Holiday at Ovacik, near Hisaronu - long review

[john G]

Flight & Transfer:
Didn't think we'd get a holiday this year, as we were caught up in the Goldtrail saga, but managed to book TC flights for the same dates and our holidays started as we left for Newcastle airport on the 20th Aug – 2010. The flight took off on time, no entertainment or meals included, but seats were OK and we landed around 3hrs 40/50 mins later at Dalaman airport. Got our cases and walked down the ramp to try and find our private transfer – eventually found them the other side of the main collection area. Transfer to Ovacik was around the hour mark, we all felt safe on the journey and the driver even helped us with our cases down to reception. We travelled as a party of 8 people - me, my Wife and 2 kids (14 & 9) my Brother and Wife and my Mam and Dad. As we were the only party checking in at the Blue Pearl it was straight forward and we were soon in our rooms.

The Blue Pearl - Ovacik:
The Blue Pearl Hotel/Apartments is located in Ovacik, set well back off the main road into Hisaronu which is a short Dolmus ride down to the coastal area of Olu Deniz. The complex of around 25 rooms has a bar area with LCD TV screen, a large pool with slide and jacuzzi, a table tennis table and a pool table which were both well used by everyone. There was also a laptop at reception which could be used for free.

Ovacik and Hisaronu have merged together but it's still a good 15 minute walk along the back roads into the main area at night for our meals and entertainment. The self catering apartments are fantastic, the largest and cleanest we have been in on all our holidays to Turkey. The bedroom, with AC, had 2 beds in and there were also 2 oversized sofa beds in the living room – we ended up on the sofa beds leaving the kids to have the bedroom. There's plenty of wardrobe storage for a family of 4, Kitchen was large enough and there was even a toaster. Safe was in the wardrobe and there was a TV in the living room with a few English channels. The only down side was the balcony which looked out onto the solar panels and the flume for the slide – not the prettiest of views.

The owner, Mine or Mina, and staff went way beyond what was expected and helped to make everyone's holiday perfect. Mehmet stood out and seemed to oversee running the place and did a fantastic job of it. He was always there to switch the slide on or have a game of table tennis or pool with the kids. Fantastic table tennis player but by the end of the holiday I'd dragged him down to my level and actually won a few games. The food at the hotel was outstanding for the price they were charging – between 16 and 19 lira bought a good 3 to 4 courses, sometimes table service, other times open style buffet, but plenty of it and tasty too!

Hisaronu:
Some people love it, some people hate it – I found it great through the day but at night it morphed into something between Marmaris, Magaluf and Blackpool. Each bar blasting out different tunes to attract the punters – maybe I'm just an old fart but I prefer sitting down and having a conversation with company rather than screaming to be heard. It has everything from Go-karts to a massive bungy ball and from a huge creaking shuggy boat to trampolines for the kids – definitely something for everyone but at night – not for me!

Olu Deniz:
I'd class Olu as the same type of resort as Icmeler, it does get lively but at the same time there's chill out places like the beach bars or even drinks on the beach. It seemed more expensive than Hisaronu but if we did go back I'd like to spend more time there.

Meals:
We had a few meals at the Blue Pearl but most nights we either walked up the bank to the Ovacik / Hisaronu road, to find a restaurant, or along the back roads to Hisaronu Centre. All meals were of good quality and there was always something on the menu for our large party. Set menus could be had from between 12 lira to 26 lira. Breakfasts around Ovacik were from 7 lira including tea / coffee and a little more in Hisaronu centre. We had evening meals at Lemon Tree, Friar Tucks, Peppina pizza, Wishing Well, Sunset, Yasaroglu Hotel - the list goes on and we didn't seem to have a bad meal between us. Efes was anywhere between 3 to 5.50 lira for a large, soft drinks between 2.5 and 4 lira, local vodka and coke was approx 7 lira and imported spirits were between 9 and 12 lira.

Beaches:
The Blue Pearl offered a free bus, drop and collect, service to Sugar beach, just around the corner from the Blue Lagoon at Olu Deniz. Sugar beach (kind of sandy) was like swimming in a very hot lake, as it seemed enclosed on all sides apart from the estuary that led into the Blue Lagoon. We didn't go onto the blue lagoon and didn't see it the whole time we were there – I think to get the famous photo's you see in the travel brochures you'd have to be up in a paraglider. The Blue Lagoon is a protected area and there is a charge for entering but the stoney beach at Olu Deniz is free to use and this is where you embark for the many boat trips available.

Trips:
We didn't do the Jeep safari this year, even though we have enjoyed them in the past, but did do the boat trip. £6 bought an all day trip, with lunch, sailing around the many bays and islands with plenty of swim stops. The captain was a strange character and kept us entertained with his impressive diving from the top of the boat and his whale like noises when swimming. There was also a slide that ran the full length of the boat which was great fun. We stopped off at Cold Water Springs and as the title suggests, it was bloody freezing. Laura, my oldest daughter, stayed in for around five minutes and was nearly blue when she came out. The captain then decided to climb the nearest cliff and dive off the top – it must have been 5 – 6 times the height of the boat but he made it look easy and came back to the surface with his trade mark whale noise – strange kettle of fish. We also did a small Water Park which was attached to a large Hotel complex. It wasn't cheap at £12 per person for only 6 slides but they were all good fun - the place was falling apart at the seams with lots of broken beds, umbrellas and cracked tiles – still enjoyed it though! Parents did the Turkish bath, twice, and my Brother and Wife went to Fethiye to sample the fish. You buy the fish at the market for around 7 lira then take it to the many restaurants who will cook it to your liking for 5 lira including salad and bread.

Paragliding – Microlights:
Another trip I fancied was paragliding off the top of Babadag mountain, which is over 6000ft, and then landing on Olu Deniz beach. It cost around £50 – I talked about doing it the first week but unfortunately when I'd built up the courage on the second week I was struck down with a virus or sickness bug and couldn't do it – thats my excuse anyway! Maybe next time. You could also be taken up in a Microlight for around £65 which looked fun.

Karakoy – Ghost Village:
We caught a Dolmus (2.5 Lira) along to the Ghost village – a deserted town built on a hillside in the 17th or 18th century and settled by the Greeks. They were repatriated in the 19th century and this left behind the Ghost town which I think is a heritage site, due to this an entry fee is charged (think its 8 lira per peson). Get off further along the Dolmus route and you can walk up the many paths to certain parts of the village for free – glad we did this as I'd be a little pee'd off paying money to walk through ruins when I've Hadrians wall on my doorstep. Saying that there was some good photo opportunities to be had but better footwear was need to venture further into the village as our “phillipe feellops” were taking a battering. There's a few pancakes cafe's along the road at Karakoy, we stopped at one and had delicious chocolate, honey or mixed flavoured pancake which cost around 4 lira each. Nice setting and well needed after climbing through and exploring the ruins.

Transfer and Journey Home:
All to soon our holiday came to an end and our transfer arrived on time. The owner and staff came out to wave us off and it felt quite sad to be leaving. It was a safe, but quiet, 1 hour journey back to Dalaman passing through Fethiye and the tunnel which cuts the journey time down a little. 3 lots of security had to be negotiated before we got through to departures and they were very strict on liquid in hand luggage. Our plane was delayed 30 minutes but the flight was none eventful, apart from being bloody freezing, and we landed back at Newcastle around 4.30am, taxi's where scarce but we finally got home at around 6.00am

It was nice to try somewhere else, even though I did miss Icmeler, and I'd like to go back to this part of Turkey to see more of the area. Our whole party enjoyed the holiday and it was made even more special by the fantastic service and friends we made at the Blue Pearl Hotel.

Hope you have enjoyed this, way too long review - if its in the wrong forum, due to it not being about Icmeler, please move or delete. Photo's to follow if OK.

Cheers John