Hi all,
My husband and I are 33, interested in culture, architecture, nature and food (among other things). We tend to stay in budget pensions (not hostels) or camp when traveling. In the past, we've gone to Italy, Costa Rica, Alaska, Belgium and Spain - several of those trips involved camping.
This year (2009), the only time we have available to travel is late July-early August. I am interested in going to Turkey (Istanbul, Cappadocia, ruins near Med, etc.) but I'm worried that the heat will make budget traveling uncomfortable (no A/C). Would we be better off going to one of our other choices this year (Slovenia or the Netherlands are at the top of the list) and trying for Turkey next year (2010) in mid-June? I'm a teacher, so unfortunately the May or September trip is not an option.
Thanks!
Should I go to Turkey in August, or wait for another opportunity?
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I would not go to Turkey in mid-summer, but then I live in SF and am no longer used to extreme heat. We have camped in 100+ heat, but would no longer bear it. If you live in an area that gets very hot in the summer, such as the South, you might not find Turkey as uncomfortable as I would.
Michael,
Thanks, that's what I'm worried about. When we were in Italy (June/July), it was plenty hot some of the time, and we were camping. But since we were there for 5 weeks, we could afford to spend a day just resting (sometimes by a pool) if the heat got too much. Also, we found that nights were cool so we could sleep comfortably. We'll only have 2 weeks this year, so I imagine our pace will be much faster and I'll want to do more than one thing per day.
We live currently in Delaware, which does get somewhat hot in the summer but we're used to A/C.
My husband is worried that if we don't go to Turkey this year, we'll never go and I'll regret it. hm...
If you had the plan already and your husband thinks its now or never, go for it.
Cappadocia will be dry & hot and evening cool so that's no problem. Nowadays everything is airconditioned ( not in Cappadocia really) at coastal areas even most small pensions. Visiting ruins at med. coast can be a thougher job unless you take of early and finish just after the noon or make your vists later in the day. Almost all transportation you would take will have air conditioning as well, including buses. Towards west of Antalya weather is less humid so makes life more easier during the day. Antalya is the thoughest to be in July & August.
Olympos, Cirali, Kekova, Kas Kalkan and further till Marmaris are better places to be.
You will be always by the water so you can take advantage to cool off....
Happy travelling,
Murat
My daughter and I were in Istanbul mid August 08 for 3 nights. It was very, very hot but we just got on with what we wanted to do and kept stopping for drinks and shade in the many cafes. Our hotel had a/c but it was pretty ineffectual so we slept with the windows open which was a bit noisy at times. It was 37C as we headed back to the airport at 3.30pm.
I'm very glad we went.
Between the possibility of not being able to go and the inconvenience of a warm weather, I'll vote for going. Turkey is a fascinating country that you'll surely would not want to miss!
Aside from the heat issue, you might want to read my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35151861
Thanks all! I think you're right - it doesn't sound like the weather is a large enough consideration to make us not go... Michael, I read through your trip report, and I especially appreciated the details w/r/t driving times, avoiding tour groups, etc. CarrieAnn, it helped to hear about your experience, and that you were glad to have gone in spite of the heat. Thanks!
Now our issue is that I spent a bunch of time reading up on Slovenia and Vienna/Salzburg, and got excited about being there in August. (Have any of you seen the book "Where to go When"? It's a beautiful coffee table type book, worth paging through next time you're in a book store.) If we decide that we can afford a trip in August and another one the following June, we will probably do central Europe this year, and get better weather on both trips, as well as catch the music festivals in Austria.