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Tag: Bodrum

  • The Ultimate Celebrity Destination: Bodrum The “St-Tropez of Turkey”

    The Ultimate Celebrity Destination: Bodrum The “St-Tropez of Turkey”

    Home to The Mausoleum, one of seven wonders of the ancient world, Bodrum has long been recognised as a celebrity hotspot. Nowadays, jet-setting actresses including Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman and Liz Hurley holiday in Bodrum, but more than two thousand years ago, Cleopatra, Queen of Ancient Egypt, was also known to reside in this charming Mediterranean town.

    To this day, the elegant celebrity tradition thrives in Bodrum, with infamous individuals such as Beyonce Knowles selecting it as their ideal holiday destination or investing in the unique property found on the peninsula.

    With an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, Bodrum is renowned for its exquisite range of wildlife and natural setting of pine trees and olive groves. However, it also offers an extensive range of leisure activities including water sports, golf and yachting. Hollywood actor Tom Hanks who sojourned in Bodrumfor a few days whilst cruising the Turkish coastline on board a magnificent yacht has enjoyed the latter of these pastimes.

    Gloriously tranquil fishing villages frame the peninsula, offering the serenity of an unspoiled coastline and an authentic taste of Turkey’s rich cultural history.

    Nonetheless, fashionable celebrities have long appreciated the distinguished nightlife presented in Bodrum centre. Whilst living in Bodrum, singer Norah Jones worked at the animated nightclub Hadigari and Dustin Hoffman held an exclusive party at Europe’s largest open-air disco, Halikarnas. The unique nightclub was also home to the very first international beauty pageant, Miss Globe, in 1988.

    Many of the celebrity figures that have delighted in visiting Bodrum have stayed at extravagant hotels or have rented or invested in luxury villas within the region. Hannah Gelbart of Cumberland Propertiesrecommends selecting an established and guaranteed property developer who offers top-quality, high-end construction with no expense spared.

    So if you can picture yourself lounging by a spectacular infinity pool, shopping in an authentic Turkish market or a luxury boutique and sipping cocktails under the stars at a magnificent bar on the main street of Bodrum, you can see why Turkey has been tipped as a top tourist destination for 2010. Do not delay in experiencing it for yourself.

    Golfıng in Turkey

  • Turkish holidays still cheaper than staying in the UK

    Turkish holidays still cheaper than staying in the UK

    Holidaymakers who think they’re saving money by staying in the UK could end up spending more than those who jet off abroad.

    British resorts and businesses impose such high prices that it might be cheaper to fly thousands of miles to a resort abroad, a study shows.

    So a week at the seaside in this country is more expensive than Bodrum, in Turkey, Greece or Cyprus, which attract millions of families looking for sunshine.

    Turkey

    It is also cheaper to visit several East European countries, such as Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria, which offer beautiful cities and new experiences.

    Researchers at Tesco Bank looked at typical holiday expenses for one week for a family of four in August, including accommodation, car hire, eating out and family entertainment.

    While they did not include the cost of getting to the resort, the price gap is so large for many countries that it would still be cheaper to travel using a budget airline.

    The figure for Brighton came out at £2,209 – £390 more than buying the equivalent items in Bodrum.

    So even considering that return flights from London Gatwick to Bodrum would cost around £80 via easyJet, it’s still a bargain.

    Brighton certainly has a great history and many attractions, from the Royal Pavilion and the pier to nightclubs and the Lanes.

    But while it offers standard seaside fare of fish and chips and curry houses, Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea, boasts Turkish food as well as sun, sandy beaches and nightlife.

    There are also several all-inclusive hotel resorts where the cost of food and drink is included in the package.

    John Howells, head of travel money at Tesco Bank, said holiday costs have been impacted by the euro exchange rate.

    ‘With the average cost of a holiday for one week coming in at £2,076, a 2 per cent increase on last year, it is essential holidaymakers are not just looking into the cost of travel but also the expenses they are likely to incur once they are there.

    ‘For instance, car hire and accommodation make up 71 per cent of weekly spend and have risen 6 per cent on last year.’

    Meanwhile, lastminute.com has seen a rush of people logging on to look for travel deals after England’s elimination from the World Cup on Sunday.

    Bookings rose 25 per cent on the previous day in the hours after the final whistle was blown.

    The firm’s head of travel, Andy Washington, said: ‘People want a way of getting over the football blues, and for many a late summer break is the thing they need.’

    Lowcostholidays.com, meanwhile, said the number of people visiting its website rose 40 per cent compared to last week.

    The Daily Mail

  • Credit crunch: Turkey overtakes Spain as most popular holiday destination

    Credit crunch: Turkey overtakes Spain as most popular holiday destination

    Phil Davies
    Last Updated: 2:55PM BST 11/07/2008
    Getty
    Turkey is our most popular holiday destination

    The worsening economic climate is prompting British holidaymakers to look beyond the traditional package holiday favourite, Spain, to the cheaper option of Turkey, new research showed this week.

    The Co-operative Travel Company reported that there had been a “seismic shift” in the way Britons were booking holidays this summer. Among its clients, Turkey had overtaken Spain, the favourite package holiday destination since the Sixties.

    A large part of the reason for the shift is the poor exchange rate of the pound against the euro. Analysis by Co-operative Travel showed that the average cost of a holiday to Spain, which uses the euro, was £465 – over £100 more than the average cost of a holiday to Turkey (£357), which does not.

    The independent travel group’s findings were based on research into more than 200,000 holidays to its 30 most popular foreign holiday destinations.

    The group found that, while bookings to Majorca were down by 13 per cent compared with the same time last year, some 30 per cent more people were booking trips to Turkey. Egypt is also benefiting from the switch away from Spain, with bookings to Sharm el Sheikh up 38 per cent over last year.

    The fall in bookings to western Mediterranean destinations such as mainland Spain and the Balearics is also due to a reduction in the number of holidays on offer in the marketplace following the mergers last year between the major tour operators Thomas Cook and MyTravel, and Thomson and First Choice.

    At the start of the summer 2008 booking season, Thomson’s parent company, TUI Travel UK, announced cuts of 12 per cent while Thomas Cook trimmed the former MyTravel holiday programme by as much as 23 per cent.

    Co-operative Travel’s retail distribution director, Trevor Davis, said: “Bookings from people looking for cheap summer sun have traditionally ensured that Spain was the leading holiday destination. However, this year they are finding the high euro and a shortage of availability means the normal late deals are not available.

    “Turkey has benefited most from this trend and we’re seeing 30 per cent growth in bookings for holidays across all parts of the country.”

    Thomson and First Choice believe that economic uncertainties, coupled with the strength of the euro, will prompt more holidaymakers to take advantage of “all-inclusive” or “full-board” breaks where the total price is known in advance.

    Further afield, fuel surcharges are affecting long-haul destinations, with fares to Australia for departures in October – the start of the southern hemisphere summer – up by more than 12 per cent this year, from £997 to £1,124 for an economy return from Heathrow.

    Many families wanting to keep costs down are holidaying in Britain. Steve Short, managing director of the domestic tour operator Compass Holidays, said: “Rising oil prices mean families have to pay a fortune to go abroad this year. People don’t realise what beautiful and relaxing destinations we have right here in Britain. Many are easily reachable by train, so there’s no need even to spend money on petrol.”

    Tom Wright, the chief executive of VisitBritain, said: “In the current economic climate, we are finding that Britons are taking another look at holidaying at home and are surprised by the range of experiences on offer.”

    Top 10 Foreign Holiday Destinations

    1. Turkey – Dalaman
    2. Majorca
    3. Crete
    4. Turkey – Bodrum
    5. Algarve
    6. Cyprus
    7. Tenerife
    8. Costa Blanca
    9. Sharm el Sheikh
    10. Rhodes

    (Source: The Co-operative Travel Company)

    Source: www.telegraph.co.uk, [London], 11/07/2008