Is Kalkan Quieter Than Last Year ?

[Cosetta]

Our villa is also fully booked, yet thereafter I got another 62 enquiries in May, June and up to July 17 and another this morning!  My impression is that bookings came later this year and that renters are not going out as much for dinners and lunches.  We had renters who stayed home and barbecued 5/7 nights.  I have heard from some owners that their bookings are down from last year. Too much supply, not that much demand.

[maryjane]

Me too.  I will not have my Kalkan fix this year.  Financial constraints etc. prevents my "fix" in the sun.  Whilst not a huge spender, I would usually get through £400 for a weeks stay on "extras".  Multiply by a few hundred people in the same situation and thereby lies the problem!

[kalkan4eva]

johnl and maryjane so sorry to hear about your circumstances I hope things improve for you both soon.

[Blue Lizard]

Yes the crunch is certainly cruel......we don't have a lot of luxurys so Kalkan is high on our list of "keepies",we don't have children so are not financially strapped on that front,we both work but as you are aware no job is safe these days,but if you worry about what might happen you wouldn't ever do anything would you....we have cut our cloth however,we used to go two or three times a year,not now,we downsized our rental as we had loads of wasted space..it just means i see more of mrs L ...we eat out less as cossetta has said,when we do we don't frequent the lavish places.....when we see our flight go on sale we buy it straight away...a subject came up before about flight companys use of worms that when you click on if, you log out and click on again the price goes up automatically because it recognises you are interested(deleting cookies sometimes avoids this..though not always)..we use a very good transfer company that is holding the price for us....we don't buy gifts etc....this way we can still go..and still have a better value for our money than in the UK and Sunshine into the bargain!i know we are fortunate and it seems incredible that some moan about kalkan?....i'm missing it already. i know i would be sad if i had to give up my break and i do feel for those who can't go......but chin up! you'll appreciate it more when you can!  
 
 
i will own up to throwing my toys out of the pram over missing water..but it was short lived and forgotten after i got home........sigh!

[clara 50]

We returned from Kalkan last week and did find it quieter than last year especially the first week. We are friendly with a few of the bar owners who also said that they were finding it more of a struggle as customer numbers had gone down quite a bit so far this year. Called in our old haunts and very often were the only customers, we didn't mind as it gave us time to have a good chinwag with the staff but felt a little sorry for them not getting the customers in. Did also notice that the food had gone up in price both in the restaurants and supermarket. Guess everywhere's feeling the pinch. Nevertheless once again we had a fantastic time, meeting up with all our old friends and making more new. Had some great nights out especially in the Cafe Vita, BBQ night, fab food and great music. Spent some evenings in Bread And More as it was just down the hill from the villa, the live music night was great fun, the staff were hilarious even the chef was joining in. Got everyone up for a bop and the singer was encouraging anyone to join him. Truly a night to remember. Usually go back for a second holiday but not sure this year as Blue Lizard has said you have to cut your cloth accordingly. Also have been looking to downsize our accomodation but at the moment just can't decide what to do. Would love to go back as we are absolutely addicted to the place and it would be great to see our friends again. We live in hope!!

[maryjane]

Dear Kalkan4eva, good post.   Do not feel sorry for me, but I run my own business, my staff have been asked to make certain compromises - it would look REALLY good if the boss pushed off to the sun for a while - NOT

[kalkan4eva]

everyone's feeling the pinch...I'm not a fan of the age of austerity
Stupidly, we agreed to take our three adult offspring this year...in peak weeks...we keep blaming each other over who's bright idea it was We normally eat out a lot - in some of the plusher places as well as some of the cheaper places and we like to have a few drinks (of the alcoholic variety) and lets not forget the K4E bag fund. There'll be a lot less eating out in the plush places...if we do it all...the K4E bag fund has been hived into celebrations for our youngest's 18th birthday whilst we're there...but our bar fund's still looking good We have had to seriously re-think our "normal" Kalkan break - 5 adults is a costly do...!
Also, for the first time in living memory, K4E has purchased no holiday clothes this year
I appreicate this might sound frivilous to those not getting out to Kalkan this year, and I'm truly sorry, but we live for our holidays...and sometimes our football teams
We consider ourselves very lucky *touch wood* to be employed in these testing times and who knows when we might get out to Kalkan again?

[Rockykalamar]

Who do you use for transfers BL? We found that our usual company is steadily increasing cost, from Dec to Feb to June!!

[itstime]

Just got back this evening after 17 days in Kalkan. Was definitely quieter than usual in the first week but has got steadily busier this week. I did notice a lot more Turkish tourists than I've been aware of in previous years. It's great that they also seem to have found the delights of Kalkan
As far as restaurants were concerned, no problem getting tables until a few nights ago when it started to get very busy so hopefully business has picked up for them and will continue for the rest of the season.
Did a boat trip yesterday with only 5 people on board which was lovely for us but can't help worrying that the poor owner couldn't have been making much of a profit for their excellent service.
Have to confess I did buy a rather wonderful handbag but didn't bring much more in the way of the usual souveniers. No great problem though as there isn't a room in my house which isn't adorned with Kalkan memoribilia (sp )
Had great intentions of being more frugal with eating out but afraid they fell by the wayside and did infact eat out every evening and most lunchtimes too
I'll post on my favourites when I've recovered!!!!!!

Back again in September for 10 days and already looking forward to it.
All in all another wonderful holiday full of all the ingredients which make Kalkan the extra special place that it is

[Denners]

My theory is that this year:
1. money for all Brits is tighter this year and as the spending cuts in the UK start to bite, people are concerned about their jobs;
2. those who can afford the higher priced hotels and larger luxurious rental villas will still be able to afford them;
3. others will trade down to smaller and lower cost rental villas and apartments;
4. the restaurants will suffer most as more people will self cater and eat in more and have BBQs etc
However, Kalkan still offers fantastic accommodation opportunities for all budgets in a really wonderful place !
Also, thankfully the Turkish Lira is moving in a good direction for the benefit of tourists and that the Euro countries are all bu**ered or lurpacked !

[JenJen]

I was made redundant last month (despite the company making record profits and not being affected at all by the recession, they realised they could make even more millions by employing graduates in SE Asia instead of in the UK) and we shouldn't really be having a holiday at all but the thought of losing my holiday as well as my job was too much! We managed to pay off the holiday and save up all our spends in the first half of this year while I was still in my job.  It's going to be 2 weeks of totally spoiling ourselves as we're having to keep an eye on everything we spend at home at the moment.  I can't wait 

[Kalkan regular]

Sorry about your job Jenjen. The good news is that you won't find Kalkan any dearer than last year. The prices have gone up but you will be getting at least 10% more lira due to the good currency exchange so it balances out. The thing we found this year is that generally there was less of a gap in price between the places we had considered medium priced and the expensive eating places. The cheaper places were still excellent value.

[JenJen]

Thanks Kalkan Regular 

Yes, the exchange rate looks great at the moment, I hope it's still as good in September when we're out there.

[clara 50]

Hope you have a wonderful relaxing stress free holiday JenJen, sounds like you really deserve it. Cheers!!

[JenJen]

Ah, thanks Clara.  Very excited already, even though it's still 8 weeks away!

[itstime]

Go and have a fabulous time Jen Jen. I'm just back and out again in September. Earlier this year my job was under real threat. I managed to hold on but some of my colleagues weren't as fortunate. I'm still in an uncertain situation as further cuts are possible but I've decided to carry on as normal and hope to ride out the uncertainty.
Hopefully things will start to look a bit brighter for everyone soon

[cleworthallray]

Mr Blue.......how do you do!. I was also wondering where the hell you had gone. Missed your little quips on my posts....I'm used to some kind of cheeky responce. Your not the only person to go off radar, conspiracy theory and that. Was wondering whether to check under me bed when there in early september to see if there were any pods about. ooooooh! thats not my wife..........bugger caught again! Regards Ray

[Blue Lizard]

Hey fella!!.......i will try not to let you down!!!

[JenJen]

Thanks, itstime  Hope your job situation works out - a lot of people I know are in a similar position at the moment.  I'm still really bitter about my ex-employers for the way they handled our situation but am in the process of setting up my own little business at the moment which is fun so far.  It's very hard work though so I'm going to be more than ready for some cocktails and sun in September!

[tortoise lady]

Quote from yesterdays Metro "Holidaymakers hit by cash woes.   Nearly two out of ten holidaymakers plan to spend less on their summer break this year.  They hope to save about £326 on the amount they spent last year, the survey suggests.  However, about four in ten will pay the same as in 2010, while three out of ten will spend more - blaming the rising cost of living for their outlay, according to the M & S Money poll.   Meanwhile, the amount of spending money that Britons take on their two-week summer vacation has slumped in recent years to an average of £451, says a survey by Moneycorp".

Assuming all, or any, of this is correct it is not surprising that Kalkan should have been a bit quieter this year.    It is good news that things now seem much busier and with the school holidays  beginning we hope restaurants etc will find business much improved.

For those of you considering or already downsizing in the accommodation you are booking have you tried "making an offer" to somewhere you really fancy but is a little larger than you really need, considering your budget?    Villa/apartment owners are not likely to accept considerably less well ahead of a date but may negotiate when it is close to departure time.   They still have to pay for garden and pool maintenance even if the place is empty, not to mention agents fees etc.    Especially likely to consider a lower price if there are only two people - less laundry, electricity for air con  and so on.   Naturally it is then necessary to look for cheap flights.

What is good news is that new people are discovering the joys of Kalkan, quite a few have posted on this forum after their first visit.    We have had people new to Kalkan staying in our villa this year and they have written to say how much they love the place, the food and the people.   So although some regulars may not be managing to go every year new enthusiasts are arriving.