As a travel agent one thing we always hear from our customers when we mention Turkey, is that they’ve ‘never really fancied it!’.. And I must admit I had always thought the same. That is until my trip there last year, now i have been completely converted! I loved everything about it, from the welcoming locals, to the traditional food and the magnificent mountains & beautiful, sandy beaches.
I travelled with Anatolian Sky holidays and spent a week visiting all the resorts around the Dalaman area. After a stress-free arrival into Dalaman airport, where we swiftly collected our luggage and visas and enjoyed a relaxing private transfer to our first destination; a small tourist resort, Datca. We started our trip by checking into our first hotel The Perili Bay Resort, set right on the beach front, it was a hotel like nothing I’d ever seen before; an old mansion transformed into a hotel, keeping all the old features from the Ottoman, Seljuk and Renaissance period in – A really lovely experience! We were on All Inclusive and the food was to die for, all traditional Turkish cuisine, allowing me to sampled a whole range of different food that i’d never even heard of before.
Over the next few days we visited more of the popular tourist sites in and around Datca, before moving on to our next destination; Akyaka, a cute-as-a-button village which sits at the tip of the bay of Gokova, 40 minutes’ drive north of Marmaris. It’s got forested mountains at its back door, and a sandy beach at its front. And you’re never far from the restaurant-lined Azmak river that wriggles through its middle. We checked into our next hotel, Yucelen. Here we visited the local market and met the locals, who were all extremely welcoming, along with buying some fresh, local delicacy.
Our next stop was Fethye, the resort i was looking forward to seeing the most! A cosmopolitan atmosphere, a rich history and fabulous restaurants and nightlife, it is a wonderful place to visit with a long and varied history. Here, we stayed in The Ocakkoy, A series of large, beautiful cottages with a traditional feel.
We ended the trip in my most favorite place of all! Kalkan. A resort that I genuinely cannot recommend enough to anybody looking for a lovely, relaxing holiday in a tranquil place with views to die for;Â A lovely old fishing village which is penned into a small space by mountains. Here, we stayed at the Oasis. A small and very modern hotel with service a cut above the rest.
Finally, we ended an unforgettable week with a boat trip to ‘The sunken city.’ we sailed to a series of different bays, where the boat stopped off allowing us all to jump in and cool of from the hot sun. We even managed to see some turtles in the clear, turquoise waters!
I would recommend Turkey to anybody, it has something for all ages.
 Location: Europe & Asia
Capital City:Â Ankara
Area:Â 780,580 square km, 301,382 square miles.
Language(s):Â Turkish
Currency: Lira
You must now apply for Turkish visas before arrival, and will last for a duration of 90 days