My husband, 3 year old and I got back from our two week hol to Club Alize on Monday Night and what can I say it was fabulous! It was even better than I remembered it in May. Two weeks was far better cos there is just so much to do in a week you can nowhere near do everything you want to do.

What makes Turkey so fantastic is the people. They are so lovely. I can't believe how many people recognised us. People I couldn't remember were saying "hey welcome back, you came in May, 2 sex on the beach isn't it!" One shop keeper even remembered my name!

My son got conjuntivitus while we where there so I thought, oh dear say bye to £100 for a doctor and antibiotics but I just thought I'd try the chemist first as different countries have different rules about antibiotics over the counter. I asked the pharmasist his advice and he was so helpful. He took his time to ask us questions and looked in Spencers eyes and said yeah conjuntivitis he needs these drops. I was there loaded with cash thinking it was gunna be loads and he said '2ytl please' WHAT!!! 78p! I just gave him 10ytl and said keep the change for your advise and he still kept trying to give me it back. How do they make a living!! In the end he was so chuffed with his tip, it's lovely. Just to be on the safe side we took it to our friendly shop keeper and he fully translated the leaflet for us just exactly as the chemist had said. The next day it was 100% fine, lots quicker than our antib's at home.

Before we went I was concerned about the bombs but honestly no one mentioned it at all while we where there except for when we asked about it. All the turks said it was all blown out of proportion and I can honestly say it was like old news and I didn't even think about it while we where there. We just took taxis everywhere which were only 10ytl (£3.90) pretty much everywhere you went. Loads of people still got the buses I just didn't fancy it. I was shocked that the bomb went off right outside portabelo which is next door to club alize but after the initial shock it was all forgotten.

I think it was cheaper than in May. Maybe cos it was quite quiet they were fighting for trade, I'm not sure but i don't know how anyone can say turkey is expensive. Large efes was between 2ytl (78p) and 4ytl (£1.56) and that was on a boat in the middle of the sea or beside the pool and when it's brought over to you while you chill out in the sun it's soooo worth it. Most places had it at 3ytl. Full english brekki's could be had for 2ytl!, mostly 5ytl tho, total bargain. All kids meals were 5-6ytl, you could hardly buy a hot dog at home for that much. On an evening the most we spent on a meal out was 85ytl (£33) for the 3 of us including drinks and this was at Taj Mahal which was overlooking the point centre in an open top roof restaurant. My hubby is well into his curry and he says it was the nicest curry he has ever had in his life. We ate their twice as it was so lovely, thanks wilson for the tip!

Most other nights out cost about £30 for all three of us, a meal each and loads of cocktails and my hubby wouldn't have any old meal he always had the huge platters of anatolian kebabs which come on a plate of flames with chips, rice, salad and veg. We were drinking fishbowls and allsorts. I can recommend Jacardian bar/restaurant, great food, buy one get one free cocktails and great fun waiters. Everytime certain songs came on they all started doing dance routines my little boy loved it along with the play area they had. Also picadilly bar, gorgeous food, play area for the kids and very friendly staff. We tried the elvis bar, great staff, the free salad bar was lovely but lets just say the cats were well fed that night!! Beefeaters was nice over looking the sea. We wanted to try the garden restaurant but we never found it, will def look for it next year.

Watch out for the dodgy prices by the marina. They have big boards outside with the prices on and then when you get your bill it goes up by £8! This was a service charge. We really liked our meal and were saying we would go back but that just left a little sting in our throats. We went along the marina a bit for a drink and asked the guy how much it was for cocktails. He said 5ytl so we ordered one each, got the bill and it was 26ytl. We refused to pay it and that was the end of that, we stayed well clear of the marina after that, there are so many places to eat and drink in Marmaris.

Shopping was fantastic. The market was a bit pants. Everyone shouting Jordan at me and the quality of the stuff was pretty poor. I won't go back there next time. I found the little shops near the hotel far better quality and just as cheap. We got my son 3 gorgeous 'lacoste' shirts for £10. They were all folded, pinned and had plastic in the collar just like the real thing, (which I have bought him in the past for £38 each. He grew out of it in 2months!). tshirts you could get 7 for £10 but the better quality ones were either 3 or 4 for £10, total bargain. He is well kitted out with 7 pairs of jeans, shirts, jumpers, a denim jacket and endless amounts of tshirts. Hubby got loads too, really good quality 'diesel' jeans for £20. I got gorgeous leather handbags for £30. You could get cheap ones for like £4 but this is top top quality. We bought so much I had to sit on my cases and was really worried about the weight of them (even after taking out all the bisto and hp sauce we had taken over for friends!).

All two weeks we did everything we wanted to. We went on boat trips (kids castaway cruise from first choice was heaven! £17 each, free kids but they have reps to look after the kids all day so we just got to chill, would have paid double!). We ate out at least twice a day everyday (yep I put on 8lbs in 2wks), drank cocktails every night (and we like a good few), bought Spencer a different flashy thing everynight, he had lilo's, rubber rings, blow up whales, you name it, he got pretty much everything he wanted. We bought loads of clothes, bags, shoes, belts (too many to mention), tipped all the cleaners, bar staff, bellboy, security etc, took taxi's everywhere, hubby had hair cut twice, we didn't want for anything and never once stopped to think 'oh my god, how much money are we spending' and all we spent was £1180. I can't believe how cheap it is. We had such an amazing time. In spain we were so tight with our money because we had to as it was so expensive everywhere and we spent £1000 in a week, that was without any shopping and we only ate out once a day. You get so much for your money in turkey.

Next time I will definately take more english money compared to turkish. You got a better deal when it was english. We got 2.65ytl per pound at m&s before we went, over ther it started at 2.68 when we got there and by the end of the 2wks it was at 2.8. This was at the commercial places too so in the actual banks the rates would have been lots better. But they seem to give you the english price first in most places.

The weather was just perfect, early 30's during the day and warm enough on a night to have a skirt and a strappy top on with no jacket (in May I needed a jacket on a night) but it wasn't too hot that we couldn't sleep. We are definatley doing back next year in September (May aswell if I'm not pregnant by then!). I am well and truely hooked on turkey and a few years ago I thought 'Turkey, no way'. I can't believe I wasted time going anywhere else!

While we were there we checked out a few hotels and none really came up to the standard of club alize. Lots look nice from the outside but the pools are tiny. Club alize's pool is just perfect, especially the kids pool, it's really safe for the little ones. The only thing that spoilt it a bit was the staff round the pool, they were a tad too friendly. They told me everyday how beautiful I was and how I was the most gorgeous lady in the hotel and how I had such an amazing figure blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong I like compliments but when it's from about 5 different staff every single day and they all stare at you it gets a tad anoying. My hubby wasn't best chuffed either! We will still go back to the club aliz next year tho cos other than that I can't fault it. Any advise on any other hotels would be good tho from all you professional turkey-goers!

I only got one mozzie bite which is so good for me. I don't know if it was the mosiguard or the garlic tablets I had been taking but whatever it was worked and I'll do the same next year. I did see quite a few people with bites but they usually make a bee line for me. So thanks for the garlic tablet advice.

We waved at the webcam everytime we went past. The people in the shops near it really appreciated it I think. They always had a big smile when we were waving at it.

We are counting the time down until we return next year. What a fantastic holiday. I can't even put it into words on here what a great time we had. Perfect! If I was a millionnaire I would still go to turkey... I'd just give bigger tips!

Thanks to the girl who told me to get cappy fresh orange juice. It was lovely!

Any questions and I'll gladly help out.

Anyone going soon, you lucky things! You will have an amazing time.

Love Nikki xx