MxSmrs

We finally finalized our trip to Turkey and from what I have read on Fodor's, there will be a lot of people from the States and Canada there in September. Here goes. I will give you our itinerary and if anybody is coming at that time, let's say "hi" or meet so that we might be able to exchange experiences.

Will be in Istanbul at The President BW Hotel starting Sept. 11 - 17 05. Then at Esbelli Evi Sept. 18 -21. Take a hot air balloon ride. Back to Istanbul for 22-23 Sept. We are planning on taking an overnighter (maybe) when in Istanbul to Troy etc. My husband does not want me to drive in Europe (he doesn't drive).

If anyone will be around there at that time, and if you are taking tours, let me know so that we might be able to get a cheaper rate and talk about Fodor's, etc.

Hope to hear from you soon.

sandy_b

A friend and I will be in Turkey July 12-25. We'll spend 4 nights in Istanbul, fly to Kayseri to go to Goreme for 3 nights, fly to Izmir to go to Selcuk for 3 nights, then back to Istanbul for 1 night and fly out on July 25.

I went to Turkey 10 years ago and it's still at the top of my all-time favorite places (and I've been to 41 countries, some several times) . . . I can hardly wait to return!

Have a great trip!
Sandy (in Denton)

sinan

I will be in Turkey between July and September. Mostly everywhere.

See you in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz

HappyCheesehead

We will just miss you in Cappadocia. Here is where we are spending our nights so far:

Sept 10-13 Istanbul
Sept 14-16 Urgup (Esbelli Evi)
Sept 17 Antalya
Sept 18-20 Kalkan
Sept 21-22 Unknown
Sept 23 Selcuk/Sirince
Sept 24 Istanbul (airport area)

I know there are others out there coming too - Shout Up!

wj1

Here's our schedule:

September 15-18: Istanbul
September 19/20: Sirince
September 21/22: Gocek
September 23: Antalya
September 24: Konya
September 25/26/27: Urgup
September 28/29: Istanbul

MxSmrs: We'll overlap in Istanbul. Do you have any interest in taking a 4 hour cooking class? The Sarnic Hotel gives cooking classes but hasn't come up with their September schedule yet. If you were interested, we could contact them with a specific date request. They might be more inclined to go with our particular date if we have a several people already willing to sign up. Let me know.

Happy Cheesehead: Your schedule looks similar to ours. Yours is probably better with the two days in Kalkan and two days somewhere else. I would have preferred that but we ran out of days. Are you driving?

HappyCheesehead

Hiya Wj1:

Yes, we are are driving. Looks like we will be passing you on the road somewhere about the 21st - be sure to beep and wave! We will have the car for 11 days between Urgup and Izmir. Those two days between Kalkan and Selcul are giving me a really hard time. Any suggestions?

Your plans look pretty good, and I know what you mean about running out of time. No matter what I plan, I don't have enough time to do what we want! What's in Gocek and where 'bouts is it?

SusanInToronto

This is our itinerary:

Arrive in Istanbul on September 4 for 2 nights, then travel to Goreme for 3 nights. We then have 1 night in transit, which I think we'll spend in Konya. We'll spend 4 nights in Cirali (September 10 - 13), then 3 nights in Antalya (Sepember 14 - 16). Then we'll head to Selcuk for 3 nights (might be 1 night in Pamukkale and 2 nights in Selcuk). We're back in Istanbul for 4 nights, arriving on September 20.

We're staying at the Hotel Sarnic in Istanbul, and planning to take a cooking class during one of those days. The owner didn't have a schedule, but thought that she would be able to accommodate us.

Most of our plans are made. I have moved a couple of reservations around, and I'm not sure about the Konya piece or how long we'll be in Selcuk. I'm not that interested in Pamukkale, but we'll be taking the bus, and it looked like a place to stop. We'll see. We don't want to be on the go all the time and neither of us are all that interested in driving a lot. We may rent a car in Cappodocia for a day or 2.

HappyCheesehead

Oh, poo, Susan. We are going to miss you too!

Kristina

We're thinking of going Sept 15-25 and will probably be in Istanbul for the first few days or the last few days. I'm also interested in the Sarnak cooking class.

However, we don't have our airline tickets yet. Having a hard time finding anything under $1000 RT from LAX for our dates. Anyone here find a good rate?

SusanInToronto

$1000 USD doesn't sound all that bad. I'm paying $1700 CAD for my flight!

MxSmrs

OK Guys I just read your responses and we'll all probably pass each other on the way. I'm not interested in cooking classes because I have done enough cooking in my lifetime and at my age, I have to stay on weightwatchers. I was hoping that maybe some people would be in both Istanbul or Cappadocia when we're there so that we could meet for tours or the hot air balloon because it's cheaper if we all get together. Doesn't seem like that's going to happen. SusaninToronto, we are from Toronto and I'm dealing with Turkish Airlines. They are great so far.

If anyone else out there has close to our itinerary, speak up. This is amazing.

MxSmrs

HappyCheesehead, we'll be at the airport on Sept. 24th as well going back to Toronto. Don't know times yet. We'll let you know.

MxSmrs

One question. It seems to me that I have read that certain sites in Istanbul are closed Sundays and/or Mondays. Can anyone tell me exactly because I would hate to waste a day because of closures. Thanks

SusanInToronto

MxSmrs, we're also leaving on the 24th to come back to Toronto, but we're going KLM. My husband is using Airmiles (not Aeroplan), and he's flying Istanbul > Amsterdam > Toronto. We had to pay for 1 ticket (mine), and if I went the same routing, it was really pricey. So I'm flying Toronto > Detroit, then Amsterdam and saving $1000 that way. Yes, it's going to be a longer flight, but I'd rather have the money to spend there.

I too have done enough cooking (and eating) in my lifetime! But I thought a class would be fun.