Pete’s Turunҫ Guide 2020 Dısclaimer Firstly, Please be aware : This guide is intended to give a flavour of only our times holidaying in and around and now living in Turunҫ. (pronounced Turunch) It is heavily biased on our own experiences and preferences. This may not be everyone’s opinion! Check out : www.myturunc.com for more information. Turkish people & Culture Contrary to some people’s opinion (usually those who have never visited Turkey before), the Turkish people are very proud people. They are very nationalistic and love their flag. You will see the flag flying all over Turkey and many statues, and pictures of their ‘Father’ - Ataturk. They are extremely family oriented and are very fond of children and in return the children show much respect for their elders. Conscript is still operated in Turkey, a practise that teaches discipline and respect at the right time in life for most Turkish people. The Muslim religion has to be admired, it is mostly about caring for others and they do not condone the extremists view. Ramadan is practised by choice, even when it’s 50ºC! This is so that they experience what it is like to be without. Since we have moved here, we are discovering how kind and helpful the local Turkish folks are......... especially so during our enforced Covid19 isolation. Background. September 2019 was our 21st visit to Turunҫ since 2003, just prior to moving here to our little corner of paradise permanently. We used to holiday in Turunç nearly every year and sometimes twice in the same year. My wife, Lynne and I are well into our 60’s, and this guide may not be for the younger generation. However, our 39 year old son loves it here he has also made many visits and was his first choice for his Honeymoon in 2019. Many people, young and old return many times to this little paradise. We always seemed to meet up with people that we have met there in the past and have great conversations and banter with them (I Think the alcohol helps a little !) We have travelled to many other parts of the world as well, but we always returned to Turunҫ nearly every year. Money. The Turkish Lira is always a very good exchange rate to the pound....currently around 8/1. If you haven’t travelled to Turkey before.....İ recommend that get your Liras when you get here. It’s a much better rate than the UK. £50 - £100 worth of Turkish liras is more than enough to get you here and overnight. Bring UK Pounds, and look for exchange in the village. All the travel agents and many shops will exchange pounds for you... just compare the rates for the best one. There are 4 or 5 ATM’s near the Taxi rank if you want to use a bank / credit card, but the exchange rate can’t be guaranteed to be better than the UK.... although it was every time I used it! A beer is around 18-25 Lira, about £2.25 - £3.10. Travel. A Visa is no longer required to enable you to enter the country. You will be allowed a maximum of 6 months here, and your passport must have at least 6 months ‘life’ left on it. Night flights tend to be cheaper than day flights, but the times are poor. Sleeping all day to ‘catch up’ will lose a precious day ! Day flights are dearer, but you get the full holiday, and the great views of the country. We find that the best times are late May / early June before it gets too hot (up to 50º in August) and then again late September / early October when it cools down a little.However, any time in Turunҫ is good! Transfers. If you are on a package deal, or have arranged the coach transfer, be prepared for a longish journey. The coach has to wait until everyone is off the plane, they always have a rest stop about halfway where you can buy drinks & snacks and have a Smoko (The driver is on commission). Then on to Marmaris where they start dropping people off. Then on to Iҫmelar for more drop offs and transfer. Turunҫ holiday makers are last to be taken 30 mins drive from Marmaris – or transferred to a Dolmuş (Minibus) or taxi. You can be stood waiting there a while, and on the return. If you have been lucky enough to be on a day flight, the views up and down the mountain roads are stunning. From Dalaman, it’s about 3 to 3½ hours, From Bodrum about 4- 4½ hours because of the dropping off and rest stop. (Even better views from Bodrum) If you arrange private transfers, the journey is much quicker, much more comfortable and is about £90 - £110 whether it’s 2 or four people return from Dalaman (1-½– 2 hours), around £120ish return from Bodrum (2-2½ hours) Private transfers can be arranged by any of the travel agents. They will need your passport details to comply with Turkish law. Travel Agents : June & Murat, JM Travel. Amanda & Ali, Destination Turunç. Ayten & Halit, Green İdyama http://www.jmturkey.com/ www.destinationturunc.com [email protected] Accommodation. There is a good selection of excellent accommodation in Turunҫ. We have stayed in 3 different ones our favourite was Rose Apart. There are 23 generously sized and comfortable apartments, with bedroom, lounge, bathroom, hall and balcony. We prefer the view from the ones over the pool, but the other rooms are just as good. They all have a Kettle (Essential!), Toaster, Fridge, Stove, Aircon, TV, Safe and Cooking / eating / drinking utensils. The hosts are Husseyin and Aynor (pronounced Eye nah) and they go out of their way to help in any way they can. They have a daughter (Rose) and a son (Ali) and are a lovely family. After all these years, they feel like our family to us. Husseyin & Aynor will cook English or Turkish Breakfasts. Snacks are also available during the day if you wish. The whole place is very clean. The apartments are cleaned daily and towels and bedding changed every 2 days. The cleaning Ladies are very friendly and very thorough. Aynor has a laundry service too. There is a good sized, regularly cleaned and maintained pool with loungers on the periphery. More importantly there is a bar area, where guests tend to gather of an evening for an aperitif, prior to dining out. The lively and often humorous conversation at the bar is very pleasant. You will meet people from all over the UK and from all different walks of life. Everyone is friendly and much hilarious banter is usually enjoyed. The Rose Apart is just 50m to the beach, on the flat and is near to the centre of the village. Nevertheless it is quiet there. Gozdem Apart Gozdem2 is opposite the Rose Apart. They are equally as good and have the same equipment as the Rose as far as accommodation goes. The distance to the beach and centre is the same as the Rose. The hosts are Husseyin’s cousins, so they are also very welcoming. Jet2 currently do packages to the Gozdem at competitive prices. Again, very clean, very pleasant and very helpful hosts. Recommended by friends, but not stayed there ourselves, so we cannot give an opinion : Antik Apartments and Villa’s. At the end of the main street, up the hill turn right and a couple of hundred yards at the Amos crossroads. Everyone is impressed with the size, the cleanliness and the friendliness. Our son loved these apartments where he stayed during his honeymoon. Müjde and her mum, Bircan couldn’t do enough for them.... including a welcome bottle of Champers. Burak Apart Otel. Just off the main street, close to the village centre. We are told that it is also very clean and welcoming hosts. There's also a couple of hotels situated on the mountain road. They have spectacular views over Turunç bay and village and are said to be very good, however, the journey up and down the road every day isn't our cup of Çay. Check out www.myturunc.com for more accommodation. Restaurants. Turunҫ has an abundance of good restaurants. The restaurants along the beach front are the most expensive, (surprise, surprise) then the ones on the central main street are slightly cheaper and the ones at the back of the village tend to have the cheapest prices. On the front : At the current exchange rate, a meal for two people of a large Fillet steak each, a couple of beers and a bottle of good wine and all the trimmings will set you back a whole £25 - £30 ! Expect to pay about £12 - £15 for 2 for a good lunch of say Sausage Egg & chips, or a fresh salad with beers (it’s the law). You will pay about £5 less at the back. All the food in Turunҫ has a lot more taste than in the UK. The egg yolks are proper deep yellow colour and very, very tasty. The meats have great flavour and the fresh fruit and vegetables are extremely good too. Where to eat ? That is where the problems start. All of them is the answer ! Some restaurateurs will ask you to try their fare as you wander along. Just say ‘No Thank you’ and they will probably say ‘have a good evening’ and let you go on. If you say ‘we’ll try you another night’, they will assume you to be as honest as they are and expect you to do just that.