Turkey, is it safe for a holiday?

I first came across Turkey as a holiday destination about 25+ years ago when my middle sister Heidi decided to become a Travel Rep and joined Tapestry Holidays and off she went to Olu Deniz!  My parents and my other sister visited her a few times but I never did for various complicated reasons including a dislike of flying.

Then three years ago, we were looking for a hot destination, Heidi suggested Kalkan in Turkey and so we booked with Simpson Travel to stay at the amazing Korsan Suites.  We fell in love with the country and had a fantastic 14 day holiday – our last one as a complete family before the children headed off in their own directions.

This year Heidi suggested a ‘girls and kids’ holiday.  So as I explained here off we went to the Olu Deniz area that Heidi knows so well.  A lot of people before we left commented on why we were going to Turkey, was it not really dangerous etc?  No!  It absolutely is not!  It is a friendly, welcoming and safe holiday destination.  Yes there are problems up on the Syrian border but it would take about 3 days to drive there from the holiday areas.  Yes there have been some bombs in Ankara and Istanbul but seriously that can happen anywhere at any time.  Paris?  Brussels?  London?  Tourists have been advised to travel with caution to these main cities but in the holiday towns which are hundreds of miles away there have been no directives to avoid the area.  But still tourists are nervous and the area was quieter than usual, speaking to locals they are worried that their bookings are down and this will affect their trade this summer.  It is such a shame.  We found everyone so lovely and even as a group of women with younger children; we felt safe and looked after.  Okay there are no guarantees but there are no guarantees anywhere, terrorists can strike at any time, anywhere and Turkey, in my opinion, is as safe as anywhere else.

We met some lovely people – Gem our taxi driver for the week, Joseph the tour guide for our Jeep Safari, Emma who looks after the apartments where we stayed (Evergreen), Attila who took us out on his boat for the day, the restaurant owners and staff, Osman and Ali who run the local supermarket … and many more!

One evening we were walking along the main shopping street to go to Pizza Pepino and a voice called out ‘Heidi, Heidi is that you’!?  My sister turned round and vaguely recognised the man … it was the owner of Pizza Pepino from 25 years ago, he recognised her and remembered her and her tour guide friends who of course enjoyed a beer and pizza there on many occasions. 

The country is stunning.  To drive through the National Park area, to see wild tortoises just wandering by the side of the road, the mountains and the blue sea – it is breath-taking.  One of the most beautiful countries I have visited.  Don’t avoid it – if you get the opportunity to visit, go!

Michelle x

Me and my sisters on the beach at Olu Deniz

We stayed at Evergreen Apartments in Hisaronu