hi bigbird, what dates are you going to the arum? we're going for the third time on aug 1st---15th, we'll have two 16yr old girls, a 14yr old girl and 13yr old boy. you'll love the arum, its a great hotel, we go self catering as we like to eat out and about. there is a disco there as well which gets busy with all the teens--ours only went with us last year, but it might be different this year. maybe see you there. enjoy.

Any thoughts on it? Going early June 2007.

Hi gypsy, just seen your response. Unfortunatelu, we shan't be travelling until the 13th so will only have 1 - 2 days overlap. Pity. Hope you have a fab time; we're really looking forward and hope that the boys will enjoy.

hi bigbird, maybe the kids will meet on the overlap. hope you have a great time, if you want to know anything, just ask, this is our third time to this hotel. we always sit by the shallow end of the pool on the grassy bit , its cooler there. enjoy.

Walking from the harbour/town onto the beach there is a hotel on the right called The Side Hotel (Also called The Side Garden Hotel for some reason) and it's about the fourth establishment on the right. A large sign proclaims Steak & Fish Restaurant. We stayed in the Hotel and often had a meal in the restaurant. At night they put the tables on the beach and light a bonfire in the middle.

I recommend it although the music is a bit naff.

only 3 more sleeps till we go now and i can't wait!!
One more question though lol markets??? I love bartering with the turkish hee hee it's the only way to get bargains are there many markets to visit in or around Side??

had an excellent holiday in side so any questions i will eb happy to answer! Missed Antalya becuase of bombs but still had reat time thanks for all the advice i loved it! x

Hi again I forgot to ask if anybody had any general info on Side and some places that we shouldnt miss and good places to eat wether it be English or Turkish. Also is there any good boat trips to nearby islands etc and whats the diving like sorry for all the questions.

Soundwaves restaurant overlooking the beach in the old town of Side is one of the best places Ive eaten in.Its owned by Penny and Ali who also own the Beach house hotel.We went to Cappadocia from Side which must be the most amazing place on the planet.We went for 3days,2nights and wouldnt have missed it for anything.Alanya is also worth a visit which is about 50minutes drive away.

Hi All,

Four of us going to Side on 8th May. We have been to Turkey loads of times but this will be our first holiday to Side (or that part of Turkey).

Staying at Side Sun Hotel on All Inc. Good reviews etc so really looking forward to the hol.

As we are on All Inc we are not too bothered about restaurants to eat out, BUT we do want to go out-and-about in the evenings for a change of scene from the hotel bar.... anyone recommend any good bars near the Side Sun (in Kumkoy?), or in the old town/harbour part of Side???

Any info will be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ray

hmm, your post saddens me, Ray. when I was in Side the locals actually went on strike & closed down all the shops & restaurants due to the fact that the big all inclusives out of town were killing the town.

Please try and at least have one meal in the old town- I can highly recomend Gul restaurant.

Amanda62

I would recomend the boat trip to manavgat. the boat leaves from the harbour in the morning & drives along the coast to the spit where the manavgat river joins the sea, so you can walk one way and you're in the sea, and the opposite & you're in (icy cold) fresh water. Then it travels up the manavgat river to the town where you get into a charabanc and driven at break neck speed to the waterfalls. It's a spectacular day out and when we went we managed to see river turtles,Sea Turtles& pelicans.

I also enjoyed the trip to perge, Aspendos & Antalya. depending on what you enjoy if you do this I would recomend Antalya Archeaological museum!

Another few weeks and I'm back to Side Looking forward to it.

Anyone know of the golden fizz restaurant in side and is it popular with english or germans

Hi!

A purely personal opinion here, we all have differing tastes, we go to Side to the Hemera in July and if the bar you refer to is the same as it was in 2005 in terms of agressive hasstle and badgering of passers by we will most definitely not be going in, there is just something amiss with this bar, perhaps it's just me getting old! LOL! Side is very much a international resort, however based on my last visit I would say that the majority of tourists are from Germany, Russia, Netherlands and a variety of other nations including us british! If you do decide to go into the bar then I hope you enjoy yourself.

We were in Side last year and it took most of the two weeks to find our way through the sticky out bit/harbour so we didn't have to walk all the long way round to get to the Turkish beach side. This year we can take the shorter way down Gul Sokakta instead of that long, long walk.

I now have a map which helps a bit.

I'm hoping to find a decent 2 or 3 day tour to Cappadocia this time. We were in Side in May last year and it was too quiet for this trip to run, apparently. We were booked on three of them - none of which actually ran.

We managed to get to a classical concert at Aspendos (plus the obligatory gold factory) which was superb. It cost very little and included a dinner.

The coach trip to Antalya (plus the obligatory gold factory) was a waste. Next time we'll just catch the bus. Better value was the boat trip to Alanya (back by coach) which we enjoyed.

Our fourth, or possibly fifth, jeep safari was from Side although I suppose I've enjoyed each one slightly less than the previous one. The first one, from Hisaronu, was by far the best fun.

Has anyone here been to Cappadocia? Let me have your comments if you have, please.

I went to Cappadocia on my first visit to Side 14 years ago and it was the most amazing place on earth.We booked it with a local tour company in Tyrengol and paid £38 for 3 days and 2 nights.The rep wanted £96 for 2 days 1night!.I could have spent a week there!.When we went to the Hemera last March the tour companies in the shopping centre opposite the hotel were selling the trip for 30 euros!.My husband wouldnt go because as we were landing all we could see out of the plane window was snow.The Taurus mountains which you have to travel through were still thick of snow but I think there is a new road now.We stayed in a wonderful hotel in Cappadocia built into the rock.It was called Pasa Konagi and if you look on google there is loads of info.I hope to go again in October and if I win the lottery,a cave house there will be my first purchase!.

Thanks for that Jay. I've been looking at Cappadocia on the internet. The mind boggles at underground cities 15 or 20 stories deep which could have housed a population of 20,000 people.

The distance from Side seems to suggest a three day trip, like yours. We will make it a priority on our first day to get something organised.

As a last resort we will hire a car and just drive there. We are sure to find somewhere to stay.

Ian the trips to Cappadocia stop at the undergound city on the way there.They are amazing although not good if you suffer from claustophobia.You also stop at Konya and visit the mosque.The trips are advertised everywhere and now have English only buses.We had 3 guides when we went,English,German and Dutch.Another must is the folk night in Cappodocia.It was in an undergound hall with an open bar!.I am off to Icmeler next week but hope to visit Side in October.