Our first holiday in Turkey
My family and I (me, my husband and a 3-year-old child) went to Turkey for the first time after numerous positive reviews from friends and acquaintances. And I decided to tell about our general impressions. Maybe for someone they will be useful.
We drove from Pegasus. Immediately minus: the hotel guide was seen only twice - the next day after arrival, she came to sell us excursions and pick up a tourist voucher for stamping (which had to be returned to us the next day, because there is allegedly very strict police and the city you need to go with documents) and the second time a week after our persistent calls with a request to finally return this voucher with a seal. That's all.
As for active recreation and excursions: Holidays in Turkey are designed for people who choose the all-inclusive system and plan to spend most of their time in a hotel-restaurant-on the beach. Perhaps a couple of times to go to the market or on an excursion. Other options, alas, are excluded. We usually prefer to have an active rest: if not an excursion, then independent trips around the neighborhood and walks around the city and the coast. Unfortunately, Oludeniz is not the most suitable place for such a holiday. Despite the amazing landscape, mountains and sea, excursions are very limited, and you can’t get into the mountains at all. Therefore, we ourselves hired a driver who drove us around the neighborhood, showed, so to speak, life "from the inside" and impressive views from Mount Babadag! We were also on a tour of Dalyan: a worthwhile pastime: we fished for crabs, swam in the Aegean Sea and took mud and hydrogen sulfide baths. Very good for variety. Our hotel guide also recommended a "pirate yacht" to us. . . Suitable for those who know how and love to swim in the open sea. We swam to the rescue. vests, there were three stops and during the second - very strong waves that immediately took me far away from the ship, my husband saved the child, I could not cope with the current, NONE of my compatriots responded to my requests for help, one man even hit me by hand! only the guide girl from Tui extended a helping hand to me, for which a huge THANK YOU to her !! ! we then suffered fear. There was a foamy disco, some sour entertainment from a Turk who did not speak Russian well. In general, this trip did not cause any enthusiasm for us.
Now about the climate, the sea and the beach: The climate is hot and dry, in the morning it was +38 in the shade, but this heat is not very noticeable. However, the air is so saturated with salt that the skin dries out instantly, the cream was constantly used. The sea is clean, very warm (+30), you don’t want to get out of the water, the beach is pebbly, special shoes are required, otherwise it hurts your feet and, in addition, you can cut yourself with a bottle cap or... walk on cigarette butts. Yes, despite the purity of the water in the sea, the beach is not very well maintained. There are sun loungers and umbrellas that you can buy separately (two sunbeds and an umbrella for a day cost 18 lire = $ 9), but you can lie on your own towel for free. City beach. There is also a beach in a protected area, the entrance to which costs 6 liras per person. After entering, you still have to walk decently to the Blue Lagoon, which is disappointing... The water is green, sometimes with algae, muddy, sand with pebbles. For an amateur. We had enough once. The Mediterranean Sea is dead here. Not a single seagull or cormorant, no living creatures in the water (although thanks to this the water is clear), there is no pier in Oludeniz and, accordingly, no fishermen and fishing boats. Where do they get fish for restaurants - question? : ))) Probably from Fethiye. An important detail: we arrived at the new moon - the sea was quiet, without waves at all. As the moon grew, the waves became the size of a man. But swimming in them is a real pleasure : ) Those who do not like big waves should plan their vacation for the period of the waning moon and the new moon.
Hotel: Our hotel Flamingo 3*. The hotel is good, the area is large, very beautiful, several buildings are located at different levels. Two pools for adults and two for children. All around cleanliness and order. The rooms are cleaned daily, towels are also changed daily. All rooms have air conditioning, safes. But we did not use air conditioning, because. In the evening, a pleasant wind constantly blows, it is very comfortable to sleep in the room with an open balcony. The staff is friendly, speaks a little Russian, more English. There is one Russian girl Katya in the state. I can’t say anything bad about the food at the hotel: a standard Turkish buffet. Dinners are very good. Lamb regularly, chicken also. Breakfasts with artificial juice and bright pink sausage : ) Yoghurt is also not natural, terribly sour, it even reduces the cheekbones. The fact that he looks so real and fresh just masks his artificial origin. Do we, Russians, not know what real milk, sour cream, curdled milk, cottage cheese, etc. : )))
For lunch we went to local restaurants. Every time a new one. That's horrible. Everywhere they offer one fast food: french fries, cheeseburgers, pizzas and the like. Omelet, and that one is served with french fries. Everything is designed for the British - this is the bulk of vacationers. By the way, she radically changed her idea of the British - in fact, they are full (to put it mildly), not very neat people, constantly and everywhere smoking and drinking beer, tattooed from head to toe, their main food is fast food. No "five o clock" and "oatmeal, sir" for you. Even decrepit grannies eat French fries and drink beer. One plus - they are very quiet : ))) No noise, they quietly drink to themselves, eat, smoke and read books. They rarely go to the beach, they lie by the pool all day. In the evening they go out to the local restaurants for airing.
We tried Turkish cuisine. Also very specific, everything they have is based on a flat cake: the filling is either inside or outside. The most delicious is Turkish tea. They can't take that away : )
Shopping: We are not fans of shopping, we just walked around the local shops several times and bought souvenirs. Turks are all merchants from birth. But you can bargain here, apparently, only in the market. They just extorted money from us! Literally taken out of pockets! In general, the attitude of the Turks towards tourists is not very good. We are just money bags for them, which give them the opportunity to earn a living, because. the standard of living in Turkey, whatever you say, is low.
We decided for ourselves that we would not go to Turkey anymore. It's just not our country. And for someone - the perfect holiday : )
We add that all this is only our personal impressions. No offense or claims : ) We will be very happy if this review is useful for someone when choosing a vacation spot.
