Why did you choose Icmeler?

[mirkagirl]

I've read a lot on the forum about why people keep coming back to Icmeler year after year.
But how did it start, how did you come to choose Icmeler the first time?

For me it was an article in a Finnish travellers magazine in March 2003. They were writing about Icmeler and it sounded very peaceful and lovely. But as I had always said I would never go to Turkey, I did not think anymore about it. We went to Creete in the autumn and when we returned neither of us felt like going to Greece again next year. Suddenly I remembered the article. Did not know anyone who had been to Icmeler, but after reading about it in our traveler reps website, they had just taken Icmeler into their range again, we decided to give it a try in September 2004.

I always want to know as much as possible about the place I am travelling to, so I started to search the internet for information about Icmeler. How fortunate I was to almost immediately find Icmeleronline - all I ever wanted to know on one website. Learning so much from what all of you wrote it was almost as we'd been there before when we came there.

Being the kind of persons who used to say we will never travel to the same place twice (too many places to see in the world) we travelled elsewhere for the next three years, in Turkey though as we fell in love with the country from the first moment, with the atmosphere and the friendly people. But last year we all suddenly felt that we need to go back to Icmeler again. And so we did and now we have decided to go back again next year.

[reesy1959]

I was on holiday in Marmaris, but just for a change we decided to go over to Icmeler for a meal one evening. We got off the Dolmus whenever we seen a few bars, and it was opposite The Red Lion, well the atmosphere in there and the lads, especially Cia, Gogo and Michael Jackson just sold the place to us. We stayed there all night and they gave us a lift home to Marmaris that night.

We returned in the daytime a few days later and it just felt so comfortable walking around, stopping for a drink every now and then, and the atmosphere was just so different from the rush in Marmaris. We have never gone anywhere else since then.

Cant wait for next year to return.

[Diane Rigby]

A friend of mine had been going to Turkey for years and I always fancied going but because my husband has a set 2 weeks in July we have to fly on either late Friday or a Saturday/Sunday flight, and i could never find any flights to fit in with this, the long transfer always put me off too. Then one year we noticed Dalaman had a late Friday flight from B'ham so thought we would give it a try. We have been 5 times now and look forward to retruning next year. Di.

[bill atkinson]

hi it was my wifes suggestion after being to most of the greek islands in the early nineties she went with her friend to altinkum ,then the next year to icmeler it only had the main roads tarmac then the rest was dirt tracks around the back streets and down the canal, she told how senic it was ,very flat and the turkish people are very friendly.i retired in 1999 and we have gone twice a year ever since mostly with about ten friends we love it,and made a lot of friends there billatkinson

[congyboy]

we first went to icmeler with friends by accident really in 98,stopping at the pinewood,loved the peace of it all,and well looked after by ibrahim,samra&ziggy.
we returned the following year to the pinewood,where a couple of families had also returned from the previous year.one day we all hired scooters and off we went up the mountain to turunc,the water falls,and else where,while riding we came across a young lad selling honey to fund his school work,we all purchased a jar,and the smile on that lads face was as sweet as his honey.
year after {2000} our son was that bit older and decided we would try marmaris,so he and his friend would have more night life to choose from.
did not take long before me and the wife had got ourselves a scoot again and travelling daily to icmeler.
one day we carried on through icmeler to turunc for the day,and on our way back we stopped for a drink from the supermarket,sat on the pavement kerb across from the jeweller who has a shop in the old village and he recognised us from the previous year being in his shop although we never purchased anything,and he asked us would we like to stay for the evening meal before heading back to marmaris.
i:m sure lots of forum members have stories of icmeler,the lovely turkish people like this,we have returned to icmeler since,and are back again next year,roll on september.

[salford_steve]

My other hald had been before, after going into the travel agents and saying where can I go next week for the price and they said Icmeler.

Anyway after we met, we decided to go away and I was told how nice Icmeler was. But had heard bad things about Turkey in the past, but said I would go. Was very dubious when got off the plane at Dalaman, and the drive to the apartments on the transfer bus and seeing some of little farms and thinking it was exactly what I imagined and wouldn't like about Turkey. Much to my delight when we arrived at our apartments and how nice they were, and how modern yet quaint the resort of Icmeler is. I fell in love was mortified when the week was over, and just had to book again to go back 2 months later. Just had to return the year after, but had to go for longer.

Steve

[elkie]

Our friends had been to Turkey a few times, staying at Marmaris usually. They told us how much they loved it and my hubby always wanted to go but I didn't fancy it. I always thought it would be dry and dusty and brown How wrong can you be, it's so colourful.
Anyway, after looking through some brochures and deciding I didn't like the look of Marmaris, we chose Icmeler and the Babadan apartments. Back then the brochure said it was off a dirt track and we might need to carry our cases!! That dirt track has changed quite a bit
We fell in love with the place and have been 14 times (so far!!)

[unitedman57]

my sister in law works in a travel agents and got us a deal that was the 1st we went to Icmeler for the next 3 years.But next year we are going to try Alanya. I don`t know what it was but this year there was a change. Places we used to go to before were not as friendly it was a case of get them get them served get them out. I`d hate to think Icmeler would turn into mini Marmaris.But having said all that we will be back in 2010,maybe I`ll bump into Brownie and his family at Manchester airport ( I was the one who was checking the departure board every time you were). I hope I`m wrong at that someone in Icmeler takes notice of what`s said on this forum "PLEASE DON`T CHANGE FOR THE WORSE" . PS. doe`s anyone know if there is a similar forum for Alanya

[JT]

Go to Google and type in Alanya and forum

[*Becki*]

I first went in 2004.
My friend was going with her parents,she asked another friend to go with her but she changed her mind few weeks before so she asked me and i said yes and have been every year since.10 times in the 4 years.
Love the place and still get butterflies when coming from Marmaris on the coach.
Trying somewhere different next year,will be strange being in Turkey but not Icmeler.

[marjorie arnold]

Way back in 1993 some friends of ours came to Icmeler and said how they had enjoyed it and they thought that my husband and I would enjoy it, so we came out in Sept and then we came twice a year until 2007 when my husband became too old and too frail to make the journey,but I still get my little fix by looking at your lovely photo's and reading the forum. Thank you so much all of you.xx

[andrea m]

Well we came across Icmeler by accident, had been to Greece a couple times and thought we should try somewhere else. But we had always had gotten really good deals with Greece, we thought about Spain or the Canaries so we went to the Travel Agents and got a couple priced but they were coming out at about £500 each (we had paid not much more than that for Greece for both of us), although we had come across a Manos brochure and noticed it had 3 weeks for price of 2 and we had looked but thought it was too good to be true although did like the look of Icmeler. So we asked the travel agents to price this for us and it was working out cheaper for this than the others, needless to say we went away had a chat and went back and booked 30mins later and I have to say it was the best holiday I have ever been on. My mum and I both laughed from the minute we arrived till we were leaving. I had been off work ill for a while before this holiday and all my friends said I came back like a different person, so for this Icmeler has great memories for me.

We then went to Gumbet in the October and have to say nowhere near as special or fab as Icmeler. Took us a few years to get back but we always knew we wanted to go back to we did in 2006 and have now been 6 times including our first visit in 2002, and visiting twice next year too

Andrea

[Zeynep1985]

before our first trip to Icmeler, our whole family were dead against going to Turkey on a whole. My aunty & uncle went to Side for a holiday & came back & loved it. We then tried Side for a 2 weeks in the summer holidays back in 1997. We had a good time but it did not feel any different to us than the Greek islands had. My aunty & uncle then went on a cruise that stopped off at Marmaris. They spent most of the day in Icmeler. When they came back from their cruise they said that we should try Icmeler out. we took their advice & my parents booked for 2 weeks in the summer holidays in 1998. Even on the transfer coach we had our doubts because Side had not felt any different to the Greek islands.

We had an amazing 2 weeks in Icmeler that year. So much so that we landed early hours of the morning & later that day when the travel agents were open, we were in booking 2 weeks for the following year...have never looked anywhere else since....

People always say that we should try other places but I am concerned that I will spend the whole time thinking...'this is not icmeler'...if I ever get tot the point where icmeler loses its sparkle, we'll look for a new holiday destination...untill then...Icmeler your stuck with us...

[Marm]

Went to Marmaris 14 year ago caught Dolmus to Icmeler and have been going back ever since. Icmeler chose us

[steve-mcr]

I'm in the enviable position of still having my first visit to Icmeler to look forward to. I'm sure many of you repeat visiters would love to be able re-live that very first experience all over again.

Me and my girlfriend wanted somewhere picturesque with plenty of bars and restaurants but nothing too over the top. Having exhausted lots of resorts on the Greek Islands over the last few years we were looking for a change of scenery. I'd been to Turkey once before about 10 years ago on a lads holiday and hadn't really seen anything other than the beach, the pool and many bars and nightclubs in Gumbet. I had as little idea of what Turkey was like as my girlfriend did who had never been.

We did a bit of research and Icmeler seemed to tick all the boxes other than having a nice sandy beach. The fact that it had a livelier neighbouring resort was an added bonus. We thought that with the pound being so poor against the euro, now was the ideal time to give Turkey a try, so we found reasonably cheap flights, a very good deal on accomodation and bit the bullet. I've since found this site and it has left me in no doubt that we've made the right choice!

[madmackem]

like may others our first experience of Icmeler was whilst holidaying in Marmaris, we went to Icmeler for the market and just fell in love with the place, couldn't wait to get home to book our holidays for the following year. One year we were staying in Hisaronu for 3 weeks, but we missed Icmeler that much we got the local transport and travelled for 3 1/2 hours to Icmeler for a long weekend in the middle of our hols. Icmeler is like an infection, once in the blood it's hard to remove it.

Elaine and Peter

[KarenH]

we wnated somewhere new to go.....and had gone to bodrum a couple of years ago and loved it...

so looked at the reviews on holidaytruths.......found apartments we liked the look off, googled them, and found this site...

and just loved the place straight away.....