“No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.” ― Elbert Hubbard

Last August, we, the adults in our family, found ourselves in desperate need of a relaxed, no stress – no worry, swimming and sunbathing family vacation.
Since our most recent vacation had been in June and quite active, combining Singapore, Malaysia and a long cruise in Asia, culminating with two days in Beijing, we all felt the need for relaxation.
Children came to strengthen this requirement, asking when are we going to the seaside, when do they get to swim and play in the sand.

Turquoise or emerald Mediteranean sea, white or golden beaches, deluxe resorts

The decision for choosing the destination

Our firm opinion is that a vacation on the Turkish Riviera (especially Antalya resorts) for a family with one or more children is the ideal small kids family vacation for several reasons:

1. The destination is so close – our charter flight takes about an hour and a half to get to Antalya airport, so if we add the transfers to and from the airport, we end up spending 3 hours in the air and on the road, just the same as driving to our own Romanian Riviera;
2. You have a great offer of 600 km stretch of coast to choose from on the Turkish Riviera, overlooking clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, and many more resorts in each region – I would definitely recommend though Lara or Belek for families with small children, as these two are closer to the airport and have the sand beaches;
3. Best services at reasonable prices – you have luxury accommodation, many award-winning chefs in restaurants to choose from, bars, coffee shops, shops, great entertainment for both grown-ups and children, fitness and spa facilities, mini clubs for children etc., all in one big resort;
4. In Turkey you have no worry about cold water, whether you book in June or September. Actually, their summer season is from mid April to mid October, both air and water temperatures are family friendly. It’s true that if you choose the high season (July-August) you may experience a thermal discomfort, as it is very hot, we had an experience in July 2010, but it was fine, otherwise we chose mainly the end of August – beginning of September;
5. A lot of tours and activities to do outside the resorts, and great places to visit, but we will cover these in another article.

All right, I admit, we truly are fans of the Turkish Riviera!

Turkish Riviera location

2016 was the first year when we did not early-book the Turkish Riviera for our summer family vacation, as we did in the previous 10 years, being intimidated by domestic problems that the country had at that time. We used to book early every vacation, so each February or March the latest we make arrangements for a mid August – early September vacation!

We certainly didn’t want to put our lives in danger, but all the riots and problems in Turkey were far from Antalya, in Ankara and Istanbul. Nevertheless, I was worried, so I started following forums about the situation, asked around, to find out that the Riviera is quiet, relaxed, waiting for its tourists, as usual.
More so ever, after studying the offers we had for Greece, Malta, Spain, Italy resorts, all seemed exaggerated as price/quality service report, so we decided to have another delightful Turkish Riviera family vacation after all.

Here more detailed info about the Turkish Riviera.

Well… Easy to say, not so easy to book on last minute. Looking up for our 2015 hotel, Sueno Deluxe Belek, which was newly opened and lovely, we found out that there was no room available during our planned period. The agency that organizes the charter suggested 3 or 4 alternatives. After studying all of them, my husband, Florin, suggested to book Ela Quality Resort Belek.

Well done, hubby!

We booked about a week before the departure itself, without the early-booking discount, the hotel was confirmed two days later, we paid and left with a slight fear of what we would find at this resort.

The charter flight was scheduled for 07.00 a.m. take off from Bucharest, and we checked in the hotel in Belek at 11.00 a.m., we had almost an extra full day on location, having fun, swimming and getting to know the resort, which is incredible, by the way!

Don’t take our negative example, early book your holidays as soon as you can afford it, it will save you not only money, but also comfort and effort!

Our Sueno Deluxe Belek and Ela Quality Resort Belek stay reviews will soon follow on our blog, stay tuned!