Very Scenic with a good atmosphere

Some hotel sites are advertising the area as the 'quiet alternative' to Marmaris. I actually want to find whoever started that rumour and wedge earphones so far into their ears they can't be removed, then turn on the loudest, most obscene music I can find.

I'm also not sure about the safety here. Walking around after dark was a little scary. I was constantly thinking I was going to get mugged by some drunkard from one of the clubs or hit by a 100mph bus (that isn't an exaggeration, so many people in the area insane drivers. One of the first things we saw on the trip to the hotel was an overturned, completely wrecked car. The thing is, he hadn't even hit anything - he was just going so stupidly fast he must have flipped.

If you're not into nightlife, noise, or being on edge constantly, don't even bother with Icmeler or Marmaris - go to Gumbet or Bodrum. There's nightlife there if you want it, but I found them both to be a lot quieter, pleasant and safe!

The area itself is pretty to look at. Not so much the town, but when you're on the beach, you can look out to lots of islands, all covered with greenery. No-one seems to play loud music regularly during the day.

One concern a lot of people have about places like Turkey is the hassle. Its normal to the Turkish people and they don't realise they're doing anything wrong, however it is worse in some places than others. As I mentioned above, I've been to Gumbet and Bodrum and the hassle was tolerable. The people here, however, are just plain rude and agressive.
You will constantly be asked if you want to rent sunbeds (you pay to use the beach here - 2.50 lira each for a sunbed/lounger for the day - no space for towels on the sand), even though they can clearly see you're walking down the street. The sunbed vendors also fight over customers. One guy threw a rock at another because a family didn't choose his sunbeds. They're all exactly the same - a sunbed is a sunbed!
They also interrupt you whilst you're on the beach, asking if you want a massage on a table in front of everyone from a topless man with a bottle of oil. I think not. A lot of women seemed to be getting them, and the man seemed to enjoy slapping their bums (clothed) and thighs whilst getting them all oily. Not sure how impressed their husbands/boyfriend were. So inappropriate to see that kind of thing on a beach though, especially as there were families around with small children!

A lot of the workers in the area also seem to have a hard time keeping their opinions to themselves. Apparently I'm an 'alcoholic woman' for ordering one lager and my fiance 'looks like a girl' because he has shoulder length hair. They also tended to laugh at him in the evenings when I pulled out the money to pay for dinner. We tend to split meals etc, but as I'm a woman and usually carry a handbag, its more convenient for me to hang on to it, rather than risk the money falling out of his pocket. The waiters think this is ridiculous and a lot of them did question us out loud. Women don't seem to work, except as cleaners! One waiter even stated that the man is expected to be 'the boss'. Turkey - please wake up, its 2011, not the 50s.

You will get endless amounts of hassle from people asking you to go on their boat trips. I'm sorry to bring the places up once again, but the ones I went on in Bodrum were lovely, peaceful, worth the money, and a good day out.
We bought our boat trip from the stand at the beach entrance closest to the the hotel (that should make sense once you're there!). It was a nightmare. Whilst the English waitress/host person (from Bristol, or so she said) who thought she'd become Turkish, putting on a Turkish accent in all seriousness was hilarious to begin with, after 7 hours of her offering drinks every 20 minutes and talking to everyone on the boat in a patronizing, demeaning manner, I wanted to throw her overboard. Especially when she charged us our 19 lira bill, then when I handed her a 20, she said 'and I can keep the change as a tip' and walked off. I'm not confrontational, but one angry German man wasn't taking it when she tried it on him and demanded it back. Had to respect him for it!
The boats also don't connect very well. We ended up stuck for almost an hour, in the middle of nowhere, not even at a designated stop, because another tour was where our boat had planned on going. Terrible communication!

If you get the chance though, if you try a boat trip, don't be scared when they give you the chance to swim in the sea. Its warm once you're in and an amazing feeling to swim in deep, clear sea surrounded by beautiful cliffs and greenery.

One thing I would REALLY recommend though, would be taking a pedalo out. After all the stress on land, it was lovely to have peace quiet and the sea, at our own pace.

This has happened to me in some countries but not others - the local network will charge you to receive calls on your mobile, so be warned.

Most of the travel companies that offer a bus service will wait until AFTER you get there to tell you that you'll need to phone them 48 hours before they're due to pick you up to go back to the airport. Apparently they like to change their schedules. Don't trust them. Ours told us 2:20 but turned up at 1:10 and we had to rush.

Buy your food before you go to the airport. At the airport, we had a packet of crisps and a coke each. It came to around £9. There was also a McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut... Have you been to a McDonalds in the UK? If not - you can get a meal consisting of 6 chicken nuggets, a medium portion of fries and a regular sized soft drink for £3.99. At this airport however, we noticed that 6 chicken nuggets ALONE cost 16 lira, which currently converts to £6.16!

The changes made this year are a little disappointing. Removal of the bazars have lost some of the character.

Marmaris has a harbour area is worth taking a stroll along - very pretty. There is a good choice of different types of enterainment. There are loads of shops. Icemeler has lots of shops and a very pretty canal area called Little Venice. There is a weekly market in both places and are well worth visit.

It was exceptionally clean around our hotel area but as the season wasn't yet in full swing some of the areas around Marmaris and Icmelar were still being tidied up ready for the season. We didn't really go out for outside entertainment so can't really comment on this except for going to a restaurant in Marmaris marina which was English prices but very good. The beaches were in the main more gritty than sandy but at least you weren't covered in sand, the sea was very calm and nice for swimming but very cold at this time of year. We loved the area we were in though and would to back to this part again.

love icmeler been going for 10 years.

love icmeler been going for 10 years.

icmeler itself is a wonderful place its clean and friendly the entertainment is great and the beach is just fine i would recommend the resort to anyone

Icmeler is as lovely as ever but the changes the new major has made are not for the better in my opinion.
The beach front cafes now have decking platforms on grass and are not so nice as they were.
The resort was quieter this October than usual and I will not visit again so late even though all bars and restaurants were open when we arrived