Turkey in October

[Nettyhugs]

DH hated our last cheap package holiday. Our hotel, Hotel Presidente in Ibiza, smelled musty and damp, the food was school canteen style and inedible and the hotel guests were very much Brits abroad. He also thought a week was too long. I would like to try a cheap holiday again, but this time in Turkey for 3 or 4 nights. To try and avoid the horror show of last time, I’m thinking about staying in a self catering apartment with pool, pool slides and kids club and near a beach. That way we do not need to eat in the hotel at mealtimes and mingle with other guests but still have access to hotel facilities. Can’t actually find something like this on the usual holiday websites though and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.

Are you thinking Oct half term? Pools will be on the chilly side.

@Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yes thinking then or just before. I know pools might be chilly but was also thinking that they would have had all summer to warm up so might be ok!

I’ve been to Cyprus mid October. I know it’s slightly more northern but every day the pool got chillier. I wouldn’t have wanted to have been there for the last week. If you can go the first week of Oct then do. Last week is half term and will be significantly more expensive.

We had rain twice! I know there was a risk of rain at that time of year and it was fine because we had a nice hotel room.

I had a beautiful week in Antalya for Oct half term in 2023, although was torrential rain on our way to the airport coming home. The pools were absolutely brassic, didn't bother the dc but I only went when they wanted me to go on the slides!

To your question, Jet2 and LoveHolidays are good, just filter your accommodation to self catering, or maybe b&b

Club Cettia in Marmaris

@Forgottenmyphone thanks! Was this very “Brits Abroad” or a mix of European guests?

We've done Fethiye/Dalaman coast in Turkey October half term last two years. The AI resorts are really good. Sea is super warm, pools chillier (but doable!).

Like PP we also did all inclusive on the Fethiye/Dalaman coast for October half-term in 2024.
Outdoor pools were glacial (sorry - even my dc couldn’t bear to be in them) so the indoor heated pool was a godsend.
The sea was warmer. We went snorkelling on a day trip on a boat for £25 per person including a sit down lunch aboard the boat.
Other resort guests were Turkish, Europeans, Russians and lots of middle class Brits. We didn’t have to mingle with anyone else unless we wanted to.
We’d love to go back.

That’s such a shame about the pool temps, I was banking on mainly staying at the hotel and DD6 playing on water slides.

@Whaddayamean where did you stay last year? It sounds good!

Where did you stay?

We went to Lanzarote and Cyprus in the last week of October. In both cases the pool wasn't warm anymore and when then sun goes down around 4pm, it does get chilly.

We also had rain at least one full day each time.

Flying so far south for 3 or 4 nights is also a huge waste of time for travelling, you may just have 2-3 full days.

If you don’t want brits abroad I would avoid marmaris and go for olu Deniz or fethiye x

@Nettyhugs thinking about it, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the resort we stayed in (Letoonia) given the length of your trip, as it involved a time-consuming transfer from Dalaman airport. I cannot wait to go back despite the transfer time.

The boat trip was with Jerry Boat and was so calm and relaxed but there are loads of similar boats offering similar day trips, just look up boat trips from Fethiye.

Other resorts along that coast on my wish list include the Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme and Liberty Lykia.

Jiva Beach first year and Liberty Lykia second year. Both v good in different ways!

We did a week in Antalya in October. We did AI though not what you are looking for. It’s cool at night definitely need a jumper or jacket. The pools are painfully cold as others have said you definitely need a heated one unless you are into cold water swimming!
Our hotel was a mixture of British, Russian and Turkish.