© Lonely Planet Publications 646 lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY •• Accommodation 647 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY PRACTICALITIES Directory Turkey uses the metric system for weights and measures. Basic conversion charts appear on DIRECTORY DIRECTORY the inside front cover of this book. THUMB TAB In general, you can expect to spend less Electrical current is 220V AC, 50Hz. Wall sockets are the round, two-pin European type. You CONTENTS than €25 per person (sometimes much less) in can buy adaptors at most electrical shops for around €1.7. Power cuts are a fact of life so you places we list as budget options; €25 to €55 in need a surge protector. Accommodation 646 those we list as midrange; and more than €55 For the news in English, pick up the Turkish Daily News or the New Anatolian. The Turkish Activities 648 in places we list as top end. Prices in İstanbul Airlines in-flight magazine, Skylife, is an excellent, glossy monthly magazine, as is Cornucopia, Business Hours 651 are considerably higher than those elsewhere published three times per year and full of excellent articles on Turkish life and culture. Children 652 in the country – expect to pay at least €10 per TRT3 provides news broadcasts on Saturday in French (5.15pm), English (7.15pm) and Ger- Climate Charts 653 person more in a double room in İstanbul. Courses 653 man (10.15pm) on 88.2 MHz in İstanbul, 91.6 MHz in Antalya and 92.8 MHz in Van. BBC World Out east prices are lower. Breakfast is usually Service can be heard in southern coastal Turkey on 1323 KHz. Customs 654 included in the price of all accommodation. Dangers & Annoyances 654 If you are planning a stay of a week or more Digiturk offers more than 300 different TV channels (including CNN, Fox Sports, Euro News, Disabled Travellers 656 in a coastal resort, check the prices in package- BBC Prime and BBC World). Discount Cards 657 holiday brochures before leaving home. British, Embassies & Consulates 657 French and German tour companies in par- Festivals & Events 658 ticular often offer flight-and-accommodation facilities are fairly rare and are most likely to you’re greeted by silence and stony stares in a Food 658 packages to places such as Kuşadası, Bodrum, be on Orman Dinlenme Yeri (Forestry De- hotel reception, it may be better to move on. Gay & Lesbian Travellers 659 Marmaris, Dalyan, Fethiye, Antalya, Side and partment land). You usually need your own Moving up a price bracket, one- and two- Holidays 659 Alanya for much less than you would pay if you transport to reach these. Other facilities in- star hotels may cost around €15 to €35 for a Insurance 660 make your own bookings. land tend to be barren, overcrowded options double room with shower but are less oppres- Internet Access 661 These days most accommodation has web- on the outskirts of towns and cities. sively masculine in atmosphere, even when the Legal Matters 661 sites for making advance reservations. Once If there are no designated camping grounds, clientele is mainly male. Three-star hotels are Maps 661 on the travellers’ circuit you will find that ask about at hotels and pensions. Often they usually used to catering for women travellers. Money 661 many pensions operate in informal chains, will let you camp in their grounds and use Hotels in more traditional Turkish towns, Post 662 referring you from one to another. If you’ve their facilities for a small fee (€3 to €6 per however clean and comfortable, normally Shopping 663 enjoyed staying in one place you will probably person). Otherwise, camping outside official offer only Turkish TV, Turkish breakfast and Solo Travellers 665 enjoy its owner’s recommendations, but of camping grounds is often more hassle than none of the ‘extras’ that are commonplace in Telephone 665 course you should hold hard to your right not it’s worth. Not only may the police drop by to pensions. Time 666 to sign up to anything sight unseen. check you out and possibly move you on but Prices are usually set by the local authorities Toilets 666 Note that along the Aegean, Mediterranean, also, out east, wolves and Kangal sheep dogs and should be displayed at the reception desk. Tourist Information 667 the Black Sea coasts and in some parts of Cap- can be a real threat. We recommend female You should never pay more than these official Visas 667 padocia, the vast majority of hotels, pensions travellers always stick to official camp sites prices; often you will be able to haggle for a Women Travellers 668 and camping grounds close from mid-Oc- and camp where there are plenty of people lower (sometimes much lower) price. Work 668 tober to late April. These dates are variable, around – especially out east. Unmarried foreign couples don’t usually though; see p20 for more information. have any problems sharing rooms, although ACCOMMODATION Hostels out east you’ll usually be given a twin room Turkey has accommodation options to suit all Apartments Given that pensions are so cheap, Turkey has even if you asked for a double. However, budgets with concentrations of good, value- Apartments for holiday rentals are usually no official hostel network, even though a few some establishments still refuse to accept an for-money pensions and hotels in all the places thin on the ground. Wherever possible we places claim to be affiliated to the Interna- unmarried couple when one of the parties is – such as İstanbul, Çanakkale, Selçuk, Fethiye have listed them in this book; otherwise your tional Youth Hostelling Association (IYHA). Turkish. The cheaper the hotel, and the more and Göreme – most visited by independent best bet is to try www.ownersdirect.co.uk or However, there are plenty of hostels offering remote the location, the more conservative its travellers. The rates quoted in this book are www.holidaylettings.co.uk. If you’re inter- dormitories in touristy destinations. Dorm management tends to be. for peak season (May to September) and in- ested in hiring an apartment along the coast beds usually cost from €7 to €11 per night. Not surprisingly, the most difficult places to clude value-added tax (KDV); room prices (eg Kaş, Antalya, Bodrum) your best bet is to find really good cheap rooms are İstanbul, An- can be discounted by up to 20% during the low contact local real estate agents (emlakci) who Hotels kara, İzmir and package-holiday resort towns season (October to April, but not during the hold lists of available holiday rentals and are Hotels range from the dirt cheap to the bou- such as Alanya. In most other cities and resorts, Christmas period and major Islamic holidays; used to dealing with foreigners. tique. The cheapest hotels (around €10 per good, inexpensive beds are readily available. see p659). double room) are mostly used by working- Places within easy reach of İstanbul and Camping class Turkish men on business and are not BOUTIQUE HOTELS Ankara (eg Safranbolu) may hike their prices Most camping facilities are along the coasts suitable for lone women. While we don’t Increasingly, old Ottoman mansions, caravan- at summer weekends. and are usually privately run. Inland, camping want to restrict women’s freedom of choice, if serais and other historic buildings are being © Lonely Planet Publications 646 lonelyplanet.com DIRECTORY •• Accommodation 647 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY PRACTICALITIES Directory Turkey uses the metric system for weights and measures. Basic conversion charts appear on DIRECTORY DIRECTORY the inside front cover of this book. THUMB TAB In general, you can expect to spend less Electrical current is 220V AC, 50Hz. Wall sockets are the round, two-pin European type. You CONTENTS than €25 per person (sometimes much less) in can buy adaptors at most electrical shops for around €1.7. Power cuts are a fact of life so you places we list as budget options; €25 to €55 in need a surge protector. Accommodation 646 those we list as midrange; and more than €55 For the news in English, pick up the Turkish Daily News or the New Anatolian. The Turkish Activities 648 in places we list as top end. Prices in İstanbul Airlines in-flight magazine, Skylife, is an excellent, glossy monthly magazine, as is Cornucopia, Business Hours 651 are considerably higher than those elsewhere published three times per year and full of excellent articles on Turkish life and culture. Children 652 in the country – expect to pay at least €10 per TRT3 provides news broadcasts on Saturday in French (5.15pm), English (7.15pm) and Ger- Climate Charts 653 person more in a double room in İstanbul. Courses 653 man (10.15pm) on 88.2 MHz in İstanbul, 91.6 MHz in Antalya and 92.8 MHz in Van. BBC World Out east prices are lower. Breakfast is usually Service can be heard in southern coastal Turkey on 1323 KHz. Customs 654 included in the price of all accommodation. Dangers & Annoyances 654 If you are planning a stay of a week or more Digiturk offers more than 300 different TV channels (including CNN, Fox Sports, Euro News, Disabled Travellers 656 in a coastal resort, check the prices in package- BBC Prime and BBC World). Discount Cards 657 holiday brochures before leaving home. British, Embassies & Consulates 657 French and German tour companies in par- Festivals & Events 658 ticular often offer flight-and-accommodation facilities are fairly rare and are most likely to you’re greeted by silence and stony stares in a Food 658 packages to places such as Kuşadası, Bodrum, be on Orman Dinlenme Yeri (Forestry De- hotel reception, it may be better to move on.