Antalya, Turkey, is one of the most popular summer vacation destinations, including among Romanian tourists looking for all-inclusive, resort life and luxury. The popular travel vloggers from “HaiHui în doi” were in Turkey the other day to find out why Romanians choose this destination, and their first conclusion after the experience was: “I didn’t think it was like that.”
They left Romania on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, without any prior preparation, for a little getaway, until Sunday, July 21. They chose Antalya as their holiday destination on a spur-of-the-moment decision, and within hours found flight tickets, accommodation and airport transfers with the help of a travel agency: “When we woke up in the morning, we didn’t know that today we would leave or that we would sleep in another country.”
The choice of Antalya as a tourist destination was based on three reasons: the desire to rest, to see how all inclusive is designed in Turkey and to understand why it is the favorite of many Romanian tourists. They then recounted the whole experience in their latest vlog posted on YouTube (SEE VIDEO).
Vloggers from HaiHui in two in Antalya HaiHui video captures collage in two
The place where the population doubles during the summer
There is both the Province of Antalya and the city of Antalya, which is why many confuse them, the connection between them being that the latter is the seat of the province.
Antalya, the eighth largest city in Turkey, located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, has approximately 1.4 million inhabitants, and the province has a total of over 2.2 million. During the summer, however, the population doubles. For example, last year, the whole province had, in the summer, a population of approximately 5 million people, including tourists. Antalya is the main seaside city, but there are also other popular resorts such as: Belek, Kemer, Alanya, Side, Lara-Kundu, Tekirova, Bogazkent.
The prices
Andreea and Ion, the friendly Romanian vloggers, were accommodated in a resort in Belek, where the room per night with ultra all inclusive (UAI) cost 300 euros. Basically, for four nights with UAI, on the beach, they paid 1,200 euros/two people, to which is added the cost of plane tickets: 1,400 lei, plus 700 lei for checked luggage. In the end, however, they ended up paying more for the holiday, due to a mix-up.
The flight to Antalya took about two hours, and the transfer from the airport to the hotel and back was included in the price, the over 120 km (round trip) was done in a hotel limousine.
They arrived at their destination in the evening, but kept showing the hotel room and the view, also admitting that Antalya was not on the priority list: “Let the vloggers’ New Year’s Eve begin”! The bedroom really looks super good. I knew that the Turks are famous for this area of luxury, all inclusive (AI) hotels. This is an ultra all inclusive (UAI). My expectations have really been exceeded, so far. Everything is screaming. The surprise is the view. We are on the top floor, we have a jacuzzi (on the terrace). I wanted to explore Turkey by car. I really didn’t want to come to ultra all inclusive, but I’m glad I did. Welcome to vloggers’ vacation! I never imagined we would get something like this. We were expecting something with many reviews, because it is always important to go to a hotel tested by others, to have a good rating”.
“Mamma mia, how does she look!”. All inclusive trap
The next day they presented the dining area, both the Swedish buffet and the a la carte restaurants, with traditional and international menus, with culinary offers for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also the part intended for fun and relaxation: swimming pools, gardens resort, playgrounds, restaurants, outdoor terraces and bars, the beach, canopies, but also the commercial area of the resort.
“Mamma mia, how does she look! (..) I think they are attractive in terms of colors. Clearly, it’s the most complex and best-looking all inclusive I’ve ever been to. (..) I don’t know what to choose. That’s the trap of all inclusive that you don’t know what to choose. They all look appetizing. I don’t know if there is psychology behind it, but there are a lot of colors. The problem is that I am not hungry, but the temptation is great and I would like to try everything. This is the number 1 temptation in an all inclusive holiday. (..) The presentation makes all the money, I don’t say the taste anymore”the two Romanian vloggers admitted.
Andreea even admitted that she left the country with a series of prejudices: “We want to test all kinds of experiences, especially those about which we have preconceived ideas. Look, I like Turkey very much, I admit that I hardly convinced myself to come here. It seems to me that it is over Egypt all this experience”.
Regarding the beach they noted: “How wide it is! It burns the sand very hard. The pebbles are very small, and the closer you get to the water, the more sand there is. There are not many people. You can opt for all kinds of sea trips. Very flour and water”.
Antalya seen through the eyes of loyal Romanian tourists. What do you have to do?
In Antalya, they met again with two friends, Ingrid and Andrei, natives of Turkey, where they return year after year: “We like it because we discovered a different Turkey, we don’t just stay in the tourist areas. We like people very much, they are very friendly, they love animals, their food is very good. Iskender kebap you must try the ayran too! They have healthy food, they go very traditional, which you can find especially outside tourist destinations. There are many places that are not advertised here, such as Ölüdeniz or Fethiye, which are very beautiful. Prices, while higher than in years past, are still cheap compared to most countries you can go to. It’s worth getting out of the resorts, comfort zone and see more!”.
Romanian tourists also mentioned that, although every year they spend a week in Turkish resorts, they also experience life outside of them every time. This is how they discovered, for example, that: “There are also resorts where you feel like you are in a cafeteria, but they also have a lot of good taste, with very good food, a lot of nature in the vicinity, many activities, with more than decent prices for what they offer. And after a year of work you feel the need to relax, to be treated like an emperor, a sultan”.
Together with friends they visited the city of Antalya and noted that: “It’s good to get out of the resort, visit, take a trip, explore the area. The temperature is more pleasant than in the area of the resorts. It’s cooler… Antalya has a lot to offer, besides hiking trails, boat trips to the surrounding islands, waterfalls and many beaches. Really surprising, Antalya!”
What do you do when you miss the plane?
And they loved it so much in Antalya that they missed their flight home. “The all-inclusive effect, perhaps,” the vloggers were amused.
The confusion went from the nightly departure time of midnight – 12.05am, when they were scheduled to return home. Basically, they were supposed to be back on Saturday night into Sunday, and they thought it was the next night.
The return flight with all checked baggage cost him, therefore, another 1,500 lei: “We are telling this not to complain, but so that you too know what to do in this situation… I made another mistake with Wizz – I scheduled and paid for an automatic check-in, because, by buying tickets time, I realized that we didn’t have time to pack our bags and check-in… If I hadn’t opted for this option, I probably would have received an email from Wizz the day before about the flight and warning check-in…”.
And at the end of the ultra all inclusive vacation, Andreea and Ion, the two nice Romanian vloggers, admitted about the experience in Antalya: “Most of all we liked the food. It was the best food of a vacation, since a hotel. Top, top, top. The only thing we could have complained about was the heat. Everything was superlative. We also relaxed, I think we got too much into this state of relaxation, of vacation.”
