Nice one, cheers franny, 20hrs to go

have a nice time

hi everyone,

Going to altinkum in august for the first time with 3 friends? Any Do's or Dont's for before i go?

I've just got back from Altinkum and the best rate I got was 2.3ytl
The Esra looked lovely although we stayed at Golden park
Anymore questions just ask !
For a good turkish night go to Tarzans near dolphin square on a saturday night and tell him Ash sent you
Hope you all have a great holiday

Stefk,

How far is it from the Esra to the local bars and restaurants.

Thanks

Gerard

Scottish lass,

you will feel very safe in altinkum. hardly any crime.main street has a police patrol every night. could not get used to leaving our bags on the beach while we swam. the local people are very friendly. we left our stuff on the beach whilst we had a bit of dinner on the front bar. you can order something to eat and have it brought to you onto the beach if you like.
be aware that the airports are really clamping down on luggage weight. we were only 1 kilo over and got charged £5. my daughter and her friend have had to pay £80 between them for their overweight cases so pack carefully, i know what young girls are like for clothes. try and get behind some lads, they hardly pack anything to go away with, then you can share their weight if you pretend to be with them, ha ha.
altinkum has about three or four nightclubs and loads of bars. there are three big supermarkets the size of tescos on the main road leading out of altinkum towards the town of didim. you can get anything there that we have back home. use the local small buses, they are so cheap. you just get up and ask the driver to stop anywhere where you want to be let off. the town of didim is only 25mins walk away from altinkum. the taxis are expensive.the waiters will pester your life out with being young but take it as friendliness. Even i, with my husband alongside was not immune from them. a lot of the waiters are lads with degrees who cannot get work which they have qualified for so they travel to the coast for the summer and work.
if you happen to need any medical attention, just beyond the triton hotel on the main road to didim is a medical centre. they are very good and do not overcharge like some clinics. there are plenty of chemists who will advise you what you need if you have a tummy upset etc. lastly, take a good mozzie roll on. you will need it, and some anti histamine cream or tablets in case you do. you can change your money at a lot of shops, jewellers etc. you are better changing your money on a morning, we noticed how the rate went down by tea time.they like our english money.

Thanks Franny,

Ill have to watch the suitcase then as mines is bulging and really heavy haha. Plus its 4 girls, can u imagine the weight??

Whats the food like?? Ive heard clothes are really cheap which suits me fine fine fine. the weathers lovely just now (according to the BBC website).

We fly on Sunday and get there about 3am there time so its not too bad.

Gerard
The esra is closer to third beach rather tahn the main beach.
Only a short bus ride or taxi (or walk approx 20 mins)
Altough there is a few restaurants nearby but the main area where it all is Dolphin square
Hope you have a good time
Stef

Franny , you mention roll on mozzy and anti histermine tablets where can you get them from as i always seem to get hammered with bites. Can you get them in Altinkum or is there somewhere in UK? Thanks,Tibbs.

Going there for the first time next week (first visit to Turkey) Does anyone know the Elvan Otel??? Apparently it's about 100metres from the beach & 1.4 kms from Altinkum. Any do's & don'ts will be appreciated. What are the best places to eat. Looking for good reasonably priced food. Also what's the best place for evening entertainment. Just my girlfriend & me going Thanks Adi

We found Tarzans Restaurant good value and a great atmosphere
On the main road almost opposite Gima is a place called Alo24 ,alot of Turkish people eat there and its good value.
We loved Altinkum and would recommend it to any one.
The only thing I would say is that 3rd beach is better for snorkelling and awimming etc because its not so busy.
Good Luck all
Stef

Thanks Stefk. We'll look out for those 2. Do you need to tip in the Turkish restaurants? Adi

I can also recommend Alo 24 for Pizza, Pide etc. - much cheaper than the restaurants on the front. On the front, the Summer Garden is the best place, top quality food, good atmosphere and still cheaper than UK! They will also provide a free taxi home, or to the restaurant.

You don't HAVE to tip - I just follow the rule I'd follow anywhere - tip if was good service and if intending to return!

Thanks Ianzafan. What is Pide by the way???? Is Turkish food good ?

Pide is a bit like a pizza wrap with filling, and is really good! We were impressed with the food - better than Spain. Husband is fussy about 'foreign food' but cheerfully ate his way through most of the 'Ottoman' dishes on Summer Garden's menu! The European dishes at Summer Garden were better than most UK places, too - wish we were back there!
There are lots of other places along the front which do the bog standard 'chips with everything', however.....

You are lucky to be only 100m from the beach - we had a 20 minute walk up the main road to our apartments!

Can recommend the '5 islands' boat trip, which lasts a full day - lunch on board (chicken and salad) for £10. It's actually 5 bays which the boat moors near to rather than islands, but is good value. We booked ours with Oracle travel, just up from main beach. The main beach is great - shallow water, sandy and great for swimming as it's like a mill pond! Can get crowded, but is an A1 beach!

Hope this helps!
lanzafan

the pizza from Alo24 is gorgeous. Our hotel barman from Hotel Atac ordered some in the early hours of the morning - it was the best - esp the cheese one and the veggie one!

Hi Lanzofan, Thanks for your reply. It's actually my son that's going next Monday, to be honest it was the best deal I could get for him & his girlfriend. I think they will love it! He is definitely going to do the boat trip, he says. He hasn't got a computer so I thought I'd find a good forum and see what I could find out. The 2 I've found couldn't have been more helpful
Hot Diamond thanks for the tip on AO24. The Pizza sounds good.
Never having been to Turkey I've learnt so much about it from this forum also I found another good forum "Absolutely Altinkum". I'm pretty sure my husband & I (I sound like the Queen!) will go there either in Sept or next May. We couldn't stand the temps. at this time of the year. It looks like it's over a 100F at the moment and 75F at night. It must be unbearable!
I'm undecided whether Altinkum or Kalkum will be best for a couple of "late middle-agers"
Thank you all again for your brilliant replies Best Wishes Zillah
PS Just one other thing do they get many earth tremors there and if you buy property there what advice is there on earthquakes or is it just a risk you take?

Hi Adi,

Yes, 'Absolutely Altinkum is a good forum; mainly people who have bought properties in Altinkum, so they may be the best people to ask about earthquakes and property risks. A lot of Brits are buying in Altinkum at the moment and there is a lot of new build going on. When you can buy a brand new 2 bed apartment for about £22,000, it's a good deal! Many people on that forum let their properties, too - we booked our apartment from someone on there.

I agree about the temperatures at this time of year. This is why we went in June, and it was hot 'enough'! I hope your son has air conditioning where he's staying, otherwise tell him to pack at least one fan!!

As 'late middle agers' I don't think you would be out of place in Altinkum - there may be more people your age than young people - it's certainly not an 18-30 resort! I don't know about Kalkum, as have only been to Altinkum in Turkey. We would go to Turkey again, but if Altinkum would book somewhere nearer the beach!

lanzafan

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