Not many 'good' day trips available, but trips we did,we used local tours as the ones the reps showed us were the same, but treble the price.Do a deal with one of the taxi drivers,and its cheaper still.Markets in Side and Manavgat were great.Repro everything u could imagine.Travel with a empty suitcase and buy your clothing there to bring home.Usual bars,eateries, jewellery shops.Not as much hassle with shopkeepers ,compared to Egypt.Haggle with prices.They say one price, half it and start from there.Not many British tourists.Germans,Russians and Dutch.Euros and Turkish lire more used than English pounds.

Resort is fine but make sure you pick a good hotel.

The resort is nearly 2 hours walk or 20 min car journey from side. New hotels and shops being built at present. A few bars 5 min walk away and some nice shops but not many. Not much to do and see at this resort, better in side. The beach was excellent, nice and clean with lovely sandy beach.

We have visited Side before, this hotel was about 10 minutes on the dolmus and 1.5TL each way,and 5 or 6 Euro by taxi both from outside the front gate, the dolmus ran every 10 min and dropped you at a bus station on the edge of the pedestrianised area where you can catch a little land train or walk through the archeological sites into the shopping streets of Side which is really quaint.I went into Side about 5pm when it was quiet and the shopkeepers seemed to be having a breather before the night time trade so I didn't get hasseled but if you enter into conversation or go into a shop they dont like to let you go without buying.

Side is a town dominated by jewellery shops! You will be approached by numerous shop-keepers to view their stock. There are many clothes/shoes/leather stores all selling virtually the same items. There is clear evidence of a Roman past with a number of interesting sites to visit (Ampitheatre (10 Lira), Temple and museum (5 Lira)).

Manvagat is predominately for shopping! We found the boat ride to the 'famous' waterfall extremely disappointing, the journey was along the river passing some unsightly views, then a 5 minute bus ride to falls themselves (1 Lira).

Our highlights were to Selge - a small village some 50 kilometres into the Tourus mountains. Accessible by car, the village has a terrific ampitheatre set in a stunning location (5 Lira). It is a bit run-down but well worth a drive up there. The locals were friendly but rely on tourists to buy trinkets from them. When we visited, we were the only tourists to arrive that day.

Perges, just outside Antalya, is well worth a visit (10 Lira). Allow a couple of hours at least and arrive late afternoon (it closes at 7.30pm). Please take some food/water for the friendly and dusty dogs!!

We were lucky to attend a classical concert at the Aspendos Ampitheatre - this is a site worth visiting (10 Lira)

Also near Antalya are the Duden Waterfalls - cheap to enter (2 Lira) and much better than Manavgat.

Antalya is a bustling, sprawling city. Avoid driving into the city if you can. Most resorts have organised trips to the Old Town for around 5-10 Euros (Although the Turkish Lira is local currency, Euros are widely accepted and to a lesser extent, Sterling).

We were not too impressed with Alanya, now a major resort with many hotels and little historical interest.

There has been and continues to be a major development of the area and new hotels are clearly evident, particularly on the outskirts of Side. Where we stayed (Cholakli) the beaces were clean, golden and safe for children. Little entertainment was evident as large hotels had clearly identified areas where their guests spent time sunbathing and utilising the All Inclusive!!

Around Cholakli there are shops, generally selling similar stock. There are a few restaurants/bars. If you hope to watch Sky Sports, then you will be disappointed - the nearest place we found was one bar in Side. English television is very limited. As most hotels in the area of Cholakli provide All Inclusive, little exists by way of decent food away from the hotels.

This is an area of many hotels and as such competition is high - you should be able to find a an affordable holiday in this pleasant area.

Be aware that temperatures get very high June-Aug. We saw temperatures in the high 30s late May and locals informed us that these rise to 40-45 in summer.

Have fun and enjoy!!

Be very careful not to confuse this resort with the other Can Garden which is actually in Side itself. This one is outside and less centrally located in a village called Colaki which is up and coming, has lots of shops selling the same type of goods, and from the hotel it's a fair walk to the beach if you're not used to the heat. They do, however, provide free transport on an hourly basis throughout the day.

I liked Side - plenty to do. Lots of shops, places to eat and more Roman history than you could shake a stick at. If the locals would just stop assuming that every holiday maker is German we'll get along fine. The predominantly "local" beach on the other side is worth a look and makes a pleasant change from the "tourist" beach. Good harbour with plenty of boat trips and an ideal spot for touring. If you do nothing else in Side go on a jeep safari but be prepared to get covered in muck.

The resorts Sidi & Kumkoy are very good, & if you try to talk a little Turkish you are made more then welcome.

The hotel is between these two resorts so we could walk to any of them.

colakli is just outside of side(said seedaye)easy bus ride dont use reps excursions to markets as the bus is less than £2.50 return and it is easy to find your way.
went on overnight trip to pamukale and to alanya with "Correct Tours" down the road from hotel the whole thing cost us £22 inclusive of halfboard in hotel on overnight trip the reps trips are 4x this.you do have to visit a gold outlet though.

Side is a beautiful old town with 3000 years old ruins. There are plenty of bars and eating places which were a lot cheaper than Olu Deniz(May 2005).

The bars/cafes on the beach were selling soft drinks,Fresh orange juice and even efes for 1euro. The shop keepers were as persistant as ever and were worse than the egyptians!

We just said no thanks and walked on.My husband wore a copy T shirt bought last year and I wore a huge zircona ring and they accepted we didnt want to buy!

Our favourite resturant Soundwaves was closed for refubishment but they have a resturant in their guest house the Beach house.

The Appollo temple is a good place to be at sunset.The whole town is compact with the sea on 3 sides.

I think it the most Turkish resort and would recommend it.