Mercado de Fethiye y tour de compras

The first stop at the Gold market was good but you could see the guide was working on commission as the hotel name was given to the store staff. As with all the stall holders we met, they were a little pushy and used some good diversion tactics. The market behind the gold centre was nice with lots of eateries but we were totally shafted by one stall holder, paying totally over the odds. You need to have your wits about you at all times. The final stop was a bit of a waste of time but still good.

Felt very intimidated whilst shopping in fethiye got pressured in buying something we didn’t want as the shop worker would not let us go. However the market was good but would have preferred Fethiye market as this is what we thought we had payed for but was taken to a different market that was not as big as Fethiye market. Had we known we were not going to this market we would not have booked.

Gold shop stop AWFUL: hounded by staff within. Market stop TOO LONG: please cut off at least an hour. Blue Lagoon stop TOO SHORT & having to spend another 100 lira each for a nice part of the beach because we’re told better sand, better sun-lounges & less choppy waters is a bit of a drag after already paying for the excursion. Coach was lovely. Staff were proficient (though not nice to witness commission being taken at the beach) and Tui need to pay them more to STOP them always asking for tips.

We though that the lagoon beach was beautiful but didn’t have enough time to enjoy this part of the trip, we felt that the three stops being located half an hour apart meant too much time in the coach. The driver and tour guide were very professional and friendly. This day excursion just wasn’t for us. We lost an hour in the morning when we stopped at the gold shop (which I assumed would be located in close proximity to the market), the beach stop was a little confusing because there were three options, all included additional payment for sunlougers. The lagoon beach was very busy and by the time we walked and found a spot we only had an hour on the beach before we needed to walk back to the coach, this despite being told this was closer to the pick-up point, perhaps a visit on a week day and not the weekend might have been a better option.

Overall I enjoyed our trip to Fethiye and the blue lagoon in ölüdeniz however this trip is not without its faults. 1. This trip is all about trying to make you spend more money after paying £25 per adult and £12 per child we were firstly taken to Talamassos gold centre (a jewellery shop) this whole experience was a waste of 45 minutes and you are pestered the entire time you are there. 2. You have 2.5 hours to spend at fethiye market. While the market is an experience and there are bargains to be had I think 1.5 hours here would be more than sufficient. 3. During the trip we were informed that when you get to the blue lagoon you have 3 options a) public beach, pay for loungers, choppy water etc b) quieter location, 15 lira each, extra for sunbeds and walk 15 mins to beach c) private bar/hotel on lagoon, 100 lira per adult sunbeds included. While this is not particularly expensive, after already paying for the excursion I find it cheeky to then expect every one to pay out more money again. 4. If you took out the time at the gold centre and lessened the time at the market you would have more leisure time at the blue lagoon which for me was the best part of the trip and I would have paid the same just for a full day there.