This was my first of many hosted holidays and we had a small group of 5 in the 2 apartments owned by Emsworth Travel. Our holiday began with shared lifts in 2 cars and an afternoon flight from Gatwick with Monarch airlines. The legroom was better than usual and the flight was an enjoyable one after the initial 1 hour delay. It was the first flight I have travelled on where food was not brought round until requested, so bear in mind to press the air hostess button when you require any food not pre-ordered. Bodrum has a new larger airport so takes a little longer to get through than it used to. There is still an entry visa costing £10 or 15 euros per person and valid for 3 months. We were then met by our transfer agent and taken to our apartments.
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| Wonderful sunsets can be viewed from the apartments |
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| views on way to Yalikavak |
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| Viewing point on drive down to Yalikavak |
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| The site is looking good with lovely views and established plants |
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| View from pool by one of our apartments more photos can be viewed on main blog, www.emsworthtravel.co.uk or emsworthtravel facebook |
22May
Was a fairly relaxing day with everyone generally settling in and the others chose to take a bus into Yalikavak whilst I attended the local AGM. Our hire car arrived in the afternoon and we booked a table at Karia Restaurant in Yalikavak, where the owners pick up and drop back customers who eat at their restaurant. We agreed to let Bahti chose us the meal, having established we all liked seafood and he excelled himself. We started with a selection of mezes (starters) followed by sea bass and the cost, including 2 bottles of wine and several beers, came to approximately 60 tl (approx £21) per person. The turkish lira is 2.80 to the £ at the moment which makes everything much better value than last year and considerably better than the euro. Yalikavak is an upmarket resort with several good quality restaurants and a pleasant marina. There are a couple of nightclubs and a few bars too so generally is a lovely quiet resort. The beaches are narrow with a mix of sand and pebbles backed by a promenade and few restaurants and bars, which serve the beach. After the meal, we were invited to join a few others for a fire on the beach and drinks supplied by the Mercan Restaurant. We were brought a complimentary drink and plate of fruit - see below.
23May
The weather forecast was for rain for 24/5 May so we opted to stay around the pool for the day today and arrange trips for the next 2 days as the forecast was unsettled. The evening we drove into Gumusluk for a meal which is smaller than Yalikavak with about ten restaurants lining the waters edge.
24May
No holiday to Turkey is complete without starting with a Turkish bath. For those who have not had one, you are taken together in your bathers to a steam bath to soften the skin, then a cool jacuzzi and back to the steam bath. They then use a coarse mitt to remove surprising amounts of dead skin then a relaxing foam massage. The price from Hillview Gardens, including transfers is £10 per person. There are then various extra massages etc which are optional. Some of the group opted for half hour massages or aromatherapy massages and I had a avocado facial - all of which were around £30 extra. This was remarkable value as we were there for approximately 3 hours in all. The unsettled weather did not arrive and the day was sunny with a little cloud at times. The evening we opted to have a barbecue on the balcony which we all enjoyed and was completed in time for the rain showers and a thunderstorm late evening but it was clear by the morning.
25May
There was no sign of the rain they forecast today so we spent the morning round the pool and, after a light lunch, head towards the market in Bodrum. There are generally 2 markets a week in Bodrum, Yalikavak, Ortakent and Turgetreis; a clothes and food market on different days of the week. Today was mainly the food market with a small selection of clothes. We then wandered down to the port and main shopping area of Bodrum where we found shops selling many "genuine fakes!" We opted to stay in Bodrum for an evening meal and head back to Yalikavak as trips had been arranged for 26th with early starts.
26May
Two of the group arranged to go to Ephesus and two of us took a trip to Kos from Turgetreis (transfer was from nearly Crystal Hotel where I parked up for the day) and one stayed around the pool. You can either travel from Bodrum or Turgetreis to Kos but the Turgetreis option is far less busy. The cost was just £17 return and we had the full day in Kos. I would advise hiring a bike or car for the day to get chance to explore more of the island unless you just want to relax by the beach. We took the Noddy train which covered half an hour trip around the town and sights which was interesting, and subsequently found a restaurant on the beach and spent a few hours sunbathing. We were advised by someone holidaying in Kos after we had eaten, that the best area to eat was the old town; the area we found was quite commercialized but a good position by the beach.
27May
This was our last day; the week had flown by and we settled by the pool for the last full day. We made arrangements to go down to Yalikavak to the Mercan Restaurant for our last evening. We were picked up and dropped back to Hillview for free as we were eating at the restaurant and they gave us a lovely meat casserole dish cooked in clay pots which are broken open in front of you (see below) - this is a typical turkish meal. We were invited down to the beach where Bahti had built a fire and enjoyed drinks with a few other customers. before being returned to Hillview Gardens.
28May
Three of us were transferred back to the airport at 11.30 hours for the earlier Thomas Cook flight, one for the later Monarch flight and one extended his holiday for a week as he was enjoying it so much. The Thomas Cook flight was more cramped than the Monarch one but generally a good flight.
All on the trip enjoyed their holiday, we met up for some breakfasts and lunches but, although with a group, there is always the flexibility to do your own thing if you prefer.
Our next trip is 27 August for 4 nts to Florence. Tel 01243377211 for more details.
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