My experience of Indian restaurants in Turkey has been somewhat "mixed" so far - on more than one occasion it's proved to be the most expensive meal of the holiday and also one of the worst! Are there any good ones in Altinkum?

Cheers.

Hi Tony & Morh, Just to correct you, it is Kusmez Hotel, we stayed here in June. Also in the same area are Duman, Delta and Atac Hotels. Tuntas Hotel is opposite end of the bay to the new Marina, the fun fair and 3rd Beach. Ships visiting Altinkum drop anchor in this bay. While we were there a ship called,"The World", visited. Every wednesday two, four masted sailing ships come into the bay from Marmaris on their way up to Kusadasi.

Les

Hi.

I'm off to Altinkum next week and wondered if there are any more recommendations that people would like to add to this thread?

Cheers.

Hi Random Number,
We just got back from Altinkum on Thursday.We stayed at the Orion Hotel for two weeks,We were on half board ,so we only ate out for lunch,but i can really recommend the Asia Minor restaurant.It is spotlessly clean with very pleasant staff,and the food is excellent.A lot of brits were eating there during lunchtime,and then going back at night for dinner.I know this to be true because it is right next door to the Orion and we used to see them going in.Having said that,most people we spoke to who were on b'@b.and said most places they had ate in were nice.
Cheers.

Hi Random Number
I just came back a week ago from Didim in Altinkum i was staying at the Miletos hotel which is a lovely hotel the staff are very friendly and so helpful they were serving mostly turkish food not that i am complaining about that as it looked really good its that because of stomach problems i cant eat a lot of spicy food but right opposite the hotel i found a lovely Cafe/bar called The North Star owned by a English couple Lorraine & Paul who are a really nice & friendly the food was reasonably priced and the quality was really good also it was all homemade and it was really good value for money I would certainly recommended it a 100% .

have a nice time

Thank you Gulliver and Sheena.

Did you notice any places currently doing cheap Efes?

Cheers.

Hi 11 of us going to Altinkum on the above dates, but my niece has been told that it will be closing down at that time of yr is this true xx

hi there wouldn't think so more nearer middle to end of october it would be shutting down,where abouts are you all going to

suzie

Hi Random Number
The prices are ranging from 3 - 5 ytl in the North Star its 3ytl for the big bottle Efes .
have a really good holiday.

Sheena

I have been to Altinkum in the middle of September before and it was still busy!

went september/october last year and it was still busy.

Thanks for the replies xxx

We go every year at this time and its still busy, loads going on.

sheena 1955
going to altinkum 12th september staying at the tuntas hotel
cant wait hope you had a good holiday,

tony

Hi Tony
I had a fantastic time i was on my own and felt so at ease and safe must admit Lorraine & Paul from the north star made my holiday as they introduced me to their friends and by the time i left i felt as though as one of their gang had quite a few good nights out with them .
Just wished i could afford to live over there but i can dream .

Have a good holiday Tony only wished you could pack me in your suitcase .

Sheena

hi all
family of 5 going to sunset village appartments may 09 any information would be appreciated thanks

we were there this year and its brill spotless and the staff amazing especially with kids the bus stops at the end of the road to take you into town or if you walk its about 10 mins plenty of eating places and a fun fair too beaches spotless anything else just ask me

suzie

Hi, we're off to Altinkum at the beginning of October. I'm making a list of restaurants, bars, places of interest and have already seen a few recommendations on this thread.

Can anyone suggest any decent bars or restaurants for those travelling on a budget? It seems that the closer you are to the beach/harbour/centre the more you pay. We don't mind travelling a little further out if the food/drink is decent and the prices cheaper.

There's 4 of us going for a week, self catering, each of us paying for our own costs. I'm planning on taking about £400-£500 for myself, will this be enough? I'm not a big drinker, would like to do a bit of sight seeing by day, eat out at night, will also probably end up in a bar/club at night. What would be a reasonable price to pay for a meal and a couple of drinks?

Also are there any good shops for picking up bargains? (Clothes/Jewellery/Souveniers).

Finally, I've read on this forum that there's no need to take lira's as everywhere accepts Pounds Sterling. How true is this? Does everyone accept Sterling? Shops/Bar/Restaurants/Taxis'/Supermarkets etc? I was thinking of maybe taking £100 worth of Lira and the rest in Sterling. I'm not sure if we can pay for the Airport Transfer in Pounds.

Sorry to ask so many questions but it's our first time to Turkey and I'm worried we're going to end up skint halfway through the holiday.

Thanks
Josh

Hi Josh, £500 will be plenty and yes, take £100 in Lira to get you started and take the rest in sterling. Money exchange, most shops, including jewellers do this, just look on the boards outside for the best rates or even ask fellow holidaymakers where they are getting the best rate. We only use sterling to pay for stuff from the market or jewellers otherwise we pay in Lira.

Eating out, most restaurants will bring you some form of snack while you are waiting for your main course and so we never order a starter. If you are still hungry you can always have a sweet. Some restaurants do a set three course meal for a reasonable price, if there is something you don't like on one menu, they will change it accordingly at no extra charge to suit you. As a couple, we have a main course and mostly soft drink but occasionally I will have a beer or cider and this comes to a total of £15 for the two of us, when you come to pay, most restaurants will offer you either complimentary fresh fruit or drink on the house to say thank you for your custom. Tipping, I always work on 10% of the bill. You don't mention where you are staying and so I can't really tell you in relation to your hotel as to which restaurants to go to.

Sightseeing, you've got the Temple of Apollo which is at the top of Altinkum/Didim, you get there by Dolmus from Ataturk Boulevard(main road out of Altinkum). You can also go across to the Greek Island of Kos from here, that is well worth a visit.

Shopping, the weekly market is on Saturday with plenty of choice of clothing, as it is the end of the season you will get some really good bargains, always haggle, settle to about 2/3rds of what they are asking or even ask for an extra item of the clothing for a reduced price. If not happy with what they are asking then just walk away and they will chase after you with a better deal, they accept sterling. There is a multi-storey shopping centre in Altinkum, again you are really spoilt for choice. There are also fake watch shops, these are really good value, we swear by them.

Jewellery is very good value, mostly 18ct Gold, it is worth 2 or 3 times more than what you pay when you get it valued in this country. Again, being end of season there will be bargains to be had, again, you haggle over the price, they expect it, it is part of their culture. We used Mermaid and ATA Jewellery. From the turning point at the bottom of Ataturk Boulevard, if you walk to the sea front and turn left you will go over a hump, these jewellers are on the left.

Most important of all, take time to speak to the people, even if they are only trying to get you into their restaurant, a polite no thank you and a shake of the hand and move on, they will have more respect for you than if you ignore them.

Les