A few months ago I asked some questions about taking RW to the
Mediterranean area. I received useful information from LP, lebaron, wilmc,
Tootsie, Olga, and Chuck, so I want to thank them very much. Even
though I decided to go to Turkey rather than Cyprus, I especially want to
thank LP who went beyond the call of duty in providing me with info
regarding Cyprus.
For those who may have similar interests, here is what I have arranged.
The ladies can get airfare round trip from Moscow to Antalya, Turkey for
$280. They can get that fare in Russia, or you can buy their ticket at that
price from Aeroflot in NYC at 1-888-340-6400. Interestingly, it is much
cheaper to buy directly from Aeroflot than to work with the agents that
many people talk about here. For instance, Glavas quoted prices over
$700 for the $280 ticket above.
For US travelers, I found quite a savings by flying through Frankfurt,
Germany. Turkish Air has direct flights from Frankfurt to Antalya. Many
US carriers and, of course, Luftansa have bargain fares at times to
Frankfurt, so this route is much cheaper than going the typical route to
Istanbul and then on down to Antalya. My fare was $745 vs around $1,100
for the Istanbul routes.
For good fares, my latest method is to use www.imandi.com This outfit
does not sell tickets, but instead sends out your info to ticket agents
around the US who have access to consolidator prices. Then 8-10 of them
send you e-mails with the prices they have available. My actual ticket
came from AirK Travel at 1-800-865-5249.
Antalya is a resort town on the southern coast of Turkey. I am going in
April and can get apartment rentals for around $300 for an entire month.
The first two nights I am going with Pensions (bed and breakfast) for
around $10-15 per day (several are shown in Lonely Planet guidebooks)
and use the one full free day I have before a RW arrives, to look at
apartment options.
You will find that RW are quite happy to go to southern Turkey in April (with
highs averaging in 60s) as it is still quite wintery in mother Russia. At the
prices for airfare for me and apartment rentals, this will be a cheaper trip
than visiting Russia, even if I were to pay for the flights for RW, which I am
not.
JR
