Hiya. My names Rich im 21 and from Yorkshire. I spend my time playing sport or travelling
Hiya. My names Rich im 21 and from Yorkshire. I spend my time playing sport or travelling
Member since:29.04.2004
Reviews:9
Ive just come back from a week on the surf,sail and ride holiday by Neilson. The week was spent in Bitez bay which is near Bodrum. The idea of these holidays is that you stay in local accommodation of a good standard and spend your days doing any number of things. They include tuition for windsurfing and dingy sailing and offer guided bike rides and free mountain bikes any time. All this is included in the price.
Weather - Perfect sunny days 6 out of 7 not boiling but definately hot. Low beginner winds in the morning but getting breezy by the afternoon.
LOCATION - BItez
This particular resort was the one i felt best suited my abilities as a beginner windsurfer and novice mountain biker. We stayed in Bitez bay in Turkey which is around 6 miles from the centre of Bodrum and about 2 miles away from Gumbet.
I can honestly say that it was a fantastic place to spend a week. The scenery is amazing as the whole place is just one big postcard. High hills and the crystal clear sea also mean that it's well suited to the people there for the activities. In regard to nightlife it was the beginning of the season so it hadnt really kicked off yet and we decided it was a little bit too much of a hassle to go into Bodrum every night to look for some clubs. In Bitez there are plenty of bars and restaurants which vary in quality from good to superb. Two restaurants i really recommend are: 1: Jimmys. They offer great Turkish and Ottoman cuisine at very reasonable prices and have great staff who are really friendly but not pushy. This restaurant is located about a 2 minute walk from the Bitez Han or Yali Han hotels and is just off the beach.
2: The Istanbul. This restaurant is a bit more upmarket and although cheap compared to a similar standard in England it is expensive for Turkey. At around £15 per person for a 3 course meal it was great for a treat. I fully recommend the fillet steak it was incredible!. The Istanbul is located about 50 yards further down the beach from Jimmys.
In regard to bars there were no single purpose places as all doubled up as restaurants but they all offer reasonably priced local brews and were quite happy for you to sit and just have a drink. The cost was around £1.20 for a pint of local Pils lager.
LOCATION - Bodrum
The major city in the area and quite close to the beaches. We went just for the day on a Dolmus (local buses) and it costs around 50p from Bitez to get there. We went on a thursday morning and stayed for about 4 hours so all we really saw was the castle, the remains of the Maousoleum and the markets. The markets were good fun and i had a great time haggling for some tops. The castle i felt was a bit of a let down because it has such a rich history and dominates the landscape but there just wasn't alot to see other than a few pots. It costs around £4 just to see the free displays but to see any of the main internal displays there are additional fees to pay ranging from £2 to £4 per display. There is plenty of nightlife in Bodrum though so if your'e wanting lively i recommend you head there to get your fill of partying.
ACTIVITIES - Daytime
The two main activities in this resort are mountain biking and windsurfing. Windsurfing tuition, which can lead to RYA certification if you want it, runs on 6 out of the 7 days. When we were there it was running from 10am-12.30. Then another session from 2-4.30 in the afternoon. Any free sailing can continue so long as someone was on beach watch. As far as sports go i found this one fairly easy to grasp and the level of teaching was absolutely fantastic. Within 4 days i had got my RYA level 1 and was just then enjoying myself on the water. They teach up to what was level 4 windsurfing and all the instructors are brilliant. Mountain biking was something i didnt really get to grips with despite trying all but one of the organised rides. These rides were set up and led by our instructor, Will, who was a great guy. They ran on windsurfing days at 8am and then again at 5pm and lasted around 1 1/2 hours. Not a great biker i found some of the technical downhill and riverbed riding very hard but highly enjoyable. On one particular ride i ended up carrying my bike down a 400 metre hill because i just kept falling off when trying to master the singletrack and rocks! The rides were brilliant and for those people who know what they are doing very enjoyable but i found it all a bit of a challenge on the harder rides. The easier rides were very good and took in alot of the scenery and smaller local features such as roman mosaics and the Mynos gate near Bodrum.
ACTIVITIES - Night.
Every night the reps had something organised. The first night it was a get together to help everyone meet. Another time it was a meal out in Bodrum at a fantastic restaurant called the Secret Garden. Sometimes a BBQ or just drinks. Once it was even a trip to a Turkish bath and massage parlour. These area all entirely optional and carry a small charge ranging from £8 - 16.
OVERALL
I had a great time and would without a doubt recommend it to anyone who wants either to learn a new skill or just get out and have the option to do a load of activities when your away. For non active people i would probably say choose a different sort of holiday because it is catered towards people who enjoy earlish mornings and physical sports.
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