Has anyone been to Marmaris Turkey?

[Wanderbug]

I am booked on a Western Med cruise beginning November 3 on Costa Cruise line. One of the ports is Marmaris, Turkey. We are only scheduled to be there from 8:00 a.m. until noon. Then we are scheduled to stop in Rhodes, Greece at 3:00 p.m.

 

There are no excursions available in Marmaris. Four hours barely seems like enough time to get everyone off the ship and then back on before time to sail.

 

Has anyone here been to this port with Costa? I would love to know what to expect. Is it possible to do anything in such a short time?

[iancal]

We have been there. If you arrive at 8 and depart at noon, that really means if you are lucky you will be off the ship at 8:30 and you will probably need to be back on at 11:30. Three hours max. There are a few good spots nearby, but 3 hours will not do it. We stayed nearby at Dalyan-right by the rock tombs of Caunus and the turtle beach. The tombs are very interesting. We did not find Marmaris itself that interesting.

[mustgo]

We are soon having a day in Marmaris. The ship has a tour by bus and boat to Dalyan. Is there a way to do Dalyan other than by ship tour? I would like to see the tombs

[iancal]

I do not know that. We were on a do it yourself land tour. We stayed in Dalyan at a B&B beside the river that had an amazing view of the tombs. We hired an older gentleman with a rowboat to take us to the tombs and then to the turtle beach. We took a bus from Dalyan to Marmaris to catch the Rhodes ferry so I assume that there is a bus going the other way. There is bound to be a poster who can clarify this for you. We found the people in Dalyan to be very friendly and gracious.

[Wanderbug]

iancal, from your description, it sounds like there won't be time to do anything in Marmaris unless we take the ferry to Rhodes to connect with the ship there instead of getting back on the ship at noon.

 

Was it easy to take the ferry to Rhodes?

[iancal]

It was easy. We overnighted in Dalyan and spent the morning afternoon there. We took a bus to Marmaris (short trip, very inexpensive) and got a hotel in Marmaris-on the main drag. Getting our tickets to Rhodes was easy. We took a fast ferry the next morning. But, when we went to buy our tickets the afternoon/evening of arriving in Marmaris I think one of the ticket sellers tried to rip us off. THe price he quoted was double what we actually paid at the next booth. This may have been a language issue but I do not think so. So, watch these guys. In the morning, Turkish customs took our passport prior to getting on ferry. They were returned by Greek customs in Rhodes. As for Marmaris, we walked around, looked at the seashore. After travelling through Turkey, and spending time in Dalyan, the attraction for us was the ferry to Rhodes. But each to their own. Seems to me that there was a big vacation development west of the city. You will see lots of sailboats in Turkey. I was told that many Europeans buy and moor them their for tax reasons and of course location. When we cruise, it seems to me that it has always taken us 30-45 minutes after docking to actually step on dry land. They do the customs where requiured, and then let off the people who have bought excusions first (I resent this). We usually do our own thing. This has been the same on all of the cruise lines that we have been on with the exception of Crystal.

[debrajean]

Wanderbug... Are you on the Romantica Nov. 3rd? We are on that ship and when I saw your Marmaris questions, I fugured you might be too. I have no idea on what we are doing in that short of time. We are from Minnesota. Looking forward to the cruise.

 

Deb

[Wanderbug]

debrajean,

 

Yes, I'm on that cruise. I'm very excited, but I like to plan ahead and Marmaris is confusing. I've never been on a cruise that made a 4 hour stop with no shore excursions available. It would make sense if they were offering excursions that begin in Marmaris and end in Rhodes. Maybe there will be different options available, but they just aren't listed on the website.

 

iancal,

 

I understand your frustration about letting people with shore excursions off first. Usually, I stick with RCCL because I'm Diamond and can usually get off the ship first. This is my first time with Costa. The price was excellent and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I'm hoping to have a more authentic European experience with Costa.

[Paul&Kathy]

There is a big market/bazaar area in Marmaris so I think your best bet in such a short time would be to have a look around there. We did not cruise when we visited Marmaris so not sure how far away the ship docks but if they are not offering excursions I expect it will dock close to the town.

[Jetdriver787]

It seems a very short stop over. Possibly it is incorporated for tax/duty free reasons as Turkey is not a member of the European Community. A lot of Med' cruises seem to stop at one non EC port (Gibraltar, Tunis, Instanbul etc.) If they didn't it would be necessary to charge VAT (sales tax) on all onboard sales. In addition Duty free sales would not be permitted on board.

 

Nevertheless to answer your question, Marmaris is a very touristy town in the Summer months. It will be much quieter and cooler in November. For something to do in 3 hours there is the bazzar, or you could take a taxi to one of the "Turkish baths". It can be quite an invigorating experience, and 3 hours should just about do it.

[Wanderbug]

Jetdriver787 and Paul&Kathy, Thanks for the information. Is the bazaar in Marmaris similar to the straw markets in the Caribbean or is it more unique?

 

That's very interesting about the VAT taxes and it definitely explains a lot.

[Jetdriver787]

The bazaar is covered "streets" that criss/cross over a fairly wide area. The shops many of which are open fronted sell a variety of mainly touristy stuff. Carpets/Rugs, Turkish delight (sweets) "antiques", clothing and shoes, brassware etc.etc. In fact you name it and somebodies brother will have a shop that sells it.

 

The turkish baths also geared to the tourists are set in the middle of town and you go in with a group for the usual variety of treatments. The last time we were there we visited This one. I notice it opens at 9am, but if you tell them you are short of time I am sure you can get it done in 90 minutes or so.