Just come back (yesterday) from five days on The Algarve at Vale do Lobo accompanying a friend who designs houses for billionaires, he was looking at two of his (hopefully) next projects, I was just walking around with my mouth wide open in amazement, and stuffing food and beer into it.

I'm sure there are slightly cheaper places to stay, for instance we spent Saturday in Vilamoura and unless you're wanting to berth a yacht there, the rental property seems fairly reasonable, but it was the food along the coast that was just amazing and paying £100 for sunday lunch for two in a beachfront restaurant in the billionaires triangle was actually worth it if only for the live band, the views up the coast and the fact that the whole three hour lunch prevented at least four hooray-henry families from getting seats when they turned up without booking and just expected to be seated because they thought they knew the owners - when your friend spends all year wining and dining his clients in the restaurant THEN you get to know the owners



OK, so he had to slum it with me on a Ryanair flight rather than have one of his clients send the private jet out for him, and we only took hand luggage to avoid extra fees, and took sandwiches for the plane, in fact we didn't spend one penny extra with Ryanair - its the future I tell you, five days away, five kilos of luggage including one kilo of art equipment, and I only smelled a little bit when we came back.

Some friends of mine go to Cape Verde every January, they love it. They say there's very little to do other than relax.

We've just had a week in Correlejo in Fuerteventura, never been to any of the Canaries before but this little island was great.

We paid just over £2000 between us for a balcony room, on an all inclusive basis. The only thing not included, predictably, are drinks, and we spent less than £500 that week, which included some souvenir photographs and a couple of goes in the casino. Without that it would have nearer £370. Pretty good value I'd say.

I've priced up a Carribean Cruise, and that's even cheaper, though clearly there are flights to factor into that too.

All in all, I'd say it was comparable, probably favourably, to a week in any decent resort you choose to be in, when you factor in spending money.

I didn't, to be honest, but that may have been because we were knackered after over a week of constant travel and sightseeing. I'd really have liked to have visited Pompeii, which is something we may well do next time. We just thought that there was no point going for the sake of it and not enjoying it due to tiredness.

That's what I thought, but ours really wasn't like that. People from all walks of life, people of all ages and nationalities. I think a lot of have been turned onto them because (I suppose with their being a recession on) they are easy to budget for, with them being pretty much all-inclusive. As I say, we only spent £500 on board, and we didn't scrimp on anything.

Just come back from a gorgeous little town in Turkey called Kalkan, on the South-West coast. A nice simple lazy 2 weeks (my wife's medical conditions mean our touring days are done!).

Been to a few places in Turkey - fell in love many years ago with the dramatic green landscape, the incredible warmth of the people, the faultless weather, the epic history, the amazing food and of course the decent prices - but Kalkan beats them all hands down.

The focus, Kalkan Old Town, is just stunning. A maze of narrow streets, whitewashed buildings and a mix of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars to satisfy all tastes - except, crucially, the 18-30 crowd. None of the hassle you get in other towns and resorts, often just a 'hello'. We were lucky enough to stay only a few minutes from the centre - otherwise the steep slopes and steps that dominate this very hilly town would have been unmanageable for the wife.

Very few hotels, the majority of accommodation consists of villas or apartments for rent. We had a top floor veranda terrace on our duplex apartment, and never saw more than one other party by the pool in the day. Private villas are very common and reasonable if you can fill them.

The food is simply outstanding. I've never had a bad meal in Turkey, even when just getting a takeaway for a quite night, and Kalkan raised the bar further. The majority of restaurants are simply outstanding - on a par with anything I've had anywhere else. The staff are fantastic - we had some family including a 4 year-old with us for the first week (thankfully they went home & left the place to us!), and the workers thought nothing of entertaining him for a few hours - magic tricks, games, all sorts. Even several days after he'd gone home with his parents workers would ask how he was, by name: "Where is Lewis? How is he?"

And the restaurant scene is something to behold. Around a dozen buildings have rooftop restaurants - when you first walk out it's like another world - islands of light and activity above street level. The quality, again, is outstanding. There are tiny backstreet restaurants, seafront restaurants, roof restaurants - the choice is unbelievable and we only barely got round the ones we had picked beforehand, there were dozens left to choose from.

Nearby Patara Beach is 12km of unspoilt beauty with the fascinating site of ancient Xanthos a few hundred metres away. The usual boat trips are a good day out.

But what makes Turkey is the people - warm, friendly and incredibly welcoming. None of the tourist weariness or resentment you often come across longer-established tourist Spain and Greece - the Turks value your business and remember to reward repeat business, and as a few workers explained to us, "I must give better service than the competition so you will come back to us". Wonderful people.

Sounds idyllic, just like Greece used to be 30-something years ago.

My eldest daughter has returned from Rhodes very disappointed with the old town, from what she says its in the grip of a severe recession now and there aren't too many businesses surviving, I went there when I was her age in 1979 and loved the place so its very sad to hear her say those things - conversely she loved the day trip that she took to Turkey (not sure where the ferry took them to) and her and the youngest daughter are now looking at there for next years holiday - sounds like Kalkan would be my idea of paradise rather than theirs though

Yes, Turkey is great. Sadly, there is some tourist weariness compared with 20+ years ago when it was a delight (but still very little in the smaller towns). Mention of Patara brings back memories. We like Dalyan - athough a long way from a beach. When we first visited it was about 4 buildings on the waterfront, now its a small, sprading town. It is in a conservation area though and so has development has not gone out of control yet. Yes, people love little kids ot at least boys. Buy them presents, etc.

Cape Verde and go [url=http://www.marlincapeverde.com/Marlin fishing[/url

I've been to Turkey four times, the first time being in the early 80's, to Bodrum.
Back then, it was a bit like Dally describes Dalyan.
I went back to Bodrum in the late 90's (for a wedding) and, apart from the castle being the same, half the town had changed beyond recognition.
The beaten earth around the harbour had become concrete with rows of palm trees, the little old breadshop that had been just a hatch in a wall through which you bought lovely fresh bread was gone, the little stony streets had become tarmac and the small shops replaced by shiny plate glass jewellers' emporia, and McDonald's and KFC had arrived, big style.

On my first visit, a waiter was puzzled by the tip (I had paid too much, he said), another refused payment for tea because tea was for conversation, not money, and another knocked some cigara borek off the bill because he didn't think they were very good.
On my second visit, the people were still just as honest and friendly but I don't think you'd get quite the same hospitality.

I'd guess that, away from the tourist hotspots, the old ethos prevails even now.

If anyone is thinking of going to Turkey, I recommend Cappadocia ... just Google it ... it's incredible.
We once spent a week traversing the South Coast (Crusader castles, Roman ruins, blue sky and bluer sea) as far as Tarsus and then up through the mountains to Cappadocia, then across the old silk route Westwards across the Anatolian plain and back down to the coast for a week of relaxation at Side (pronounced Seeday).
Fantastic.

Up at Istanbul it is different again, here the big city ethos is much more prevalent and there is so much to see and do that you need at least a couple of weeks just to scratch the surface. We followed that with a week at Kilyos on the Black Sea not far from Istanbul in terms of distance but a century away in terms of the total lack of hustle or bustle (there were chickens in the street).

I want to go again, to the Eastern part next time.

Yeah we did Dom Rep last October for 2 weeks, dont think the temperature went lower than 35 so we were happy with that. Just didnt fancy it 2 years on the trot

Went to Marmaris around 15 yrs ago and enjoyed it, went to Alanya about 12 yrs ago and asked the rep to fly us back home after 4 days due to the no stop hassle from the Turks, never been back since. Has this improved since ?

Never been to Marmaris, it always read as a bit too commercial for me, like a cheaper version of Cannes.
But what do I know, I didn't actually get there, so can't offer an opinion.

Alanya, so I hear, is the one to avoid nowadays, popular with mid-range Russian criminals with bodyguards and prostitutes.
But again, I only spent one night there back in the 1980's (it was OK then) so can't speak from recent experience.

Me and the wife love Turkey , May have to give Kalkan a go. We've rented a villa again in Torba for this year again but not doing the ancient sites this year as we did most of them last year, It's definitely feet up time this one.
Last time I went to Patara beach was about 10 years ago and there was nothing on it then but miles of empty beach.
I would love to try a week on a Gulet sailing around the coast.

We had our honeymoon in Lindos a couple of years ago and things were starting to go down hill then ( With Rhodes

). Buses and ferries cancelled , Plenty of protests in Rhodes town and places closing down .
We still had a great holiday though , I found the south and the west coast of the island were dotted with little coves and beached with no-one on them. The drive on the west coast is one of the most idyllic I've ever drove on.

I've stayed in that very rental above the shop. Pub virtually opposite, just to the left. Very short staggering distance back to room.

Thinking of going to Alcudia with the mrs, anyone ever been? what did you think?

All depends what you want. Personally if I was looking at the Balearics, I'd be concentrating on Menorca and Formentera.

Calella de Palafrugell is a good shout. Stayed in a little coastal town called Llafranc, which is within walking distance, about 25 years ago. Always wanted to return but not got round to it as yet.. Built around a cove with a small but beautiful crescent shaped beach. Used to be a favourite haunt of Dali and Hemingway and still wasn't that over commercialised when we visited. It's now meant to be very expensive. Second home territory for the rich and beautiful....Just got back from the Dalmatian coast. Some fantastic little coastal towns interlinked and within walking disance and surrounded by the Biovo National Park if you want to get up into the mountains.

Llafranc is just up the coast from me and is indeed a lovely little place. A short bike ride takes you up to Tamariu, which is really nice. I've been here for five years now and in that limited time I've seen the cost of living increase. This, coupled with wage cuts, means that tourist towns along the Costa Brava and throughout Spain are relying heavily on foreign tourism, noticebaly Russian.
I've always wanted to go to the Dalmatian coast and very nearly did when I was working in Ancona, Italy. Due to (happy) circumstances it's not going to happen for a year or so. Where exactly did you stay?

I wouldn't mind going to Menorca again, the last time I went I stayed at S'algar out of season which was like a ghost town with very little around. Just having a look at Cala n Bosch which looks like a nice place

Have been lots of times to Menorca but mainly to Es Castell (next to the main town Mahon) and to Son Bou which we went to several times - have also travelled all over the island as I'm not a "lie around the pool" sort of person but prefer hiring a car and pottering around, driving around Menorca is really easy and I defy even an idiot to get lost



Cala n Bosch is a place I have visited as the son of a friend of mine was a Thompsons rep there and we went to see him one day, it is nice place but like a lot of the resort towns on the island its very much a tourist-only place, has bars and restaurants a-plenty, has a very nice looking four star hotel that seems to cater for the more wealthy Spanish clients (couldn't see any UK operator using it a few years ago), its close to Ciutadella which is the sort of place that I like mooching around in being that its a former main town and still retains lots of original buildings - you are up the far end of the island though and a car is necessary if you want to go further afield, if you're happy with a one resort holiday then Cala n Bosch would be fine.

A place called Makarska which is in Split-Dalmatia county on the Adriatic. Been a few times, and it's about 60km from Split airport. I'm a non-driver so just jump on a bus for pennies and it delivers you at destination, easy-peasy. The bluest sea I've ever seen and some great coastal walks through pine forests either way from Makarska. Lack of Brits as well, which is another bonus.

We started at Trogir, which is like a tiny Venice and we took two weeks moving down the Dalmatian coast bit-by-bit as far as Dubrovnik, where we stayed in the Old Town.
The very Venetian-style architecture, the limestone mountains, the blue sea and Diocletian's palace in Split stick in my memory.
Makarska is a lovely place, I can well understand why you've been back.
All the way down the coast there are opportunities to visit many, many islands for a day (or longer?) of peace and quiet.
One of the places we stayed at on the coast was a small village called Mali Ston where the seafood is absolutely unbeatable.

This was just after the war was over and there were still enough places un-rebuilt and new tombstones with lit candles in the cemeteries to remind you just how recent it all was.
Walking around the walls of Old Town Dubrovnik, you only need to notice the number of buildings (the majority in fact) with replacement new orange tiled-roofs to realise just how much ordnance was lobbed onto them from the top of the hill.

Strange as it seems, I was actually recommended the country by a mate of mine who was over there just after the war. He is a 360 digger driver and he was over there tidying up, digging mass graves for the deceased being one of his more horrific duties. Managed to do a bit of exploring during his time off and was still suitably impressed with the beauty of the place excluding the extenuating circumstances of his reason for being there. Went for the duration of the whole World Cup in 2006 (5 weeks), sitting in bars with Croatians watching their team compete in the finals. Friendly as you like, sending me bottles of beer over...Nice people, cheap beer and fantastic scenery.