Thanks for a wonderful holiday
This was our first trip to a beach holiday in Turkey. I wanted to go to the Aegean coast - to civilization, but with a quiet rest, without too much noise. After reading reviews on the Internet, incl. on TurPravda (thank you all! ), chose Icmeler (Marmaris resort). Beauty is incomparable! Lots of greenery, flowers, clear sea, forested mountains.
The hotel was chosen 3 stars (breakfasts) because we planned to go on excursions and wanted to try food in different establishments. For the price, the whole holiday cost the approximate cost of a quality 4-room with all-inclusive meals : ). I concluded: when choosing a hotel in Turkey, you can safely focus on exactly the type of holiday that you prefer, because the price will be approximately the same (if the "seal on the beach" is better, "all inclusive", no worries, hassle, if active holidays with trips , excursions - the minimum, but high-quality comfort and breakfasts will be enough).
There are a lot of reviews about Icmeler, almost all of them are positive, I join : ) Calm, cozy, clean, well-groomed resort village. It seemed that each hotel is located in the best place in the village: either on a beautiful embankment, or in a cozy corner near the mountain, or just on a beautiful street. It seemed to me that with the choice of the location of the hotel you can always guess : ) With the choice of the hotel - it's already as lucky.
I also chose the hotel based on the reviews, and I was not mistaken : ) I already left a review about it (Oylum Garden Hotel), I just want to repeat the words of gratitude for a wonderful vacation.
There are beaches along the entire coast in the village, all very beautiful, clean, well-groomed, sandy and pebbles (some larger, some smaller), the entrance to the sea is also different: both sand and stones of different sizes (for every taste: ) ), there are municipal ones (with a shower, a changing room), there are beach cafes (with sun loungers and umbrellas, everyone has their own Wi-Fi, for using the beach you need to order food and drinks in a cafe). We rested on those, and on those. If early in the morning (from 7 to 9) or in the evening (from 6 to 8) - then we went to the municipal, and if for the whole day - then to a cafe with a beach: comfortable, not hot, we dined right there, ordered water throughout the day, ice cream, beer, tea, everything is always delicious. Prices are average, they differ slightly in different places, in principle, everything is as usual - almost twice as expensive as in a supermarket. For example, fresh - 10-15 liras, water - 3 liras (0.5l), ice cream - 13-15 liras, beer - 15 liras, tea - 3-4 liras, lunch - for example, pizza and 2 airans - 40 liras, portions are large, for two for the whole day they spent about 80-110 liras. They didn’t show off, but they didn’t deny themselves either : )
Food. Lots of cafes, restaurants, shops. Prices in cafes differ, but not very much. The average check for a dinner for two is 80 lira (without alcohol). Portions are big, very tasty. It is better to order one different dish. Approximate prices in a cafe: Turkish coffee + ice cream - 30-50 liras for two, the main second course (served with salad) - 25-40 liras, a portion of soup (this is puree soup, no matter what) - 10 liras. If you didn’t feel like going to a cafe, we bought ayran in a supermarket (a large glass for 1 lira, in a cafe such a portion is 4-5 lira : )), in the market - tomatoes and fruits, and in a diner - shawarma (10 lira) or for two, a normal portion of these pies with meat or cheese - 17 lire turned out) - quite a hearty dinner. By the way, water in the supermarket - 1.5 l - 1 lira.
Exchangers. In Icmeler, the course is more profitable than in Marmaris. By the way, in small shops they also offered to exchange dollars for lira, the difference is 0.05 lira, but we always changed it in the official exchanger, without commission, I changed the amount for 2-3 days, no more, the rate changed upward every day dollars to lira.
Excursions. Our obligatory program was Pamukkale ($33/person) and the island of Rhodes ($50/person) plus a Turkish night ($25/person) - dinner at an open-air restaurant in Marmaris with a show program in national traditions. We ordered in advance at home on the website of a local travel agency (without prepayment), again - according to reviews. Both the prices and the organization - everything is fine, we are very satisfied, thanks to the guys! We thought about taking another cruise around the islands of the Aegean Sea (a popular type of excursion), but somehow we were already a little "tired" from the movement for the whole day, we wanted to be calmer, but at the same time, I really wanted to sail along the coast on a boat. Therefore, we chose a sea taxi - we swam to the neighboring village of Turunc (30 minutes one way) and to Marmaris (40-45 minutes). Beauty is everywhere! Impressions are quite enough and not so tiring. A boat with a canopy, passengers were either 4 people with us, or a maximum of 10, the price was 20 lire per person one way (not cheap, but acceptable, and exactly what we wanted). By the way, the boat trip was still in Rhodes (it's 1 hour 15 minutes one way).
In Turunc, we swam for a variety of beach holidays - for the whole day. We chose a beach cafe and rested there. The beach near the cafe is filled with sand, the entrance to the sea is large pebbles, but there was a very pleasant path into the sea with railings and artificial soft surface, right into the depth, very comfortable. In my opinion, the most beautiful sea is there, because on the sides and behind the mountains, and in front of you is the open sea (in Icmeler and Marmaris, basically, the open sea is almost invisible, only a little bit). Beach line - small, narrow, free beach - not very cozy, large pebbles. We didn’t go to the village itself, it’s very hot, the landscape around is incomparable!
We went to Marmaris for a walk, a minibus - 3 lira per person. one way or by boat. A good resort town, but after Icmeler - too noisy (too many people, transport, traffic). Most of all I liked the old city, so cute, cozy, with Greek streets and houses. The fortress is interesting, but not particularly impressive (entry - 8 lira), so - once you visit - you can see.
Gifts to take home. Of course, these are sweets : ) A very good small shop with sweets in beautiful packages is in Marmaris: if you stand facing the monument to Ataturk on the embankment, then on the left, a little behind the exchanger (and the choice is good, both prices and quality). Everything else - you can buy in Icmeler, food - in a supermarket, clothes / shoes / leather - in the market and in street shops.
Well, the main impression is the hospitable Turks! They are attentive, friendly, and not intrusive, they treat tourists very well, and if you know a few words in Turkish, you are forever a friend : ) And the service is worthy.
The best memories remain. Thank you very much for the holiday : ). If you go in that direction again, then definitely it is in Icmeler!