Our family of three is planning 12-14 days in Turkey in July 2011. I know the timing may not be ideal in terms of summer heat, but we have other commitments in Europe from late May until July 9, and this is the only time we can go. The trip will be a high school graduation present for our daughter, who is very interested in visiting a more "exotic" place than our other European travels. We like history, scenery, art and architecture, food, shopping, and local culture,

I've done a little research, and we think we would like to begin with a full week in Istanbul, ideally in an apartment where we could have more room to spread out and cook some of our own meals. This is one apartment I liked and inquired about http://www.vrbo.com/299672 but friends have suggested that a base in Sultanhamet might be better for our week. I'd welcome any thoughts about this and particularly any recommendations for possible two-bedroom apartments. Our budget would be 150 euro a night tops and preferably less.

After a week in Istanbul, we could potentially spend another 5-7 days in Turkey. We will have already spent time near the Cinque Terre in Italy, and we aren't really beach people, so we don't need to stay on the coast. I was thinking we might split our time between two other areas. We could fly to another area if we can do that economcally and we'd be okay to have a car or not have a car, depending on what makes sense. Two areas that interest us are Ephesus and Cappadocia.

I'd appreciate any suggestions for our potential two weeks in Turkey, especially recommendations for an itinerary involving Istanbul and two other bases, including accommodations. And any suggestions for Istanbul apartments would be great.

Kathy

Flights between Ephesus and Cappadocia tend to be expensive--at least when I looked into it--but cheap flights between Istanbul and Ephesus (Izmir) and Cappadocia and Istanbul (Kayseri) are available. We used Onur Air and Pegasus Air. Given the limited amount of time, you could fly out one morning to Ephesus, spend two nights in Selcuk to visit Ephesus and the museum in Selcuk itself which contains the statuary from the site, then somehow get to Cappadocia.

You might want to take a look at my trip report. Just click on my name to find it.

Try Pegasus with two flights one from Cappadocia to Istanbul and another to Izmir. I would include Cappadocia, one of the strangest landscapes we have seen.

And I would end in Istanbul. It is less hectic that way.

We spent about the same amount of time in Turkey last year. Definitely go to Cappadocia and Ephesus. They're very different from each other, and both amazing in their own right. We flew fairly economically from Istanbul to Nevsehir (Cappadocia has two airports; Nevsehir and Kayseri). We spent about four days in Cappadocia, then flew from there (connecting in IST) to Izmir where we rented a car and drove the easy 45 minutes to Selcuk which is where you would probably want to stay to see Ephesus.

In Istanbul we stayed at a hotel in Sultanhamet which is well located for most of the sites you'll want to see. You can either walk or take the tram which is inexpensive and fast.

We stayed in Urgup, at the Melekler Evi Cave Hotel in Cappadocia. It was amazing and I didn't want to leave it. You can check it out here: http://www.meleklerevi.com.tr/.

In Selcuk we stayed at the Hotel Bella. There were only two of us, so with a family, you'd have to inquire about a suite (if they have them), or reserve two rooms. Their rooftop restaurant is wonderful.

Here is a link to my trip report (under my former screen name) which might also be helpful as you plan. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-turkey.cfm.

As I'm sure you realize, you'll be battling both heat and tourists at that time of the year. If you go to Ephesus, get there when it opens because it can be both hot and crowded. But Turkey is an incredible country and you'll love it. Fodors was so helpful to me in planning our trip - feel free to continue to ask questions as you plan.

Ellen

Bookmarking. This is a great report and I hope to be able to make use of this information as we may get a chance to go to Turkey for the first time next year. I will be back to ask questions, I'm sure. I hope you don't mind!

KT, ask away - that's what we're here for! It's also a good way to remember all the wonderful experiences we had. It's such a rich country in so many ways.

When we visited Ephesus, we stayed at a pricey hotel called Nisanyan Evleri Hotel in Sirince. It is reviewed very highly but after a death defying drive to the hotel, it is a bit of a disappointment. While the place is elegantly appointed with distressed walls and trompe l'oiel to recreate an atmosphere of aancient Rome, the food is over priced and the amentities limited.

Our favorite hotel was Esbelli Evi in Urgup in Cappadocia.
http://www.esbelli.com/

I do not think the owner Suha belongs to any on-line aggregated site and you must contact him directly. The rooms are carved from the hills and the atmosphere is one of quiet dignity. Everything is for the convenience of the guests. Please note two things. The place is an amalgam of 23 different small properties and to get to the rooms you must walk up and down stairs and around bends. Secondly if Suha does not like the tone of your e-mail, he will not accept you as a guest. He would rather have guests who behave like humans than a filled hotel.

We spent about the same time in Turkey.
4-5 days in Istanbul (with car, we were in suburbs)
We then drove and saw...
Ankara (Ataturk's tomb)
Cappadocia (stayed in Goreme, Open Air Museum,underground city, hiking Ilhara valley)
Antalya (beach time)
Kas (Lycean ruins boat cruise, nice small town)
Marmaris
Ephesus

While we could easily havepsent more time in a lot of the places, we at least sawa bit of each. Driving gave us a chance to be more flexible, as well as seeing more of the countryside

I am not sure about apartments in Istanbul but I know a website which gives cheaper prices for istanbul hotels
http://www.istanbulcityhotels.com

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I appreciate several of you sharing your experiences and resources. And I'm glad this thread may be helpful to others too.

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about this apartment we are considering? http://www.vrbo.com/299672 If we were in Istanbul for a week, would this be a good place to stay?

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

Re the apartment:

This is an old rather run-down residential area. There are quaint small streets and some Greek orthodox churches nearby. If you walk up the hill ten minutes you would get to carsamba, the fundamentalist bastion in Istanbul. Chora church and some of the renovated land walls of the city are within easy reach. There are some fish restaurants which are OK, but nothing to rave about.

The ad gives a wrong impression about proximity to the sites. You would not make it to St. Sophia in 20 minutes even if you ran. The other given distances are also wrong.
It is not an area you could just walk around at night.

I would recommend apartments in the Cihangir area. One we used was Cheya residence, Taksim (not in Cihangir but just off the boulevard leading from Taksim to Dolmabahce Palace, behind the Japanese Consulate). Its top duplex flat has a nice terrace and Bosphorus view. The other flats are also OK. Their Nisantasi flat is very good but more expensive.

If you can find one, an apartment on the Bosphorus will be even better. Try for Ortakoy, Arnavutkoy, Bebek areas.
You can get to the old town by bus, ferry, taxi, combination of taxi-tram and even sea-taxi. These areas are non-touristic, some are upscale, but all have terrific restaurants, ice-cream, caffees. A bit like Santa Margherita or Portofino within a cosmopolitan city setting.

Cheya has a flat or possibly more near the European fortress at Rumeli Hisar, but that may be getting a bit far from the historic areas, and you cannot continue visiting the fortress everyday for a week.

i will check the flat you mentioned first and give my views.

Sorry, i did not realize it was the same flat.

I live ın southern Turkey(one of 8 Americans who live in Fethiye). The Med is fantastic here and there are lots of family-friendly things to do here. It would be easy to spend a week here after a week in İstanbul. Accomodation is relatively cheap, and you could do self-catering if you wanted to. Let me know if you'd like more imformation - I've lived here for years and can help.

I live ın southern Turkey(one of 8 Americans who live in Fethiye). The Med is fantastic here and there are lots of family-friendly things to do here as well cultural and historic places. It would be easy to spend a week here after a week in İstanbul. Accomodation is relatively cheap, and you could do self-catering if you wanted to. Let me know if you'd like more imformation - I've lived here for years and can help.