Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

seeking advice for Turkey trip in November

seeking advice for Turkey trip in November

Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 07:44 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
seeking advice for Turkey trip in November

After a few guide books and reading a number of excellent trip reports we have decided on the following itinerary this November for our first Turkey trip - we fly into IST on the 3rd early morning arrival and plan to fly out on the 16th or 17th, we need to be in Barcelona to catch a cruise back to Miami on the 18th. Please comment on our Turkey itinerary, is this too fast? I have the tendency of trying to do too much, Cappadocia is our must and we want a minimum of four days in Istanbul. From what I have learned – our driving trip involves no big city and reasonably good road for easy driving, we thought of doing only the Med coast and save Aegean for another trip, but there is no direct flight to Cappadocia from Antalya, your comments and advice is much appreciated.
Nov 3 – 5 Istanbul
Nov 6 - 11 fly to Dalaman for our driving trip with a rental car from Auto Europe. Visit Oludenie, Bay of Kekova, Olympos, Antalya, Termessus, Pamukkle, Ephesus…sleeping in Kas, Antalya, Denizli and Selcuk. Drop off car in Izmir.
Nov 12 – 14 fly direct to Kayseri from Izmir with Pegasus Airline, Sleep in Goreme
Nov 15 – fly back to Istanbul
Nov 16 or 17 to Barcelona.
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 08:00 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 6,476
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We did a similar trip in three weeks and felt rushed, although we spent a week in Istanbul. The most impressive stays were Istanbul and three days in Cappadocia, which was not enough. Turkish roads are fine but you have just too much moving about.
IMDonehere is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 08:22 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 12,137
Received 26 Likes on 4 Posts
I find it's easier to see exactly how many days I have if the itinerary is counted in nights (3 nights = 2 days) rather than days or dates, as you have it. You say "a minimum of four days in Istanbul" but I count only 3 on arrival and 1 of those partly taken up with arrival. Try laying it all out by nights. My feeling is, with 2 weeks or less including travel days, consider staying in Istanbul 5 or 6 nights, fly to Cappadocia for a leisurely visit, return to Istanbul, as you've planned, for a night, or better 2, before departure and leave it at that.
MmePerdu is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 08:42 AM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you for your replies, We have 14 nights (good way to count) supposed we drop the coasts - 6 nights in Istanbul and four nights in Cappadocia which would be nice and not so rushed, we still have four nights, any suggestion?
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 08:52 AM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
thought of taking the train to Ankara for a night on route to Cappadocia instead of flying and give Istandbul or Cappadocia one extra night...
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 09:08 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,326
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
Hello samuell,

If you look at a map of western turkey carefully, you will realize that your plab requires some backtracking.

Dalaman is about midway between Antalya and Ephesus (Selcuk)

You have chosen five major areas on the Mediterranean and Southern Aegean. Antalya and Kas are Mediterranean areas, each with its own major sites and areas of interest.

Selcuk (Ephesus) and Denizli are Aegean areas with different ntique civilizations, flora, geology and cuisine.

Fethiye lies in-between but has its own area of interest.

Even if you are just ticking on a check list without really visiting even the main sites of each of these regions, you will still need a minimum of two nights each at Antalya, Kas, Fethiye and Selcuk and one night at Denizli.

That is, if you fly to Antalya and start driving to Kas, Fethiye, Denizli and Selcuk, in that order from Antalya.

Actually, you can also fly to Dalaman and drive to Fethiye, than Kas, Antalya, Denizli and Selcuk also.

I do not know the exact milage of the two alternatives and which areas you will wish to drive in the morning and which later in the day. But in both cases, you will need a minimum of 9 nights if you include Antalya, Olympos and Termessos.

If you only do Kas, Fethiye, Denizli and Selcuk, you can manage wiythin your time limitations.

Please realize that you have a limited amount of daylight everyday for driving and sightseeing. Sun will be setting about 5 PM most ov November (daylight savings time will move the clocks end of October for early sun rise)

As you surmise, driving will be easy. If you must go to Antalya pick a hotel outside the city center on the Western side of the city. The Sheraton or Hillside Su are good but expensive choices.

Both have free parking and easy taxi access to historic city center but also to the Antalya ring road.

Stay in Fethiye town rather than Oludeniz or KayaKoy although Villa Rhapsody at Kayakoy is an option at least for a meal. Fethiye will give you the lively small town atmosphere in your early evening and a visit to the fish market and Paspatur is well worth your time.

Stay at Kas and enjoy drinks and dinner at an artistic or bohemian looking location to chat with local intellectuals.

Your Pamukkale and Selcuk nights will only be good for catching up with your correspondence, organizing your photos and doing more internet reseach for your later visit to Cappadocia and Istanbul.

Try to get to Pamukkale in time to watch the sunset over the travertines.

You probably do not need to reserve hotels until last moment for the Aegean-Mediterranean portion of your trip. Prefer Booking.com or hotels.com rather than other brokers wihich will charge you in advance or fees for cancellation. Smaller boutique hotels will probably give you same or lower prices by telephone.
otherchelebi is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 09:29 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,326
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
samuell, or posts crossed.

your question opened an interesting alternative.

If you fly to Ankara, you can spend one night there to visit the very extensive Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Then, renting a car (which you try to pick somewhere with close access to the ring road to avoid the city traffic) you can drive to Bogazkale (Bogazkoy) for a night, to visit Alacahoyuk or Hattusas.

This will give you a chance to see the background for many of the 3-4000 year old artifacts you will have seen at the museum in Ankara and also prepare you for Cappadocia.

You can the drive to Goreme. Thus, you can fly back to istanbul from Ankara again or maybe even return your car at Nevsehir or Kayseri and fly back from Cappadocia.

One more night (immediately after Ankara, will give you Amasya or Safranbolu in addition to the Hittite civilization, where you can stay in an old Ottoman mansion and try a different cuisine.

A very different trip than that of most tourists and worthy of a distinct trip report or blog!!!

Iamdonehere should not be envious because he has been admitting retirement for a long time now despite various types of prods from our mutual friend Tower in Califirnia.
otherchelebi is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 09:47 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 12,137
Received 26 Likes on 4 Posts
I traveled with a friend and stayed in Istanbul while he went to Cappadocia. He took the train through Ankara and told me he enjoyed it. So that may, indeed, be something to consider. And fly back.

Don't underestimate the time you might happily spend in Istanbul and environs. I took a ferry and spent a couple of days in the Princes' Islands, no cars, local transport by horse & buggy. I enjoyed it VERY much.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Istanbul/Princes’_Islands
MmePerdu is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 10:49 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Otherchelebi,

Thank you for your detailed reply and alternatives offered, I very much like your idea of Bogazkale from Ankara, that will definitely take us off the beaten path and experience train travel at the same time..it's under three hours drive from Ankara and to Cappadocia, what is your take if you did the reverse - first fly to Cappadocia, drive to Bogazkale drop off car in Ankara, train to Bursa, ferry back to Istanbul?? With less traffic in Cappadocia and Bursa is a worth while stop for two nights..

Mmeperdu,

Thanks for bringing up Princes' islands, a nice break from Istanbul, I had Ankara on and off my list many times, it's nice to be re-assured by your friends experience..


Nov 3 – 5 Istanbul 3 nights
Nov 6 - 9 fly to Kayseri, rental car at Kayseri, 4 nights in Cappadocia
Nov 10 - 11 drive Bogazkale (Bogazkoy), Ankara, drop off car
Nov 12 - 13 - train to Bursa, 2 nights
Nov 14 - 15 Ferry back to Istanbul 2 nights (day trip to Princes' Islands)
Nov 16 or 17 to Barcelona.
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 11:42 AM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,326
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
I do not think you can take a train to Bursa.

The train will take you to Eskisehir or Bozuyuk and Bilecik.

Bozuyuk is the closest to the Bursa highway.


Another option (and recommendation) is to get to Iznik rather than Bursa and enjoy a day there, taking the fast ferry from Yalova to Yenikapi in the historic peninsula, almost within walking distance to Sultanahmet.

However, it may be easier to find a bus to Iznik (Nicaea) from Bilecik rather than from Bozuyuk. At worst, you may need to go through Osmaneli or Mekece.

You may need to get to Inegol from Bozuyuk and then take another minibus to Yenisehir and Iznik from there.

The various buses may take quite some time while the train will be very fast, only about two hours to Bozuyuk from Ankara.

This is not as much fun in November as it would be in May or October. But you can of'course drive !!!!! to Iznik from Ankara and then tale the ferry, returning the car in Istanbul, possibly arranging for it to be picked at the ferry landing.
otherchelebi is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 02:24 PM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Man in seat 61 indicated that there is a connecting bus to Bursa at Eskisehir's train station, not sure if it's the same ticket that will take me all the way to Bursa and painless? Bursa seems more interesting than Iznik..and no back tracking if coming from Ankara on my way back from Cappadocia..Ankara and Bursa are both pretty big city, I'd rather drop the car in Ankara..

I can of course fly or train back from Ankara to Istanbul and visit Iznik and/or Princes's island as a day trip from Istanbul..the advantage is starting with the rental car in Kayseri airport has to be easier than anywhere in Ankara, do you agreed?

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 02:46 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 8,827
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Note that Turkey was just added to the State Departments travel warning list as of yesterday.

http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...l-warning.html
Robert2533 is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 03:37 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 12,137
Received 26 Likes on 4 Posts
Check the UK govt. travel site before making any decisions based on the above. It tends to be somewhat less alarmist.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey
MmePerdu is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 04:00 PM
  #14  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Robert2533 and MmePeru

Thank you both for the heads up!!
samuell is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 05:20 PM
  #15  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Wow! So many posts and comments in such a short time frame that I’m sure I’m behind on at least a few things, so bear with me!

Re: Istanbul – 3 comments:

First, if you are flying out of Istanbul, consider putting all of your time there in one block at the end of your trip. It takes time to get ito the city itself, and depending on where you are coming from, you might be tired under any circumstance, so flying on might be a better option than it seems at first.

Second, I found myself hard-pressed to see everything I wanted to see in Istanbul with 6 nights there. If you choose to spend less time there, consider thinking through your priorities in advance and plan accordingly.

Third, for most of us, Istanbul is the one city in Turkey that is easiest to reach, so if you do have to shortchange somewhere, Istanbul might be the place to do so -- with the intention of returning. But if returning is not likely, you’ll have to make some VERY hard decisions about what to see and what to skip!

Re: Cappadocia:

I had a tad over 3 full days there (4 nights, with a bit of time on either side) and wish I’d given it at least four full days. And I packed every possible moment!

Re: going to Ankara and onwards or elsewhere

I flew straight from Istanbul to Ankara and then travelled a route to Cappadocia much like that described by otherchelebi in his post of 1:29 p.m. – Ankara to Bogazkale to Goreme….

You might want to take a look at my trip report, particularly because I visited many of the other places that have been mentioned in this thread; just click on my screen name (kja) to find it.

Turkey is delightful -- enjoy!
kja is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 09:54 PM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,326
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
Re the State Department warning. Please reread the first paragraph and realize that it is in relation to US government employees and their families in or around the city of Adana because of the use of the nearby airbase at Incirlik for bombing ISIS locations within Syria and Iraq.

However, my continuing thread on safety gives similar alerts without being either alarmist or subjectively optimistic and backed by some analysis, and travelers and their voluntary advisers are also recommended to check that thread.


Samuell, Bursa is a very large industrial city which has a few Ottoman sites, mainly mosques deemed significant for devout Moslems.
The city has atrocious traffic and even those sites will take a whole day.

This is my thread for Iznik :

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...znik-nicea.cfm
otherchelebi is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 10:13 PM
  #17  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
@ sanuell & otherchelebi -- I thought the Muradiye Complex in Bursa among the highlights of my 3.5 weeks in Turkey. And during my day and a half or so in Bursa, I also thoroughly enjoyed a market nearby near the Muradiye complex, the Green Mosque, the old silk market, and various sights near it. And I'm not a devout Moslem -- I'm not a devout anything!

And much as I enjoyed a night and part of a day in Iznik, I found Bursa a MUCH richer and more rewarding destination.

While I recognize, and treasure, that we all travel for different reasons, I'm confused by the ways in which otherchelebi consistently (if discreetly) discourages people from visiting Bursa. If you care to elaborate, I would be interested to learn your reasons..
kja is offline  
Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 10:50 PM
  #18  
kja
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
(Sorry -- samuell)
kja is offline  
Old Sep 4th, 2015, 12:41 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,326
Received 4 Likes on 2 Posts
kja, you are probably right that I may have been influenced by some of my past experience in Bursa where I spent two horrible days quite some time ago in a prestigious spa hotel with a boring tour of the city sights, plus innumerable trips into and through the city where I found myself fighting bad traffic. I have stayed at Bursa possibly over ten times, drove through it hundreds of times, many of which just to have Iskender kebap, which was available only at Bursa until 15-20 years ago, and also went skiing at its mountain many times. I have also had 5-6 times the polpular breakfasts at Cumalikizik, the renovated Ottoman village to the East of the city where they serve fresh raspberry juice.

It may also be the tall mountains bearing down on the city just as in the city of Manisa near Izmir, which gives me the same sense of claustrophobia.

Please just take it as an idiosyncrasy, a lack of appreciation for the unchanging and to my mind sterile style of Ottoman architecture, the issues I used to perceive Bursa residents to have with not being Istanbul residents, my displeasure with their famous towels (I much prefer th Denizli towels and bathrobes), and so on and so forth.

In this case and others similar ones where I or others put down a location or rave about it (I usually do not rave about any location) it is always a good idea to take the writing with a grain of salt and do your own reserch since everyone has their own interests, values and perspectives regarding art, nature, architecture, etc.
otherchelebi is offline  
Old Sep 4th, 2015, 06:39 AM
  #20  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Kja, Very good advice for to visit Istanbul as a block and leaving it at the end and presuming of a return trip in which I am almost sure we will.

I am flying in from Vancouver, B.C. arrive early morning, Have thought of continue on to Cappadocia in which makes a longer travel day as we still need to get to Gomere from Kayseri airport that is if my flight gets in IST on time and having to make my way to SAW...our plan is to staying in the old town area of Sultanahmet in our first three days and then at Beyoglu before flying out..

From my reading, I like Bursa as I don't mind big cities as long as I am not driving and I like the idea of train/bus experience to get to Bursa for future reference.

Otherchelebi, thanks for your (again) detail explanation of Bursa and the reassurance of the situation in Turkey, some of my friends and family are very concern..

So, what do you both think of revering what Otherchelebi's suggestion in visiting Cappadocia first?

Thank you both for your comment and suggestion..
samuell is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -