Hi all,

well we got back last night, very tired but we had a fabulous time in Turunc . I have done a review for you. It is long but I hope that the information in it will be of use to those of you who are going to Turunc.

If I have missed anyting out or if you want to ask me about anything in the review or if you have any questions about Turunc, just let me know and I will try to help. I took lots of pictures but I haven't uploaded them yet

OK, here is my review and again, I apologise for the length!!!


Our flight from Manchester, FJE860 (FlyJet), left on time on Monday 3rd July at 08:00. The flight was fine despite the worrying reports I had heard about FlyJet. The cabin crew were very friendly and we were pleased to find that they had booked a diabetic meal for my husband and had given us pre-booked seats at no extra charge. This was very impressive seeing as though I only emailed the diabetic meal request to them 3 days before we left due to my husband only being diagnosed so recently.

The flight was fine - the meal was, well, usual airline food - sausage, bacon, scrambled egg. It was OK. No in-flight entertainment due to an "ongoing technical problem". This didn't bother us though. We arrived at Dalaman at around 14:15 (local time). We were pleased to arrive at the new arrivals building and the hear hit us as soon as we got off the plane.

The worst part of our holiday by far was the long wait to get our visas (queued for about 30 minutes) and then we had to join another queue to get through passport control. This took about 1.5 hours!!!! Total chaos and people started to get a bit ratty, us included. It didn't seem very organised. So, after waiting another 45 minutes for our luggage we found our transfer to Turunc which we booked with Icmeler Online. Free bottles of water, a couple of drop-offs in Icmeler and then we arrived at Gozdem II apartments. The journey across the mountain road was very good and the first view of Turunc is one I shall remember for ever - it looked lovely!

Our room at Gozdem II was on the top floor but we had help with our luggage. The apartment was very good - clean, bright and everything you need for self-catering. The view from our balcony was terrific and we had a pool view. We paid for air-conditioning (it was desperately needed!!) and also had a safety deposit box. The location of the apartments was ideal. Only 5 minutes walk to the beach and it was just literally down the road from Habit Bar (for those of you familiar with Turunc). There were plenty of small supermarkets to shop for the basics. The swimming pool was great although you had to get up early to bag a sunbed as there were only about 18 of them. The snack-bar at the apartments was good value - beer, Turkish breakfasts, snacks, water. Our room was cleaned every day and one night when we got back, we found that flowers had been put onto our bed and clean towels and bed sheets had been arranged in a concertina - a lovely touch. Everything in our apartment was fine. The shower was OK but not very powerful although there was always plenty of hot water. The location of the apartments is quiet - no loud music blaring out in the early hours. The only thing you could hear in the morning was the cockerel crowing.

We spent most nights at Habit Bar after eating out. It's great there! Always a good atmosphere and Cihan (the owner), Bulent (waiter) and Mehmet (barman) are brilliant and make you feel so welcome. We got to know them quite well and I was very sad when it was out final night but I got hugs and kisses from them so that's not so bad - lol. The cocktails are great - I had Harvey Wallbangers (10 lira) and local vodka and diet cokes. You can use the internet for free at Habit Bar (as long as you're buying drinks of course). They have 2 PCs with high-speed internet connection.

Eating out was quite exciting at first but I have to admit that after a week we soon tired of rice, salad and chips which is what you seem to get served with almost every dish. We also got a bit fed up with the amount of wasps trying to attack you when you're eating but if they are a problem, you can ask for some insect repellent powder to be lit to keep them away. The places we ate at were:

Musti - for full English breakfast including tea/coffe - 9 lira - very very nice. They also do a mean sausage and egg butty and they are PROPER sausages, not your hot-dog style ones!! Highly recommend Musti which is just next door to Habit Bar on the corner.

Can - English breakfasts were OK, only ate there in the evening once and food was fine. There were many locals at this cafe/restaurant and you could also use their sunbeds on the beach. I would say this place was average.

Korfez - we went here twice and both times the food was delicious and the service was great. Very reasonably priced too. Watch out for the wasps here though as you're surrounded by lots of greenery. As soon as your food appears, whoosh, they try to get at your food but like I said, ask the waiter for some repellent powder to be lit - it is very smokey but much better than trying to eat and swat away wasps at the same time!! Garlic mushrooms for starters here are very yummy!

Cardak - down by the harbour. We also went here twice and the first time we went it was the nicest meal we had had so far on our holiday. Again, problems with wasps. Best to try not to sit near any greenery. I recommend the fried calamari for starters from here.

Yatch Club - disgusting. At the harbour. Not recommended at all. Service and food were awful. The only good thing about this place was the view. Most awful meal I've ever had abroad.

Es - again at the harbour next door to Caradk. It's a long way up the stairs but it's worth it for the view - spectacular! Food great, service great, price great. I recommend both the 3 colour tortellini and the fetuccini di mare - yummy!! If you go here take your camera so that you can take some snaps of the view.

Arcade - on the main street going towards the harbour end. This place is very misleading as when you walk past, there are a couple of tables on the pavement outside and it looks very small, like a little cafe. However, there are lots of tables inside and also a little garden area. Food here was marvellous - mixed grill, garlic mushrooms and they also make great home-made soup. This was one of our favourites.

Sahin - on the main street almost opposite Arcade. Food was OK, service was good but the music got on our nerves after a while - the same piece of music played over and over and over and over"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦

Our favourite places to eat were Es, Cardak and Arcade.

Our favourite place to drink was Habit Bar.

We went on a boat trip which cost £10 each ad included a BBQ lunch (not drinks but these were cheap anyway). It was the 5 bays boat trip by Cemre Boat. Boat left Turunc harbour at about 10.15am and got back around 6pm. Stopped off at various places for a swim including Amos and Pregnant Church. Beware if you go for a swim at Pregnant Church - there were lots of small jellyfish in the water and lots of people got stung including my husband. If we'd known that there were jellyfish we wouldn't have got into the water! We saw dolphins as we passed Dolphin Bay which was a bonus! It was great to watch them jumping out of the water. It was extremely hot on this boat trip so be warned. Also, be prepared to feel ill for about a day or so afterwards - we both felt that we were still swaying afterwards and we couldn't face eating anything that night. The trip itself wasn't rough but the sensation of swaying from side to side does stay with you for a while afterwards. Take plenty of water and suntan lotion and if it gets too hot, try to get a seat downstairs in the shade.

We got a water taxi from Turunc to Marmaris which was 30 lira for both of us for a return journey. I bought myself a gold ring from a jeweller in Marmaris - Jacob Jewellery located on 57.Str. next to the Taslik restaurant. I paid 375 lira and it is 14 carat gold. No stone, a plain band but with 3 different colours of gold on it - it's beautiful. I'll probably get it valued sometime just out of curiosity.

We were glad to get back to Turunc as we had forgotten just how much you get hassled in Marmaris.

The shops in Turunc are plentiful - my husband bought himself a couple of watches - fakes but they look great and a good value for money. There are plenty of shops selling fake t-shirts so don't bother taking too many on holiday with you! Also, you can get Turkish Delight and Turkish Coffee. There are shops selling pottery and hand-painted plates.

So the time came for us to go home. Our journey back to Dalaman was fine and we were pleased that we would be departing from the new airport building. Your baggage is scanned as you arrive at departures before check-in. We queued for check-in which was opened on time. We then went though passport control and I bought 400 West ciggies from the Duty Free for about 25 Euro. They scan your passport at Duty Free when you purchase anything. We had something to eat at the KFC which was expensive - 18.50 lira for 2 pieces of chicken, fries and a drink but we thought what the heck as we wanted to spend the lira we had left. There is nowhere to sit in departure unless you pay to eat somewhere or when you get to your departure gate. We had to sit on the floor for a while. When you go to your gate, your hand luggage is scanned (again) - don't know why as it was scanned when you entered the building! Our flight FJE861 departed from Dalaman on time and again, the flight was fine except that when we were about to land at Manchester, we had to ascend again and circle round as there was another aircraft on the runway. That was exciting!!

Rowdy Angel