DH contributor, Carrie-Ann Fleming from Tourism for All UK, shares an article of a recent holiday to Turkey.
Earlier this summer, Darren and I travelled to Oludeniz, on the beautiful Turkish Turquoise Coast. We wanted to try somewhere new together, and chose Oludeniz after recommendations from friends who had stayed in nearby Hisaronu.
After searching on tripadvisor, I found the Turk Hotel, which had amazing reviews. I emailed them straight away with my access requirements, and was impressed when the owner came back to me within the hour! She confirmed that although the hotel wasn’t adapted, they had a standard ground floor room.
Our flight went without a hitch, and we were met at Dalaman airport by the air-conditioned minibus that the hotel had arranged for us.
After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at the Turk Hotel, and were met with a warm welcome and two cold beers! Our room was small and basic but very clean, and the only access issue I had was the large step into the shower cubicle, which I managed to negotiate with some acrobatics.
The hotel is family run, very popular and centrally situated, yet away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday resort. We spoke to fellow holiday makers who had been going to the Turk for 15 years – the atmosphere was like being with one big group of friends, a very relaxed vibe.
We spent most of our time at the hotel. During the day we soaked up the sun and dipped in the pool, which was level with the tiled floor so easy to slide into. In the evening we ate the hotel’s traditional, great-value Turkish food and enjoyed the fun around the al-fresco bar. The weekly Turkish BBQ night is amazing, with brilliant entertainment.
When we did explore Oludeniz, we found people very friendly and accommodating. The central village is fully pedestrianised and step-fee, however the beach walkway only takes you half way to the sea, which was disappointing. We know from experience that my chair is not easy to get over sand.
When Darren bravely decided to paraglide 6000 ft off the mountains, the company insisted that I join him, explaining that they had catered for wheelchair users in the past – but I decided to stay by the beach and watch him land, I am a wimp when it comes to heights!
We took the sunset cruise on a Gulet ship, which was a bit of a disaster. The walkway was too narrow for my chair to fit down, and when we did eventually get on the boat, I spent the whole time feeling sea-sick! But we managed to get some gorgeous photographs of the sunset.
We couldn’t leave Oludeniz without visiting the famous Blue Lagoon. The lagoon is a national nature reserve; I was pleased that they offered free entry for people with disabilities. It is absolutely beautiful, with calm, crystal clear waters and magnificent mountain views.
Overall a wonderful holiday – we hope to return to Turkey in the future.
By Carrie-Ann Fleming
Hi. As a wheelchair user (power chair ) I got really excited to see the article heading Turkish delight. Iv always wanted to go there but access is an issue. After reading this article I’m not much the wiser re access? Did the transport have access? Local taxi service with access ?
Many thanks
Hi Lee
The local Dolmus (bus) service is basically a fleet of minibuses. I am a manual wheelchair user, and could access these, but only by climbing up a large step. I didn’t see any with ramps.
Oludeniz itself is so compact that we only used the Dolmus for airport transfers.
Let me know if I can answer anything else.
Carrie-Ann