info on Didim, Turkey

[ckcruise]

We are on the Wind Star cruise from Athens to Instanbul leaving Athens on May 24, 2008. I have just found out that the port of Bodrum has been changed to Didim. Has anyone been here and can recommend what to do in this port? Thanks for the help.

ck

[aleoops]

I have just found out that our 7/5 Istanbul to Athens cruise will be stopping in Didim instead of Bodrum. Did you enjoy your day there? What did you do?

Please let me know about the cruise as well. This is our first Windstar experience. Thanks

[ckcruise]

We just returned from our Athens to Istanbul cruise and had a very enjoyable time. For the port of Didim, we actually hired our Istanbul guide to transport us around Didim. He was waiting for us at the port with a van and took us to the impressive Temple of Apollo, to a local restaurant for lunch and to the theatre at Miletus. He then drove us to a local beach where we had an enjoyable time lounging by the sea. There was a restaurant nearbye and they served us drinks as well. It turned out to be a very nice day. There are tours provided by Wind Star and a lot of people took the tour to the temple of Apollo, Melitus and Prienne. Some people just wandered around Altinkum which is a long beach with lots of restaurants and beach bars. It was very hot the day we were there so be sure to have water, sunscreen and a hat. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[ckcruise]

Hi again,

I forgot to tell you about the cruise in general in my last post. This is our second Wind Star cruise - we did the St. Thomas itinerary on the Wind Spirit about 3 years ago and loved it. In our opinion, this cruise was just as good as the first one we took. Some things were better because there have been some improvements to the ship since we took our first cruise - eg: cabin ammenities, bedding, new decor in some areas, more electronic capabilities (which we did not use). We found the ship condition to be very good, the staff to be excellent and overall the food was good to excellent. The barbque on deck with all you can eat grilled lobster was just as good as we remembered on the Wind Spirit 3 years ago. Every night appetizers were available in the lounge - some nights were less spectacular, but there was an extensive sushi bar one night as well as an excellent greek starter buffet on the pool deck in the early evening while we were in Rhodes - also, this is the night the greek dancers are on board. The following night, while in Didym, Turkish dancers performed in the lounge and there was also an excellent belly dancer. On the sea day, the chef prepared a delicious oriental style buffet for lunch. The atmosphere on board is wonderful - relaxed yet classy and we also really enjoyed the people we met. The ports are amazing - we have been looking back at our many pictures and marvelling at all the amazing sites we saw and the fun things we did. If you are interested in ancient history, this will be a real treat and even if you are not, it is awe-inspiring to see what ancient people were capable of and how advanced their societies really were. I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did and if you have any more questions, please let me know.

ck

[aleoops]

I am so glad you enjoyed Windstar!! Your excellent report has made us even more excited.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Aleoops

[Capt. Mike]

We just returned from our Athens to Istanbul cruise and had a very enjoyable time. For the port of Didim, we actually hired our Istanbul guide to transport us around Didim. He was waiting for us at the port with a van and took us to the impressive Temple of Apollo, to a local restaurant for lunch and to the theatre at Miletus. He then drove us to a local beach where we had an enjoyable time lounging by the sea. There was a restaurant nearbye and they served us drinks as well. It turned out to be a very nice day. There are tours provided by Wind Star and a lot of people took the tour to the temple of Apollo, Melitus and Prienne. Some people just wandered around Altinkum which is a long beach with lots of restaurants and beach bars. It was very hot the day we were there so be sure to have water, sunscreen and a hat. Let me know if you have any more questions.

We are looking for a good guide in Istanbul since we are going several days early. Any suggestions.