hi

olu deniz is nice but very geared up towards the brits, you will be able to hire a private villa in hisaronu or ovacik which are inland by a few miles, and then you will have to get dolmus or taxi to the beach, i have a feeling the oyster residence hotel in olu deniz is adult only but very expensive, so it depends if you have a budget. the lagoon area of olu deniz is very scenic,and has better beaches than olu denizs main beach which is shingly.

the other options are traditional turkish resorts, that wont be geared up for the brits, which we prefer now, prices in restaurants are usually cheaper in these resorts,
akyaka is a good example, its so pretty, there are plenty of private villas here to rent, and there wont be many kids there in sept, it has a lovely sandy beach,the weather in sept is usually lovely as its still hot but not scorching hot like it is in july and aug. really depends if you lots of shops or not, akyaka has some but the resort isnt as big as olu deniz, its about 50 mins from the airport, have a look at these links

http://akyaka.com/index.php

http://www.turkuaz-guide.net/gokova.html

http://www.idymahotel.com/en/index.htm

http://www.marmarisinfo.com/sightseeing/cleopatra.phtml

http://www.akyaka.org/index_eng.htm

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/akyaka/

http://www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk/destinations/property/incogn/detail/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akyaka%2C_Mu%C4%9Fla

http://tomsanokaliptus.com/

http://www.gatetoturkey.com/turkey_a_z_tour/01015/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ciaranburns/Aktour.html

I would say Olu Deniz sounds what you are looking for. You can certainly rent villas with pools, I don't knnow the Olu Deniz area so I can't recommend anywhere but take a look at some of these sites for renting villas or apartments:

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/search_easy.asp
http://www.holidaylets.net/search.asp
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/?gclid=CODh3aDolZkCFYM_3god-C6cag

or just google villas in Turkey and you will find various sites.

The Bodrum Peninsular is also lovely, Turgutreis has a nice beach and some lovely bars and restaurants and thre are lots of apaprtments and villas around this area.

September is still hot so you can enjoy your sunbathing. Remember to take lots of sun cream though as it is expensive out there and the sun is very strong.

Thanks to Kedi and Ellie - you have given me lots to look at!

youre welcome, we stayed at turgutreis last year for 2 weeks and didnt think much of it, the beach was very stoney and painful to get in and out of the sea and the restaurants are extremely expensive, so if you want a sandy beach and reasonably cheap resort avoid turgutreis, otherwise if youre not bothered about a sandy beach and prices it was ok there, but olu deniz and akyaka are much nicer

Thanks Ellie, I was just looking at Akyaka - are there plenty of restaurants and bars and nicer beaches? Any recommendations to hotels always grateful!

Ellie Meg, it seems a little unfair that every time I recommend somewhere you immediately come on and say it is no good there. Just because you don't like somewhere it doesn't mean someone else wont love it there. It isn't really helpful when people come on and ask for opinions only to have those opinions immediately contradicted. It would be far better if you were to just recommend what you like and then let people decide for themselves.

What you think of as "much nicer" may not be what someone else thinks.

Nicky, I'm sure you will get lots of recommendations for different resorts so all I can suggest is take note of the names and have a read up on the different places before you choose. Wherever you choose I hope you have a lovely holiday

Kedi

kedi you always recommend the same places , and ive been to them,when recommending places i feel its only fair to explain to them about the beaches and prices which you never do. i did not say for her not to go to turgutreis, nor did i say i didnt like it i said it was ok ,but i choose to give her more information about the place, i have travelled to most places in turkey over 27 years, you have only been to a few , i have actually been to all these resorts, and you say you recommend olu deniz but havent been there, what an odd thing to say . perhaps if you knew the full extent of what happened to my daughter in turgutreis , you might understand why i wouldnt highly rate the resort and would be extremely shocked at what happened to her,anyway im sick of this pettiness from you, im here to help nicky

akyaka does have enough bars and restaurants to go to a different 1 every night, a few members have mentioned going to the yucelen hotel although i havent been there but its in a good location, right on the beach. akyaka is very scenic, it has boat trips, people were driving off the rocks last year, so my friend and her kids had to join in , there isnt so many shops like there is in olu deniz, olu deniz is lovely but more commercialised so really depends whether you want a traditional resort or a more commercialised one, both places are lovely for different reasons. akyaka has a lovely sandy beach and no deep shelves into the sea so you have to go out quite a way before it gets deep. olu deniz has more shops and has hisaronu 5 mins up the steep hill by dolmus with more bars, shops, restaurants etc, the lagoon in olu deniz is stunning. good luck

Ellie, thank you so much for your recommendations, I will check them out. I appreciate your honesty.
Kedi, thank you for your response too. Lots for me to think about!

Ellie Meg, actually I have been to Olu Deniz but not for a long while, I do know what it is like there though. I just said it sounded like what she was looking for, I didn't say I recommend it.

As I have said before I can only really recommend places I have stayed in and I have spent a lot of time in the Bodrum Peninsular, ok you may have been to more resorts but I spent 3 years living there so I got to know some of the places quite well. You said to her "avoid Turgutreis", that sounds very much like saying don't go there to me. I am sorry your daughter had a bad time there, you obviously have good reason to not like it then and that is understandable.

I just get upset when everytime I recommend somewhere you jump straight in and say it is no good. You always recommend the same place too and so do a lot of other people who like to recommend their favourite resorts. How am I being petty? I am here to help people too but your contradicting everything I say itsn't helpful and it isn't nice.

You say Akyaka is nice but maybe others wouldn't like it, I can't comment as I haven't been there, although it does sound very nice and maybe I will visit sometime. All we can do is offer our own recommendations and all I would like to be able to do is recommend places I like and I think others may like too without being contradicted on everythig I say by what is actually just your opinion. Please can we both just stick to our recommendations and let others do the same, you can say how nice the beach is or that it is very cheap to eat in Akyaka without running down another area, you don't seem to criticise other parts of Turkey or other peoples recommendations, just mine, and that is what I find unfair.

Nicky, I apologise for hijacking your post like this. It is something that has been going on for some time now and I find upsetting but I'm really sorry we are arguing on your post

Kedi - thank you for this, nothing like airing your views! Don't worry at least I get different opinion!

kedi please read my post carefully

the beach was very stoney and painful to get in and out of the sea and the restaurants are extremely expensive, so if you want a sandy beach and reasonably cheap resort avoid turgutreis, otherwise if youre not bothered about a sandy beach and prices it was ok

i did not say avoid turgutreis only if you want a sandy beach and cheap resort

Ellie - I was just reading up on the forum for Turkey and I note you recommend Akyaka and unless I read it wrong you actually have an apartment there - always a bonus knowing someone actually knows the area when they have a property there! Can you give any recommendations on hotels, restaurants, bars. How far is the nearest beach/bars etc, any information you can give would be grateful appreciated! I know you have probably already done this for other people but your insight to the area is really helpful. I think we will probably now go end August for 2 weeks - is this a good time to go, and please tell me it is lovely and hot!!! Is there diving and snorkling as my boyfriend loves it! Apologies if you are answering all the same questions! Nicky

A good idea might be to look through our resort reports. These are written by holidaymakers who will also be giving their own opinion of the various resorts:-

Hiya

have you thought about a Guyllet cruise - we've just booked one for october and it sounds fantastic. they're just small sailboats with 6 or 7 cabins - you get all your meals included, and just sail around the cost stopping here and there - great for lying on the deck sun bathing, and they also have canoes and snorkling equipment on board....

kev

Thanks Kev - but I don't do boats!

theres no diving schools there as far as i know, my hubby is a qualified scuba diver and he quite often snorkels around the bay, some people scuba dive in the river . i cant really answer the question as to the nearest beach, it depends on where you stay, if for example you stay in the yucelen or magician hotel they are virtually on the beach, the kordon is 5 mins walk from the beach, ive put some links on of the accommodations sites too, if you see something you like ill try and tell you where abouts it is if i know it, h4u, tc and anatolian sky do packages , but its probably better and cheaper to do a diy, with flights to dalaman, aug is scorching hot, although they can be a very gentle and welcoming breeze in akyaka sometimes, we were there 20th aug to 4th sept and the first week was extremely hot, thankfully the 2nd week was slightly cooler.

there is a huge outdoor cinema that has british films not been there yet

there are boat and river trips.

canoe hire up the river and this kite surfing that looked amazing but scary lol

lots of restaurants along the riverside,some with tables on the water side and some in the water. restaurants along the beach too and in the bottom and top of the town. bottom end has the beach, top end mainly shops, some more restuarants and hotels but quite a hike uphill, so we stay down the botton mainly

Hi Ellie - just looked at the Ottoman Residence - any ideas on this one? Unless I am missing something I dont see any links? Sorry, I feel you may get fed up with all my questions! Nicky

nicky

im not feeling well today got a dam chest infection grr so bare with me, have a look at these links , i dont know the ottoman residence but i have a feeling its on the riverside, if this is right then it will probably be between 5-10 mins walk to the beach depending which end of the riverside its located at

http://akyaka.com/index.php

http://www.turkuaz-guide.net/gokova.html

http://www.idymahotel.com/en/index.htm

http://www.marmarisinfo.com/sightseeing/cleopatra.phtml

http://www.akyaka.org/index_eng.htm

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/akyaka/

http://www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk/desti ... gn/detail/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akyaka%2C_Mu%C4%9Fla

http://tomsanokaliptus.com/

http://www.gatetoturkey.com/turkey_a_z_tour/01015/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepage ... ktour.html

ive just had a look and the ottoman residence seems to have got good reviews

Hi Ellie - thank you, I am just getting over a cold so don't worri! Just looked at the Yuvelen Hotel which looks good. I'm really warming to Akyaka now, I did think about Olu Dinez but I'm liking Akyaka more and more as it doesnt seem to be so commercialised! Can you also advise on prices for eating out and alcoholic drinks? Thanx Nicky