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Frequently Asked
Questions and Tips |
What is NOT Included in
the charter costs?
Alcoholic Beverages and Soft Drinks
Arrival or departure transfers
International airfare
Domestic flights
Airport tax
Visas
Luggage, personal and tour cancellation insurance
Laundry, telephone calls
Additional hotel nights that may be necessitated by airline schedule
changes or other factors
Tips for Captain & Crew (see suggestion below)
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How will I communicate
with the folks at home?
- There is a phone on the boat that can receive emergency calls,
but you cannot call out on this phone.
Emergency number/Captain Hasan's Cell Phone if calling from USA ... (011) (90) 535 975 2576
- At almost every port of call you will conveniently find an
Internet Cafe.
- You can buy an International Phone Card at the PTT Office
to call home to the USA.
- Passengers with T Mobile and Verizon can receive calls on their
handhelds but make sure the
international service is activated before you leave.
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TIP: Sleep
Outside!
We know you have a cabin, but sleeping outdoors under the
billions and billions of stars is magical. Personally, I only use my
cabin to put my things in. You'll never remember a night you spend in
the cabin, but you'll never forget the nights you spend under the stars.
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How can I recharge my
camera battery? We have an adapter on board that you can use, or
bring another in case it is busy. You do not need a converter, only the
inexpensive European version adapter with two round prongs. Bring your
recharger. The battery will be recharged when the generator is running.
However I always suggest that you have a spare battery just in case.
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TIP: Seasickness - If you
or anyone on your voyage has a tendency to get seasick -
Click Here.
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What should I pack? What will I need on
the boat?
Not much!
-Several bathing suits. (You should change wet suits once or twice a
day)
-Shoes for hiking and climbing
-Water shoes
-T Shirts & shorts.
-Casual wear for your evenings off the boat.
-Sleepwear for sleeping on the deck with the rest of the gang.
-Sunscreen
-Sunglasses
-Hat with brim for shade from the sun.
-Daypack, Camelback or small Backpack to hold water.
-Mask & Snorkel (Fins are not necessary - we have them on the boat)
-Inflatable float toy (for hanging out in the water)
-Books. There are reference books on the boat,
but someone in your group should invest in a copy of the Blue Guide. It
has a wealth of information on the ruins and places you will visit.
-Woolite for hand washing bathing suites & other items.
-Medicines like Pepto Bismol or Imodium AD for stomach ailments; Sudafed
or Afrin for decongestion; Tylenol or Ibuprofen, Benadryl for allergies
or insect bites, dramamine, triptone or other for sea sickness - just in
case. The boat does keep a stocked First Aid Kit for emergencies.
-Mosquito and Bee Repellant, you might not need them, but if you do,
you'll appreciate them.
-Toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.)
-Camera with lots of film!
-Cooler & Duck Tape - Optional (see tip below)
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TIP: Fit all your
boat clothes and necessities in a carry-on luggage.
Then if your
other bags get lost, it won't ruin your trip. It happens. A lot.
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TIP: Bring a Cooler. You will not
find Rum, Tequila, Bloody Mary mix, Daiquiri mix, Pina Colada mix, Ginger Ale or any other
unusual mixers in Turkey. Either bring them with you or switch to drinks
mixed with Tonic, Soda, Cola, 7UP or Orange
Juice. There is local Gin, Vodka, excellent Beer and some of the world's
best Wines. Personally, we bring a cooler (we close it with duck tape) full
of mixers, liquor, our shampoo and other "spillable"
items. On the way back home, the
cooler serves as the perfect luggage for our olive oil, cheeses, olives, spices and
our more fragile purchases.
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What other things can we do on the boat?
Plan ahead to make your trip memorable. You can play all kinds of games
and take part in creative activities. Some of the things we have done
are:
Gundogan Olympic Games. Have your games last the entire duration
of the trip. You can arrange one event per day (split into men's &
women's events). The men choose the women's event - and the women choose
the men's events. Some events we have done are "the Funniest
Dive", "the Best Mixed Drink", "the Best
Toenail Art", "the
Biggest Seashell", "the Best Joke", "the Most
Beautiful Harem Girl (for men), scrabble contest, belly dance contest,
hiking and swimming, synchronized swimming, we even had individual performances to Cleopatra at
the small amphitheater at Cleopatra Island. Just use your imagination.
- Scrabble Tournaments
- Card Tournaments
- Dominos
You know your group. Get your ideas together and bring them along. Just
have fun!
-Frisbee Golf (either
individual or team - 2 person event). You can set up a frisbee golf
course through the ruins. Each person takes turn choosing a hole -
for example, the tomb at the top of the hill - you can place a red
scarf there to mark it. Each throw counts as a point. The person or
team with the least points wins. You can do this in most of the
ruins you come to along your voyage (there are not many people - and
no one seems to mind).Be creative! If you
think of more - let us know!
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Besides games, here are
some of our favorite things to do...
- Watching the sunrise and sunset
- Sleeping outside
- Paragliding at Olu Deniz
- An evening swim with the glowing plankton!
- Watching the evening meteor showers in August
- Hiking to George's House at Butterfly Valley
- Tubing at Saklikent
- Catching squid with Captain Hasan
- The Bodrum hamam
- Snorkeling
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What tip should I leave
the crew? We recommend at a minimum $5 per day per passenger. So if
you are on the boat 14 days, you should leave $70. You can choose a
person in your group to collect all the tips. We usually present the tip
with some small words of gratitude the evening before we depart the
boat. Please present the tips to the Captain and he will divide it
evenly.
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TIP: Carry a
couple Million with you!
Have a stash of 5-10 Million lira with you
when you hike into the ruins. All the ruins you will be visiting are
parks and the entry fee is roughly the TL equivalent of $2 - $5 USD per person, so have this
available in Turkish Lira. You may also want to buy water or ice cream
which is usually available at the entrance to the park.
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TIP: When was this
wall built? Don't feel incompetent if you cannot keep the history straight.
Turkey - or Anatolia - is the cradle of civilization. Everything
that has ever happened - happened here. There is civilization upon civilization built on
these lands. It is very confusing at times. But just remember that
in the areas that you will travel there are mainly Lycian, Greek and Roman
/
Byzantine ruins. Its easy to tell the difference by looking at the
walls – the Lycian walls: made with very large stone
(sometimes hexagonal shaped) perfectly fitted without mortar or fillers.
The Greek walls: very large rectangular shaped stones that
are meticulously placed without using mortar or fillers.
The Roman walls: smaller stone blocks cut in rectangles and placed
on top and next to one another, and the Byzantine walls: small rocks
and brick-like blocks held together by mortar.
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I don't speak Turkish. How will I
communicate?
You will have no problem communicating. The Turkish people are some of the
kindest, most helpful people we have ever met and language is never a
barrier. You will also find that a lot of people in Turkey speak English.
Our Captain Hasan and Chef Kasim speak a some English and we will try
to have an English-speaking crew member on board during your voyage. You
van also visit
Rosetta
Stone.com and
download a FREE trial version of an online Turkish language course. I
highly recommend it.
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