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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Anyone still considering Turkey holiday this year?

24 replies

Holymoly321 · 30/01/2016 13:55

We had our first AI holiday in Turkey last year and it was fabulous. Had started looking to book again for this year when all the horrific terrorist attack stuff happened. We're now wondering if it would be safe to go back this year. Anyone else Turkey regulars who are giving it a miss this year? Just wondered how people felt about it.

OP posts:

CoteDAzur · 30/01/2016 13:56

We go every year and are going again this year.

ZedWoman · 30/01/2016 15:51

I'm still on a FB group for a hotel in Turkey that I stayed in a few years ago. There are comments at the moment that:

The price of holidays is falling - especially off-peak. People are finding that there holidays are coming up currenlty £700+ less than they paid for them a few months ago.
Underbooked flights are being cancelled and consolidated. This means people who booked from East Midlands are having their flights moved to Manchester and people booked from Cardiff are having flights changed to Bristol. Flight times are also being shifted, with people who have paid extra to fly out in the morning are having their flight times changed to evening ones with no compensation.

Personally, I wouldn't go if it meant having to book through Thomson/First Choice.

chocolateshoes · 30/01/2016 15:59

We've been the last two years and really loved it. But have decided not to go this year, just feels too much of a risk.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 30/01/2016 16:04

I would say it was too much of a risk. Wasn't there a suicide bomber in Istanbul the other week?

I know the med resorts are a different area but somewhere like that I would say would be a prime target for the next ISIS Attack. People won't be going to tunisa or Egypt so where's the next easiest place for ISIS to hit which may well still have a lot,of tourists? I reckon Turkey.

Original poster

Holymoly321 · 31/01/2016 10:08

Interesting comments. I think you may be right ladies. All it takes is one nutcase to target a beach/hotel and that's it. Def not worth the risk for an ickle bit of sunshine. May leave it for the moment and see how things pan out nearer October...

OP posts:

WoodenPegs · 31/01/2016 10:26

I may have missed the news recently, but has anything in particular happened in Turkey recently or is it more of a 'probably the next place to have problems' concern.

dh loves Turkey and will be looking around for deals. I want to be able to make an informed choice as he is such a romantic about the country he doesn't believe anything bad would ever happen to tourists there.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 31/01/2016 10:29

There was an IS suicide bomber two weeks ago who killed ten german tourists. Another bomb a few months ago killed over 20. All in Istanbul I think.

Behooven · 31/01/2016 10:34

Not a chance

mummymeister · 01/02/2016 10:12

I wouldn't go either. I think there is going to be a lot of pressure on other countries and resorts not only because of ISIS but because of the refugee situation and also the growing crisis with Zika which will see Caribbean holidays drop massively amongst the younger families.

would say to anyone that wherever you are going, get it booked up because there is going to be a massive shortage in some places and a glut in others.

redhat · 01/02/2016 10:14

I wouldn't even consider it at the moment.

ukgirlatheart · 01/02/2016 16:50

Ive just looked on Thomsons and they are literally giving the holidays to Eygpt and Turkey away - so many free child places, I think that tells you something

ZedWoman · 01/02/2016 18:28

....and I've just seen on the FB group that yet another Thomson flight to Turkey has been consolidated. This time it's the Stansted flight moved to Gatwick and brought forward by 11 hours.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 02/02/2016 13:38

I wouldn't hesitate to go, I have been going for 25 years and am looking to go again this year at some point.

I think there is a lot of ignorance concerning Turkey to be honest, people don't know much about the country, how big it is or what it is like out there.

Can I ask all for you who are saying it is too dangerous if you have ever been? Or if you actually know anything about the country?

If you look at government advice there are no problems anywhere near the resorts and the Syrian border is nearly 1,000 miles away, that's 24 hours on a bus, or the distance of London to Prague.

I am sure that people are not saying to avoid the whole of France because of what happened in Paris.

Nowhere is 100% safe at the moment The UK is on a sever threat of terrorism but we still go about our day to day business, and if (God forbid) there was to be an attack in say, Newcastle, would people say that Cornwall was too dangerous to go to?

I think people are worried because of ignorance about Turkey. Those who now and love the place and have spent a lot of time there are not being put off from traveling.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 02/02/2016 15:59

I'm sure all those russian said blown up on the plane from Sharm el Sheike said how safe it was and how there had never been any trouble in the resort. Ditto the tourists in Tunisia.

Dowser · 02/02/2016 17:01

Yep! A Dutch couple we spoke to on the beach in benidorm last week are going in September ;-)

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 02/02/2016 19:29

The same with Paris WhoTheFuck, no-one expected that! Are people avoiding France because of it though. Who is to say where could be the next target? Spain? A UK city? Who knows.

All I am saying is that Turkey is no riskier than anywhere else.

FuckyNell · 02/02/2016 19:39

I'm going. I've paid a deposit of £500, and the balance is due in June. I think I may see if it gets reduced and rebook. Not sure yet tbh. Don't like the thought of flights changed as we specifically pay extra for morning flights.

As for safety well, the government says it's safe so of course it must be

I ❤️ Lara beach

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 02/02/2016 19:44

I just don't think security there can be as good as in France or even Spain. There's a very porous border between Syria and Turkey in a way there isn't between France and Syria. Id be more worried about Spain than france but not as worried as Turkey.

Chances of getting caught up in anything are small but not enough for me to take the risk. I will stick to yorkshire and Cumbria.

WaitrosePigeon · 02/02/2016 19:45

Not a chance.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 02/02/2016 19:55

But they still got in and attacked Paris!

How do you know Yorkshire is safe? there are a lot of known terrorists living in the UK at the moment.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 02/02/2016 20:07

I don't know yorkshire is safe. But I don't think it's as likely that it will be attacked as Turkey. That's just my opinion but it means I wouldn't holiday there.

I remember a year or so ago there was a very similar post about Tunisia and lots of divided opinion.....then look what happened.

ZedWoman · 02/02/2016 20:08

The chances of actually being involved in an incident are low, but the chances of an incident f*cking up your holiday are high. One attack took place in Tunisia and yet the FCO has deemed the entire country unsafe which has led to many thousands of holidaymakers having to change their plans at the last minute. Due to the holiday companies' 'live pricing', the price of holidays to perceived safer destinations has gone up and the price of holidays to ME/Turkey has gone down. So you could end up 'swapping' the 5 star AI holiday to Turkey to a 3 star half-board in Ibiza.

It's not a risk I'm would take. Personally, I think Russian tourists would be targeted rather than British, but I think there will be attacks in tourist resorts this summer. I really hope I'm proved wrong.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 02/02/2016 20:08

And I do think the UK has better intelligence than Turkey so a terrorist attack is more likely to be stopped before it happens.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 02/02/2016 22:10

Well I think a lot of it is to do with not knowing much about Turkey.

My husband's family all live there and those living in the Western parts are not concerned at all. We also have many friends in the touristy parts and again they are not worried. Most of them actually think the UK is far more likely to have a terror attack.

We watch Turkish news every day along with many programmes on the problems in the middle east so maybe we just know a bit more about the whole situation and that makes us less worried about travelling there.

Terrorists love to attack where we least expect it, that is the whole point, to scare everyone everywhere.

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