Want a really good vacation? Plan it yourself.
We thought for a long time where to go and decided to stop, oddly enough, in Turkey. Through websites, we booked hotels in Kemer, Bodrum, Izmir and Istanbul, on the websites of Turkish airlines we bought two domestic flights from Antalya to Bodrum (about 25 euros for two) and from Izmir to Istanbul (35 euros). They decided to get from Bodrum to Izmir by bus, 50 lira for two is about 23 euros. The buses are new, tea-coffee-juice-water-ice-cream-chocolate in the ticket price.
So Kemer. The only thing that makes it worth going there is the gorgeous sea, the crystal clear blue sea. This is where the benefits end. Small town, no attractions other than mountains and sun. An abundance of Russians, corn and dirt. The hotel turned out to be quite good - Viking Star - 5 *, with good service and food. After resting there for four days, we flew to Bodrum via Antalya. About Turkish airlines. turned out to be much better than expected. New Airbuses and Boeings, good service, no problems. You can safely fly. Book a ticket on the site, pay here and present the printed electronic ticket at registration.
Bodrum really surprised me - it looks more like a small European city than a Turkish one. Small streets, white houses, mosques and a castle, a chic embankment and funny Europeans - this is not all that it is famous for. Bodrum is one of the most expensive resorts, so there are practically no immigrants from the CIS countries, which makes it more attractive. Small cafes with amazingly delicious kebab, squid, oriental sweets and other exotic things for us. A separate word should be given to the museum of underwater archeology - by the way, it is one of the best in the world. A ticket can be bought at the box office, 10 lira is about 7 dollars. By the way, getting from the hotel to the city center is very easy. It is enough to go outside and look into the eyes of the dolmush driver : ) For two lira, he will take you to the bus station, which is a stone's throw from the beginning of one of the most touristic points of the city.
We originally booked the hotel for only 4 days, but we liked it so much that we took another hotel for another four - and did not lose. I want to stay in Bodrum forever.
So we saw Izmir only from the taxi window. The day before we canceled our hotel reservation, although we had to get off with a light fine of 30 euros.
Now we were waiting for a flight to Istanbul. We took a small three-star hotel Zeugma. It is located on one of the tourist streets between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. There was not a single bad review about her on the site, and I think not. very cozy hotel for young people, large rooms and good design. If it is expensive for you to take a hotel, then take a hostel with it. It is also very cool and cheap there, the owner said that a night in a hotel costs 15 euros per day. Istanbul, of course, is simply amazing. Luxurious palaces, mosques are mixed with European buildings. On the third day we took a day tour of the Bosphorus, very interesting - I advise. We saw the sights. Istanbul is a very large tourist center, and from there you can take an excursion to almost anywhere in the world. For example, an excursion to Cairo costs 200 euros per person, to Sofia - 99 euros, Brussels - 350. We later regretted that we had taken tickets back from Istanbul, if we had known, we would have gone to Sofia, and from there to Kyiv. Nothing, I think - everything is ahead.