Trip to Fethiye.

[clara48]

How long roughly does it take to drive to Fethiye? We've heard that there are a few big supermarkets where you can do a big shop and stock up with essentials and of course Efes and wine. We're going for two weeks next week and are hiring a car again so we're wondering if it would be worth our while doing this taking into regard fuel costs etc, are the supermarkets that much cheaper and of course you can't beat fresh local food. We went for two weeks in June and shopped locally daily which was great eating fresh every day for breakfast or the odd snack but we did eat out every evening. Intending to try to be a little more economical this time as it's our second visit this year and maybe have a few BBQ's or try our hand at Turkish cooking     ! Also, on route to Fethiye are there places of interest so that we could make it a sightseeing trip on the way or maybe Fethiye itself is worth a visit? Having said all this knowing us when we get to Kalkan we won't be able to resist all those great restaurants and end up saying OH B***** the cooking    , get your glad rags on we're eating out on the town!! 

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[Denners]

Clara24, its a 1 hour drive to Fethiye. There is a good Migros supermarket there with much cheaper prices than Kalkan. Also a great harbour in Fethiye and you have to try the fish market in the centre of the town for lunch + buy fresh and get it cooked there and then in the restaurants around the market.

[Lantana]

We shop in Kalkan every day for fresh food, weekly or fortnightly for staples and basics such as loo roll, washing powder etc.

Going to Migros in Fethiye is no cheaper than shopping in Kalkan. Particularly when you add in the cost of fuel for the approx 200km round trip . Petrol here is currently about £1.25 a litre. In our car, a round trip to Fethiye costs 60 lira - we wouldn't save anything like that on a shopping trip.

It is also worth remembering that at this time of year, even using a cool bag, fresh fish or meat, dairy products or any frozen goods could be spoilt well before you get back to Kalkan.

We shop at all the supermarkets here.  They all have different  special offers and promotions which are worth taking advantage of if you live here, but are less important when you are on holiday.

Consistently, we find the best prices  at Sevil. Yesterday a particular brand of toothpaste we buy was 5 lira in Sevil, 7.99 in Yali.  Sevil also has a wider range of products which suit my particular requirements.

However it is worth going to Fethiye to see what it has to offer and not bothering to shop. There is an excellent small museum, http://www.lycianturkey.com/fethiye-museum.htm.  Very well preserved rock tombs, http://www.fethiyelife.com/rocktombs.html, a roman amphitheatre, a Crusader castle, a stunning peninsula which has a dozen small bays which are totally unspoilt offering swimming in crystal clear waters.

Just outside Fethiye there is the village of Kaya Koy, the setting for the book 'Birds Without Wings' - well worth a visit  http://www.anatolia.luwo.be/index.htm?kayakoy.htm&1

I could name a dozen other things to see and do there.  It would be a sad waste to ignore the local attractions in favour of a supermarket visit, unless you really like supermarkets.

lantana

[kalkan4eva]

Hi Clara,
in previous years we've always hired a car on a Tuesday to visit Fethiye Market and do a "big shop" in Migros or Carrefour but when we we there in July we found, as Lantana says, the big supermarkets in Fethiye were no cheaper than Kalkan. We always enjoy a visit to Fethiye for the harbour and shops...and the fish market....but the supermarket shop was more for convenience than price this year. It would be cheaper to shop locally and have everything delivered to your accomodation. We found Adda very good this year, although a bit limited in its range...the buy one get one free offers on toilet roll should be avoided at all costs though....without going into detail 

[clara48]

Thanks everyone! Think we'll probably stick to shopping locally as we did last time. Good point about transporting food in the heat Lantana, not really worth the risk. Nevertheless, we'll probably have a trip out to Fethiye to do a spot of sightseeing one day. Cheers all!