Insurance

Don't forget your insurance, you should get it now as you have paid for your flights and you need to be covered if you can't go due to health, accident, redundancy etc.

Inoculations

Check with your own GP practice what they recommend for Turkey, ours recommends Tetanus, Typhoid, Hep A, Polio. If you have already had inoculations check they are up to date and no boosters are required. A lot of people have said they have never bothered and have been fine but please check with you GP.

Passports

Your passport needs to have at least 6 months left when you leave Turkey.

Visas

These are obtainable at Dalaman airport and need to be obtained prior to going through passport control, the visa desk is well signed, you don't all need to go up but the person who goes up must have all the passports. Visa cost is currently £10 per person, this may be subject to change.

There are reported cases of being ripped off at the visa desk in Dalaman, some scams reported are as follows:-
· Refusal to accept £20 notes for 2 people and giving no change, make sure you have £10 notes to pay with

· People putting a £10 note in each passport and the visa officer saying one passport didn't have one, always hand your passports over let them insert the visas then count out the correct money separately.

Make sure you read the money section later.

Flghts

If you taking any liquids through security check the rules on the airport web site, the plastic bags are no longer free and need to be purchased from vending machines at Manchester and Liverpool, not sure about other airports.

A lot of flights are basic, depending who you are flying with there may be no entertainment and no meals although you can purchase drinks and snacks, we buy bottled water airside at Manchester airport and take sandwiches from home, make sure you have water for the transfer in Turkey.

We also have purchased a portable DVD player for the kids, keeps them happy on the flight.

At Dalaman airport

Dalaman airport now has a brand new terminal; the following is a brief guide to the airport.

Arrivals

The aircraft normally disembark via an air bridge, it is only a small walk to the visa and passport control area, Visa desks are located to the left and right hand side of the passport control.

Once the Visa's are obtained go to passport control where your visa is stamped with an entry date.

Through passport control go downstairs to the baggage claim hall, and wait for your luggage, typically you should be out in about 30 minutes. In the arrival hall there is a duty free shop which you can use, if you want to have cigarettes and you did not purchase on the plane or departure airport get them here, English cigarettes in resort are mostly fake and taste awful. (Last year cigarettes were cheaper on the plane than at Manchester or Dalaman - £28 for 400), spirits we purchased at Manchester Duty Free.

It may be worth while suggesting you use the toilet before you leave, if you ask during your journey the driver will stop but the few places available may charge for using them.

Once all baggage is collected proceed through the exit, you will see all the transfer drivers standing in this area look for a board/A4 card with your name on, the driver will take you to the minibus and bring you to the Moonlight.

Journey time will be approximately 1.5 hours +/- 15 minutes depending on the driver and traffic. If there are seat belts use them, the journey can be bumpy and these guys can drive quite fast.

Departures

24-48 hours before the flight home you must telephone the airline to confirm your flight home, if you don't confirm you will not be guaranteed a seat on the flight home, also as we have no reps it is possible the flight has changed times, make sure you bring your mobile with you.

Nev will arrange for the transfer to collect you about 4 hours before your flight, she will confirm the time with you.

The minibus will drop you outside the door to the airport, when you enter you go immediately through a security check point where you are scanned and all luggage is x-rayed

Once in the airport find your check in desk and check in as normal.

Warning:- this airport is very strict on overweight luggage, you will be charged if over weight, no payment no flight. (I have heard it is £8 per kilo over)

Once through to airside there is no coming back land side, so if you smoke you may wish to leave the building and go back outside, to do this walk past security where you came in, go down the escalator and you will arrive where your driver collected you on arrival, do a U-Turn and go back up the escalator and you will arrive outside departures where there are ash trays, remember once finished you have to go back through security again. There is also a small café in the car park but I don't know the prices.

Once you are ready go through passport control, your visa will be stamped with an exit date and through to departures you go.

There is very little seating air side, there are some shops, eating places etc but the seats are at the gate which opens an hour before your flight. You can find some seats upstairs in the café area but these may all be taken, last year we sat on the floor for an hour.

Once your gate is open (Displayed on screen) go to the gate, here is where you will go through security again and get a seat (be quick there may not be enough seats for everyone), at the gate wait for your boarding call and have a great journey home.

WARNING:- Dalaman is one of the most expensive airports in the world, This year you could take water and liquids with you into the airport and onto the plane, we took these plus sandwiches. From October 1st they adopt the EEC rules on liquids at airports, the first checkpoint at the entrance will be fine as they say you can carry liquids in your suitcase, it depends where the liquid check happens, I presume at the gate security check point unless they install an extra one at passport control.


Moonlight Apartment

The apartments have two telephone numbers, make sure you have these with you when you travel just in case you can't find your transfer (One year ours was fast a sleep in his Minibus as we were delayed)

Best Number 0090 252 455 25 29

Also 0090 252 455 51 98

If asked by immigration where you are staying the address is:-

Gölenye Mah. Turgut Reis Cad. No:12 - İçmeler
Marmaris / MUÄžLA

Email address is moonlightapart@hotmail.com

Upon arrival you will need to leave your passports overnight with the hotel so you can be registered at the police station. You will be given your room key and a safe key, don't loose the safe key, they charge you £50 if its lost. When going out we leave the room key on the reception and just take the safe key with us.

Payment - We always pay Nev as soon as we see her after check in, she is paid in Sterling in notes no larger than £20, see suggestions on using English money below. I normally just put the money in an envelope and write on the front my name , the total price of the holiday, deposit paid and remaining balance.

Rooms are cleaned 6 days a week, the 7th day they normally only empty the bins.

Towels and bedding changed regularly,

There is a hairdryer in the bathroom, we have never used it as electrics and bathrooms should not go together.

The apartments are self catering, this means you have to supply everything even toilet roll, when you arrive there will be one left for you but that's it, these are available at the little supermarkets.

Electrics in the apartments are operated by inserting the key fob into a slot; the only power that stays on at all times is the fridge. The key and fob are welded together so you can't separate them and the doors on the apartments automatically lock, in the past we have left the patio door open and climbed over the balcony so the apartment was cooling while we were sitting at the bar, obviously you can only do this if on the ground floor.

In the apartments there are plates, cutlery etc however we always take a couple of mugs for our morning tea and coffee as the cups in the apartment are only small.

We also take things like tinned ham, corned beef, Tuna etc just in case we want a sandwich in the room, bread, salad stuff, cheese, salami can be purchased at the supermarket, we recommend Tansas (10 mins walk) for the best selection and the lowest prices.

Shower:- The water is solar heated during the day and gets very hot, the showers have two taps but they are not thermostatically controlled so the water can go very hot or cold depending if someone else turns on the water in another apartment, please be careful.

Toilets:- like other hot countries the toilet systems cannot cope with toilet paper, you need to use the bin provided, this is the same everywhere you go in Turkey. Being a Muslim county they tend to wash rather than wipe hence every european style toilet has a tap next to it, if you wish you can use this to give yourself that refreshing squirt.

Water, the tap water is fine for washing cleaning teeth etc but we always use bottled water for drinking, it is available at the bar for purchase in 5 litre containers or you can pay about 25p less and carry it from the supermarket. We go though 5 litres every day and half due to the temperature.

Any food and drink you purchase outside must be consumed in the apartment or on the balcony you are not allowed to take it to the pool area. Buying your own beer and drinking on the balcony is about 40% cheaper but then you miss out on the fun at the bar.

Money

Using British currency

· Scottish Notes are not accepted

· Torn or defaced notes are not accepted

· Maximum size of note normally accepted £20

· Good idea to have some £10 notes as well

A lot of market stalls, travel agents and Jewellery shops quote prices in sterling; we always take some with us to use, for those 10 boxer shorts for a £10 sales etc

Local Currency is Turkish Lira, this years rate was 2.41TL = £1 the best we had a couple of years ago was 2.6TL = £1 currently it is about 2.3TL = £1

I normally take only a little Lira £100 worth, if it hits 2.5 to the £ before we go I will get quite a bit here, the last few years the £ has got weaker as the season progressed, this year is a bit different though with the credit crunch so it's a gamble either way.

Normally changing sterling in Turkey gives you a better rate than changing here unless you have a nationwide ATM card. Make sure you have a backup card though just in case a machine decided to swallow one, this is why I prefer Cash and Traveller Cheques).

Don't change money at the change shops, use either the banks or mini supermarkets (Not Tansas), at supermarkets ask for the rate first, if changing traveller's cheques you will need your passport. We have found a supermarket that gives a good rate, also he registers you so next time you don't need your passport.

ATMS are available in the square, please take normal precautions etc

I would recommend that you do not use cards in restaurants due to the possibility of your card being scammed as they take the card to the bar and out of your site, (Turkey is the highest in the world for card fraud)

How much money you need depends on you, as a guide this year last year we averaged £123 a day for the four of us, Our spends covered all our food, drink, trips etc. we didn't skimp.

An example of prices:-

· Large Beer 3-4TL

· Local Spirit and mixer 6-8TL

· Imported Spirit and mixer 8-10TL

· Wine 30TL per bottle

· Beef Dish from 18-26TL

· Chicken Dish from 14-20TL

· Pasta Dish from 10-14TL

· Pizza from 10TL

· Donna Kebab at lunch 5TL

You can eat cheaply if you look around, some places offer a set menu which will be advertised outside, Vinces this year was any soup, any chicken, beef dish, large beer or soft drink for 19TL (£8)

The real traditional Turkish restaurants can be cheap but some do not to serve alcohol.

If there is more than one family the waiters will happily set up a bill for each family on the table if you wish to do so, saves any hassle splitting the bill later.

When eating out you will frequently see a bill on your table that no way relates to what you have eaten, this is not for you but for the tax man in case he visits.

Dress Code

No really dress code exists unless you go into some of the posh hotels, t-shirts and shorts are fine everywhere we go.

If you wish to visit the mosque then women must cover up, I think men must wear long trousers.

Sunbathing topless is not a problem but they expect you to cover up when walking around.

Tipping

Tipping is obviously an individual choice you need to make but the following is what I use as a guide line for myself.

Remember that a lot of workers depend on tips to survive, this is their only wage; this is why you will get excellent service 99.9% of the time and also why every restaurant will ask you to eat at their establishment.

Meals & drinks out - I normally round the bill up by about 10%, some get slightly less some slightly more depending on what change I have on me. I think only two places have not had a tip from me, this was due to either poor service or the beer not being cold.

Taxi's - No Tip, either agree a price before you get in or make sure the meter is switched on.

Jeep Safari Driver - 20TL for a family of four - might give a little more if the driver has been excellent and entertaining; I think last year I gave 30TL. Only tip when you get back to the apartment.

Boat trip crew - 20TL for a family of four, the tip box follows the person collecting money for the bar tab.

Transfer driver - I normally give 10TL each way, last year arriving I gave £5 as I had no lira.

Maids - £10 per week, given at the end of the holiday or left on the dressing table if I don't see them

Moonlight Bar Staff - normally about 5-10TL when I settle my bill each day, this is normally the change from the notes or any loose change I have in my pocket, I also offer them a drink every now and then, they are allowed soft drinks free from the hotel but they like Red Bull to keep them awake (Working 16 Hr Days), these are 8TL and they would normally have to pay for these. At the end of the holiday a bigger tip depending on what I have left,

As I said above tipping is entirely up to you.

Walking around town.

We feel very safe walking around town at night, in 7 visits we have only seen one occurrence of trouble which was two English groups disagreeing at the end of the night, it was quickly sorted out by the waiters.

You will find that when walking around the resort you will be asked to eat at every restaurant you pass, have your hair cut at every salon, buy jewellery at every shop, it will happen most nights and it is a type of hassling but it's getting better due to new laws that they can't come off their property (Some still do), we have found it becomes less as you get a darker tan as they presume you know your way around the town, I have found that a normal polite no thanks and a smile normally does the trick, never say tomorrow or the day after as they will remember next time you walk past.

If they are persistent we often use the excuse we have arrangements, or we're going to meet friends.

Two years ago after passing the same restaurant for a whole week (And it was one I was planning to try because I heard good reports), the owner came off his property (Now forbidden restaurants risk being closed down for this) and asked me why I didn't eat in his restaurant and why did I walk past every night, my answer was because he kept asking me to eat there and if I had chance to look at the menu with out the pressure I may have chosen his restaurant, he ignored us for the rest of the holiday.

Haggling

This is part of every day life in Turkey, if it doesn't have a price label you can haggle.

Restaurants - if someone asks you to eat in their restaurant you may ask for a free bottle of wine or a free round of drinks, be warned though we have found in some restaurants if you do this they can be a bit slow with the service so you drink and spend more.

Shops - Again if there is no price ask how much and then offer a lower value, do not haggle if you have no intention of buying, only shake hands if a hand is offered to you if you agree the price, this is where the contract is sealed and the point of no return, also haggle in the weekly market and Bazaar.

The following was taken from Holiday Truths and was posted by Rami.

Bartering/haggling in markets
This is expected in most resorts and markets as a general rule- ask the price then offer 1/3 of that price, when the shop owner refuses, offer 40-50% of the original price, gradually increase your price to meet in the middle, if the shop owner won't accept a reasonable offer, walk away - you will often be chased down the road by the trader who will offer you the item at your price or very close to it. If the trader takes the item off you and puts it back on the shelf, you know you have gone below his minimum price, either accept defeat and try a different shop, or increase your price to a mutually agreeable level. You'll know if you are being unreasonable from the person's body language. Generally don't pay more than 60% of the asking price and never accept the first price offered. Remember you can also barter in a lot of shops (not supermarkets though!) and also in restaurants (before you order the meal though, NOT afterwards.) Here you don't generally argue the price, but more the free extras such as free bread or a free bottle of wine.



Trips

There are many trips available, you can either use a tour agent around town or go through Savash at the bar.

Some we would recommend are:-

Weekly Market - The Icmeler weekly market is held on a Wednesday, it's a 10/15 minute walk from the apartments, I recommend that you go either very early in the morning or about 4pm when it is normally quieter and cooler.

Lazy Day Boat Trip - When booking this make sure you get a guarantee of a sun bed each, some boats cram as many people in as possible and you may end up downstairs in the shade. Lunch is included (Drinks Extra), you are normally picked up at the hotel about 9.00am for a 9:45am sailing, stopping at various bays for a swim, most boats have easy steps going into the water off the back of the boat, the water is so clear. You may stop at a small village for an hour as well, normal return time is about 5pm, some boats will bring you back to the apartment for free, some will charge, some won't even offer the service, be prepared to walk back via a few bars of course.(15/20 mins walk).

Drinks on board are operated on a tab system and you pay at the end, last year the tab for Karen, I and the girls was about 80TL (£35) not bad for a full day, trip cost £40 so total day was £75, we could have gone on an all inclusive for about £80-£90.

Warning, the boat trips that aren't described as lazy day can turn out to be more of a party boat with loud music all day and more of a party atmosphere.

Jeep Safari - The best trip of the holiday, this is a great day, pick up at 9.30 return about 5pm, be prepared to be wet and dirty.

For this trip you wear your oldest cloths, we recommend that you bring a black bin bag from home with you to put inside a rucksack, this will keep your towels dry as water goes everywhere. For full enjoyment you will need water guns available locally and plenty of water, we use old 5 Ltr water bottles as refills. Follow the rules of when and where you can use the water guns else you risk getting fined by the police, new rules have come into force.

Wear footwear that is Ok getting wet as you will be jumping out of the Jeeps into streams, also I don't recommend taking a camera but purchasing a DVD at the end of the trip (£20), if you do take a camera I suggest you wrap it in cling film to try and keep it dry, other jeeps will be trying to get you very wet.

As normal lunch is included (drinks extra) and the cost is about £12-£15 each.

Dalayan and Mud Baths

This is an all day trip, leaving at 9am returning about 7.30pm, you sail for about 2.5 hours to Turtle beach where you will have lunch on board the boat (Drinks extra), you then transfer to smaller boats and cruise up the Dalayan river, this is where African Queen was filmed. You travel past the tombs of Canus finally arriving at the mud baths, here you go into the pool and cover yourself with mud, let it dry in the sun and then wash it off under the showers, you may need help to wash it all off. There is also a hot sulphur pool (smells like rotten eggs) for a dip, warning this pool is shallow for only a few feet, it then drops away suddenly to deep water. Once you have finished at the mud baths it's back to turtle beach where you will have a couple of hours to sunbath and swim before sailing back to Icmeler.

Turunc for lunch - Grab a water taxi from the harbour and goto the next village along, last year 15TL return each, spend some time on the beach, walk around the small village, have some lunch, taxi's run every hour and the last one back is at 4.30pm (Check when you go), it takes about 30 minutes each way.

Marmaris Castle & Bazar - Catch the water taxi of Dolmus to Marmaris harbour, walk to the castle (300 Metres), definitely take a camera as it has some good photo opportunities, entrance fee is 2TL, kids go free. On leaving the castle there are signs for the Bazaar.

Water Park - If you like slides and wave pools try the water park, entrance is 25TL each for the whole day, we have discovered that it's best to go about 1.30pm as people who have been there all morning start to leave about 2pm and there are less queues. Maybe go after the castle visit, have lunch on the prom and make a full day of it.

Finally :-

The plugs are standard European style, I always take a UK 4 gang power extension lead with me for charging all the cameras etc, this means I only need one European style adapter then.
Sun creams are very expensive, buy them in the UK and take them with you..
There are mozzis about so you need the protection at night, if you go to the mud baths take some with you.
Temperature, expect day time temps to be in the 30's in June, drink lots of water.

Thanks for all that information its brilliant was wandering if i could pay by credit card once their but as you say its notes, are the transfers arranged by the manager of the moonlight is it their buses or do they use a different compony, also will it be only the moonlight people on the bus, picked these apartments because of the slide for the kids is their much going on usually pick somewhere with football kids clubs etc so hope the kids dont get bored. also manager as emailed he is going to get in touch like you said in november with all the information just hope the 1 bedroom will be ok for 5 of us.

thanks for the map with green arrow, but i am still no wiser

how close to the tansas is it?

i am hoping to love the apartments, and then book them for the following year, taking all the family....

thnakyou once again dksbbs, you help is wonderful..