not to bother with the iron before leaving. The iron is inexpensive, I didn’t check it in the store, so it was packed and I took it with me to Turkey. After unpacking things, put aside some to iron, opened the iron box. . . SURPRISE!! ! one pin was missing on the iron plug (I don’t know what it’s called correctly... )
That is, it was no longer a fork at all, but some kind of one-horned misunderstanding. For an additional fee, any good hotel provides various pleasant and healthy treatments. This time I had to use the useful one. For 10 bucks, they ironed my things and brought me to my room while we swam in the pool and rode down the slides.
Yes Yes. In our hotel, there was even a mini water park. After lunch, the slides worked for 3-4 hours, and we gladly "fell into childhood! "
By the way, about the water park. Our hotel guide offered us several excursions and other entertainment... But we were taught by previously acquired experience, we knew that prices vary significantly for the same excursions, bought on our own in city bureaus. or purchased at the hotel from the hotel guide.
So a visit to the local water park cost us 15 bucks (all day) + 2 dollars travel by public transport back and forth! Although we stayed there for no more than four hours, we had an extraordinary pleasure.
We also arranged a holiday for the soul on our own - we visited the unforgettable show "Fires of Anatolia". The show with tours visited my native Rostov-on-Don, but then I did not manage to get on it. Now we have received great pleasure from the dance performance "Fires of Anatolia" in the open amphitheater.
With the money saved, we paid for a three-hour hammam, thus buying ourselves another huge portion of oil-foamy pleasure
ADVICE. No matter how the guides scare you, do not be afraid to buy tours in the city agencies. Although this, of course, is the master's business.
We were in Alanya for the first time, and for the future we decided for ourselves that it is quite possible to take a tour with breakfast only. Dine with fresh fruits, which are very inexpensively available in every grocery store in Alanya, or in a fruit and vegetable shop. And it would be nice to have dinner every time in different cafes in Alanya. Cafes are here at every turn, but we got into the city after a very tight dinner (ALL INCLUSIVE, after all... )
A hotel bus took us to the center of Alanya, as well as to the beach. Another plus for punctuality. I am a Virgo according to the horoscope - and punctuality is my fad))). So, to the beach and from the beach, and to the city, and from the city, we set off minute by minute strictly according to the schedule.
We did not plan any purchases. But women's voluntary abstinence from shopping is something of a fantasy. The leather jackets were bought on the last trip, and I still haven't worn the STEFANO jeans. I really liked Turkish textiles: bamboo robes, towels, blankets, sheets, bedspreads. And in Turkey there are very good shoes - light, high-quality, and relatively inexpensive.
ADVICE. Of course, having some cash with you is simply necessary on a tourist trip. In general, I would recommend paying in stores with a bank card. Save some money on conversion. By exchanging rubles for dollars in Russia, and in Turkey dollars for lira, a double conversion is obtained. By the way, in Alanya there are exchangers at every step, where you can easily exchange rubles for local lira. The exchange rate at the end of June 2013 was approximately 1 lira = 17 Russian rubles.
I already wrote about the water park, about the Fires of Anatolia show, too, about the Turkish hammam I mentioned in passing (a fabulous pleasure), we went through all sorts of historical and excursion places on past visits to Turkey. Of the new entertainments, I remember riding funny electric scooters (I don’t know how they are called correctly), but I really liked it (1 hour - $ 10) I recommend it.
I think that's enough for today. And I wish you new travels and new experiences!
