Hi celcat dont know if you ever been to Turkey before but i always find self catering is the best option there are one or two restaurants knocking about and you wont be charged a fortune to eat and drink out. In my expirience the best places to go are Side Hisaranu Icmeler and my personnel favourite KUSSADASSI gods on little country.There are always last minute bargains to be had at the travel agents and on line but there will not be huge discounts this year but you should easily find a holiday within your budget, go and have a great time, Turkey is just paradise when it comes to holidays.

The fist bit of advice I would give is not to do a cheap AI. If you get a good price for AI you will probably find the hotel is not up to standrd and the food is not good.

Have a look at SC or B&B, eating out is relatively inexpensive so you will probably be better off. There are lots of resorts, I personally love the resorts round the Bodrum Peninsular, Gumbet is nice in June as it isn't too busy and you can often get some good deals there.

A lot of people recommend Icmeler too but I haven't been there so I can't tell you much about it.

I agree with Kedi that Gumbet is lovely in June (mind you, I think it's lovely there any time). If you're looking for a good, basic, small and friendly hotel, a week at the Serhan would cost you just under £42 each for bed and breakfast. I don't know where you'd be flying from so couldn't price up flights but it may be worth considering. I can highly recommend this hotel - we always used to stay there until we bought our own house in Gumbet and we still go there to see the staff who have become friends. It's in a great location in Gumbet, close enough to everything but still quiet.

If you're really on a budget, you could go half board for just over £70 each for the week.

Hope you get what you're looking for. We fly out to Gumbet on 6 June as well and can't wait!!

I would agree with Kedi on the comments about cheap AI. We have heard some horror stories. If you go self catering, you can live reasonably cheaply, by having lunch on your balcony, and maybe sometimes cooking pasta or similar for evening meal, and just go out for a few drinks. You can buy lovely vegetables and salad at markets extremely cheaply. You also can save by having your drinks by the pool from your fridge (as long as its permitted). Eating out is also not particularly expensive, so with a combination of having some meals in and some out, its possible to have a good holiday on a budget.

celcat have you tried pricing a diy that might work out cheaper.

everyone has their favourite resorts and having been to most resorts in turkey i prefer the ones around dalaman , so olu deniz , akyaka and icmeler i would recommend.

olu deniz is very scenic and has a gorgeous blue lagoon, lovely resort

icmeler is a bit more lively and has a wider range of bars, shops etc, not as scenic but still very nice

akyaka is a traditional turkish resort, extremely scenic and has a beautiful sandy beach, my favourite

turunc is also very nice, beach not so nice, but a small cute resort

think it really depends what sort of thing you are looking for, have a good read up on the resorts before booking as they do vary massively, from traditional to very brash

as for all incs , again read up on them, ive been to some 3* that have been better than 5* , that was mainly the food side of things. i do both types of hols and theres + & - to both types , just needs lots of research, but i think all incs are better suited for families

Many thanks for everyones help

I'm now beginning the search for SC or BB, I WILL find a holiday!! Having never been to Turkey before it's great to have everyones help.

Jakki..
We can fly from either Gatwick or Stanstead.

xx

HI Jakki,

I cannot comment on some of the places that have been mentioned as our first trip to Turkey was to Olu Deniz, our second trip back to the same place it was just so lovely. So, its certainly a place I would recommend, we stayed at the Karbel who do B and B as well as half board if you wish it, but there are some wonderful places to eat out in Olu, its beautiful and scenic, there are lots of trips you can go on, and if you want an evening or two in a livelier resort you have Hisaronu up the hill (a lot of people stay there and come down to Olu, depends whether you want to be close to the beach) and you can also access Fethiye and Calis too. The area is lovely, lots of lovely restaurants, bars, but you can always hop up the mountain for a spot of paragliding

We are looking at going to a different part of Turkey this year, but a part of me feels really drawn to Olu, as a single mum travelling with my son, I like to feel comfortable and relaxed and that is certainly something in Olu that was very much felt!

Definitely worth a look

Hi Celcat, looking at flights to Bodrum from Gatwick, you can fly out on 6 June for £190 each. Or you can fly from Stansted on Monday 8 June for £193. Add this to the prices I quoted for the Serhan and the hol doesn't look too bad. You would have to get a transfer from Bodrum airport but it's only 35 minutes away so it's not an exorbitant cost. Using Proper Car you could have a private taxi transfer for £32 each way. So the cost for each adult would be £264 if you stayed B&B at the Serhan. There could be cheaper options for hotels in Gumbet but I can really recommend the Serhan.

Alternatively you could look at a package holiday with for example Thomson holidays. They can do you a week at the Jasmin Beach for £252 each.

There are hols about in your price range so good luck with your search - and do let us know what you decide.

Jakki

Now looking at Pasa Beach hotel, Marmaris. Can get it for £390 AI including everything (transfers, luggage, insurance etc etc) ..... as my mate says ' At least we know we'll be eating!'.

No reviews on here about it but positive ones elsewhere.... but I'm still looking

Unfortunately our dates are pretty rigid due to working for the lovely NHS and both in different trusts

id still go downd the sc bb root as you can eat any where marmaris has hundreds of places to eat i havent seen any good reviews for all inc hotels in marmaris exept the 5 * ones.

Celcat,I have just come back from the hotel Parkim Ayaz in Gumbet.
It was fabulous and we booked it through Portland and our friends booked it on line with Thomas Cook.
The food is great and there are plenty bars and restaurants serving lunch at reasonable prices.