hi roy welcome to HT , i think you need to give us more information on what sorts of things are important to you on holiday, ie good beaches, quiet or lively resort etc, as there are lots of different types of resorts in turkey from very lively to quiet typical turkish resorts, we have a 9yr old daughter too and we prefer the quiet pretty places like akyaka, but everyone likes different things so this doesnt suit everyone , but to get the ideal resort for your needs can you give us more info thanks
karen

hi. we like a resort to have something going on if you want it.by that i mean not somewhere too quiet or small. we deffo don't want to be somewhere to built up. a nice beach is a bonus too! from what i've seen so far altinkum, olu deniz & fethiye look great. if it's any help we spent the past two years in stalis,crete & found it a good size with enough going on.ta.

ment to add icemeler to the list of places we find appealing.

Hi Roy
You will no doubt get a good lot of recomendations for differant parts of Turkey,and as you can probably see on here people have their favourites.Mine being Icmeler, Ill not bang on about it as we love it, but might I suggest you have a look on icmeleronline forum for plenty of input re the resort.
As I say others will recomend differant resorts,in regard to board to me there are two aspects to look at, one is the all inclusive deal, another being self catering/bb giving you the option of dining out this to me is the way becouse of the vaste number of good restraunts/bars etc
In regard to a/inc I think the deal is there when you have a few young ones, but you haveing the one I think you will be ok on b/b and wandering out as and when
As I say others will come in on this and to be honest you are spoilt for choice regardless of resort but I have to say Icmeler suits all ages and tastes its a lovely scenic resort that has plenty of bars and nightlife but also quitens down after midnight and if you want the allnighter Marmaris is only a few k away
If you want to know anything particular about Icmeler, I, along with other Icmelerites, know it very well you just need to ask or indeed Pm us I feel sure none of us out here will mind and if you do decide to come to Turkey You will be meeting some wonderfull people especialy our hosts who treat us very well and who I personaly think the world of
Best Regards
Peli

Hi roy and welcome to HT.

As a first timer to Turkey I would recommend Olu Deniz.It has it all really . Its a medium sized , compact , friendly and beautifully scenic resort with just enough shops, bars and restaurants to keep you busy should you need them. You would also be happy there either laying and relaxing by the pool or beach or if thats not your thing there are plenty of excursions, boat trips and paragliding to keep you happy so you would not be bored either . There is also hisaronu a short hop away should you want to move up a gear on the nightlife.

There is a good choice of quality accomodation but mainly caters for B+B/HB or A/I and not really much in the way of self catering. check out the reviews. we usually stay A/I and I can recommend the Belcekiz beach hotel . If you would prefer B+B or Half board maybe have a look at reviews for the Asena beach hotel or the Karbel.

hope that helps . I'm sure others will have many more suggestions for you.

I have been to Icmeler . Nice family friendly resort but much bigger in size than Olu Deniz and would cater Well for you should you prefer to self cater.

Fethiye is not really a tourist resort as such and more of a largish Residential Turkish town with some nice restaurants , bars etc good market and boat trips from there. Having said that there are a couple of excellent A/Is along the stunning coastline there . Letoonia for one or nice as a trip into for a day or evening whilst staying in Olu.

I second Icmeler! I have been to other resorts in Turkey and love Icmeler.The AI hotels in the Antalya area are probably the best but there is a vast selection of good restaurants in Icmeler. I have just spent my first B&B holiday in Icmeler in October,despite going to Turkey since 1989, and I cant wait until May to go back.
Look on Icmeler on line on the photo gallery and you will see how beautiful it is.There are also photos of the meals that are available.

hi roy welcome to h/t
i would say the fethiye region has everything you are looking for with the resorts of olu deniz hisaronu fethiye and calis
with so much to do
i have a very informative website and a couple of downloads avalible to watch hope this helps

i have to agree with lyn having been going to turkey for over 27 years and up 6 times a year ive been to most resorts, we do like olu deniz the lagoon area is stunning, we stayed at lykia world which is truly amazing especially for kids its 4-5* fb+,have a look at its website quite dear but definitely worth it.

we have stayed in icmeler about 3-4 times it is also nice but you get a bit more hassle and its no where as scenic as the lagoon of olu deniz and the beach isnt as good as olu deniz's lagoon. icmeler has more shops, bars, restaurants etc so i think its more of an individual thing. this year we got bit in the sea by fish which really upset my daughter, so although didnt hurt wasnt very nice so thought i better mention that

we have also stayed in fethiye and thats more of a fishing town with a harbour , no beaches except letoonia where we stayed and that was lovely, wouldnt recommend staying there with a 9 yr old unless at letoonia, again brilliant for kids 5 * all inc and has its own website for you to look at.

good luck with where ever you decide to go, im sure you will love turkey the people are lovely and its beautiful country

wow! never expected such fantastic replies.thankyou all. we've only been away together as a family four times-argassi,2005 tsilivi,2006 & the past two years as i've said to stalis & i think we've been really lucky to have never had any major problems with accomodation etc although we found argassi a little too quiet as it's only a small resort with little if no beach.we went to tsilivi cos my dad's been going for 16 odd years & i know he would'nt shut up if we did'nt go.stalis was a bit of a gamble as we just went off other peoples reviews & we were surprised at how nice it was.anyway- were down to altinkum,olu deniz & icmeler now. can't really find any major problems with other peoples experiences.i think you have to allow for that as otherwise you'll be a bit miffed!!

Hi Roy
It looks like its down to "fine tuning" now, as you can see we all have our individual tastes and are all biased toward our individual choice of resort.This must now become more of a problem to you as more people respond to your original queston of, where, what, how.
Either way what ever you choose I think you will enjoy, because I think you are following in the footsteps of a lot of us regular Turkey folk, who moved over from Greece, and fell in love with Turkey.
As I said before dont hesitate to ask any of us, as we are all part of a wide spread family that have found a piece of heaven,I hope you can share.
As others have said its down to individual taste, and what you as a family want, what suits one dosnt always suit another, Keep Asking !!

VERY BIG PLUS !!!

££££££££

Turkey is Not in the Euro Zone !!

Regards
Peli

roy ive been to altinkum too, that has a wonderful long sandy beach, and a main central area for bars, shops etc, not as scenic as olu deniz or icmeler but it was quite nice, i personally wouldnt return there but thats my choice. have a read up on the resort reviews also look at the photo gallery before you make a decision and most importantly read up on any hotel or apt before you book

we suggest Calis beach for your holiday hotels / food /drink cheaper than most places hotels very cheap and lots to do and see in the local area

Roy, there are SO many lovely places to go to in Turkey it is really hard to choose!! We have been to :

Gumbet - nice enough resort, plenty of S/C, B&B, H/B and a few AI's - IMO more for couples and teenagers. Has an excellent Bar street.

Bodrum - near Gumbet, good market, great harbour, plenty of B&B, S/C and H/B. No real beach here though.

Kusadasi - Many good large AI's just outside the resort, easy enough to get into Kusadasi on the dolmus. Great bazaars, and bars/restaurants. 3 good beaches.

Side - lovely old Roman resort with LOTS of ruins, loads of shops, bars and restaurants. Lovely harbour, great boat trips. Lots of large AI's, lots of German tourists. Most prices in Euro's here.

Fethiye - Stayed at Club Letoonia, excellent AI on a peninsula with it's own beaches. Easy to get into Fethiye on the boat and then onwards to Hisonaru and Olu Deniz by dolmus. Lykia World (H/B plus) is also excellent but quite expensive.

Belek and Lara beach - has some of the very best 5* Ultra All Inclusives hotels in Turkey, all on their own stretch of beach, and excellent kids facilities. Not a lot to do in the surrounding area though and you would need to go in to Antalya to see the sights and for bars, restaurants and markets. Only suitable if you enjoy being hotel bound - not everyones taste!

Loads and loads of other wonderful resorts in Turkey, but wherever you go, I am sure you will fall in love with the Turkish people and that your first visit will not be your last!!

Denny

In my opinion self catering is the best option, that way you are free to try all kinds of places to eat. We like traditional Turkish but you can get all kinds of great food in all the resorts.

I have spent most of my time around Bodrum and Gubet as I lived there for a few years. Tere are lots of resorts aound the Bodrum peninsular, all within an hours transfer from the airport. The busiest and liveliest is Gumbet but there are lots of other smaller resorts such as Bitez, Turgutreis and Yalikavak, which are all very popular with British tourists and also places such as Torba, Ortakent and Gumusluk, which are also popular with Turkish holiday makers.

Bodrum is a great town for sightseeing, shopping and eating out, you can also do lots fo days out from all the resorts and getting around in Turkey is very cheap and easy with the dolmus (minibus) system.

I'm sure you will love Turkey wherever you choose.

Kedi

Another vote for Olu Deniz from me, its very popular with the British and the Turks seem to like us (or maybe it's our money lol). I have stayed at the Club Belcekic Beach and Lykia World, both are excellent and for these type of holidays the food is some of the best you will get.

I personally wouldn't go self-catering as I then seem to spend all my spending money on food and drink, but obvioulsy this is a personal choice. I like to have paid for it up-front and that leaves my spending free for going out and and about, trips, shopping etc

Lykia is probably better for someone with a 9 year old especially if she is the only child going as the facilities are outstanding. The BB is better if you wish to be within walking distance of the little town.

There are loads of nice trips/days out in this area. Personally nice as it is for a visit, I wouldn't stay in Fethyie, its a working town, great for shops or a visit to the fish market, but its not a resort as such. Letonnia does sound nice though. (another one on my ' hotel's to do' list)

booked it packed it etc!!! were going to be staying at ekinci palace apartments,icmeler.going on 21st aug for two weeks.thanks again for your input though folks,very kind.

Well done,You have chose the right resort for a first visit to Turkey
Once you have been you will almost certainly want to return!