Turkey. Part East – part West, bridging the continental gap both geographically and culturally. From Rhodes, we jumped on the one hour ferry to Marmaris, Turkey. We were filled with anticipation about what was to come: Mosques, bazaars, head scarves, distant sounds of a call to prayer and obvisouly much, much more. What we found in Marmaris didn’t quite meet this vision.
Marmaris is located on the “Turkish Riveria” which should, by most accounts, tell you a bit about the atmosphere. To put it mildly, it’s a budget tourist destination for Europeans. A barrage of sales pitches awaited us among the long strand that connects the beach resorts to the old town. Comments such as “Helsingborg, Helsingborg” and “Australians eat here” were around every corner. Soft Northern Europeans are suckers in this environment, and that included us. After the first day we needed a break. Every time some asked us a question or started talking to/at us we, as naïve Stockholmers who are never talked to in the city, kindly engaged. Bad move. We must have spent half our day trying to get out of buying a tour, having a drink, eating a kebab, or stopping for a special all day “English breakfast.” On day two we had a plan. No more small talk and we bargain, for everything.
Marmaris from the bay (click for more pictures)
So we head off to the alley of boats that offer all day tours of Marmaris Bay. There must be at least 50 different boats offering basically the same thing: Boat ride, food, drinks, entertainment. Armed with this information, we went out and searched for a bargain. Together, DUS and I have four business degrees, each having one in sales and marketing. Given that, who did we end up buying from? The first guy who spoke with us and we paid more than any other tour we saw that day. Why you say? 1) We’re suckers 2) Good marketing. The pitch man had an answer for everything: free drinks, wild parties, even a guest book with comments from Swedish people about how great their tour was. Fantastic we thought. It’s more expensive, but look what you get! If we only knew… When the trip was over, I had never been so happy to get off a boat in my life. Here’s how it went.
Tour boat row in Marmaris
First, most people buy the tour on the day before departure. The boat company will pick you up at your hotel and drive you to the dock where the boat leaves. From there you get on the boat find a seat, and enjoy the day. Sounds good right? When the bus came to our hotel that morning, two young families greeted us inside. When we got to the dock and boarded the boat, we realized the boat was full with two categories of people: Parents with wild young children (ages 6-10) and pensioners over 65. Mind you that this is an 8 hour trip that you’ve already paid for. What to do now? Drink. A lot. But, here’s the problem. The “free” drinks were served in 8 oz glasses and you had to pass though the worst guilt trip ever to get one. Turks don’t drink alcohol so when they poored a drink you got the look of death as if your grandmother was pouring you a shot of moonshine. Funny thing is, if you didn’t pay for “all drinks included package,” beverages were served in regular glass and they were all very happy to sell you another — Capitalism at its best.
Swimming break? (video)
The rest of the day was filled with screaming kids, cheesy carnival style sightseeing stops, and discussions about retirement plans in the U.K. To save you from the same mistake, here is a check list of how to buy your Marmaris boat tour:
• Wait until the morning to buy your ticket. Go to the harbor early and watch the people boarding boats and find the one that looks most “fun.”
• Find the boat captain and haggle for a good price. They want to fill their boats for the day, so be strong. Remember though, all boats leave at 10:00 so don’t get left behind.
• Ask if kids are free. If they are, DON’T go.
• Don’t pay for the all-inclusive package. Get the one with lunch and buy drinks on board.
• Bigger the better. If you do end up on a dud boat, at least you can find a corner to relax.
The one gem from this trip was discovering the little village of Turunç. This great little place reminded me of Avalon in Catalina, California. Nice beach, sea-side bars/restaurants and a good atmosphere. If we go back to southern Turkey, Turunç will be our destination.
Small village of Turunç
The American Norseman 