Kusidasi, Turkey

Healy Boy

hey, im travelling to kusidasi, in june for 2 weeks, a group of us will be staying in the Sea Pearl Hotel, any other reviews about where to go and where not to go such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs etc, need value for money tight budget going

Tigerandahalf

Kusadasi is a great spot. The Irish are often regarded as showing good service. However, the service from the Turks is top class. Some may find it a little over the top. Food is excellent there and good value. We got steaks on a night out for €13 per head and I ate everything on my plate...no fat bits or streaks on the steak, just pure good meat. The waiting staff will engage in conversation with you and will often remember your name the following night you pass a restaurant. Of course they are working towards a tip but overall I found the service there to be the best I've experienced. You will find a certain element especially in the Irish bars where the 'charmers/waiters' will chat up the Irish girls for a free meal/drink etc.
I'm not sure what you're into but there are some wonderful sites close by. Ephesus is a World Heritage Site - old Roman town ruins. Pamukhale is about 3 hours away. You can bathe in the natural occuring pools on a chalk hillside.
We met many Irish people who were in Turkey for their 4/5/6/7th time and just kept going back as they loved the place. Cruise ships come into the place and there are some great street markets that you can wander around.
Well worth a visit.

eddie.g

i have been there twice and stayed at the palmin..

you should try saray its down a back street but is one of the best restaruants in kusadasi..;)


the mayflower is good also

loads of pubs on bar street:)

hiltonhater

I stayed in The Sea Pearl only last week and can totally recommend the hotel for a start! I don't know if you are going with children or not but I brought my 2 year old so although we could not go on any of the tours (not really what I was there for this time anyway) we really had a great time. Turkish people are very friendly, sometimes it appears overly friendly but it is very genuine. The food in the hotel is great BUT much more expensive than outside. Saray as mentioned above is a fabulous eaterie! http://www.sarayrestaurant.com/ we went two nights in a row, second night was for a late meal. They collected us from the hotel and drove us back, we got complimentary turkish bread to start, I got the fillet steak and it rivals anything I have had in Ireland, my mum got the chefs special chicken (i had this the night before and it is melt in the mouth!) my son had fish fingers and veg and an order of prawn crackers. we got complimentary desert of ice cream and fruits, 2 bottles of wine and my mum had a cuppa too. The show consisted of a belly dancer, some traditional turkish dancers and then the waiters danced and took their tops off - as a single woman, I was very impressed lol The total bill for all that was 50euro!!!!!
For travel into kusadassi there is a bus called the dolmer (number 5). It comes every few minutes and is 1 euro for the journey (ask to go to centrum). There are loads of shops, bars, cafes, restaurants etc but teh most famous bar is jimmys on bar street. anyone can help you find it we also spent a fair bit of time on ladies beach (come out of the hotel, walk down the hill and follow the signs, less than 10 mins walk) and there are some lovely places there like the mona lisa bar, sunset bar and a few others. the place is totally geared at irish people and you can get a full irish brekkie for 10 lira on ladies beach or 13 lira in the hotel.we ordered room service twice and were very impressed. I cannot say enough about kusadassi and dying to go back again but next time it will be with the girls

Sala

Regarding restaurants, Kusadasi is very touristy and there are a lot of restaurants geared towards tourists so while they may be cheap by our standards they aren't by Turisk standards.
Myself and the OH found a tiny restaurant that was full of Turkish people only and it didn't serve alcohol. We got 3 mains - 2 Turkish Pide and one kebab to share, 2 cokes, large bottle water, 2 deserts and it came to about 11 euro. We went back loads as it was the best food we had on the holiday by a mile.

tatli_lokma

Sala wrote: »

Regarding restaurants, Kusadasi is very touristy and there are a lot of restaurants geared towards tourists so while they may be cheap by our standards they aren't by Turisk standards.
Myself and the OH found a tiny restaurant that was full of Turkish people only and it didn't serve alcohol. We got 3 mains - 2 Turkish Pide and one kebab to share, 2 cokes, large bottle water, 2 deserts and it came to about 11 euro. We went back loads as it was the best food we had on the holiday by a mile.

+1 definitely go to the Turkish restaurants. Even the chains are really good - Alo 24 is one of the main chains. I think there is one in Kuşadasi, but if not look out for any of the restaurants that serve Pide and Kebabs. They are really cheap and you should definitely try the soups and salads.

And the bus is called the dolmuş (Dol-mush) not Dolmer.

Venture out of the resort if you really want to get an idea of Turkey and Turkish people. Kuşadasi is my least favourite resort, I'm sorry to say, but even still the Turkish people are wonderful and you will have a great time. But if you want a really amazing time travel out of the resort and get out and about. Ephesus is great, but go early in the day as it gets very hot in summer and there is no real shelter. Be aware of this if you are bringing kids or older folk - its quite a lot of walking, uneven surfaces and not much shade or facilities there - it is literally a great big historic site. So be prepared for that. The National park near Davutlar is lovely too - forest land that meets the sea - gorgeous for a day out and a picnic.