WHAT would you do if someone told you to Get Lost? My advice, grab them by the hand and thank them eagerly.
Especially if you love a bit of spontaneity – and being treated like royalty.
This is the essence of Wizz Air’s Get Lost campaign, now in its sixth year.
It is a competition for 35 winners (and their lucky plus-ones) to be flown to a mystery destination anywhere in the world for an all-expenses-paid mini break.
All you have to do is turn up . . . and be pampered.
So where would I be going? It was cold in the UK so a bit of sun would be nice.
Maybe Madeira? But, then again, if I’m cold anyway, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Northern Lights over a Norwegian fjord.
Soon, the first clue comes in. Days before take-off, the winners are informed: “Arrive at Gatwick by 11am. Destination will be 18-20 degrees, pack hiking boots and swimwear.”
Southern Europe, I confidently predict and go around telling everyone.
Clue two does not arrive until the airport and it comes via our boarding passes: “Take-off 1.30pm, landing time 9pm, destination unknown.”
The sleuthing begins and it’s not long until a consensus is formed — Turkey (now known as Turkiye).
It has a 4.5hour flight time and its clocks are three hours ahead.
It’s only when we land, we know where in Turkiye.
The answer is Antalya, the gateway to the Turkish Riviera and to our resort hotel in nearby Belek.
Now remember, Wizz Air winners are VIPs.
After all, the Hungarian low-cost airline company has chartered a plane just for us.
This means it is only a 20-step journey from the plane to the VIP arrivals lounge, where we are greeted by champagne, canapes . . . and a string quartet, of course.
This sets the scene for the next three nights, which is all about luxury.
Our hotel is the Maxx Royal Belek, an all-inclusive resort. And I mean ALL-inclusive.
So that’s all meals, obviously.
Whether you’re a foodie or more of a burger and chips kind of person, all is covered at the eight a la carte restaurants.
Throw in the extensive outdoor pools and beach seconds away, and you don’t really need to leave the hotel. But having flown all this way, it’s only right to explore a bit
One is even open 24 hours. A 3am shrimp piri piri anyone? Guilty.
Then there is the chocolatier — exotic flavours, extravagant designs, exquisite taste. All free.
The patisserie — elegant flavours, extravagant designs, exquisite taste. All free.
The 14 bars – cocktails, champagne, whisky. All free.
The spa — pool, Jacuzzis, saunas. All free.
Games room – bowling alley, racing cars, large-screen Fifa football challenges. All free.
Shops — Gucci, Versace, designer jewellery.
OK, that one you have to pay for.
Throw in the extensive outdoor pools and beach seconds away, and you don’t really need to leave the hotel.
But having flown all this way, it’s only right to explore a bit.
The region of Antalya is part of Turkiye’s 1,000-mile long Mediterranean coastline.
The Taurus mountain chain shields it from the cold and boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.
The mountains are right next to the beaches and you can gaze up at their snowy peaks while lazing in the sun.
It was up a mountain that we had our first venture — and adventure — with rafting down the Tazi canyon run by the activity company Eco Family Park.
It was my first attempt at white water rafting, and it’s a good place to start.
With level 1 rapids, and a guide in each raft, the 90-minute swirl down the canyon was filled with humorous races against other rafts, competitive splashing and generally getting hit in the face with torrents of water. A change of clothing is advisable.
Flying carpet
Another day, another soaking, this time on a jet boat with the same firm.
The short ride up and down a river is just an excuse to twist, turn and spin the boat to ensure all aboard get drenched, while the pilot laughs. A real-life, white-knuckle water ride.
There was also a buggy safari through the woods, where we drove the small off-road vehicles along bumpy mud tracks.
But Turkiye is not all adrenaline action.
A short ride from Belek is the Aspendos amphitheatre, the country’s best-preserved theatre from Ancient times.
And in nearby Side are temples to Apollo and Athena.
We visited the Old Town of Antalya for our taste of culture.
To enter it, you pass through Hadrian’s Gate, built in honour of Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited the city in 130 AD.
That’s the same Hadrian who lends his name to the wall near England’s border with Scotland.
We darted round the Old Town via a treasure hunt game, photographing ourselves at various locations specified on a map.
These included by a lemon tree, on an old staircase and at a rug shop, where the owner taught us how to make a flying carpet (or, in other words, how to send a rug spinning through the air).
But for many of the lucky winners on our trip, it was our heads that were spinning.
“At first, I thought it was a scam,” says Jen, 40, from Paisley, near Glasgow.
“Now we’re being treated like royalty.”
With suites at the Maxx Royal going for upwards of £800 a night, she’s not wrong.
“It’s like how the other half live,” adds Ellie, 23, from Leicester.
“Steak and caviar for breakfast,” says Dan, 36, from Sunderland, in disbelief.
It beats Weetabix, you have to admit.
Wizz Air is planning to run another Get Lost competition later this year.
And then you too can live like royalty, at least for a night or three.
GO: Antalya
GETTING THERE: Wizz Air flies from the UK to Antalya from £30.78 one way. See wizzair.com.
STAYING THERE: Rooms at Maxx Royal Belek cost from around £427 per night. See maxxroyal.com.
Details of the next Wizz Air Get Lost competition will be on its Instagram page later this year. To enter, you’ll simply need to share a post.
