Here are some questions you may consider asking yourself :

- Why spend a whole day at Ephesus which is only 15 minutes drive from Kusadasi?
- Why take bus tour to Pamukkale and lose flexibility rather than self drive and be able to visit Aphrodisias also?
- Why spend two nights in Bodrum, which has one decent museum and only a few scattered small ruins? In fact, why go to Bodrum at all, when other spots have more interesting nature and history?
- Why stay in Marmaris, an over-built resort city at all? rather than somewhere on the Datca peninsula?
- Fethiye and environs have all the major sites like Tlos, Pinara, Saklikent, Letoon, Xanthos, etc. so why not stay here rather than spend any time in Bodrum and Marmaris?
- Rather than waste 5-6 hours to drive to Kas and Back, why not spebd a few nights there, visiting patara on the way from Fethiye and Kekova, Myra, Saint Nicholas, Arycanda from Kas?

- Why spend such little time in Istanbul when April may only give you 16-18 degrees sea temperature on the Turkish riviera?
unless you have been to Istanbul before or planning to come back again.

You'd better include Dalyan to your itinerary.
http://www.dalyaninfo.com/Dalyan/dalyan_en.html

I recommend Berg Hotel on the banks of the river and just across the rock tombs of the ancient Kings of Kaunos. A riverboat takes you from the pier of the hotel and takes you to the famous Iztuzu Beach known as Turtle beach.

http://www.dalyanberghotel.com/reservation.php

otherchelebi:
thanks for the inputs, it helps on exactly what i was wondering about, i really had no idea if bodrum is worth spending more or lesser days. your suggestion to stay in the datca peninsula instead of marmaris sounds great too, i just looked it up on the map. i'll definitely be looking into staying there instead.
i've also read that it's more recommended to base in selcuk rather than kusadasi, any opinions on that? also, any thoughts on whether or not it is necessary to spend overnight in pamukkale, and which town should i head to next in the coast to make a more efficient route? i'm thinking from kusadasi/selcuk --> pamukkale --> marmaris/datca?

senozkadir:
thanks for the suggestion! will definitely look more into dalyan!

You don't say how much time you yourself spent in Istanbul but with 14 days allotted for your trip, I think you've allotted too little time to this incredible city. I have been there twice-the first time for 3 days which just whetted my appetite. I spent an additional 5 days there when I visited Turkey late last summer. 5-7 total days would not be too long at all, IMHO.

Of the coast cities you listed, I based in Fethiye and visited Kayakoy, Oludeniz, Saklikent and did a day ferry to Rhodes. In hindsight, I would have skipped Rhodes and taken in Patara instead. I absolutely loved hiking the Saklikent Gorge. The shoes they encourage you to wear, however, are incredibly uncomfortable and have no support whatsoever. I would simply do the hike in your tennis shoes if you don't mind getting them soaking wet and they'll let you do it.

It is a good idea to continue from Pamukkale down to Marmaris-Datca.

If you visit Aphrodisias en route to Pamukkale and enjoy Heliopolis and the traverines and the necropolis at Pamukkale it makes sense to spend the night there and leave early next morning for Datca.

Have a look at http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/october-datca-trip-fumbling-family-fights-the-bees.cfm?8

my other trip reports for Turkey may also give you some ideas.

Staying at Selcuk will be cheaper and give you much more of a small local town feel. But there will be nothing to do after dark. For Selcuk, I recommend Nazhan and Bella hotels, although their rooms may be rather small.

I'll join those suggesting that you should add time to Istanbul. I had 5 full days there, and could easily have enjoyed more.

You might find some useful information in my trip report - just click on my name to find it.

You're going to have a wonderful trip no matter what you choose!

Another vote for more time in Istanbul!

In April I would take Bodrum direction if I did go Prienne, Mileus, Didyma. I am leaning towrds otherchelebi's suggestions. Dalyan area is fine too. There are much more to do near Fethiye. Marmaris does not have much to offer unless you take a gullet cruise or taking a bit of rest outside of the town at places like Bordubet. So You can really skip Bodrum & Marmaris and add another day to Istanbul. From Fethiye if time permits towards Kas and further Kekova can be rewarding for a day.

Happy Travels,
Murat

bookmarking this for a future trip

We've definitely added more days in Istanbul from all the inputs & suggestions!

otherchelebi:
Thanks for pointing out to your trip reports. Been stumbling over your posts in tripadvisor too, they're all very helpful!
Decided to not head to Pamukkale and still head to Bodrum so we could stop by Priene, Miletus, Didyma, and Herakleia & Lake Bafa along the way.
Just realized there's a ferryboat route from Bodrum to Datca, but seems that it's not fully operated in April, so even though it's the better option, I'm afraid we might still have to take the longer land route through Marmaris to get to Datca?

kja:
Been reading through your amazing trip report! i do have a question about policies on renting cars though, if anyone could also give inputs on this issue, it would be great!
Would the driver need to be holding an international driving license, or would a national license suffice? My husband will be driving most of the time, and he has a US license.
And I assume that you had the portable GPS by request from the rental company, or did you have your own?

> Would the driver need to be holding an international driving license, or would a national license suffice?

I don't know if an international driver's license is necessary, but I had one. If your husband has a US license, I think he can get an international license at just about any AAA office, and that's true whether he's an AAA member or not. You just go in, fill out a short form, have a picture taken, pay a fee, and you're all set.

I had my own GPS - not one arranged through the rental company.

Glad you're enjoying my report! I had a great trip and am sure you will, too.