Okay, will try to answer as many of the questions as I can. Can't tell you much about your apartments but they are in a decent spot in Gumbet and I would reckon it wouldn't be madly noisy at night. Activities for the kids - depends what they like to do but there's good swimming, a lot of the bars have playstations, etc for them to spend some time on. The waterpark is in Ortakent which is a short dolmus ride from Gumbet.

Not a lot of do's and don'ts - go and have a great time. Remember to haggle in the shops. The ATMs are dead easy to use - when you put your card in you are asked which language you require and there you go.

The transfer from the airport to Gumbet takes about 35 minutes by car but it depends on what kind of coach you are on and where you are dropping off en route.

Three must do things? Where do I start? A Turkish bath is fantastic for the adults - and would probably be good fun for the kids. A jeep safari would be good fun for you all - just be prepared to get wet and dirty!! A boat trip is a good day out - just watch out for the sun as the breeze on the boats can be deceptive.

Hope that does you for a start and if there's anything else you want to know, just ask. We have a house in Gumbet and visit at least five times a year so have got to know the area pretty well. We fly out again on 6 June and can't wait.

Kaptan Kemal Apartments are in a quiet spot so you shouldn't get too much noise at night, I haven't stayed there but they look nice and they ar close to the beach and to bars and restaurants.

My children are younger than yours so I'm not really sure what kind of activities 9 and 12 year olds like. There is a waterpark nearby which I'm sure your kids will like and it is easy to get to on the bus.

No obvious dos and donts that I can think of.

ATMs are very easy to use as they have an option for English.

It takes about 35 - 40 minutes by car from Bodrum airport, up to an hour by coach transfer, less if you are the first one to be dropped off.

3 must do things - Do a boat trip, they cost about £10 for a day including lunch and are a great fun and relaxing day out. Go on a dolmus (minibus) to Bodrum and explore. Have a meal at Seray Zetas, they do the best Turkish food in Gumbet.

Turkish people love kids so you will be welcome wherever you go.

If you want to know anything else jut ask, I used to live in Gumbet for a few years so i should be able to help.

Kedi

Thanks a lot guys!

few more queries lol.

The waterpark in Ortakent which is a short dolmus ride from Gumbet - what sort of price both for the dolmus for family of 4 and also the waterpark? any ideas.

Shops or markets? which is the best for bargains? when and where for the markets?

Turkish food - rather niave here. What sort of things can i expect from turkish food. I love meat and the wife loves veggies.

Seray Zetas - obviously can ask but how easy is it to find? seems to be the place to eat.

How close is the camel beach and is it worth having a go on the camels?

How much are we talking roughly for a 3 course meal in seray zetas?

Cafe de Columba? think thats the name. The place to go for steaks yes? again how much roughly please?

Thanks again in advance and sure i will have more queries yet!

Waterpark - I haven't been myself so I don't know the costof getting in but the dolmus will only be about £1.50 each

There are some good markets about, the best being Bodrum on a Tuesday or Turgutreis on a Saturday. Ther are plenty of shops in Gumbet and even more in Bodrum so it would be worth a day in Bodrum if you want to do lots of shopping.

You and your wife will both be happy when it comes to Turkish food, there are wonderful meat kebabs, meatballs, grills etc and there are also some great vegetable dishes, plus Turkish pizza (pide) which comes in both meat and veggie versions.

Seray Zetas is about 10 miutes walk from Kaptan Kamal, it is very popular so someone can point you in the right direction easily. A 3 course meal would probably be about £10 per person with a drink.

Camel beach is at Ortakent so it is not far, you can get the dolmus or most oat trips visit there. the camel trips are only short, about 5 minutes but good fune, especially for the children.

Yes, Cafe Columbia does have a good reputation for steak but I have never had one there so can't tell you the cost.

Kedi

To give you a general guide for food prices, in April/May steak meals were ranging from 20 to 25 lira, chicken dishes from 15 to 20 lira, pasta from 10-16 lira, kebabs from 1.5 to 6 lira. A large Efes averaged between 4 and 5 lira, local spirits around 7 lira and cocktails around 10 lira.

There's a nice small market in Gumbet itself on Sunday - not touristy, more where the locals go to get their fruit, veg, cheese, etc but it's nice to visit. Turgetreis market gets very busy and I'm not sure the kids would be happy there - I'm not convinced that the markets are any cheaper than the shops really. I prefer Bodrum market on Tuesday - or even Friday for the fruit and veg market which is a great sight to see.

Another nice place to visit is Sabinci Park in Turgetreis - there's a nice cafe there where you can sit and look out to sea, it's a great place for the kids to run around and there's some keep fit/gym equipment for them to have a go on. Also the marina at Turgetreis is great to walk round - very upmarket, take some bread and feed the fish, it's fascinating to watch them.

Bodrum is a busier place so the kids may get fed up after a while but the castle is worth a visit, you can go up on the ramparts and the kids would like that.

I've never had a bad steak in Gumbet. One of our favourite restaurants is Chinatown (you'll see how popular it is by how busy it gets). Their steaks are great and they do some different toppings - steak garchi is my favourite where the steak comes topped with chilli and garlic - drool! They've also introduced a new one this year, steak asian with a hot sauce. They also do a boneless rack of lamb or a lamb shank if lamb's your thing. If you go there, get your wife to try a meze as a starter - great, loads of different things to try!! Mind you, do try the Turkish food - it's great. There's some great kebabs - all different, and some fantastic stew things (sorry can't remember the name of the different ones at the moment). If you're not sure, just ask in the restaurant and they'll be glad to help. If you like fish, the sea bass is to die for - drool again!! There's so much choice in the restaurants in Gumbet that you'll be spoiled.

Take the kids up to the windmills in between Gumbet and Bodrum - it's a bit of a hike up there but it's worth it for the views. This year they've already refurbished one of the windmills and are doing another. If you can get a kite while you're out there, it's a great place for flying a kite. We were over in April when they had a kite festival - it was a fantastic sight.

Keep up with learning the few words in Turkish - it's much appreciated. Where our house is we have all Turkish neighbours and they love to hear our efforts - mind you their English is better than our Turkish and we get by with a mixture of both and lot of hand movements!!

Cafe Columbia,is that the big restaurant on the corner,that came with knife,fork,serviette,and bread roll package wrapped,if it is I dont rate it at all,worst steak for us,try Minstral on the front,we ate there a couple of times,it was excellent,3 courses with wine.Cheers is another good place.

I have never had a knife, fork and bread roll in a packet at cafe columbia so maybe it is somehwere else

Sorry I thought that was cafe Columbia,the place I was referring to was from Windy Bay,we walked up the narrow road along side it and came to a very large restaurant on the right on the corner,anyone know what that one was called?.

Hi, the Crazy Golf at the Hotel BABA right on the beach is a good way to spend and hour or two. We used to go at least once a day when we were there with our two kids, and they loved it. There is also a climbing wall and trampolines not far from the golf as well

I really love Gumbet , not going this year, heading to Ibiza for a wee change, but having a few we nagging doubts at the minute, so trying to wangle a week in October, to our favourite hotel the Gumbet Cove, beautiful and right on the beach

Enjoy

Jen

Yes, I think you must be talking about Cafe Columbia then.

yes sounds like columbia except ive always found the steaks fantastic!!! - perhaps you were just unlucky - ive also eaten at the windy bay and mistral and would prefer columbia everytime

Yes that is defo cafe de columbia,they do put the cutlery in a little paper bag,but there is never no bread roll,the bread comes out freshly in baskets when you order your meal,we too have never had a bad meal there,you must of just been unlucky.
They did set menus there,which are great value for money,a drink,steak meal and garlic bread was 25lira,and that was a huge steak!
They also do set menus for pizza,chips and ice-cream.18lira,and a range of other good deals as well!
It will be one of our first stops when we go back to gumbet in august!
Also windy bay is great for steaks etc as well,they are owned by the same people as columbia!
Hope you have a great holiday!!

Don't go looking for the crazy golf at the Hotel Baba as the hotel hasn't opened this year. Well it hadn't in April/May and didn't look as though it was going to. We'll miss the crazy golf as we used to have a real laugh spending time playing. It's a shame about the hotel not opening as it doesn't look good when you walk past it on the beach side. There was talk of the government (or something like that) opening it up but when we asked, nobody seemed to know.

Thanks for all the info peeps. Cant wait for friday now!

Does anyone have any info on day trips to Kos from the Gumbet area? Price etc.

As we are going self catering and will be eating in a few days lunches etc - where is the best place to get the basic foods?

thanks again in advance.

If you're going to do some self-catering, it's probably worth going up to one of the supermarkets on the main Bodrum road - Migros or Kipa are two of the best. If you get quite a bit, it would be worth getting a taxi back. There's also Gumbet market on Sunday which is worth looking at - you can get cheese, veg, fruit, etc there. Bread is the same price everywhere - 75 kurus - and it's lovely.

The day trip to Kos is about £20 and goes from Bodrum but you will usually be piced up from your hotel. It takes about 1 hour to get there and you get around 6 hours in Kos.

If you want to stock up on basics then it's best to go to one of the bigger supermarkets just out of Gumbet. There are two dolmus (minibuses) that go from Gumbet to bodrum, the grene one goes along the main road and if you get that then ask the driver to drop you off at Carrefour, which is on the main road, you can then either get the dolmus back or jump in a taxi. If you get the orange dolmus ask the driver to drop you off at Migros, this is on the back street near the main road, from here you will need to get a taxi as the bus goes back a different way and doesn't pass by. You will be able to find everyting you need at either of these shops, then you can just get fresh bread from the local supermarkets.

alternatively get the dolmus to bodrum bus station and theres a large tansas supermarket there - you can spend time in bodrum and do a bit of food shopping before you hop on the dolmus back to gumbet

Cheers once again guys and gals.

No problem! Hope you have a great holiday

Kedi