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High Level 12 day Itinerary for Turkey; Mountain Lovers and Photographer

High Level 12 day Itinerary for Turkey; Mountain Lovers and Photographer

Old Apr 20th, 2014, 01:44 PM
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High Level 12 day Itinerary for Turkey; Mountain Lovers and Photographer

We are starting to plan out a 3-week trip to Italy, Croatia and Turkey for my husband's 40th birthday... He is an avid photographer (http://www.bethexplorer.com/) and we both collectively love the mountains out of all landscape... Not that we are not beach lovers, but mountains are definitely top for us... This trip will start with our 5th time in the Italian Alps, Dolomiti, one of our favorite mountain ranges... Then we are planning a short side trip to Plitvice National park in Croatia, before flying out to Istanbul... For the Turkey leg of the trip, below is very high level of what we are thinking based on a quick read of trip reports and posts on this forum... I have not detailed out the days within each region... Just trying to get to an itinerary of number of days in each region and logistics so that we can book our tickets...

Would like your guidance if we are way off... We have the flexibility of adding 1-3 days here and there is needed... Want to make sure that we will not miss out on a gem of a region in we follow the below?? We are looking for mountains, unique landscapes, waterfalls, mountain/ beach combo, architectural sites etc

Should we look into the Pontic Alps/ Karaca Mountains?? Given that we are so much into mountains, that looks intriguing. Of course, that adds one more flight... Just for reference, we have been to Swiss Alps, Bavaria, Austrian Alps, Dolomiti, MOnt Blanc at Chamonix, HImalayas, Peruvian alps, US Rockies and the Canadian Rockies in Alberta... If someone can tell us what are the gems in Pontic Alps, we can look into them to see if we want to squeeze it in there...

Day 1 - Arrive in Istanbul
Day 2 & 3 - Istanbul Sight seeing
Day 4 - AM Flight to Cappadocia; Evening in Cappadocia
Day 5 & 6 - Cappadocia and the region around
Day 7 - Drive to Antalya ; Evening in Antalya
Day 8 & 9 - Somewhere in the region between Antalya and Fethiye
Day 10 - Drive to Pammukale
Day 11 & 12 - Pammukale and in that region uptil Izmir
Day 13 - AM flight out of Izmire into Istanbul and OUT

Your help and guidance will be much appreciated!!
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 02:31 PM
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I must admit that this plan sounds way too rushed for my tastes, but your tastes could well differ! For example, I thought Istanbul deserved 6 full days, Cappadocia 4 full days, Antalya itself about 2 full days (not counting other places along the coast).

It's a beautiful part of the world; enjoy!
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 06:54 PM
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Kja, that is very valuable feedback indeed!! On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being super rushed vacation style and 10 being a very relaxed "take your time" vacation style, I would put ourselves at somewhat of a 7... Especially given that my husband is a photographer, we just take longer everywhere... Wow, did not realize that Istanbul needs 6 fulls days and so on... Will definitely reconsider and wait for some further feedback before redoing the itinerary...
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Old Apr 20th, 2014, 07:24 PM
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I'm not a "take your time" traveler.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 12:30 AM
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vibhav,

I wish you had told us the month you will be traveling in Turkey.

here are some general remarks :

- Your itinerary does not include any interesting mountain visits or crossings except as side visit such as:

+ Termessos, from Antalya. Should satisfy both archeology and mountain interests.
+ Goynuk montain/canyon from Tekirova, Cirali or Olympos, between Antalya and Kas
+ Hasandag. Just to look upon, en route from Cappadocia towards Antalya.
+ Taking Nigde mountain route from Uchisar and Ihlara in Cappadocia towards Antalya

+ Taking an extra day en route to Antalya from Cappadocia and driving through Nigde-Karaman (Manazan caves)- Mut-Ermenek-Anamur. You can stay at Selcuk(lu?) hotel at Ermenek.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 12:42 AM
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I think Cappadocia and the Mediterranean mountains are Turkey's USP(and ofcourse Istanbul), so in this amount of time I wouldn't recommend going further east. Cappadocia is great, with plenty of hiking opportunities. You can have a look at my page on Cappadocia: http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...in-cappadocia/
Rose Valley and Pigeon valley are just 2 of the popular trails I did(and are brilliant btw). The Ihlara valley area too is very scenic and you get to see grasslands + snow mountains + cappadocia kind of scenery, so you could spend a day walking about in the area. And do the balloon ride. I would have recommended atleast 3 days in Cappadocia, but it looks like you want to see more of the country, which I feel is perfectly ok.
I would also recommend taking overnight buses, if you're ok with it,so that you get a complete day in each place.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 12:44 AM
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And yes, 2.5 days is way too rushed for Istanbul. So maybe you could skip out Izmir and Ephesus area and give that extra day to Istanbul.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 01:04 AM
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As otherchelebi says (and he truly is the expert here!) ,Termessos is stunning

I have no idea what an USP is, and so cannot comment on ashwinb's remarks.

Note that Istanbul is, by far, the easiest place to reach in Turkey by international air. That means (to me) that since you WILL have to shortchange other parts of the country on this trip, Istanbul might be the best one to skim because it is the easiest to see on a subsequent trip. Just a thought....
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 01:52 AM
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I agree with OC that you should take 2 days for the drive from Cappadocia to Antalya.

I'm always intrigued by the Selçuklu Otel, I intend to stay there one day - http://www.selcukluotel.com/

If you do take that Nigde-Karaman-Mut-Ermenek-Anamur route, there's a nice neo-Hittite carving near Ereğli - http://www.hittitemonuments.com/ivriz/
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 01:56 AM
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P.S. Talk about a room with a view! - http://www.selcukluotel.com/anasayfa/havuz.jpg
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 02:42 AM
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Note that Istanbul is, by far, the easiest place to reach in Turkey by international air. That means (to me) that since you WILL have to shortchange other parts of the country on this trip, Istanbul might be the best one to skim because it is the easiest to see on a subsequent trip. Just a thought....
//

That's very very true, I too had given this a thought, but finally I ended up spending 4.5 days in Istanbul, believe me they were the best 4 days of my trip. Even in 4 days, I managed to just skim through..so in 2.5 you would be skimming through even less.
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 11:36 AM
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Thanks a lot everyone for the detailed responses.

Otherchelebi, we are planning to reach on 29th Sep and fly out on 11th Oct... So essentially the first half of Oct... Is that good or bad for any reason? We realize that that is the shoulder season, which is not a bad thing, as less crowds means better photography opportunities...

In regards to your comments, did you mean that we do not have many interesting mountain landscapes in this route? I have taken note of your side trip suggestions and will definitely look into those...

So in light of that, should we increase a day each at Istanbul, Cappadocia and Antalya? We definitely want to go see Pammukale Flats and do not want to miss that out... Not sure what should give for us in terms of time? Should we fly out of Pammukale and leave out Izmir and Ephesus all together?

We are also a little worried about Antalya and Fethiye being too touristy and cruise ship towns?? We are no beach bummers at all... We like pretty beaches but would spend only an hour or so before setting off to explore a nearby hillside or something like that... So any opinions on Antalya and Fethiye are also welcome.. Should we spend more time at the interesting places between those like what otherchelebi mentioned?

ashwinb, point noted on the USP (Unique Selling Proposition, this is for you, kja you mentioned... We will look into increasing time in Cappadocia and definitely want to do the balloon ride... Loved your suggestions of the trails and also of Ihlara valley... That valley looks very interesting and so does snow capped mountains backdrop... Is that year round snow capped? How far is it from Cappadocia?

Croesus, point noted on the 2 day drive to Antalya... Will definitely look into that following the on the way suggestions from OC...
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Old Apr 21st, 2014, 12:32 PM
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vibhav,

Unfortunately, you will not have snow capped mountains that early in the year.
The days will be a little short but still fine. The crowds will have thinned somewhat. The weather will be more pleasant for walking, hiking climbing. tangerines will just be ripening at some Southern locations, and there will still be some good melons. Try the small lighter red and yellow fragrant Amasya apples and the jujubes(possibly only in istanbul)

-You are right about Antalya which is also a rather large city.

Here's a tough itinerary for you, from Cappadocia :

day 1 : Nigde, Eregli, Taskale (Manazan caves), Yesildere, Karaman bypass, turn right just before Mut for Ermenek. Stay night at Ermenek.

day 2. Drive down to Anamur. Visit Anemurium. Through Alanya to Side for an evening swim and interesting photography of the antique town. Stay at Side.

day 3. Early morning towards Antalya. Visit Perge and/or aspendos (check web). continue to Termessos if you have time or stay night at hotel close to Antalya ring road: Sheraton and Hillside Su expensive, but there are others) or stay there or at Konyaalti area on the route towards Kemer from Antalya on the coastal road if you have managed to visit Termessos.

day 4. Drive to Ucagiz. Visit Myra on the way. Take boat tour of Kekova bay. Stay night at Ucagiz or Kas.

day 5. Take Elmali route to Pamukkale. Visit the travertines, enjoy the sunset.

day 6. Drive to Selcuk for Ephesus. may have time to visit Aphrodisias on the way. Return car at Izmir airport and take late evening flight back to istanbul.


This is a crazy itinerary but one i would have attempted even at age 65. (possibly with the security of a signed statement by DD that she will not sue me or even complain)


Buy goose down (check they do not smell) or soft artificial fiber pillows at Istikbal, Yatas or an Idas store which will be easy to find at most largish towns in cappadocia like Urgup, and pillow cases both for your nightly and driving comfort.

Buy some dog and cat food for strays at any Migros or similar large supermarket.

Have a good flashlight and batteries because this Summer we may face electricity cuts due to draught conditions.

Please check some of my previous trip reports which partially cover these areas, and my wife's blog for some photographs of some of the regions. http://www.blogger.com/profile/13777888122227948100

Our favorite mountains were at the Eastern Black Sea Coast and inland from there. but you will have to plan another trip for that and possibly combine it with Georgia.
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