We're travelling tomorrow and the weather looks good, up to 87 mid-week and thru next weekend.

Hot enough for me!

Take a cardi for the evenings, it can get cool May and early June.

I travelling to Bitez for a fortnight in July with my family, I have been in Turkey before but not this area. Can anyone recommond how to keep 4 teenagers enterained here and are there any trips that you would recommend? I would also like to purchase some jewellery while there, does anyone recommend any particular jeweller in that area.

Thanks for any advice, I can't wait until I get there.

Mikemarn...

Hope you are feeling well Marn.

Nice to met you and Mike, two weeks since we got home and looking forward to going back.

Hope the prices do not go up again!!! or we will be living on bread and jam.

It was good to meet you too.........just wish I could have felt more sociable.

Ive only had one small 'low' since we got back, feeling OK at the moment.

I havn't reported on our trip as I couldn't think of lots of good things to say, which is unusual for Bitez. We found it to be more expensive than other years, so make sure you stock up on the jam.

Have you booked next years flights yet?

Se ya. Marn.

Message for Briar, Argie wants to know 'where are you' 'when are you coming to stay at the Manuela?'

Came back yesterday after first holiday to Bitez. It was wonderfull, cant wait to go back.....

All the restaurants we ate in were asking how full our hotel/appartments were as things were very quiet everywhere. Our first week didnt seem so bad (2nd - 8th June) but the following week was very quiet. Lots of 7 day hols, didnt seem to be many 2 week stays. The Sat before we left was noticeably busier, the beachfront was bustling that night.

Went to C.J.s many times - great!! What a bunch of characters, especially Aydin. They seem to be doing ok, fairly full most evenings. John was telling us he's already planning on making changes to the menu and introducing some speciality dishes, and possibly some Thai food. Hope things work out for them, they deserve it, they are working really hard.

Also had good meals in Golden Spoon & the Mayflower (again great banter with boys, especially Antonio & Casper trying to get my son to play for their football team!).

Weatherwise - I thought it was hot the first week and then the second just got hotter We had a meal one night in the Queens on the hill the harbour side, again a nice meal. I didnt catch the names of the owners, but the wife was English & really nice. She was telling us that the day before had been 45 and that day had hit 49 at one point. When I go back I will take a suitcase full of sun-cream. Thought I'd gone armed with enough, but have never used so much. Found the brands such as Nivea, Garnier & Piz Bruin very expensive there, and the Turkish brands werent very good, so will be better prepared next time!

A great holiday, have never been so sad heading for home....!!

we visited bitez for the day as i had heard such good reports about it, but i have to say we were slightly disappointed, the sea was full of stones and rocks where we were so i couldnt go in without any sandals on, we found the beach area looking across the mountains each side over built up with what looked like houses or apts not very attractive, and the few shops, hair dressers , restaurants etc we priced up were very expensive to other areas ive stayed in, the hairdressers quoted me double for a cut and blow dry compared to what i paid in turgutreis that week and well over double what i pay in marmaris, and infact more than i pay in the uk lol,bitez was ok but not as nice as akyaka ,turgutreis or olu deniz im my opinion !!!,

I've just got back from bitez this morning, and I must say I thought it was beautiful and far nicer then any of the many areas I've been to in turkey- sorry elliemeg but much preferred it to olu deniz!
Had many lovely meals, particularly stuck to sultan (but maybe because they are all married so didn't hassle us??!), but on a sad note, as 2 women travelling without partners, I found it really very sad that some of the men couldn't accept 'no means no' and had 2 very frightning experiences. Wouldn't put me off though, but maybe next time take a male escort.
Had a nice boat trip with BBC, especially enjoyed the daily banter with the 2 blokes either end of the beach that work there- hilarious. Other then that just really chilled, lovely weather- very hot- just perfect. Prices high, but not awful- food wonderful so happy to pay a bit more for it.
Counting down the weeks until next trip to turkey- only 6 left!

Del glad you enjoyed Bitez.....

Never met anyone that has ever stayed there in all the years we have been going that did not fall in love with it!!!

Glad the lads are doing well at C Js did you try The Sultan next door??? really yummy food.

I must admit the prices are a lot higher this season... more expensive for a beer there than Bodrum harbour!!!

We will be back for our third visit next week can't wait

P.S How many differant flavoured jams do they do Marn???

Whoops Helen...

Posted before I read your review!!!

Can I ask did you have your bad experiences in Bitez???

Did you try The Lavas? cheap and lovely food.. most of the places are excellent to eat at ...but I love the lamb at the Sultan and the mash ( if Tommy reads this it will earn me a few extra Brownie points on my next visit ) Great lads they are taking us to Kippa shopping on our first morning and we will be watching the football final there with them be great if Turkey makes it!!!

helen we all like different things for holidays just as well as we would all be going to the same resort, we like very scenic places preferably good value for money, thats why i love akyaka so much so beautiful and great value for money, sadly we didnt find this in bitez i found it very expensive, and i was comparing the beautiful lagoon area of olu deniz to the beach area of bitez , and in my opinion bitez is no where near as scenic, i think i had read so many good reports about bitez,that i had pictured something really lovely when we went we were slightly disappointed, it wasnt as expected, im not saying it was bad just not as good as expected !!

It did seem expensive I must admit, but not as expensive as home and the quality of the food was amazing- we ate out 3 times a day and spent less then £500 inc trips and souvenirs.
Yes my bad experience was with the chaps in bitez, well one chap in particular- couldn't take 'no sorry I have a boyfriend at home' as an answer and became very possive and at times really quite abusive-he locked me a room and scared the living s&^t out of me.

Helen, being married doesn't always stop Turkish men from hassling particularly that Tommy - I would never trust him

What a shame you had a frightening experience some of those men really are too much aren't they...

Kedi x

Helen

Yes the food is scrumptious in most of the restaurants in Bitez. We all have our own favourites and ours changes each time we go... Kedi - I know you have fallen out with Tommy - I have also had words with him over the years but you must remember the pressure the lads are under for their wages. He apologised and I dont bare grudges, lifes too short. I take as I find... and when we passed the The Sultan last visit we were always offered free coffee on the beach and when we dined there we always got 20% off our bill, free wine, free coffee (not instant!) and free desserts. The lad's couldnt do enough for our family.

By the way Helen... curiosity killed the cat... but I dont want it to kill me. But was it someone from where you stayed or a resort worker from a restaurant/bar that scared you??? Private Message me, if you want to divulge!!??

Is this the same Tommy, married to Gisella?
If so , is she about this season?
Didn't go to Bitez last year and never got to see the new baby.

Tommy was nothing but charming to us, but then again we gave him plenty of business, he did however not take me seriously after my 'experience' which really put me off and so I spent my last evening elsewhere.

We returned from our 3rd visit to Bitez on Monday and heres our short report...

We flew with Onur and were lucky enough to get the extra leg room seats on the way out, unfortunately we had a 3+ hour delay coming home and for some reason they wanted £10 per person for the leg room seats.

The day we arrived Roman Abravich (spelling??) yacht was moored in our habour... its given us bragging rights to the 'Turkey Doubters' being able to sit in our garden and see a billionaires yacht. The locals also told us hes bought 5 houses behind us for his family and friends.

The weather was HOT, HOT, HOT. Although we go every July, it just seemed hotter this year. It would have been unbearable without the constant breeze. We spent most of our time on the beach at the Sultan and CJ's sitting on our sunbeds with our pinkies dipped in the sea to keep us cool.

Price wise... well its getting ridiculous. They had put the prices up again, from May when we were last there. Some places were charging 6 Lira for 1 Efes!!! The lamb shish had gone up from 18 Lira... to 23/25 Lira!!! Infact everything on the menu had gone up in ALL the restaurants.

We are so happy to say that CJ's is doing FANTASTIC. They are taking the Golden Spoon to the cleaners. Although we love the food at the Golden Spoon, it was mainly Turkish which were eating there... and we found out this is because Turkish people get 50% off their bill!! Its taking CJ's awhile for the Irish to find them, because the Manuela staff wont say where Charlie and Jonsil are. We had some nice meals there and there is a fun, relaxed atmosphere. We tried The Amphora (Daniel from New Seasons Father owns it) its round the backstreet near the mosque, reasonably priced. The Sultan, as usual, was our favourite. The pharmacy is now The Lemon Tree, run by Mustafa from The Lavas we had a lovely meal there... interrupted by a young boy dressed like a King ontop of a white horse... with men banging on drums walking along with the family... (I knew what it was - only because I saw it on the Ambrosia website) but thought id ask the waiters to watch their expressions... running around whispering and laughing too embarrassed to explain... It was a circumcision party - held at the Vona with the best firework display ive ever seen from a boat in the middle of the bay. They must have spent thousands on them. Then the sky filled with floating lit lanterns. It was beautiful.

On a sad note, an elderly lady died when we were there. She'd gone swimming at night and drowned.

All in all, the season was quieter than normal for this time of year. And they all seemed to be feeling the pinch. Last week the Council came round and gave every restaurant a letter which warned them against hassling. So they werent allowed to stand near the menu, or talk to people as they passed.

We had a fantastic holiday and cant wait to get back. Roll on October!

I think your next to go, arent you Prawn? Where are you staying?

Hi Roni, pleased you enjoyed another visit to Bitez.

Is it just in Bitez that the prices are going up?

Marn.

Hi Marn

When hubby visited the barbers in Gumbet a large beer was 2 1/2 lira and cocktails 5 lira I even took photos of the prices to show them back in Bitez... it seems they all keep to the same prices sort of an unwritten rule. I know there is more competition in Gumbet but I was there with (I wont say his name but you know him) on the first of July and he sat with us and priced everything up at lunch time. It will be interesting to see if they put them down in October!!! I know we thought the prices were high in May but they really are high now. It is cheaper to eat in the U.K. at this time of the year.

It is a lot cheaper around the back (and eating in) but I much prefer the beach front than sitting on a road. I feel sorry for the families.

I still love eating out every night - it is part of the holiday. The only bad meal we had was at the New Season I had chicken and it was awful with lumps of fat in it (makes me wretch thinking about it) We will NEVER go there again.

We watched the cup final in The Sultan, the Turks were glad Spain won, so was my son he won a fortune! Bill Murray was sitting on the table behind us.

Hope you're feeling well

Thats bad news about the prices. When I was there the beginning of June it was pricier than I was expecting, everyone having told me before I went how cheap Turkey was. And we noticed the difference in prices between Gumbet & Bitez too!

I'm going back in September. If the prices have gone up since the start of the season I'd better save extra hard

If Abramovich is going to start visiting lets hope the prices dont go up to meet a billionaire's wallet