can you give us more information, as the resorts in turkey vary so much, ie do you want a nice sandy beach, do you want plenty of bars, shops,restaurants, do you want a quiet turkish resort or a lively 1 geared up for tourists, do you want lovely scenery, within how far from the airport etc, all this will help point you in the right directions, lots of members have their own favourites as we all cant like the same thing. have a read up on resort reviews before making a decision, also check reviews before booking accommodation too

my favourites are akyaka as its so scenic, fab sandy beach, not over high prices as its mainly a turkish resort & about 50 mins from dalaman airport, we are both in our 40's so similar age to you, we also love olu deniz with the fab lagoon, fab scenery,its slightly bigger and has more bars,shops etc than akyaka and then icmeler although the beach isnt quite as nice, but more shops,bars and restaurants here, in this order. good luck if i can help any more let me know, as ive been to most resorts in turkey over the 27 years ive been visiting

Welcome to the forum Dave

I'm glad to see you are thinking of visiting Turkey, I'm sure you wont be disappointed. As ellie-meg says there is a huge variety of resorts to choose from. I have spent most of my time on the Bodrum peninsular, I lived thre for 3 years. There are lots of different resorts all within an hour of Bodrum airport. Bodrum town is lovely, lots of bars, restaurants, shops and historic sites but there isn't much of a beach so a lot of people stay in one of the surrounding resorts and go into Bodrum for a day or evening. Gumbet is lively and attracts lots of younger people in July and August but is quieter during May, thre are loads of bars and restaurants and a good sized beach. Bitez is the next resort, based along the beach with lots of lovley restaurants, apartments and a few bars. Turgutreis is a bit further with lots of bars and restaurants, nice accomodation and a good beach. Yalikavak is set around a small harbour and has a long but narrow beach. There are also some other lovely resorts frequented more by Turkish tourists as not so many British companies go there: Ortakent, Torba, Turkbuku, Gumusluk. Transport is good on the peninsular and you can get around by dolmus - a small minibus that you just stop wherever you see it. All the buses go into Bodrum so you can visit all the resotrs from there very cheaply. It's a great way to get about.

May is a lovely time to visit, the weather is hot but not overbearing and everywhere is just beginning to come to life. I personally think self catering is the best way to go as Turkish food is so good and there are so many good places to eat.

If you want to know anything else please feel free to ask.

Kedi

hi there we were first timers last year and loved it that we are going back,we went to altinkum and loved it i'd never did a sc before and found it quite cheap.

suzie

Thanks for the replies We are not really beach people but do enjoy boat trips, scenery and places of interest, Our main Must is good food and drink and shopping I suppose (sigh)
looking forward to your suggestions
D T S

Its Dalyan for me, 30 mins from airport, good trips, bus and boat.
Very scenic, loverly river running through the middle for those evening walks, plenty of places to stop eat and drink.Surounded by mountains.The rock tombs are beautiful
The beach can be reached by bus or boat, really nice journey either way

Very good dolmus service (mini bus)
Nice hotels right on the river were you can watch the wild life and chill out.

Very friendly people as all Turks are, thats why we all keep going back year after year, i am sure you will be a convert to.

Icmerer is a lovely resort for a 1st visit to Turkey,especially if you want to go SC.
There are lots of lovely restaurants with excellent food at reasonable prices.
It seems it is cheaper than other resorts going by what others were charged last year.
If you look on the Monies thread on the Turkey forum you will see my post of what it cost us last October for food and drinks.
It is a very scenic resort surrounded by pine covered hills and is set on a large bay.There is a coastal path all along the front of the resort,going all the way to Marmaris 8kms away.
Another good thing about Icmeler is there was no hassle what so ever from shop keepers and restaurant and bars,as if they are caught hassling they are closed down for 3 days!

A good holiday for you both might be a few days in Istanbul, (lots of holiday firms have this option) followed by a week or so at a resort. As for which resort ?? - I have been to 10 or more different resorts and each one of them has been excellent, in different ways......

Denny

hi suzie g
hope you have sorted your holidays out for this year ithink i was in altinkum same time as you were last september when it was thundering and lighter yes we enjoyed altinkum but my heart is in marmaris thats were we are going this year in june we made lots of friends in marmaris we keep going back the turkish people are so friendly .
tony