wallyhook

My wife and I have decided to go to Turkey next month. (Sept.) We are retired and do a lot of spur of the moment traveling in Europe. We are from the U.S. and travel on our own for the most part using a rental car. We plan to be in Turkey for 14-16 days. My thought was to pick up a rental car after 5 days in Istanbul and driving to Cappadocia for a few days and then to the southwest coast for Ephesus etc. I am used to driving in Europe so that is not a problem for me. My question: are there any interesting sites and scenery between Istanbul and Cappadoccia or is it just a long boring drive? Would we be better off to fly? The same question for the drive from Cappadocia to the southwest coast....We like stopping at "off the beaten path" villages and poking around. Thanks in advance for any advice. I previously posted this message but didn't put it in the Turkey section.....

kettamic

I am interested in doing pretty much the same trip and will be interested in any replies from Fodorites who have driven from Istanbul to the Cappadoccia area.

Katiemay

We took an overnight train from
Istanbul to Ankara and picked up a
car and drove to Cappadocia. It is
a long trip by car. I don't know
about the scenery.
We were given some bad advice on
what route to take from Konya down
to the coast and it was a nightmare.
We loved Turkey and would like to
to back someday.

to see

sabbaticalmom

Fly!! We were in Turkey in June and the distances were much further and harder to get to than we thought. We drove from Istanbul to Ephesus and I spent the whole day scheming of flying for the return trip. But there was 6 of us and too expensive.
We thought we might do the triangle and drive to Cappadocia and then back to Istanbul but when it took us 12 hours to drive from Ist to Ehpesus instead of the 7 we anticipated (or the 5-6 that the rental guys told us at the airport) we coulnd't imagine driving between Ist and Cappadocia.

It would be smart to fly between the cities and rent a car to explore once you're in the area. The best of both worlds!

Before Turkey we spent 2 1/2 weeks in Europe driving with little problem. Turkey was a different story. I totally understand KatieMay who said they got bad advice on route and it turned out to be a nightmare. We thought for sure the rental counter guys at the airport were crazy for sending us along the coast, so on the return drive we took another drive but it was just as long!!

Fly and enjoy your time much better-
Sabbaticalmom

propertravel

Here is my suggestion:
Istanbul to Kayseri Fly, hire a car from Cappadocia to coast either via Antalya or shortcut through Pamukklae. Or From Kayseri fly to Izmir and hire a car, after Ephesus drive down south and enjoy the coastal area and the beautiful sites. Driving from Istanbul to Cappadocia is not fun unless you have spesifics like going to Abant 7 lakes district, Safranbolu and Ankara.

Happy travelling,
Murat

alanRow

Take the sleeper train to Konya, then hire a car to get to Cappadocia - it's about a 3 hour drive

www.seat61.com/Turkey2.htm#Istanbul%20to%20Konya

Katiemay

I forgot to mention checking with
Turkish Airlines. When we were there
seniors were given a 30% discount.

wallyhook

Thanks to all who have responded. I guess the decision will be to fly from Istanbul
to Kayseri and pick up a rental car there.
My next question: should the plane reservations be made now or is it safe to wait until I arrive in Istanbul?

MikeBuckley

<i>When we were there
seniors were given a 30% discount.</i>

What is the minimum age to qualify?

Katiemay

Minimum age to qualify.

Not sure. I think we were probably
65. It has been a long time so they
may not still offer it. We flew from
Ismir back to Istanbul and booked the
flight a couple of days before
flying. Look up the website and
maybe you can find out if they
have any senior fares now.
and

tower

Waly....fly (one hour) Ist-Kayseri....rent car in Kayseri, one hour and your in the heart of lunarscaped Capadoccia. Use a base (we liked Urgup and the famed Esbelli Evi cave hotel) and you can see a lot of Cap in three days...(Groeme Village, the undergound cities, Ilhara Valley, etc. We have driven from Cap to Antalya through Konya and the lakes (two days..overnght in Egridir on Lake of same name). From Antalya, you can take day trips up the Turquoise Coast (Kalkan, Kas, etc)and go to Pamukkale en route to Kusadasi/Ephesus. Car can be dropped in most east coast cities (we dropped in Marmaris)...fly back to Ist. Turkey is easy driving...good roads and signage, plenty of petrol; stations where you get a complimentary car wash... very warm and friendly people...we throughly enjoyed the above.

Stu T.

tower

That's Goreme..
stu

MikeBuckley

The Turkish Airlines website is currently offering on domestic flights a 25% discount to students under 25 years old and to seniors older than 65. I'm not yet 66, but when I become that age I imagine that I'll appreciate being called a 65 something.

NeoPatrick

Gee, Stu T, did you copy us? Sounds like our trip, except for driving all the way up to Kusadasi where we turned in the car we got in Keyseri. I agree with all, including the wonderful Esbelli Evi.
We stopped for a night in Konya, which we enjoyed, and a night at Lake Egridir which was a mistake (we should have just driven from Konya to Antalya in one day as it was much closer than we thought).

We took our time driving up the coast from Antalya to Kusadasi, stopping in Marmaris, Bodrum, Dalyan for overnights.

But I think you are wise to fly to Keyseri instead of driving. Much more exciting things to see south of Cappadocia instead of north.

tower

NeoP:

Pretty close. We did not stop in Konya and went on for a night in Egirdir..mainly to see the utterly fantastic apple blossoms....1000's of tree and orchards all along the east side of the lake. The town was nothing much...but the rose fields en route from there to Antalya were brilliant. We drove to Pamukkale (remarkable sight to see, especially with the water levels in the travertines at their highest)..then to Kusadasi/Ephesus, back down to Bodrum and Marmaris...dumped the car and took ferry to Rhodes, and ended up in Santorini and Mykonos before heading hme from Athens.

Stu T.

Katiemay

Mike Buckley I am going to be 75 next month so I guess I am a 74 something.
It is hard to believe that it has been
10 yrs since our trip to Turkey. When
we went the only guidebook available
was the Lonely Planet. It was one
of our very favorite trips.

tower

Mike B and Katie:

mere children in the scheme of things....we're all youngsters. I turned 78 this past Feb...my son who is a 53 year old Grateful Dead fan (in fact he performed as lead guitar on the commemorative CD..&quot;Pickin' on the Grateful Dead&quot gave me the best advice on my birthday..&quot;Keep on truckin', dad!&quot;

Same to you two!

Stu T.

MikeBuckley

Stu,

<i>&quot;Keep on truckin', dad!&quot;&lt;?i&gt;

More power to you!

The reason I'm never concerned about my age, which is 56, is that I get younger every year. There's more than half seriousness to that comment.</i>

tower

Katie:

You're correect that LP was the only guide book available back then when I first visited Turkey...it was seat of the pants a good part of the way. Greatly improved since.

Wally: you'll love every mile of it! Happy travels, old boy!

Stu T.

tower

Keep on truckin', dad!&quot;&lt;?i&gt;

Mike: This was a favorite saying
back in the 60's...promoted by The Grateful Dead and other groups of the time..taken from an old song expression
&quot;truckin' on down the avenue&quot;...sort of a dance step/walk/shuffle.
stu t.