Unpretentious and quiet Turkish resort & Kids Clubs

[MyOneAndOnly]

Hello,
I am being cheeky & out of order maybe, since I have just posted some minutes ago with a similar subject header... But I realised this header explains my exact sentiments about the holiday, much much better, so here I go again second time round:

We are already going to Istanbul / Turkey for an occasion in August and will have an extra 7-8 days after the social event. We could spend this time in Istanbul or around Istanbul but I thought a beach resort would be a good opportunity...

So, thought of going somewhere in the coast. Our Turkish friends recommended us to skip the Antalya area as it would be too humid now...So thinking of west coast.

Main requirement is a decent resort with some shopping / magical historical sights for dd (5 yrs) and also I want the option of staying in a quiet villa without necessarily having to mix with lots of other holiday makers unless I want to... But having said that, the place should offer facilities for 5 yr old dd in terms of some swimming lessons / some sports / dance / classes etc etc etc... She needs some socialising, it'll be good for her.

In other words I want to hide away during the day with my booksmost of the time and maybe come out in the evenings to do some strolling by the promenade etc, but definitely wishing lots of activities for dd.

Is it possible to mix this two conflicting requirements ? If so, where would it be?

Doesnt have to be west coast I suppose, it can even be next city to Istanbul, we don't really mind as long as there are kids club and peace for me...

Elderly mum is with us who'll be wanting a quietish place too...

Many thanks...

I don't think you will get a quiet villa with all those classes available for a 5 year old. Most villas are on private sites so you would need a big hotel to get the kids entertainment but you don't want to be with other holiday makers.

I think you need to decide what is most important, being in a quiet area or entertaining your child. Does she really need all those activities, my girls are 6 and 3 and they are perfectly happy playing in the pool or the beach.

Anyway if you do choose the quiet villa option then have a look at somewhere like &CCedil;eşme, Foça or Alçatı.

Or if you fancy going down to Bodrum there are some lovely resorts there; Yalikavak, Torba, Gumuşluk, Ortakent or Gulturkbuku.

Thank you Nefret, I do appreciate your reply.
You have come up with several names.

I need to get my bearings and see where these resorts are firstly, but pls will you write the names again, some names you have written above are mixed with numbers and signs etc, it must be my pc set up, cannot get the exact names for some of them.

Need to think of the logistics of getting there etc.

I think I am also going to get some brochures from the travel agent this week to see what places offer kids club and try to get a taste of things from there.

I really want a place with lots going on for dd, she is an only child and in a way a lonely child too. She would love to play by the beach if she has anyone to play with but I cannot leave this to luck. So I am hoping to guarantee some entertainment for her, as and when she wants it. We'll take her to places too, of course.

i recommend hte mousses villas in lefkada with simply travel ( not turkey but hey)
exactly what you want
i find a few villas around the pool are the bees knees

Sorry, obvioulsy the Turkish characters don't come out on here.

The places are Cesme, Foca, Alcati.

Near to Bodrum - Yalikavak, Torba, Gumusluk, Ortakent or Gulturkbuku.

Some bigger places where you will find hotels with entertainment are Gumbet, Turgutreis or in Bodrum town.

Thanks Nefret and AlaskaNebraska...

Will do my homework this week... It has to be Turkish holiday.

Nefret, a well known place which we have already been to yonks ago (pre-child), was Icmeler and having had good memories of that holiday, I am tempted to go there again. Then we can still travel to neighbouring places if we want, for a day, can't we?

A quick search on the internet gives some names of the hotels with kids entertainment there. Okay it is not exactly the quiet holiday for me as I was hoping for but perhaps I can somehow lose myself still...

Do you recommend a that resort nowadays?

I am off to look at trip advisor now...

Try this (has a kids disco + historical excursions)or this (has a kids club with dance lessons)

Thanks essential1.
I already have Lykia World in mind, it is a strong possibility, whether it is available or not, that is another matter... Booking-wise, unfortunately I cannot do anything until the weekend for various silly reasons..
Kempinski looks lovely too, I tried to use the live-chat facility with the consultant but no luck.
I will look into it more detail.
Great, thanks...

Icmeler isn't a quiet resort now. It isn't mad but certainly not the kind of place you were originally asking for, although as you say, you could still find a peaceful spot if you wanted. You can easily get out and about too, the next resort on is Turunc and that is very pretty and quiet, you can get a water taxi there.

Another hotel you could look at if you want kids clubs is WOW Bodrum, that is really nice too.

Thank you very much Nefret, I do appreciate you giving your time and putting the effort in my query.
Will update about where we decided... Just hoping it'll not be too late to book something so last minute.
Apart from booking the hotel, we need to book internal flights too which makes it double stressful for me. It is double the amount of unknown.
I realise I keep changing the goalpost frequently but was thinking, perhaps we should stick to somewhere very near Istanbul so that way we won't need to have to find / book internal flights. In case of going to Icmeler which I am really keen now, I need to get flights there from Istanbul and I havent even looked yet whether it is easy to find seats and how much etc. One of my work colleagues recently done a similar itinerary to what I am planning, she went to Istanbul and then after staying there a while, she then flown to Antalya but she could not book the cheap charter flights as she was not a Turkish credit card holder, the charter flight was only bookable with a Turkish credit card... I found this restriction rather unusual and pointless but perhaps there is a valid reason as some CAA rule or so dictating it(???). Therefore she had to book a sheduled flight which was lot more expensive. Obviously we dont have Turkish credit card either and we will be in the same situation.
To avoid that, I am looking at the Istanbul resort as an alternative option too... although I still want Icmeler.
I welcome any additional suggestion you may have...
Thank you very, very much indeed.

I don't understand about the Turkish credit card either. My husband is Turkish but he has a British credit card and he has alwasy booked cheap internal flights in Turkey from the UK on his card.

Pegasus do internal flights for as little as £23 one way in August from Istanbul to Dalaman and you are able to book the flights from the UK. They have flights going every day so I'm sure you could find something.

Thanks again Nefret... You have made it sound so easy and manageable... My colleague also tried to book pegasus but the website was only giving the option of one (or maybe two) specific Turkish banks cards, with the banks name specifically mentioned as (Do you have XYZ Bank's credit card, if so you can enter here") sort of way. Anyway I haven't checked it yet but I will.
I do appreciate your help greatly...
Thank you.

Let me know how you get on. We are off to Turkey next week too, I love it there, we used to live there, down in Bodrum.

I stopped in the wow bodrum last year its very nice not in the heart of gumbet but within walking distance and plenty to do for a 5 year old.

This year we stopped at the concorde de luxe in lara beach - antalya excellent hotel with plenty of things for children to do mine are 6 and 3. Lara beach has nothing to do just a few shopping malls but all the hotels are great we have booked to go again next june in the baia lara.

I stopped in the wow bodrum last year its very nice not in the heart of gumbet but within walking distance and plenty to do for a 5 year old.

This year we stopped at the concorde de luxe in lara beach - antalya excellent hotel with plenty of things for children to do mine are 6 and 3. Lara beach has nothing to do just a few shopping malls but all the hotels are great we have booked to go again next june in the baia lara.

Oh and just to add I would maybe forget icmeler if you want quiet as it has got alot bigger and full of hustle and bustle.

I do appreciate your reply laughalot.
You have given me more choices...
Our friends in Istanbul kindly offered us their vacant summer house somewhere not far from Istanbul but I am not keen on that option. So we will be booking a place called Sarigerme.
And apparently still good availability, too.

Thanks again...