tcreath

My husband and I are going to Turkey for one week in February. Our flights are already booked; we arrive in Istanbul on February 15 and leave on the 22nd. I know the weather will not be ideal, but we will make do. We like historical sights, visiting some museums, architecture and generally just walking around/sightseeing. DH is 31, I'm 29.

Right now we are thinking:

3 nights Istanbul (arriving at 3:30 on the 15th)
flight to Izmir
3 nights in Selcuk or Sirince
(explore ruins and towns nearby)
fly back to Istanbul
1 night in Istanbul
Fly home

I'm trying to decide exactly how much time we need in Istanbul. I know this is subjective, and I'm sure there is enough things to see in Istanbul to fill up a lifetime. However, we are really interested in some of the ruins along the coast, and from what I understand the weather should be more favorable as well.

With the itinerary above, we would have 3.5 days total in Istanbul. We want to see the main sights, and take a cooking class that I posted about earlier. We want to do a Bosphorous cruise but with the weather I'm not sure if this will be such a good idea.

Also, is 3 days/nights along the coast an okay idea? We mainly want to see Ephesus, as well as some other ruins...unfortunately their names escape me and my guidebook is at home but I have several highlighted.

So, would anyone care to comment?

Thanks!
Tracy

tcreath

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brotherleelove2004

I easily spent at 5 days exploring Istanbul and it took me 2 days to see all of Ephesus, so to me your itineray looks fine.

callalilli

Tracy.. no words of wisdom, since i will (hopefully) be following about a month behind you.. i cant wait to hear all about your trip.. it sounds ideal! and the cooking class looks great too. safe and wonderful travels to you!!

stormbird

Hi Tracy,

I agree that with the time you have it is best divided as proposed.

I've just returned from nearly 3 weeks in Turkey and IMHO Ephesus was the most interesting of Turkeys ruins.

We stayed in Selcuk and absolutely loved it. We only had one night there and felt two would have been great but 3 is better.

propertravel

Hi tcreath,
Your division of time is fine. After Ephesus youý could do Prienne, Miletus and Didyma for another day. Next day either slow down and visit nearby villages and less visited places or head to Pamukklae, Aphrodisias. Finally you could fly bacl to Istanbul from Denizli-Pamukkale. You can still do Bosphorus cruise in winter. It good that you are getting back to Istanbul a day before flying home especially considering weather conditions. Having said that weather could be gentle too, you never know.
Enjoy your vacation and Happy Travelling,

Murat

sarabeth

sounds nice..we were in Turkey in August and stayed in Sirince...stay here:

http://www.nisanyan.com/index.asp

up on a hill...funky place with delicious breakfast, very nice people, Melissa, desk clerk (English) is VERY helpful. For the time you have, I think you have planned well. Emphusus is pretty amazing...

laurie_ann

I like your split. Istanbul is fabulous but you shouldn't miss a chance to tool around a bit more of Turkey. It is easy to fly from Istanbul to Izmir, rent a car and drive for Ephesus and the other ruins. Flying is easy and driving is easy too. We loved our stay in Sirence and in particular at Nisanyan House there as recommeded above.

tcreath

Thank you all so much for your kind replies! I am rather looking forward to my trip, despite the nasty trip report on Turkey that is still floating around here. Turkey has fascinated me for a long time, and I'll be thrilled to finally get there.

I have looked into the Nisanyan House because of all of the recommendations and it does look amazing. My husband and I are going to look it over again this weekend and will probably make our reservations.

I would really like to fly into or out of Denizli-Pamukkale but it looks like there are very limited flights during February and my times were not available. Still, we would like to visit so we are planning on making a daytrip.

Thanks again!
Tracy