Frequently Asked Questions

Booking your Creative Getaways holiday is easy. Just follow the 4 steps below:

1. To check availability, please contact us via email sue@creative-getaways.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 7931 742450 or use the contact us button on each web page.
2. Make a provisional booking (at this stage your place is safe, but no deposit is payable).
3. Find and book a suitable flight (we can help you with this if required).
4. Contact us to confirm your booking (at this stage we will send you the relevant paperwork and ask for a deposit). We look forward to welcoming you to your Creative Getaway in Kalkan, Turkey.

There are 3 ways to pay for your Creative Getaways holiday.

• Online by credit/debit card (VISA/MasterCard) – we will email you the link
• By posting a cheque
• By arranging a bank transfer

Full details will be provided on a proforma invoice when you confirm your booking.

The answer is NO. ABTA or the Association of British Travel Agents is an industry body aimed at travel agencies. At Creative Getaways we provide the service ourselves and don’t sell other people’s holidays. ABTA, therefore, is not relevant to us. ATOL or Air Travel Organisers Licensing is a Civil Aviation Authority body set up to cover the eventuality of your flight provider going bankrupt. The flight is not included within the Creative Getaways holiday price and, therefore, ATOL is not a requirement for us. We do, however, strongly recommend that whoever you book your flight with is ATOL bonded. We also recommend that you take out travel insurance.

The price of our holidays does not include flights, allowing you to travel from your most convenient local airport, or to join us in Turkey. The starting point for out holidays is Dalaman Airport. Flights to Dalaman are plentiful and competitively priced from most UK airports and from others in northern Europe. Airport transfers are arranged for you at a small additional cost. If you have any difficulty in arranging your flights, our administrator in the UK will be more than happy to help you with your reservations.

Creative Getaways always drop you off near your painting/photography location. On arrival we take a 10 to 15 minute stroll around the site to get to know the location and prepare you for painting. This, however, is never strenuous and not a requirement. For photography holidays it’s up to you how far you wish to walk at each location.

Creative Getaways painting holidays are open to everyone. Previous experience is not important and your tutor puts a high emphasis on fun and personal development. Your tutors have a wealth of teaching experience and create a stimulating atmosphere for you to learn from and enjoy. More experienced artists are welcome and your tutor will help you develop your personal style and try out new techniques and approaches.

We are often asked by our painting guests what equipment they need to bring. As a rough guide, we would suggest the following items:

• Pencil (4B)
• Pencil sharpener
• Rubber
• Watercolour/acrylic paper/sketchbook/pad
• Paints
• Brushes (1 small, 1 medium, 1 large)
• A rag, water pot and plate or palette
• Carrying bag

We provide a full list of equipment on booking. We will provide easels and painting boards.

NB: Paint cannot be carried in hand luggage as they will be confiscated. They should be packed in hold luggage, preferably inside a plastic container or bag.

Accommodation is very comfortable with ensuite bedrooms with air conditioning. See the gallery and accommodation sections for photos. There are communal areas throughout the villa including a spacious living and seating area with books, TV/DVD, CD player and a log fire. Wi-Fi access throughout.

Outside there is a private swimming pool and many quiet seating areas including on the roof terrace.

We will allocate rooms on the basis of the nature of the bookings made. We have double and twin rooms all with en suite bathrooms. Couples, singles and friends can easily be accommodated with ample space for privacy and contemplation. As with most creative holidays (painting, photography, yoga) rooms are normally allocated on a shared basis. However, if you require single occupancy please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Wi-Fi is available at Villa Vanilla or the other accommodation that you will be staying in.

There is a private pool set in gardens at Villa Vanilla for your use during your stay.

We welcome single people on our friendly and inclusive Creative Getaways holidays and many of our guests are travelling alone.

We have people of all ages on our holidays and everyone is welcome.

Yes, there is a vegetarian option every night. We will ask about dietary requirements on booking.

Breakfast is included in the price of your holiday.

All linen is provided including Turkish beach towels.

Certainly, and we will provide full information about places to visit, shopping, day activities etc. With regard to travel to locations, whilst we will make every effort to accommodate non-painting partners, this may not always be possible as it will depend upon the availability of transport.

Non-painting partners will join us for all evening meals.

Breakfast is normally at 8.00 am and your tutored programme starts at 9.30 am each morning.

Dinner is taken as a group each night except one evening of the week when you are free to choose your own restaurant.

Yes, all contact information will be provided prior to start date.

Payment is by cheque, bank transfer or debit/credit card. There is a 2% surcharge for debit/credit card payments. We can certainly arrange for you to pay in Euros, dollars, and most other currencies.

• 7 nights’ accommodation in luxury en suite rooms
• Full programme of tuition
• Breakfast on the terrace each morning
• Welcome drinks on arrival
• 5 lunches
• 5 dinners (including wine/ soft drinks)
• Use of all facilities at Villa Vanilla including garden and pool
• Transport for visits each day
• Use of equipment e.g, easels, yoga mats.

The food on a Creative Getaways holiday is freshly cooked with locally sourced organic produce. Excellent food is important to us and is all part of the enjoyment of a Mediterranean holiday. We pride ourselves on the quality of the meals with Creative Getaways. Full breakfasts are taken “el fresco” on the terrace. Lunches are taken either in specially selected local restaurants or consist of freshly prepared picnics (2 days during your week’s holiday).

Dinners are taken together as a group and consist of 3 course meals with wine and/or soft drinks (apart from one free night during your stay when you are free to choose which restaurant you would like to dine in). The Turkish cuisine is varied and uses fresh produce from the local market and nearby organic farms. Fresh fish comes into the harbour every day. Dinners are taken at a variety of excellent local restaurants during your stay and also at Villa Vanilla where our resident chef prepares delicious 3 course meals with wine.

Dietary requirements are accommodated for on request upon booking.

For more information please refer to the page on Meals.

No problem! We have tried to cover off all of the usual questions we get asked by our guests, but if you want to ask us something else, just use our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. If it proves to be a useful query, we will also add it to this page so that others can benefit from it.