Length of Holiday

[MariaAlice]

I posted a while ago about how far in advance everyone books their holidays, not got booked yet unfortunately due to family illnesses ect. I've been looking and for 10 days it's only around £10 more per person than 7 days. My mother thinks that 10 days is too long for a first holiday ( going with my boyfriend, we are 18 + 19) and that we will get bored. However both flights are at night so we will be pretty tired when we arrive ect and so I think that 10 days might be better. Obviously we will need extra spending money and such as we'd be staying 3 extra days. We are thinking of staying SC so at least if we get short of money we can eat in.

How long does everyone go for, is there enough to do for 10 days? And we've got £300 each set aside for spending money so far, and an extra £75 per person for trips/aircon/safe available.

Thank you in advance.

[blondie]

Hi MariaAlice - personally, I think 10 days is an ideal length of time to visit, especially if, as you say, you will be tired when you arrive and may take a day or so to get over that. There is plenty to do to keep you occupied - and remember that Marmaris is only a very short trip away by dolmus, taxi or water taxi - so that's always an option, as is visiting Turunc for the day, maybe getting the water taxi one way and dolmus the other. There are plenty of organised trips you can do too, so you could have a couple of lazy days by the beach or the pool, then do something a bit more adventurous in between.
Good idea to set some money aside for aircon and a safe, as I would advise getting both.

[MariaAlice]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, we were thinking of doing 2 day trips through ICR, then visiting Marmaris and Turunc, and then days where we will just relax. Hoping to keep to a good budget, as we are both students so are saving very hard to have this holiday!

[oscarnorwich]

10 days would be better than 7,especially if you are arriving late,we arrived early in the morning on our first trip to Turkey and so only really had 5 full days as we were so tired all the first day.We now prefer to do 14 days but we are much older than you and have a bigger budget.I'm sure you will have a great time.

[dksbbs]

Hi MariaAlice

10 days is ideal for a first trip especially as it takes so long to travel to get to Turkey when you include travel time to the airport, checking in two hours before you flight, transfers in Turkey etc.

I think the budget for the trips, aircon, and safe is slightly on the low side, you will be looking at £3-£5 for aircon per day, Safe £15-£20 per week so for 10 days this may take you up to £75 without trips, look at the ICR trip page for prices of those. You don't say when you are going but if in May/June or September/October you may not need air con.

Spending money most people say average £40-£50 per day but you can do it on a lot less if you don't drink much and look out for the meal specials etc, this normally is enough to cover a couple of trips as well.

My daughter and boyfriend went for their first holiday last year (Students both 19), I was pleased they chose Icmeler and they booked through ICR so I knew they would have excellent support in resort if required which they didn't thank god.

Give ICR the chance to put a holiday together for you, it may be cheaper with the price match, my daughter stayed in the Blue Rainbow All Inclusive although they went out for some meals as well plus they drank at a few bars in the evenings, the main thing is they had breakfast and lunch at the hotel when they stayed in plus a few drinks and the occasional evening meal, they also knew if they ran low on funds that they would still be sorted from a food and drink point of view if required..

The Blue Rainbow is coming in at £22 pp per night in June this year but with a price match may be lower.

Drop an email to JT or give him a call on the main website number.

Finally make sure you have insurance as soon as you book, also make sure it covers the activities you want, We are returning to Icmeler as a family this year and my daughter wants to do the horse riding again but the first insurance policy I looked at did not cover this so I chose another, also last year when she went horse riding although covered on the insurance she did not wear a helmet although they were available, if she had fallen off and injured herself she would have invalidated her insurance by not wearing one so just think and check the fine print as well.

You will have a fantastic time, enjoy, relax and write a review when you get back.

Dave

[oscarnorwich]

Some really good advice from Dave.
My son and his girlfriend have just returned from Lanzarote,their first holiday without parents,they are both 19,they went AI which gave them the security of knowing that if they ran out of spending money all their food and drink would be covered.
Aircon is usually covered if you are AI so that takes the cost down a bit.
I would also suggest booking through ICR if possible as you will have excellent support available should you need it.My son was lucky as I knew somebody in Lanzarote who was prepared to help them should the need arise,it also gave me peace of mind.

[MariaAlice]

Thank you everyone for your advise. The 75 pound for aircon/safe/trips is 75 each, so £150 in total. Hopefully that shall be okay. And yes, I'm currently having the whole AI/SC debate at the moment with myself. I don't drink really, and only have water/apple juice ect with meals. The boyfriend drinks beer usually, and the odd gin and tonic (will buy a bottle at duty free for balcony ect if SC). Will have to weigh it all up.

EDIT: Thinking of going on the 20th of June-ish. As my university exam results come in on the 20th in the morning and so I want to get the results before going.

[dksbbs]

The 75 pound for aircon/safe/trips is 75 each, so £150 in total. Hopefully that shall be okay. And yes, .

Sorry I misread that part on your original post, that will be plenty.

End of June will be getting hot so Aircon will most probably be needed.

Still give ICR the chance to quote, you may be surprised.


Dave

[Silverfox BC]

I know we are older (no comment JT) but we go for three weeks and find there is plenty to do if you want, or it can be so nice just to relax and chill out. Remember that at most SC places you can either hire, or buy your own,
fan which works out much cheaper than air con. Always an alternative.

[sunseeker2011]

Last year my wife, 15 year old daughter and I went for 10 days (end July / beginning Aug) and there was plenty to do.

We are going back to same place (Grand Aquarium) for 14 days his year from 29th July (something I have never done - gone back to same place but we absolutely loved it - best holiday ever). This was also self catering.

We spent around £1,000 for 3 of us but we did drink a lot and I also bought 400 cigs (I don't smoke anymore so that will save me lol) and also booked a Turkish bath that was £35 each - yes expensive but no 'hidden' extras and just the 3 of us so was like a private treatment - better than we had last year - felt like cattle lol.

So I reckon your £300/£375 each should be fine so long as you budget daily (£30 each) and don't go 'crazy'

Like Dave says, get in touch with JT - he'll probably get you a better deal.

Don't mean to sound smug but this year I'll have around £3,000 spending money (doubt I will spend it all) - this is only because I run a mobile disco business on top of my IT day job and have had a pretty good year last year (and most of this year is fully booked)

Anyway, I'm sure you'll have a great time - enjoy...

[JT]

Just a point

If that Turkish bath was in the Grand Aquarium or the "posh" Pasha hotel, then please don't pay that again as I am certain that we charge £15 per person for it

[mammygazzo]

my son and his fiance went for a week last year and spent £600 between them for the full week, they went s/c and they do drink and like to party, so you should be fine, me n my hubbie usually spend £50 a day between us for everything and we never go short of anything we want

[MariaAlice]

Thanks everyone for the advice. May be able to save up abit more than 300-375 depending on how well I do with my student loan and wowza 3000! I'm sure you will have a very lovely holiday with that! Good to know that we will manage on our budget. I spoke to a girl who went to marmaris last year and when I asked her about prices ect she said it was quite expensive to eat out ect, got me abit worried.

Will make sure I get a price of ICR as well, loads of accommodation choices on offer isn't there? I keep looking at everywhere!

[dksbbs]

. I spoke to a girl who went to marmaris last year and when I asked her about prices ect she said it was quite expensive to eat out ect, got me abit worried.

I have found Marmaris is more expensive than Icmeler especially if you go to the Harbour/Marina area and bar street.

Dave

[sunseeker2011]

Thanks everyone for the advice. May be able to save up abit more than 300-375 depending on how well I do with my student loan and wowza 3000! I'm sure you will have a very lovely holiday with that! Good to know that we will manage on our budget. I spoke to a girl who went to marmaris last year and when I asked her about prices ect she said it was quite expensive to eat out ect, got me abit worried.

Well like I said, I only spent £1,000 between 3 of us last year, the spending money amount doesn't make the holiday any better, it's just one less thing to worry about while on holiday - personally I think I would struggle to spend £3,000 in 2 weeks on 3 of us...

It's certainly not expensive although it is dependent on things like exchange rate and where/what you eat. The most we paid for a 3 course meal (with drinks) was around £40 for 3 of us. Most meals were in the region of £5-£8 for the main course so even on a small budget, you shouldn't go hungry (also the portions are generally huge so if you're not big eaters you could always share).

[sunseeker2011]

Just a point

If that Turkish bath was in the Grand Aquarium or the "posh" Pasha hotel, then please don't pay that again as I am certain that we charge £15 per person for it

Yes it was at the Grand Aquarium, I know they are cheaper elsewhere but we had one in 2011 and there was loads of us and it just seemed like we were cattle, then there was all the 'hidden' extras (oil, massage, aromatherapy etc...)

At least we got all that at the GA included in the price.

[MariaAlice]

(also the portions are generally huge so if you're not big eaters you could always share).

Haha, chance would be a fine thing. My boyfriend eats tons, at least he will be happy with huge portion sizes! And i'm not exactly a small eater either, mind you, you never know with the heat and all that.

[JT]

Sunseeker

The expensive one we sell at £15 per person is AT the Grand Aquarium and is the one you paid £35 per person for

[sunseeker2011]

Sunseeker

The expensive one we sell at £15 per person is AT the Grand Aquarium and is the one you paid £35 per person for

Really? I'm confused lol - is it the same guy (Aydin Sari) that sorts it out? If so, how can he do the same Turkish Bath for £20 less???

[JT]

We are an agent and get agency rates

If you walk in any Turkish bath then you will pay a lot more than you would if you book from us

Also the question is why would you pay £20 more for a Turkish bath

I think Elaine may spot this post soon and pop in to give you more information

Did you know that when you are relaxing on a winter holiday in Egypt around a hotel pool, the staff pester you to death for the first few days to get a Turkish bath (in Egypt) and they cost is normally 60 euro for the basic one