i think this is general of all tourist places over the past couple of years
i think its called jumping on the tourist bandwagon
they will relise when they do a spain and price themselves out the market

you are so right

Hastings 69 - We spent 3 fabulous weeks in Marmaris but have to say were astonished at what we spent. Truthfully didnt think the meals were too expensive but were amazed at what we spent on soft drinks alone.

At our apartments soft drinks were 3.5 tl (approx £1.50) each. My daughter, myself and 2 granddaughters had at least 8 soft drinks each (total £12) during the course of the day which amounts to £48 daily. Thats not counting the beers that the men had! Then the ice creams every day! Also spirits were 10 tl each (about £4 + ) not including your mixer and the measures werent generous.

When we done a rough count around the middle of our holiday we were so astonished at the rate we were going through money. We do spend freely when we are away but were in no doubt it was the soft drinks that took a lot of the money.

I repeat we had a fabulous holiday and still came back with money but the prices in Turkey have def. gone up. Its all very well saying shop around for good prices but in that heat who can be bothered searching for the lowest! We certainly couldnt and as soon as we saw a place we liked we would just go in there without paying too much attention to prices just wanting to get a seat.

Just got back from Icmeler ourselves and surprised at how much the prices have gone up since we last went in 06. Lots of hidden costs too. Drinks have gone up loads plus day trips are more expensive due to the fuel rises. A real shame as its not a cheap place to holiday any more. We were going to go back next year but probably wont now as its just as cheap to go closer to home . Shorter flights etc. I really hope Turkey keeps the Lira as if they say ok to the Euro that will be the end of our holidays there.

maybe people should look around more...eg champion bar icmeler, beer 2 ytl, coke etc 2 ytl .Several places like this are getting to realise to keep things cheaper.

we also noticed general price increases, but i think much of it was to do with the low exchange rate, last year we were getting 2.5, this year 2.1....

drinks were still around the same as last year, but food does seem to have gone up.....

we are going next year, but then i am afraid it will have priced itself out of the market for us.....

annief.......get it booked this minute do you hear!

Lets face it folks the prices in turkey are going to keep rising now that they will be joining the eu ,most of the resorts are already using the euro and lots of the traders will not drop there prices as much as they used to .We have been spoiled with the cheap prices in turkey for years ,but i think it is all about to change. Morh i would say you would be cheaper going A/I then the kids can just go get what they want and when they want .It is really difficult saying no to kids when they need plenty of juice in hot weather .

Bluepeterno1

I agree that all inclusive seems the way to go, after we spent way more than we bugeted on our recent 2 wk holiday in turkey this summer. I was wondering can anyone recoment any really good all inclusive hotels.

just reading this through just now and have to say that Turkey is not alone in price increases unfortunately. We are all paying more to get to destinations but the poor exchange rates we have has a big impact. Also the fuel problems are worldwide and impact on everyday prices. It is depressing.

Have been on many A/I holidays which were excellent (not in Turkey tho). Had a bad experience last year A/I in Bulgaria when we ate out 10 nights out of 14 as the food was disgusting so there is always a little risk that you might not get what you expect!.

I do agree though it is worth thinking about A/I as I am in no doubt that its the soft drinks that takes up a lot of money.
Thats why these forums are great when people can share good and bad experiences.

I know people are saying you can get cheaper if you shop around but for example if you are lazing by your pool you are obliged to buy snacks/drinks there. In our apartment english breakfast was 6tl and that didnt include tea/coffee so breakfast cost just under 10 tl, around £4+ mark. (family of 6 staying 21 days!!).

As we stayed minutes from the bakery in Armutulan we had lots of nice breakfasts with warm Turkish bread/rolls with cheese, cold meats etc. Delicious.

We're off tomorrow to the Larespark at Lara, so I will post a review when we return. All the hotels there seem to get good write ups. Friends of ours are at Belek just now and are really pleased with their hotel and they are not normally fans of AI- sorry can't remember what it's called but I can find out. So glad having read this thread that we are going AI, the depressing thing is though that the prices for 2009 for AI just seem astronomical, through the tour ops anyway. Makes me appreciate what a bargain this holiday is.
However Turkey isn't alone in the prices rising, we went to Bulgaria in February and the prices really weren't as cheap there as we were expecting. I guess much of it is to do with the exchange rate and general economic climate, but also because of that, these destinations which are traditionally cheaper are becoming more popular and the traders are probably to a certain extent cashing in on that- who can blame them I suppose. I do agree with previous posts that ultimately it could end up backfiring on them though.

Looking forward to our first visit to Turkey, I suspect despite the prices rising it won't be our last!!

Pam

Also been told by travel agents that when a child turns 13, they have to pay adult prices on all inclusive, and most half and full board holidays

Been to a/i all over turkey and never been dissapointed yet.went to the club voyage in belek in june ,ice cream all day ,slush machines everywhere just help yourself ,massive pattisserie with about thirty choices of cream cakes ,nine ala carte restaurants ,hundreds of choice in the dining room ,all the drink and food you can eat .Only way to holiday as far as i can see ,especially when you have kids, they just go get what they want .You dont have to spend another penny if you dont want to ,lots of people i have met are happy to stay in the hotels ,after all the entertainment and food and drink is already paid for. Booked up for another two weeks start of september.Probably put on another stone in weight. Yum Yum .

Bluepeterno1

AI is the way to go i think, which is a shame as you won't want to venture out of the hotel as places are expensive.
You would be amazed how many people on here think that Turkey is cheap, i see people saying 2lira for a beer, most of the places i went past that had beer for lower prices i wouldn't drink in at home.
Our last night in Icmeler we went to Venice (For the 5th time) our bill with tip came to 220 Lira, exactly £100!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now the food was great, the entertainment was great, we had a fantastic time, but i have never paid that much for a meal for all 4 of us ever, yes we had drinks, but 220 lira i nearly feel off the chair.
Loads of people on here have said that those of us that complain about the high prices are the ones to blame, because we go into those kind of places....I have never heard such rubbish in all my life, we like places to eat in that LOOK nice and we talk to others before we go in, the cheapest meal we had was our worst meal 100 lira with tip. Yes you can shop around but after being at the beach or by the pool allday who has the energy to waste an hour or so.It is a lovely country, the weather is great, the people are great, but to many people that we spoke to whilst on holiday that have been to the same hotel before complained about the rises, people on here are complaning about the rises, let's hope Turkey doesn't end up like Spain, but if i carries on like that way it's going now i think it will...

Stew

Many people who have never been to Turkey tend to think that it is very cheap out there; but it isn't the bargain bucket deal it once was.

It doesn't help when people insist that it is still as cheap as it was 10 years' back - and then people going there for the first time discover that it's anything but!

Yes, you can hunt out very cheap places to eat - but that ain't fun to do when you're supposed to be on holiday! What's more, the very cheap restaurants are either places that you would not normally fancy eating in (certainly not on holiday!) or restaurants a bus ride away from the main resort.

I also think, besides taking a gamble on All Inclusive, and chancing booking a place which may serve dire food and watered down alcohol - it's a shame to travel all that way to Turkey and only see the hotel and its grounds without seeing Turkey itself (unless you count the bus ride from the airport to the hotel).

We have been going to Icmeler twice a year for the last 9 years and love it but noticed a big price increase in June this year as said before quite a lot of it on soft drinks I dont like to drink during the day so have soft ones on the beach which were very expensive. Also at nights we were spending about 20-22 lira each on a steak meal, chicken meals were a little cheaper then going to one of the bars for the night and spending around 80 lira on drinks hubby was only drinking guiness or bottle efes and I was on local vodka and coke we left at 12 when the music stopped so wasnt out a long time and didnt drink lots. I drink very rarely at home but didnt get tipsy once on holiday which makes me think the measures were very small as I only usually need a couple of vodkas at home to get giddy, one night I drank cocktails all night and was completely sober. On saying all that I am going back in September and will still have a great time and probably same again next year, its just a shame I feel sorry for people with young children it must be very expensive, my daughter has 3 young boys and they have started to go AI which she doesnt really like but its the only way she spent more in Marmaris last June than she did in Florida the year before.

Not everyone wants to stay in there hotels because they are a/i ,loads of people still go on tours snd trips and such ,but if you are a/i you can get packed lunches from the hotels and all the bottled water you want You can also take the bottles of juice from the fridges with you ,that way you can still see turkey without having to fork out all the time for food and drinks during the day.

Bluepeterno1

Returned from Side last night. First real experience of Turkey, day trip to Bodrum aside, and of all inclusive.
Stayed at Seven Seas Magic Life and had a great fortnight. Life outside the compound very expensive, taxis daylight robbery...so stayed in, chilled and spent nothing !

Glad to hear you had a good time at the Seven Seas! Did you do any fishing? The excursions from local operators are still good value aren't they? Remember petrol is very expensive now and more so in Turkey, so taxi prices will reflect that.