THE maiden voyage of the Altinkum to Kos ferry launched at 9.30am today with 110 excited British and Turkish passengers onboard - and all looking forward to a big day out.
The passengers, including foreign residents looking to get their visas renewed for a further three months, spoke of their delight at taking the opportunity to be among the first to be on Aegean Jet for the 1hr and 15 minute trip to the Greek island.
Many of those boarding said they had been alerted by the day trip after it was revealed in last week’s Voices newspaper. The service is being laid on by the Yeşıl Marmaris Company.
Some of the passengers were a bit bemused when they spotted the Aegean Jet bore the ‘Marmaris to Rhodes’ – but were in no doubt they were getting the right boat to Kos.
Passengers were also advised that they could not bring pork back into the country among other restrictions.
The first passenger to be issued with the first ticket was Robert Davis, of Featherstone, Wolverhampton, who was traveling to Kos with his wife Carole, as part of their 25th wedding anniversary which was being celebrated today (Wed July 16).
The couple, who were accompanied by their daughter Rebecca (21), said they were delighted to be able to make a 10-minute journey to Altinkum Port to catch the ferry rather than face the marathon slog to Bodrum to catch the ferry and then face another 3 hour journey back.
Mr Davis said: “We thought it would be a great way to spend our silver wedding anniversary on the maiden voyage to Kos, and it is also an ideal way to get stuff that you couldn’t ordinarily get from Didim.”
The couple was set to continue celebrating their wedding anniversary with a special meal at the Touch of class restaurant on their return to Altinkum tonight.
Aegean Jet, with a capacity of 220 passengers, was set to return from Kos at 5.45pm, landing back in Altinkum for about 7pm. The cost of a return ticket was 48 Euros (£38 or 91 YTL), while children aged between six and 12 pay £10 and children under 6 travel free.
Mayor Mumin Kamaci, who came down to dockside to ensure the service was going smoothly, said: “I am delighted we can now offer residents and holidaymakers something else from Didim. We have the Windstar Cruises visiting and now we have the ferry service as well.”
It so happened that as Aegean Jet left Altinkum bay it actually crossed the path of one of the Windstar boats that had just docked off the bay. |
