I always spend time searching through flights until I find the one I want, then I book up accomodation after I have got the flights. I never book transfers as we get friends to pick us up from the airport but I think the cheapest way is to book through a transfer company (have a look at the Airport/ resort transfers-Q&As thread: http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=123598 for some suggestions) . If you book a tour operator they are usually more expensive and taxis from the airport can work out expensive too.

Hope this helps
Kedi

Personally I would book my flights first. You will always be able to get decent accommodation at a reasonable price, but I wouldn't risk it with flights.

They are flight comparison websites that you can enter your preferred dates and they will bring up a list of flights available. Alternatively you can search directly with the airlines website.

You have not mentioned where you are flying from, but here are a list of possible airlines you could use to Dalaman.

Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomson Airways
Monarch Airlines
Viking Airlines (Kiss Flight)
Pegasus (Kiss Flight)
Onur Air (Goldtrail, H4U, Aegean Flights)
Turkuaz Airline
Easyjet
Bmi
Jet2.com
KTHY KIBRIS (Turkish-Cypus Airlines)
Turkish Airlines (Via Istanbul)

With the apartment, again you have a few options. You could book directly with them, if they have a website and accept bookings this way. Alternatively you could google search them and it will normally bring up a list of tour operators that you can book them with.

With regards to transfers, yes you can book them with a tour operator (if you choose to book the apartments with them) however this is not the cheapest option. If you are looking to do it on the cheap try some of these companies.
Prices start from as little as £14 pp return

transfer4cheap
raintransfer
transferonly

hope this helps!

Good luck Claire. We travel independently every time and this year I have flown into Dalaman 5 times. We go further than Marmaris but tend to pass through it every time. Sometimes we get a transfer to Marmaris and then a bus or a hire car for the next leg. This year I have used Thomas Cook for every trip as the prices were competative and despite what some say we have never encountered problems with them. flythomascook.com - the site is easy to use and gives you chance to find the best prices. Going a couple of days either side your chosen date can make a big difference. Definately book your flights first.
Our relatives have used A2B transfers to Marmaris without any hitches and then I meet them at the bus station. They will drop off at hotels. The only snag with them is they stop off at a cafe on the way and I would rather just get there. marmaris-transfers.com will do a private transfer for you for around £40 and this will be much quicker with no stop offs and no stopping at lots of hotels for drop offs. Flight operators also often do transfers but you might find yourself on that A2B bus anyway!
Once you have your flight booked then look for accommodation as there will be loads of half empty places at that time of year.

Ahhh what can i say...but thanks you guys, il go have a look for flights now... im sure il be back..

....me again... just had a quick look at the flights... its comming up as around £240 each, flying from birmingham.... im not restricted to any particular dates, so tried putting in several different dates inc may... does this price sound about right, begining to wonder if it is actually cheaper to D.I.Y.... Im used to going away in sep/oct and paying around £260 each for us, but that includes flights accomodation, transfers etc... so now im wondering if it is actually cheaper to D.I.Y or not....

It certainly can be cheaper doing DIY, but i've also had some very cheap packages over last few years, just do your homework. Accomodation you will get cheap,flights i tend to book when they first go on sale,just check all the airlines and also try Thomas Cook etc for packages,keep an eye on the prices over a few days as they can go up and down.

ooh ok...will do, thanks!

That's probably about right but you need to spend some time searching the net, comparing different companies. If you can get to Stansted easily Pegasus do some really good deals if you don't mind going via Istanbul. It just adds a bit more time to your journey but could save you lots. Gatwick is sometimes cheaper but you have to weigh up the cost of getting there if you live nearer Birmingham. You need to compare it all with package tours. I have known people use a package tour just for the flight and then stay somewhere else. However I have never found one that cheap.

we use united blue transfers...£12 per person return from dalaman to marmaris. For flights I have used both Thomas Cook and Flyglobespan (I think they are only Glasgow though at present!). There are always loads of cheap apartments on travel republic or alpharooms so worry about apartment last I would say

I normally book DIY holidays and the best I ahve found so far have been http://www.otbeach.com. They are doing flights from Glasgow for just over £200 in May and accomadation for just over £8 per person for 2 weeks. That is the total cost per person for the 2 weeks £8 not per night. There are more expensive apartments of course simply shop about, do your research on the apartments you wish to book through this site and http://www.tripadvisor .co.uk

Lets know how you get on

Stewart

Thankyou very much for all the advice... im having a good look around now that i have more of an idea of what sites to go on!

hey, me and my hubby are going mid may, we were looking for cheap flights and we ended up booking through goldtrail for flights only,it was only £380 for us both!flythomascook etc were too dear!h4u is also another option were you might get reasonable flights. as for accomodation we have booked one week staying at karakas in marmaris for £36 for us both as we will stay in hatay with hubbys family for a week!roll on, ive not had hol since march xxx

A good site for price comparison for flights is http://www.skyscanner.net when you do the search, tick whole month on the calendar, it then brings up a graph, so you can see what dates are the cheapest very easily. Sometimes it's possible to get a good deal if you can be flexible and don't necessarily want to return on the same day of the week as you left.

I booked some flights for next September a couple of weeks ago,cheapest I could get them for was with travelrepublic @ £227 each inc baggage,I thought should I wait for easyjet to release theirs,but I thought they wouldnt be so cheap this time,try flightline,Ive just priced flights withthem with easyjet for next Sept,£90 each plus baggage!!gutted.

just becareful with otbeach as baggage is not included unless it is stated it is. It doesn't tell you this until you have booked then you have to add your baggage on which can bump the price up

I have booked my accomadation through OTbeach only. Got to say their prices were certainly cheaper than others, eg travel republic, alpha rooms, plus they do a price match as well

Stewart