I think you might consider dropping a a day in Antalya and adding it to Izmir/Selcuk. That will give you time to see Didyma, Miletus and Prienne in addition to Ephesus. An alternative might be a rather long day trip to Aphrodisias.

While in Antalya be sure to visit the archaeological museum with its rich finds from Perge.

For your Antalya leg, head south to the Olympos area - either Cirali or the Olympos treehouses - for a taste of the Lycian way. Lots of hiking potential, ruins & beach time - albeit a stony beach. Very laid back. Shuttles are available or rent a car.

Ian

Thank you both for your advice!

If you haven't run across it yet, here is my trip report with Cirali info:

http://members.rennlist.org/imcarthur/turkey.htm

Ian

Fra Diavolo and Ian, with all due respect, i admire your desire to share, even on the basis of limited information regarding the timing of the OP's visit, their preferred mode of transportation and possibly other similar constraints.

A visit in August should have different recommendations than one in October than one in February than one in April, etc.

Recently one lady was asking for the best resort to spend two weeks on the beach in istanbul at trip advisor. It turned out, after 17 responses, that she wanted to visit in January.

otherchelebi: I appreciated their responses as well -- but in a non-snarky way. If you wished to help me and needed more information, you could have specified, rather than making a snide remark. This was my first time using the forums, and I was only seeking advice.

In any case, since I said "upcoming," perhaps they, unlike you, were wise enough to assume -- correctly -- that I meant my trip was "soon." In fact, it is this month. I also mentioned the beach. If you are actually interested in helping me, which I assume from your response that you are not, I am happy to fly, and we have no major constraints on modes of travel or places to stay.

my suggestion is similar to others..drop a day or so in antalya and get out to visit the nearby village of Cirali..a far better beach and lovely historical ruins to enjoy..also dont forget the fires of the chimeara..you can easily spend 2 or 3 days just in cirali.

*****natural landscapes (we spend a lot of time outdoors hiking, backpacking, etc.) and I really enjoy the beach, so that needs to be in there somewhere*****

you would also love cirali for hiking some parts of the Lycian way..and the stunning secluded beach

We were not overly impressed with Antalya, but did like Kas and Marmaris.

Are you renting a car? I'd almost suggest driving west along coast from Antalya (ir wherever you land after Cap.) Stop Olympos, Kas, Marmaris, Ephesus

I hope you have already made all your reservations and your final itinerary.

This is the most crowded time in and around Antalya, close to two million tourists.

it is also the hottest 33-40 degrees C.
the most humid 80-95%

Antalya City and immediate neighborhood will be suffocating hot. So will Cirali and Marmaris (sorry Michel)

Definitely not the season for hikes. (possibly in Cappadocia)

best antique site to visit will be Termessos and the second one will be Sagalassos. Lots of hiking and up mountains both.

Your husband will win, i'm afraid,

Fly between cities and rent car at Antalya because the sites/sights are distant from each other and you would otherwise have to join organized group tours or hire private guide.

East of Antalya is flat and will be hotter. West is forested and will have more shade but the heat and humidity will still be there.

Consider short boat tours from antalya, Demre, ucagiz.

Thank you for the compliment of comparing me to Lewis Carol's fictional creature "the snark", although how you knew enough about me to make the comparison will always be a mystery.

"The snark is a peculiar creature that cannot be captured in a commonplace way. Above all, courage is required during a snark hunt. The most common method is to seek it with thimbles, care, forks, and hope. One may also "threaten its life with a railway share" or "charm it with smiles and soap".

<<<<Antalya City and immediate neighborhood will be suffocating hot. So will Cirali and Marmaris (sorry Michel)<<<<

yes Antalya will be hot in August..but I cannot see in any of the posts if the OP is travelling in August or now..maybe they could be travelling in a later month ?

ok..so yes now I did read the post where the travelling is this month

just a word of advise..cirali will be much cooler in temperatures that the city of antalya or for that fact any of the built up resorts near or around antalya.

If a person is resticted to only being able to travel to Turkey for the months over the summer anywhere one visits will be warm...

even Istanbul will be hot and humid as well..where ever you have a high consentration of population, building, roads ( asphalt ) you will find the temperatures more steaming and warm.

or if you are looking for out of the way places to visit like smaller villages you will have lots of trees, greenery and forests to enjoy therefore making the temperatures much cooler..

or you have to visit inland and high altitude places such as the highlands or yayla areas.

the days of cirali will be warm but the nights are much cooler.

In Cirali it is sooooo green and still remains a natural forest area therefore the temps are cooler than they are in the city of Antalya or the surrounding resorts. These resorts are bulit up concrete jungles that will retain the heat.

Also Cirali is located in a valley therefore the winds will blow from the highland areas making it a bit cooler. Cirali is significantly cooler than the nearby resorts such as the Antalya, Kemer, Tekirova.

the Mediterranean Sea breezes and north easterly winds from the inland provides a welcoming relief. The cool breeze that blows through the village off the sea is particularly refreshing, and the soft westerly wind known locally as the ‘Dokkun’ blows through the village toward the sea and cools the area in the evenings

to the OP..where ever you go in Turkey enjoy :=)

OC, we were there in August

The most refreshing day was heading south from Goreme, heading towards Konya. We visited an tiny underground 'city' (village?), then hiked and had lunch in the Ihlara valley. In the midst of dryness, a lush valley.

We also took a day long boat trip out of Kas, that toured some underwater Lycean ruins, lunch on an island, and multiple ocean swim stops.

Ephesus was a bit 'warm'

Thank you, thank you all!!! Even you, otherchelebi !! All of your responses have been extremely helpful. We leave in a few short days. I myself love heat and hot weather, but we'll have to see if it gets the better of me. By the time we get to Antalya it will be a bit into September, but not much.

Given the advice, we decided to do ZERO nights in Antalya proper. Instead, after arriving by overnight bus from Cappadocia, we're planning to head straight to Cirali, and then will perhaps do another day further down the coast in Kalekoy at the Mehtap Pansiyon (has anyone stayed there), where we can see the underwater ruins. I think we may just drop the Ephesus part of our trip altogether, and explore the ruins on this part of the coast.

Really really appreciate all the advice!

Sincerely,
tah21!

Kalekoy is reachable only by boat. It is a nice village and full of ruins (well, mostly sarcophagi)

We stayed at Ucagiz, because i feel claustrophobic sometimes, at Telemen's House B&B, and he took us out in his boat (one of my trip reports) over the flooded city and to Kalekoy.

Lovely areas in the whole bay for swimming and kayaking as well as harpoon fishing and snorkeling.

Do not miss ruins of Myra and Saint Nicholas at Demre.

For a short stay, i prefer this area to Cirali despite my friend Canmom, owner of Canada Hotel at Cirali whose hospitality and food must be tried.

We stayed in Cirali last September at the Acadia for 3 nights and really enjoyed it. We did not rent a car, but had the hotel make arrangements to pick us up from airport

There's lots of hiking in the area, but you need to do it in the early morning before it gets too hot. We spent the days on the beach and waited for it to cool off in late afternoon to explore the area by bike.

I recall brochures in the hotel that described several tours including one to the underwater ruins. Enjoy your stay.

Can those of you who have been to Cirali advise as to whether it's possible to do a day trip (by rental car) to Kalekoy and Myra/St. Nick, returning to Cirali the same night? Or would the distance be too great? We are now considering spending our entire time in one hotel in Cirali and doing some drives out each day... But I don't want to spend our entire vacation behind the wheel.

Can't answer your specific question, but....

The ride in and out of Cirali has many switchbacks from the main highway, it is not one I'd want to do everyday. We arrived in the evening and all commented that we were glad we didn't drive it ourselves (5 adults). Some of the tours offered looked interesting, but I didn't want to do the drive out of town. Some people like that kind of driving, not me. Its a beautiful drive, but hairy.

That being said, I looked at the tours offered through Reyyan and they offer a tour to Kalekoy out of Kemer which I think is nearby, so it should be doable. Here is a link to their website http://www.reyyantravel.com/Tours/tours.htm

You should contact your hotel to ask about the distance to sites. I found all the hotelkeepers very helpful

There was a guidebook in the hotel that was specific to Antalya I wish I had purchased ahead of time. It is the Sunflower Guide-Antalya. There was a lot of good information in it about nearby towns for day trips.

I think you and I are like-minded travelers. I wanted to fit Ephesus in; but there would have been rebellion. The rest of the family likes to stay put with few moves along the way. After Istanbul and Cappadoica, staying put in Cirali was a nice change. In the end, I decided I'd go back again and do Ephesus and the coast in a second trip. Its so beautiful there I'm glad we didn't cram in too much.

It is very doable..the drive to Ucagiz is about 2 hours..where you can get a private glass bottom boat ( maybe around 120-150 liras ) and spend 2 hours or so around the ruins.

then on your way back visit Demre and Myra..each site would take about 45 minutes each to visit...and the drive back to cirali is about 1 hr 30 minutes..also you can stop off along the way at finike and Kumluca..( If you go on a Firday you can visit the Kumluca market on your way back. )

a word of advise..if you take the organized tours from cirali to Kekova, yra or Demre..MOST likely..you will be driven up the road to the main junction on the highway where then you will be picked up by one of the larger coach buses that they have arranged from either Kemer or Tekirova.

If I were you I would rent a car for the day and travel myself to visit the sites rather than being on a bus full our tourists and having on the stops that they provide