CyprusLiving

You've guessed it already , Cyprus is not in it.

http://uk.travel.yahoo.com/p-promo-3360646

Perhaaps we should have a Top 10 countries of the Safest place to go - bet Cy would get in that...

Cheapest isn't always best though.

(Two weeks, 4 days and counting.....)

''Spain
Currency: Euro (1 GBP = 1.18202 EUR)
Likewise, Spain has been trying to retrieve its good-value-holiday-destination status by reducing costs of products and services, including restaurants and bars, with their prices now at a record three-year low. Plus, while it’s a far cry from its previous performance, the pound is slowly creeping back up against the Euro. Prices vary across the country though – e.g your pocket money will go much further in Benidorm than it will in Marbella.''

Spain is still more expensive than Cyprus although the cost of flights here are more expensive probably because it is twice as far away from the UK...

Understand your logic Jim, but why can one fly to Turkey for half the price of flying to Cyprus?

Macattack wrote:
Understand your logic, but why can one fly to Turkey for half the price of flying to Cyprus?

There could be two reasons - one that more people fly to Turkey (economies of scale??)
and two when flying to Cyprus you cannot go through Turkish airspace so it
is longer and further than it should be.

On a happier note I read bookings to Cyprus this summer are up - think
it mentioned 4%.

Cheers

Steve

No idea why that should be Ian but if you have been watching the program on BBC1 ''Save my holiday'' this last two weeks at 1pm you would not be inclined to fly there, health standards are awful...you can watch the programs on catch up TV.. (BBCi player)

Do you know anyone who has bought a property there?, as I don't..I did once watch the film ''Midnight Express'' it put me off ever going to Turkey.

Yes Jim, we have been to Turkey 3 times, and some of the family have been there 6 times.

The food was excellent in Restaurants. We had apartments, so no issues with poor food.

I too watched Midnight Express, and was reticent about going, but the film was about Istanbul.

The Turquoise Coast is very westernised and beautiful, with very friendly people.

We know someone who bought a property there about 5 years ago, with no problems.

I would certainly go back there, but for some reason I love Cyprus.

Jim wrote:No idea why that should be Ian but if you have been watching the program on BBC1 ''Save my holiday'' this last two weeks at 1pm you would not be inclined to fly there, health standards are awful...you can watch the programs on catch up TV.. (BBCi player)

Do you know anyone who has bought a property there?, as I don't..I did once watch the film ''Midnight Express'' it put me off ever going to Turkey.

Yes Jim ! My brother bought two properties, both new builds about 4 years ago. Sold one to a Turkish family last month and made a profit of around 30% The selling process was completed in less than a day.Buyer and seller provided photographs which were attached to a legal form and signed by both parties. The interpreter asked if the money had changed hands. The deal was completed from viewing the property to the cash transfer of funds in 2 days.!!! Seems to be a very quick and efficient system in Turkey compared to other countries. The main advantage being the handing over of the title deeds on completion of build and at sale. Mossy99

Not really commenting on property in Turkey to be honest but the quality of the place, service, food, safety etc, seeing those programs I would never go there or buy a property, truly appalling hotel standards (so the program said as I have never been) incidentally selling my old house in Peyia it nearly doubled in value and without Title deeds!!, that was then of course but property all over the world has nose dived Cyprus and the UK are not on their own in this respect.

As always I do say people will always want to live in the sun, it will all come back one day.......meanwhile just enjoy this lovely weather on CY.

Steve - SJD wrote:

Macattack wrote:
Understand your logic, but why can one fly to Turkey for half the price of flying to Cyprus?

There could be two reasons - one that more people fly to Turkey (economies of scale??)
and two when flying to Cyprus you cannot go through Turkish airspace so it
is longer and further than it should be.


Steve

It's only Cyprus Airways that can't fly through Turkish airspace hence the extra time to head for Rhodes first. All the others, Thomas Cook, Easyjet etc. all fly through Turkish airspace.

Before coming to live in Cyprus we had 7 years of holidays in Turkey - Dalaman and Kalkan. Could not fault the kindness of the people, the hotels or the food. Our decision to retire to Cyprus was based upon economic and political stability (then!).

That said we don't regret for a moment deciding to retire to Cyprus.

Ian

Off to Istanbul by Easy Jet in a couple of weeks.
£75 (fully inc) each return inc 1 bag return.
B&B in the old town of Sultanahmet £25 (for two).
Return flight from Istanbul to Antalya £44 (for two).
4 nights B&B in Kaleici (old town, knocks the nuts off Paphos) £100
3 nights B&B in Side £28 (twenty-eight)
4 nights All-Inclusive in Side £90.

We were put off Turkey when we lived in Cyprus, but it is is an absolutely awesome country to visit.
Love it!

Take your sick bag though, not my words but that TV program. Dirt cheap seems the key word.

My mum is coming over for a holiday one way flight Edinburgh to Paphos £42.99 and I am going back with her to Luton for £55.55 each these prices iclude booking fee and luggage.

You can't get much cheaper than that for March.

I do think Cyprus and Paphos most of all ( as it relies more on ex pat and tourists) to be a bit more pro active reduce prices give better choice and service.

It's not rocket science!!!

Denise

I did work for UNEP there on several occasions. The hotels were all fully up to Western standards, even in industrial places. My main places of work were Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara. I never once, over perhaps 100 days in the country, had problems with dodgy food and I ate in all kinds of establishment, including off street vendors. None of my colleagues had any problem, either.

In one factory in the industrial outskirts of Ankara where I was working, I started a very persistent nose bleed due to hypertension. I was ambulanced to the local General Hospital where they kept me in overnight on a drip. I can assure you that the cleanliness, attention and service were all very much better than the Nicosia General. It cost me $120 for the overnight stay, meals, medication in a private room.

DM - how are you flying Easyjet to Istanbul? Are you going to the UK first? My long weekend is coming up - April. Return flight Ercan to Istanbul 98.59TL = £43.81 total.
Trisha

Dev well in at least five cases on the program they did have very bad food and all in so called four/five star hotels, Turkey's coast holiday hotels were featured not inland resorts, they also did similar reports on Crete, where they did thier best to find different better standards of hotel so the people on the show so at least they had a few days relief from really bad accommodation and food.

When you have had to save your hard earned cash to have a few weeks in the sun each year it must be heartbreaking to have it ruined by some Greek or Turkish slum hotels as these most certainly were.

This was Fact, I would personally having seen the shows over the last two weeks never go there..

I guess you have never been in these Turkish hotels Dev?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... Episode_3/

travellin'gal wrote:DM - how are you flying Easyjet to Istanbul? Are you going to the UK first? My long weekend is coming up - April. Return flight Ercan to Istanbul 98.59TL = £43.81 total.
Trisha

Already in UK.
Yep, Easyjet to Istanbul.
Then Pegasus down to Antalya.
I'll pm you tomorrow with a few tips about getting from the airport into Istanbul.

Jim wrote:Take your sick bag though, not my words but that TV program. Dirt cheap seems the key word.

Third trip in just over a year Jim.
I had a bit of apprehension before our first trip to Istanbul.
But I was bowled over. Absolutely stunning destination. You can spend weeks there, and only skim the surface. Food was never a problem, nor were the standard of the hotels, even budget ones.
Did an overnight train/sleeper trip to Ankara. Think Orient Express, but at a fraction of the cost.
Ankara is a wonderful, friendly and vibrant city, with lots of open spaces.
And the Cappadocia region is unforgettable, from the moment you see the first 'fairy-chimney' until you leave the area you'll have a smile on your face.
Our next trip in a couple of weeks is again to Istanbul, but only for a couple of days. Then we fly to the wonderful Antalya region.
I know we'll have a great time because I take my advice from people who've been, and keep returning.
The TV programme quoted obviously had its agenda, and met it. But so what? Half the fun of travelling is doing your pre-trip homework. Do it properly and you shouldn't go far wrong.

Yes you may have been but those poor people who holidayed in Turkey will like me never go there either again or in my case for the first time, it certainly put me well off the place, see that link.

Durian Muncher said "half the fun of travelling is doing your pre-trip homework. Do it properly and you shouldn't go far wrong"

A quick check on Trip Advisor shows that the Hotel Club Pineta is rated 267th out of 314 hotels in Marmaris. The hotel that the family were subsequently moved to is rated 76th ! (This is from the BBC Save My Holiday programme that Jim mentioned above). Says it all really.

There is now so much information available on the internet that people should never be surprised at what they find on holiday.

Jim
Marmaris is hardly real Turkey though.
It's got a few nice bits.
It's brash, it's loud, it attracts the 'All-Inclusive on the cheap' brigade.
That's fine by me, I wouldn't go anywhere near the place.

Totally agree with Hudswell's comments.

One man's meat is another man's poison!!

Somerset Steve wrote:A quick check on Trip Advisor shows that the Hotel Club Pineta is rated 267th out of 314 hotels in Marmaris. The hotel that the family were subsequently moved to is rated 76th ! (This is from the BBC Save My Holiday programme that Jim mentioned above). Says it all really.

I like Trip Advisor, but not the Hotel reviews.
Anyone can post a review on any hotel they want to whether they've stayed there or not. I'm sat at home in Hampshire now, and could spend all day having fun writing and posting crap reviews about anywhere in the world!
The reviews on TA are full of malicious tripe or self-promotion. There are also many honest reviews, but they often take a bit of finding.
If you want honest, objective reviews then check Travel Republic or Booking.com. The only way anyone can write a review on those websites is by invitation. How do you get the invitation? You will have had to book the accommodation through the website, so the website knows that you have actually stayed there.

On the other hand the Trip Advisor discussion forums are often excellent places to plan your holiday/trip. The Istanbul forum is superb with really well informed destination experts. The Paphos discussion forum is generally dreadful though.

It is not my intention to slag off other countries and yes it is comparitively cheap in turkey and it is also very beautiful but personally I had a horrendous experiance there. I went with a girl friend about 10 years ago and vowed never to return. You would think that not being in the first flush of youth(we were both 40 at the time) that we would be safe from unwanted attention WRONG! Men followed us wherever we went, they made funny clicking noises with their tongues?? they used to wait outside our apartment and follow us to the beach/shops/bars etc, sometimes the waiters would shout at them and they would back off, only for the waiters to ask if we wanted to go to the beach with them after they finished work to 'see the moon' On one occasion we were followed back to our apartment by a boy of about 14/15 who asked if he could come up with us! The most scary incident was when there was a power cut and we were walking by the harbour in Marmaris and were surrounded by a group of men. One night we were chatting in a bar with a woman about our age on holiday with her very pretty 14 year old daughter, who looked about 18, the silly woman was encouraging her daughter to go off for a drink with a young turk, I was not surprised when she returned sobbing about half an hour later. I could not wait for the holiday to end. I have been to greece many times in my younger/ single days and only ever experianced mild non-aggressive attention, usually good humoured and if you said 'no go away', they did! I have friends who have encountered similar bad experiaces in egypt, though never having been cannot comment. regards Dee

leveldee wrote:IThe most scary incident was when there was a power cut and we were walking by the harbour in Marmaris and were surrounded by a group of men.

Says it all.
Wouldn't go anywhere near the place.

I know now that Marmaris has a bad reputation but over 10years ago I had not heard such reports. I did do some research on the place and it claimed to be 'lively'. I should had read between the lines.
My friend chose the place because she did not want to be in 'the back of beyond' as had happened the year before in Rhodes. We do laugh about it now when we reminise about past holidays together good and bad. I agree that the behaviour of some british women abroad leaves a lot to be desired and gives the local men the idea that british women are all desperate and the behaviour I witnessed regarding the woman with the young teenage daughter is a prime example. regards Dee

Fourwinds good morning..

It was not one mans meat but several families who had their expensive holidays in Turkey ruined by the extremely low hygiene standards, appalling food, and health & safety, this is just as important to families on package type holidays, for sure it put me off ever going there along with millions of others who also watched these programs.

You may have had a good time and I for one am happy about that, but these problems were not isolated occurrences.

Finally from me on this topic it was not just in the resort of Marmaris if you get the chance to watch these programs on BBCiplayer then do so, and then maybe comment then.

Jim wrote:It was not one mans meat but several families who had their expensive holidays in Turkey ruined by the extremely low hygiene standards, appalling food, and health & safety, this is just as important to families on package type holidays, for sure it put me off ever going there along with millions of others who also watched these programs.

Every tourist destination in the world could have a Hotels from Hell programme made on them.
Likewise, every destination could have a Great hotels in xyz made on them.

Jim
Perhaps BBC should make a documentary called 'Cyprus - Ambulance Service from Hell'.
When you'd watched it would you get the next flight out of Cyprus?

problem with that is I have never been off Cyprus in ten years, no desires to go anywhere else.

I do realise that those kind of trash hotels appear all over the world in fact half of those people were on Crete, as I posted, seems to have got lost this fact, but Turkey is one destination I would avoid even if it is so cheap, you do tend to get what you pay for, but Five star hotels should not have been in that show, but the fact is they were.

Definitely my last post on this. you maybe pleased to know.

Durian Muncher wrote:

Somerset Steve wrote:A quick check on Trip Advisor shows that the Hotel Club Pineta is rated 267th out of 314 hotels in Marmaris. The hotel that the family were subsequently moved to is rated 76th ! (This is from the BBC Save My Holiday programme that Jim mentioned above). Says it all really.

I like Trip Advisor, but not the Hotel reviews.
Anyone can post a review on any hotel they want to whether they've stayed there or not. I'm sat at home in Hampshire now, and could spend all day having fun writing and posting crap reviews about anywhere in the world!
The reviews on TA are full of malicious tripe or self-promotion. There are also many honest reviews, but they often take a bit of finding.
If you want honest, objective reviews then check Travel Republic or Booking.com. The only way anyone can write a review on those websites is by invitation. How do you get the invitation? You will have had to book the accommodation through the website, so the website knows that you have actually stayed there.

On the other hand the Trip Advisor discussion forums are often excellent places to plan your holiday/trip. The Istanbul forum is superb with really well informed destination experts. The Paphos discussion forum is generally dreadful though.

DM - I do agree that some reviews on Trip Advisor are not genuine but they are usually pretty obvious ( a quick look at the poster's previous posts is often revealing ) My point was that with so much info on the net nobody should be totally surprised by what they find in their chosen destination (would you book a hotel that rated 267 out of 314 ?).

Some years ago before my love affair with Cyprus started I was persuaded to take a holiday to Turkey. Now Turkey is a beautiful country and if you dare take your life in your hands and hire a car or go on organised trips there are beautiful parts of it to discover but I was stuck in the hell hole called Marmaris for two weeks. As I arrived at my "hotel" guests who were leaving were taking videos of the filthy conditions in which we were supposed to live for two weeks to send to Holidays from Hell. I can't tell you how much of a culture shock it was. My best mate for one week of the holiday was the toilet! The hassle from shops and restaurants (no such thing as window shopping), constantly being ripped off (and I don't use that word lightly), lecherous men who thought women of any nationality other than Turkish were fair game (came close on a couple of occasions to decking them) put me off for life. Would never go back even if it were free!
Cyprus every time warts and all - at least I feel safe and comfortable.

Biddy.

There you go - Marmaris again.
Guess what, the unsuspecting also get shipped across on day trips from Rhodes.

Spent 3 fantastic holidays in Marmaris. We used apartments, and ate out all the time. Never had a problem with anyone. My daughter and her friend, both in their 30's at the time (slim, blue eyes, and attractive) were hit upon, but could defuse things with just a look. They went to the same apartments 6 times, and continue to holiday in Turkey with their partners.

When my daughter's partner snapped his Achilles tendon playing football they couldn't have been treated better.

A member of staff used to carry Ian down stairs on their back every evening so that they could have their meal together, and drove Michelle to the hospital every day for visiting.

Yes, there are poor hotels/apartments everywhere, but one can't judge places on a few horrendous stories.

If you listen to the programme, it states that hundreds of thousands have great holidays in these countries, but they will only focus on what suits their purpose.