CD Traveller » Turkey

Bournemouth beats Ibiza

Editor — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:00:22 +0000

Bournemouth

Which place boasts the better beach: Bournemouth or Ibiza? Somewhat surprisingly the Dorset resort has been beaten Ibiza – plus the likes of Benidorm and Gran Canaria – in a list of Europe’s top beaches!

The busy British beach resort was ranked fourth (behind only Oludeniz and Icemeler in Turkey and Majorca in the Balearic Islands) and was also ranked as the top British beach by travellers on TripAdvisor, ahead of Jersey’s St Brelade and Woolacombe in Devon.

The accolade proves that recent investment in the area has paid off and is good news for the folk behind Britain’s ‘Holidays at home’ scheme (see www.cd-traveller.com/2012/03/15/home-and-away/) who will no doubt be rubbing their hands in glee.

Top tips to help your money go further

Editor — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:20 +0000

Here at CD-Traveller towers, we suspect that there are two types of people reading this website. There are those who will look back on Easter and say “that was an eggscellent trip” and there are those who will have laid in bed worrying about the recession.

If you fall into the second category, then we have some good news for you! There are plenty of places you can visit this Easter, that don’t require you to remortgage the house. We asked Rupert Bedell, head of marketing at Moneycorp, to reveal the best places to visitwhere favourable exchange rates mean a great value holiday. Bedell also shares his top tips for people taking money abroad this Easter – and beyond…

Top places to visit
· The euro is up nearly four per cent for the first part of March against 2011. The Eurozone crisis is still a major concern for financial markets around the world but it’s great for holidaymakers, giving an average 1.196 EUR to GBP.

· Turkish Lira has seen a 16, 8 and 9 per cent positive change from 2011 levels, giving travellers the opportunity to lap up some sun with an improved rate.

· Travellers thinking about Europe but looking for more for their money, should consider Poland. The Polish zloty gives travellers a greater return for their pound than the Euro. January, February and March had 5.27, 4.99 and 4.91 zloty to the pound.

· Casablanca in The Kingdom of Morocco is the gateway between Europe and North Africa. Over the past two months the dirham has seen good increases over its 2011 level, delivering a solid 13 dirham to the pound.

· Czech Republic could be the destination of choice for money conscious travellers this Easter and beyond. The koruna gives travellers nearly 30 koruna to the pound.

· US dollar has strengthened over February and March giving travellers two per cent less dollars than 2011, so it’s an ideal time for travellers to take advantage of the best exchange rates.

Top tips for taking money abroad

Be prepared for your arrival!
The first thing you’ll need cash for when you land is probably a taxi, and you’ll need small denominations of currency for tips. Make sure you understand the tipping system – you won’t want to tip your hotel porter with a €50 note…

If you’re taking a large sum of money, consider a pre-paid currency card
They are easy to use and don’t normally incur ATM fees. Currency cards are also the most secure way of carrying your currency, because there is no link to your bank account. If you lose it, you can phone up to get a replacement card. Think of it as a 21st century travellers cheque!

If time is short, order currency online for airport or home delivery
It’s quick and safe, and you will normally get more for your money than using a bureau de change.

If you need to use a bureau de change abroad – haggle!
Like most things in life, if you ask for a discount, you may well get one – especially if you offer to exchange more currency.

Warn your bank that you’re going away
Banks and credit card companies may block foreign transactions as a means of fraud protection, if you forget to inform your bank you are going overseas. It’s worth taking extra cash in case this happens.

Buy before you leave
When you are abroad, ATMs, bureaux de change and hotel concierges can be costly, with poor exchange rates, high commission levels and hidden fees.

Changing back to sterling doesn’t need to cost you
Most travel money companies offer a ‘buyback’ service, where they will buy your currency back at the same rate you bought it.

Top 10 Valentine’s breaks

Editor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:27:37 +0000

Valentine’s Day breaks have a bad rep: a single wilted rose on the bedside table, overcrowded restaurants, and headache-inducing red and pink everywhere – and who needs a headache on Valentine’s night? Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have sifted through the schmaltz to find Valentine’s packages that will really set hearts aflutter (and won’t involve soggy petals clogging the plughole). Here are 10 hot properties that offer something a little bit different…

The Connaught, London

Set in swanky Mayfair, the Connaught has old-fashioned values (top-notch butler service, antique furniture) as well as modern frills (the UK’s only Aman Spa). With their ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ package, you’ll enjoy a one-night stay, champagne on arrival, an edible Valentine in-room treat and English breakfast. And just this once, you’re encouraged to take home the (personalised monogrammed) towels.
Valentine’s package price: From £385
Dates: 1–29 February
mrandmrssmith.com/the-connaught

Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire

This hotel has it all: an award-winning spa, croquet lawn, equestrian centre (horse riding for two can be arranged) and tennis courts are all feathers in this handsome hotel’s hat. Arrive to pink champagne in your room, then tuck in to dinner at the Michelin-starred Park restaurant; next morning, enjoy a full English breakfast.
Valentine’s package price: From £470
Dates: 14 February
mrandmrssmith.com/lucknam-park

St Moritz Hotel, Cornwall

A multitalented modernist resort overlooking the Camel Estuary, the St Moritz Hotel has a Cowshed spa, activities galore and a buzzing restaurant and bar. February has been declared the ‘month of love’ and their romantic package includes one night’s stay and a top-secret ‘Luxe Love’ box of adult treats.
Valentine’s package price: From £195
Dates: 1–29 February
mrandmrssmith.com/st-moritz

Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire

Fancy living it up at an imposing stately mansion? Indulge yourselves with a one-night stay, dinner and breakfast, a personalised cake for two, chilled champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries. They’ll also give you an SPC bath and body oil collection – ideal for trying out the sort of massages they don’t provide in their incredible spa.
Valentine’s package price: From £470
Dates: 10–14 February
mrandmrssmith.com/ stoke-park

Lime Wood, Hampshire

This stately pile has a serious air of luxury, with devotedly designed interiors, a super spa and two tantalising restaurants. Lime Wood’s five-course Valentine’s feast (designed to be shared) includes truffle-baked clams, roast Hampshire mallard carved at the table and baked Tunworth cheese with homemade bread – perfect for dunking à deux.
Valentine’s dinner price: £170 per couple, excluding drinks. (Why not make a night of it, boutique bedrooms from £295 on Valentine’s night?)
Dates: 14 February
mrandmrssmith.com/lime-wood

Aquapura, Douro Valley, Portugal

Portugal’s sexiest spa retreat offers views of the valley in all its sweeping vine-clad majesty as well as a tempting Valentine’s package: during your two-night stay you’ll be welcomed with a cocktail, pampered with a 55-minute spa treatment for two, and wined and dined with a delectable three-course meal.
Valentine’s package price: From €285
Dates: 9–15 February
mrandmrssmith.com/aquapura

A’jia Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

Sleek design and a grand Ottoman exterior entwine on the banks of the Bosphorus: inside, your Romance Suite awaits. Sip cocktails at check-in, then luxuriate during a 30-minute massage for two, followed by dinner with wine. Next morning, discover the delights of a Turkish breakfast.
Valentine’s package price: From £540
Dates: 14 February
mrandmrssmith.com/ajia-hotel

Canal House, Amsterdam, Netherlands

This Dutch masterpiece boasts both a romantic-hideaway garden and some seriously seductive bedrooms. Escape to Amsterdam for the night and enjoy homemade chocolate truffles, a Green & Spring candle in your room and a three-course dinner, with a full breakfast laid on the next day.
Valentine’s package price: From £228
Dates: 10–18 February
mrandmrssmith.com/canal-house

La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco

Ravishing and regal, this legendary den of decadence is set in royal gardens, styled with a medley of art deco and Moorish opulence, and as sensuous as a seraglio. Arrive for your two-night stay in a chauffeur-driven Daimler, then prepare to be spoilt: your Moroccan adventure involves a 30-minute massage, 45-minute helicopter tour of the Atlas Mountains, dinner, breakfast and a 60-minute Shiseido spa ritual.
Valentine’s package price: From £2,140
Dates: 9–20 February
mrandmrssmith.com/la-mamounia

Grand Hotel Villa Cora, Florence, Italy

Built in the 1870s by Baron Oppenheim for his wife, Grand Hotel Villa Cora is a love letter in art and architecture: it’s opulent in the extreme, but by no means over-blinged. Book through Mr & Mrs Smith and receive an upgrade to a deluxe room, a special gift and breakfast in bed.
Valentine’s package price: From €250
Dates: Until 31 March
mrandmrssmith.com/villa-cora

For more on Mr & Mrs Smith or to book one of the hotels above, please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com

Measures to boost cruise tourism in the Med

Editor — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:05:14 +0000

In the aftermath of the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy on January 13, the announcements by government ministers from Turkey and Greece that they are introducing measures to give cruising in the Mediterranean a boost couldn’t have come at a better time.

George Nikitiades, Greek deputy minister of culture and tourism, recently revealed that Greece will abolish remaining restrictions on non-European Union cruise ships based at Greek ports. Meanwhile Turkey’s minister of transport, marine affairs and communications, Binali Yildirim, has also announced reductions of up to 50 percent in certain port and service fees for cruise ships stopping in Turkey.

While long overdue, these measures will no doubt be welcomed by those working within the cruise industry. For the fact of the matter is that it’s going to take consumers a long, long time to forget the image of the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia. Until they do, any and every pro tourism move made by the industry must be applauded.

Creating tourism in Ankara

adrian — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:44:17 +0000

Mehmet Akif Ersoy Literature Museum Library

Fifty years ago, the Ankara suburb of Altindag, was a prosperous area where many wealthy Turks lived. They left and poorer inhabitants moved in. The buildings decayed as the residents had little money to keep up their homes. An imaginative municipality then decided to change things. Buying up these run-down houses (although that seems a grandiose term to describe what was left) has resulted in over 300 restored buildings that have helped the poorer locals as well as attracting tourists.
Ankara doesn’t come quickly to the mind when you consider city destinations. Istanbul, yes but Ankara? And then just to visit one suburb? But a day in Hamamonu, will show you the result of the restoration work. And it isn’t just limited to these 300 buildings. More are being purchased (seventy in 2011 alone says mayor Veysel Tiryaki; more are being renovated and more are becoming sold back to locals at affordable prices. The result is that Hamamonu is one of the few places where you can see what Turkish houses and the area were like a century or so ago. And this is drawing the visitor and their money. Small wonder then that Altindag was named as the Turkish recipient of the 2011 Eden Award (European Tourist Destination of Excellence award.)
Just as you might go within the walls to see the old city of York or to the Tower Bridge area of London to see the beginnings of London, so Altindag is where you’d go to see the beginning of Ankara for here is where the city began. But its not just houses that are being restored. Gardens, public squares and a Turkish Bath have been renovated since the project began about five years ago.
The Mehmet Akif Ersoy Culture Park which was completed in 2010 is a 22,000 square metre oasis of greenery right in the heart of Ankara. In it is Taceddin Dervish Lodge – a building of national pride since this was where the Turkish national anthem was written. Nearby you’ll also find a new museum, the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Literature Museum Library, the only one of its type in Turkey.
Walk further into the area and you might come across Art Street (Sanat Sokagi will be what you see on your map) and here is a group of restored 22 houses where crafts people of all types have been encouraged to produce and sell their wares. So you’ll see paintings, calligraphy, leather gods, ceramics and jewellery amongst the items on sale. As you might expect with this development the area has been reinvigorated. There are now restaurants and shops, outdoor exhibitions and concerts.
So if you’re in Ankara on business and have some time, Hamamonu is the ideal place to see how Ankara began. All in one small area. And if you’re there on holiday, there is more than enough to fill a day.

For more information, click here.

image courtesy of Turksoy

Turkey Specialist Collapses

Editor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:38:50 +0000

Yesterday evening’s news bulletins all carried the story about the collapse of Holidays 4 UK, the Turkish holiday specialist company that trades under the names of Holidays4U and Aegean Flights. This is no small company and it was concentrating on a growth area, Turkey. So what has gone wrong?
Before I try and answer that, let me repeat previous comment in CD-Traveller about what to do if you are one of the unfortunate 50,000 who had booked to go with this company. Contact the CAA, download the form and submit it. The company was ATOL bonded so those that booked a package holiday should receive their money back though it is hard to see it taking less a few months at the earliest and means that if you want a summer holiday you will need to find the money yourself. For those on holiday, you can complete it and you will be flown back. If your hotel or accommodation provider demands an additional payment, the advice is to pay it and claim it back. If you can’t pay, I would contact the British Consulate and seek their support. Theoretically they can do little but their support in a conversation with the local hoteliers group has proved helpful in the past. Hoteliers will be paid under the bonding scheme. It goes without saying that you should check your travel insurance and if you aren’t covered against a tour operator collapse, make sure you select a policy that does protect you in the future.
The company was bonded for 147,000 people meaning it could take on holiday that number. That is a lot of people to just one destination, so it shows how important it was to the Turkish holiday market. Secondly our appetite for Turkish holidays has jumped enormously over the last few years as, being outside the eurozone, holidays there have been cheaper. So in a growing area why did the company go bust? In some ways it was down to us. We seek cheap holidays and, to deliver, the holiday industry pares its profit to the bone, often less than 2% at the cheapest end of the market. It means those companies that operate in this market are vulnerable to any downturn in bookings, increases in prices or delays. Companies have also not been helped by the growth of last minute bookings. It means they walk a tightrope because they have to contract hotels sometimes a year away.
We reported a few weeks ago at the start of the summer season that Simon Calder of The Independent had found some holidays at prices that hadn’t been seen for many years. And for August. Rather than close down, some tour operators cut and cut prices to attract us. The big companies aren’t immune. When Thomas Cook announced its fall in profits earlier this week and the departure of its chief executive it said that it had few holidays left to sell and that prices had risen by 4%. Despite that they suffered from market conditions and our strengthening preference for last minute bookings in the hope of getting a bargain.
All those who booked with an ATOL bonded agent did the “correct” thing. But that doesn’t stop the sadness of not getting a holiday at the time they thought they would have it.

Fancy Turkey for a Holiday?

Editor — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:25:44 +0000

After getting used to Turkey as being one of the best value money for destinations around for the last couple of years, you might be surprised by not only prices this year but availability as well.
At the beginning of the year the appeal of Turkey dropped as some people with little geographic sense decided it was too close to some of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa so they didn’t book. Since then others who might have booked to Egypt, Tunisia and Syria have opted for Turkey as it offers a combination of weather, heritage, beaches and stability. The result has been that some resorts are almost sold out and the bargains that we used to know are not as great as they were.
Last year 28.5 million visitors came to Turkey. This year the numbers for the first three months of the year were up by 15%. Years ago, a target of 30 million visitors by 2023 was set but it seems unbelievable that this target won’t be reached this year. It has leapfrogged many countries and now stands in the top 10 countries for tourism. So successful has it become that the tourism minister has redefined the goals raising it to 50 million tourists per annum. So there is more hotel building, more attractions and the development of more types of holiday on offer such as golf, spas, and trekking as well as appealing to religion tourism since Turkey offers sites for Christians and Muslims. But as the hotels open, they fill up. In the beach resorts, substantial building projects are under way.
So if you are still thinking of Turkey for the summer break, you might want to check prices and resorts sooner rather than later and then make a decision rather than leaving it to the last moment as many have done in the last few years. This year, there may not be much left at the last minute.

The Album: Cathy Winston

Editor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:22:07 +0000

Freelance travel writer, Cathy Winston, takes us on a tour of her five favourite destinations

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut is still associated with the war-torn images of the 80s but while it’s currently quiet in the Lebanese capital, it’s a great time to visit the country. The whole atmosphere is electric – wherever you look the skyline is packed with cranes for the building work but you’re still able to get a glimpse of the old city too, from the bullet-ridden houses along the old Green line to the Muslim quarter in Hamra. And there’s another glamorous side, with chic bars and restaurants, as well as funky boutiques dotted around Gemmayze, Achrafiye and Downtown, plus people watching on a walk along the seafront Corniche. You’re also within driving distance of the incredible temple ruins at Baalbek and the Crusader castle at the fishing village of Byblos.

Lapland, Finland

Northern-most Finland, in the Arctic Circle, is best known for its Santa connections, but it’s a great place to visit after Christmas for the fairytale landscapes and adrenaline-fuelled activities. You can try snowmobiling out into the countryside, as well as taking a husky sled ride, which seems almost as fast thanks to the dogs which simply live to race. It’s romantic too – you can curl up in a fur-lined sleigh pulled by reindeer and sleep in glass igloos looking out to the Northern Lights. And the skiing is great too. The slopes are relatively quiet for beginners and the main resorts have some challenging black runs if you’re more advanced. It does get cold in January and February, but that just gives you an excuse for a daily sauna to defrost as well.

Istanbul, Turkey

One of my favourite cities, I love the mix in Istanbul – there’s centuries of history and culture, with gorgeous buildings including the Blue Mosque, Agia Sofya and the Topkapi Palace as well as buzzing bars like 360istanbul for fantastic views out across the city over pomegranate martinis. The Grand Bazaar is like a rabbit warren and if you ignore the knock-off watches and cheap bellydancing costumes, you can see craftsmen working, haggle for spices and just absorb the atmosphere. But what gives Istanbul its real sense of possibility, of being at the forefront of events, is being split across Europe and Asia – you can cross from one to the other in about 30 minutes.

China

There is so much sheer variety in China that it’s hard even to compare one city with another, as they’re each so fascinating and different in their own way. The Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo has some of the world’s most beautiful scenery and sailing through the towering gorges of the Yangtze is breath-taking. In Xi’an, you get to see a less well-known side of the country, with a big Muslim population and one of the strangest mosques with its pagoda, plus the deservedly famous Terracotta Warriors. And scrambling along a quiet section of the Great Wall a few hours from Beijing, while getting an impromptu Mandarin lesson from my guide, is a memory that will stay with me forever. And that’s only a small taste.

Sri Lanka

For such a small island, you could easily spend weeks exploring Sri Lanka – from the tea plantations in the hill station of Nuwara Eliya to the Buddhist temples in Kandy and the sultry town of Galle at the southern tip, as well as leopard spotting in the Yala National Park. But what fascinated me most was the Cultural Triangle including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, the cave temples at Dambulla and the mountain fortress at Sigiriya with its beautiful gardens and frescoes. While Europe was still in the Dark Ages, Sri Lanka had been enjoying its golden age for over a millennium and even the ruins of the old capitals, with their palaces and intricately carved temples are impressive today. Walking through the giant stone lion paws to discover the palace at Sigiriya on top of an apparently impregnable hunk of rock and learning about the advanced system they used to get water to the fortress reservoir is astonishing. Despite its turbulent history, the people are still so friendly and welcoming too.

Thanks Cathy! For more on Cathy and her travels, please visit www.cathywinston.com
Fancy sharing your top travel experiences with fellow CD Traveller readers? Email kaye@cd-traveller.com

Holiday Choices for 2011

Editor — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:27:08 +0000

Back last autumn you would probably expect that Egypt and maybe Tunisia would have been hot spots for tourist bookings this year. After the removal of the Tunisian president in January, it was to be expected that there would be a downturn in bookings at least until things had stabilised. The same could be said about Egypt. But as the disruption continues in North Africa and the Middle East, will, tourists be deterred from going to the whole area?
The Foreign Office has modified its advisory notices for travel to both Tunisia and Egypt. Luxor is viewed as being calm which probably means, in foreign office speak, that is safe to visit as are the Red Sea resorts which were largely unaffected. Even the curfew isn’t being enforced there. Now there is a warning notice for travellers to Bahrain. But nothing about Morocco despite the demonstrations over the weekend in some cities.
Bookings as monitored by GfK Ascent up until the first week in February have shown much the same sort of pattern since the beginning of the year. Spain, Greece and Cyprus have been the big destinations almost every week with the Balearic Islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza leading the way closely followed by the Canaries. It looks as though we are opting for safety with all the main destinations being selected because they are long-standing and safe.
There is some evidence to suggest that Turkey is being lumped together with the North African and Middle East countries which is unfortunate. It doesn’t seem that Cyprus is affected; booking are up but some people think in their minds that Turkey is the Middle East or at least is identified with it. There are good deals to Turkey; even better ones to Egypt and Tunisia but will British travellers be swayed by them? Whereas at the beginning of the year, holiday prices were up, now they are flat. Spain, which suffered declines over the last couple of years due to the cheaper prices from Turkey and Egypt, has hit back with better rates as has Greece. It could be that some of the fall off in interest is due to better priced offers from those countries.
But for those of us that book late or even at the last minute, Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt are probably going to have some great deals as summer nears.

Bargains Remain on the Big Getaway Weekend

Editor — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:09:35 +0000

This is the biggest weekend of the summer holiday when supposedly the largest number of people head off. And judging by the state of the M25 yesterday that could be the case. On the Surrey section there were entry speed advisory signs of 40mph and slow moving traffic when I crossed over it. A National Express coach going from Gatwick to Swansea came up from Dorking and headed off towards Cobham in an attempt to try and avoid the traffic, a sure sign of lots of traffic since a regular North Surrey-Swansea link isn’t in the timetable!
But apart from visiting the M25, where are we going this summer?
ABTA always produces a guide to the likely spots. This year it estimates 1.9 million of us have decided to head away with Spain (plus the Canaries and the Balearics) as a top destination. Turkey, Greece, (obviously the strikes, as we suggested in CD-Traveller are not putting people off) Egypt, Florida (the draw of Harry Potter?) and Dubai are also popular. ABTA says the Eurozone countries are popular this year because the pound is buying more than it did.
Virtually a third of all those leaving Britain use Heathrow and Gatwick so it is a shame that a security scare at Heathrow about a child’s toy in the luggage delayed some people. How many times do we have to be told what we can and can’t take?
With so many people travelling you might have thought there were few holidays left but Co-op Travel reckons there are. Not only are there some left but there are more than the tour operates planned so they believe there are some good discounts around. Based on 3,500 recent bookings, they say that some prices are up to 34% cheaper than last year. Paphos in Cyprus, Crete, Zante and Turkey seem to have the best deals in comparison with last year.
Is this true?
Co-op Travel says the discounting is because the World Cup, the volcanic ash, BA strikes and the economy are the reasons for so many holidays being available.
So, if you haven’t decided where you want to go yet, it might be worth considering these places.