May holidays in Turkey from Almaty: tours

I relaxed in Antalya, everything was really nice. The manager picked a good hotel and quickly sorted out the transfer issue, even though I myself always put everything off till the last minute. Only thing, on Wednesday evening at the restaurant we had to wait for a table about ten minutes, but with the sea and food like that it’s honestly nothing.

Took a transfer from them from the airport to the hotel and back, because a friend said that these guys in Istanbul are on point and the price is decent, so I figured why bother with local taxi drivers who always try to take you on a joyride around the city with your suitcases stuffed in the trunk. Met me on time, car was clean, the driver was chill and drove fast, but on the way back to the airport we were slightly late due to traffic on the bridge — nobody cancels traffic, no complaints to the guys, overall I was satisfied with the service, though the price could've been lower if you book ahead through their site instead of at the last minute like me the day before — my bad, not theirs

Well, what can I say, everything was great, even though I'm not a fan of heat at all, but here we even got lucky with the weather, there was a breeze when we walked around the old port. I don't like history, but the amphitheater really impressed me — the stones are huge, I touched them, and right away I got goosebumps, we sat by the sea just like that for an hour, and didn't want to run anywhere. I came back satisfied and rested, though usually after trips I'm squeezed like a lemon, but here it's like I got a recharge, probably because of the local food or just a change of scenery, go and you won't reget it.

The manager picked my tour to Marmaris literally in one evening, explained everything clearly about insurance and transfer, I didn't even have to ask again. The flight was delayed about two hours, but at the hotel they greeted us with juice and checked us in right away, even though by the time it was already late evening. The sea in December is of course not for swimming, but the promenade is empty and the mountains around are really proper ones, we went on a boat ride and saw dolphins, that I did not expect. The food at the hotel was varied, but honestly, by the end of the week it got boring, but we walked around the old town and bought a bunch of spices and halva at the market. Came back home totally happy, just the thing for a reset, and I never regretted taking the trip in December

Needed an urgent visa for shopping and meeting partners, direct flights from Almaty kept getting pricier, and here was a deal at a hotel with a view of the Bosphorus so I decided to dash off to Istanbul, not Antalya. found the bureau through a friend's referral, dropped off my documents on Monday and by Thursday I was already standing on the pier watching seagulls fight over a bun near the Suleymaniye mosque — such calm washed over me from this city that even the sales in Laleli felt like fuss, though I did snag a leather bag there and the turks at the spice market tossed saffron into my bag over the weight limit just because I smiled. all the logistics from transfer to little restaurants with a view were arranged so my feet didn't ache and my head didn't explode from traffic — whether I've gotten used to the chaos or they really thought it all through, came back happy and didn't even once argue with the taxi drivers.

Belek — yeah, that’s it for sure. Everything proper, fancy, hotel with a huge territory, those fir trees everywhere, smells like pine and sea — I didn’t even expect to like it this much. The flight got moved because of the wind, but we got insanely lucky with the weather, swam my heart out. Liked that the room didn’t stink of dampness — for me that’s straight up top, and the porter checked us in fast, no dragging feet or waiting around. Plus, so many chickens, and they’re all pushy running under your feet. Probably put on a kilo, but I switched my head off completely and came back happy.

Kusadasi, Turkey — the city is cool, but I booked the tour spontaneously, so the first two days I had no clue where to go or what to see. Checked into the hotel quickly, though the room seemed bigger in the picture, and it was stuffy and the AC hummed like a tractor — slept with the balcony open, the city is noisy till night, but the breakfasts were solid, they fry the omelette right in front of you and tea was refilled for free. Went on a couple of excursions, one was straight fire, nature — I'm not a fan, but the views really get to you, so minus a star for the little things, but overall the folks at the agency did their job honestly, could've been worse))

Бір күнде, демалысқа шығардан екі күн бұрын, барлық жағажай отельдері бітіп қалған екен, әйелім есінен танып жатқан соң, бір танысымның айтуымен Фетиеге тау жақтағы виллаға баруды ұйғардым. Туроператорға емес, казахстандық турфирмаға жүгіндім, себебі бағасы қалалықтарға қарағанда арзанырақ деп ойладым, қателеспедім. Тамаша жер екен, теңізге әр күні трансфермен барасын, бірақ гидті бастапқыда такси ұсынды — бірақ мен автобустың өзі тегін екенін біліп алдым, сол дүние сапарды жартылай бүлдірген жоқ, тек ыңғайсыздық болды, алайда өзіңіз бір кемшілікті кешіресіз, барлығы жақсы ұйымдастырылған.

Алып-ұшып барған жоқпын, жазда демалыс іздеп жүріп, дәл осы турфирмадан Бодрумды таңдадым, себебі бағасы қалтама қонымды болды, әрі ұшатын уақыты ыңғайлы көрінді. Қонақ үй жағажайда орналасқан, бөлмеден теңіз көрінетін, бірақ таңғы ас бір түрлі монотонды болды, үш күннен кейін жалықтырды. Жалпы алғанда ризамын, серуендеп, жүзіп, күшімді жинап қайттым, тек қайтар жолда ұшақтың кешігуі сәл көңілімді қалдырды, сондықтан төртеуін беремін.

well the heat there was insane, I thought I'd melt right on the excursion, but the sea saved me — the water was literally like warm milk, I didn't even want to get out. the hotel came with a little flaw: the light on the balcony didn't work and you could hear every sneeze from the neighbors, but the animation was fun and they fed me so well that I gained a kilgoram in a week, and that's saying something since I usually eat little. overall for a four-star it's just right, if you don't nitpick the little things, I came back satisfied but still left the beach reluctantly..

Went to Alanya through the agency, overall fine, but kinda meh. Hotel was okay, food was good, sea was warm — I even swam a lot, even though I usually get cold, but the sunbeds by the pool are always taken with towels from morning and that was annoying, and also the excursions seemed overpriced. My birthday happened to fall during the trip, so the manager, who handled everything for me back in Almaty, was right that he advised to take sunscreen with me, local one costs a fortune, but in the evening the hotel had animation and they brought a cake right to the table.. overall the trip is a three out of five, but not a failure either, main thing is I came back alive and with new impressions

Antaliya v mae — eto prosto skazka, brali vsey semey i ne pozhaleli ni razu. More esche prohladnoe, no my kupalis kazhdyy den, telo potom bylo vse v murashkah i solenoy vode. Otel popalsya s ogromnoy territoriey, poka dohodish do plyazha uspevaesh ogolodat i zaodno rassmotret vseh yascherits na palmah kakaya-to iz nih dazhe na sumku zaprygnula, ya azh vskriknula. Otdelnoe spasibo menedzheru za to chto podobrala nam varianty po byudzhetu, ona srazu ponyala chto my ne hotim pereplachivat za nenuzhnye spa. Ekskursii brali pryamo na meste u mestnyh turkov, vyshlo gorazdo deshevle chem u otelnyh gidov — staraya legenda no do sih por rabotaet. Ponravilas progulka na yahte vdol berega, veter dikiy, no vidy na utesy otkryvayutsya shikarnye. Iz edy bolshe vsego zapomnilas ne dolma, a obychnaya vypechka na zavtrak, sloenoe testo s syrom takoe nezhnoe, chto ya obedalas kazhdyy den i teper doma na diete stradayu). Na plyazhe mne ne zahvatilo polotentsa, tak prishlos taschitsya obratno v nomer cherez ves etot park, besit. Priehala domoy i uzhe ischu bilety na osen, potomu chto Turtsiya vyshla deshevle nashego yuga, eto absurd.

flew in for my niece's wedding, so we were looking for a gym and just a walking area near the hotel — in Belek it's all great with that, even unexpectedly. Found a gym with a view of pines and went there every morning before breakfast, the local trainer suggested a couple of exercises for the back, now I'm suffering at home with the same routine. from food I remember kebab in a small cafe by the road — that's actually worth repeating, three hours after it I was still full as a boa. the hotel itself we took not for partying, but to quietly stroll along the beach and get some sleep — in the end we got mountains of pastries at breakfasts and total zen. came back home genuinely satisfied, although usually after Turkish resorts I feel like I've been scammed)) not the case here)).

Booked a trip to Alanya through a local agency, haven't regretted it once. The hotel had a nice grounds, though the air conditioner in the room was noisy as a tractor — but that's a minor thing, on the plus side the sea was right across the road, and every day I went to the pier at sunset — there are fishermen there, you can always watch them. Came back happy, even my shoulders got sunburned, though in February I wasn't expecting such strong sun, so for the organization solid five)

ozidali chto prosto kupim tur v turtsiyu a ono von kak vyshlo, rodstvenniki posovetovali eto agentstvo potomu chto sami cherez nih katalis i my reshili chto luchshe uzh proverennye berya lyudi. terrariumov smotret ne poedesh no po dengam ulozhilis i v bodrume nam ponravilos, otel skromnyy zato more realno teploe la dazhe v kontse oktyabrya. letali v kuchu mest na ekskursii, a posledniy den prosto valyalsya na plyazha i sozhral stolko rahat-lukuma chto potom zhivot bolel ahaha, za servis pretenziy nikakih vse chetko.

So me and my friend were sitting around one day, and she's like — enough of this moping around, let's fly to Marmaris, turkey for a week to clear our heads, so I just walked into the first office I saw in our town, didn't even even compare with anyone, just took what they gave me and did the right thing. The hotel room had a view of the bay, you just can't put that into words, every morning you open your eyes and there's mountains and the sea, and that water is turquoise, we didn't even go on any excursions, just lazed around on the beach and walked around the old town doing laps through the narrow streets, there's cats and souvenir shops, I was really into it. I was happy as a clam, for that money I expected some kind of dump with peeling walls, but it was a perfectly decent renovation and the food was good, came back rested and already missing it))

booked everything in one evening, didn’t even think it would be that quick. flew with turkish airlines – normal, though the food was weird, but I slept almost the whole flight, – woke up already over Antalya. in Side the sea is freaking amazing, warm, just gentle, but the pebbles are a pain, can’t walk barefoot, had to buy special slippers on the beach. the hotel we took had a big territory, I walked around the palms every day and spied on lizards, they’re scurrying everywhere, so funny. the evening animation – not for me, went once and that’s enough, though the guys tried, sure. but the food at the restaurant – just a song, something new every day, I even tried to remember a few recipes to repeat at home, but probably won’t manage. took an excursion to the old town, there are ancient ruins, columns, and the guide was telling it so passionately that I even remembered a couple of facts, just can’t recall which anymore. the weather in late november – a fairy tale, about twenty-five degrees during the day, can sunbathe easily, the water was warmer than the air. bought a bunch of souvenirs and stuff, including a small rug, the smell from it still lingers in my suitcase, kinda spicy. came back happy, already thinking about next year, Turkey didn’t let me down, and the price tag by the way was really pleasing)) would give it five stars and already ran off to recommend it to all my friends, veery much recommend

booked a trip to Kemer for a week, thought I'd just lie by the sea but it turned out I spent two days going on excursions on my own through locals — and that was the best decision, the mountain with the cable car especially stuck with me when you're standing on top and birds are circling all around. the people at the hotel were funny, the animators kept bothering me with the disco but when they saw I just come to have dinner they backed off though at the reception I came across a Kazakh girl and we chatted in our language

I found the Fethiye bay cruise by chance, wanted something besides the beach and hotel. Boarding the yacht turned out quick, we were looking for the pier using the navigator, got a bit nervous while parking. The manager sent the pin on the map the day before, even though we argued about the meeting time, everything went smoothly. The boat itself is small, there were only nine people, plenty of room to move around, nobody bumps into you, the sun is hot enough but the breeze saved us. I liked the swims off the boat even more than the food, the water is unreal clear and you could see everything on the bottom, stones and pebbles. Some italian guy was washing dishes overboard with soap, the captain explained to him that you can't do that, I almost burst out laughing at their gestures. The stops were well chosen, you could always hide in the shade, if you got burnt which is what ended up happening to my shoulders. We spent six hours on this yacht and nobody got tired and that says a lot. The vacation was a success, I came back home and I still remember the rocking and that noise of the waves)))

went to get a visa and a transfer to the sea because i didn't want to look for it myself, an acquaintance recommended this agency, they seem to have normal prices… The manager gave me advice on the route and right away warned me about the local taxi drivers who charge triple, and Kusadasi itself reminded me of our market only with a sea. the town is small but at least there's a port and yachts, i wandered around there all day and ate doner right at the pier with a view of the island of Samos — never seen it so close. the weather in june by the way is great, thirty degrees and not as stuffy as in Antalya, but the beaches are public and a bit cramped and sunbeds are extra for everything. just took a day at the beach and one more excursion to an old aqueduct, not popular at all usually everyone rushes to Ephesus but here it's quiet and goats graze nearby. the guide explained things in an interesting way but his voice drills into your ears, so i made up half the story myself, walking around the stones. came back happy and with a new hobby of photographing mirror cameras in the water… if you're buying specifically not all inclusive but a quiet day i recommend thinking about this subtype. beatiful