Bodrum - Read our Stories and Reviews

Bodrum

| Clear °F:88

Sometimes it pays to be spontaneous... When we went with our instincts and followed a concierge’s suggestion to leave Istanbul’s Sunday traffic and spend the day a short flight away on the Bodrum Peninsula, it really paid off. We sampled a totally different side of Turkey from the city mosques and palaces. The peaceful bays, beaches and villages of the southwest have attracted a thriving high-end resort and yachting culture. Jet setters come from all over Eastern Europe to relax on the coastline by day and party in the town of Bodrum by night. Well-heeled Turkish and Russian resort visitors have transformed this once sleepy fisherman’s town into nightlife where you hook and reel in a different kind of catch!

Being on a family holiday, for us the real find was the unique (my personal obsession) beach club hotels that we discovered. The CASA DELL’ARTE is all about the personal touch of its charming art lover owners - a tranquil haven with stunning minimalist accommodation stocked full of original art. It’s a very special hotel that has become one of our hidden gems…

MACAKAZI is the perfect companion beach resort where the mood is cranked up and the beautiful people in this part of the world are at play. This is the new, thriving side of the country and Bodrum is a fantastic base to stop down for a Turkish style summer holiday.

Watch our Video

View our Black Book

GETTING TO BODRUM Turkey

Our plans for Turkey included the fascinating, layered ancient city of Istanbul, and a trip to the other worldly desert landscape of rural, Cappadocia in Eastern Anatolia. Soon after arriving at Hotel Les Ottomans (see ISTANBUL),our private concierge, Maher Barrage advised us against spending Sunday in Istanbul if we could help it: “it’s too hot, the mosques and palaces are full, ...bedlam with traffic. You would be far better off flying to Bodrum for the day.”

We had been looking forward to enjoying Hotel Les Ottoman's pool on a waterfront terrace overlooking the Bosphorous, - one of the selling points that convinced me to choose this hotel - but disappointingly, it had been pre-booked for a private function.

It did not take a lot to convince me that this was another layer we could add to out Turkey experience. So our concierge Maher booked us the flight to Bodrum to get us away form Istanbul and do what we do best…be spontaneous!

(cost: approx US $250 per person from Istanbul return).

Everything he said made sense. I loved the idea of a whole new surprise on our journey: a taste of Muğla Province. So it was a yes! We got 4 tickets on a 7am Turkish Airlines flight - with a 7pm return.

Our infamous Istanbul driver inched along the highway to the airport so we had literally 20 mins to make our plane to Bodrum!

PLEASE NOTE - you need your passport to travel domestically in Turkey; for that matter the world over now requires a passport as a foreign traveler on domestic flights.

Thank God I am always over-cautious about documentation. This was a good reminder that with any airport you should factor in more time for check in and unpredictable “life happens” moments such as slow drivers. The airport here is bedlam and there seem to be no queues and no distinguishable signs in English, so allow plenty of time and ask your taxi to put the pedal to the metal!