patriciatbrogan

Further to my previous post re Istanbul, my travel companion has said she can take another week holiday so we want to make a more extensive trip taking in archaeological sites further south: the problem is we don't want to drive and we don't want to go on tours - any suggestions (other than Ephesus (sp?!) and how we can get around?
Thanks in advance

KTtravel

How nice you can extend your trip!

We had a wonderful trip to Turkey 12 years ago and used this agency at the time: https://cappadociatours.com. I can't remember the name of the travel agent we used but she was very responsive and helpful. She planned a personalized semi-private tour for us. We weren't able to afford a completely private tour but I'm sure the agency could arrange one for you.

The travel agent booked all of our accommodations for us (gave us choices but we could have chosen other lodgings, as well.) We had different guides in each location who were with us most of each day. Our tour consisted of: airport greetings and transfers, a private guide in Istanbul for 3 days, a flight to Cappadocia where we had a private tour one day and two days touring with another couple (a terrific guide drove us in a comfortable van), a balloon ride over Cappadocia, a flight to Izmir, a private tour of Ephesus, a group tour bus ride to Pamukkale and other nearby sights, and a flight back to Istanbul. We then spent a day in Istanbul on our own. Our guide in Cappadocia was outstanding and the other guides were fine.

We chose which locations we wished to visit and how long we wanted to stay in each with the help of the travel agent. We sent many emails back and forth and revised the plan several times (the travel agent was very patient with my many questions.)

I hope this is helpful. Have a great trip!

P.S. We flew Turkish Airlines for our in-country flights and were very impressed with their service.

neckervd

Major resp most popular archeological sites:

Perge, Side, Aspendos, Termessos, Phaselis:
all of easy reach by bus or minibus from Antalya. Antalya has an international airport

Ephesos, Didimae, Priene, Hierapolis/Pamukkale:
all of easy reach by bus or minibus (partly by train) from Izmir international airport

Hattusas, Boazkale:
Hettite sites East of Ankara. Bus up to Sungurlu plus local transport

Other sites more or less close to Adiyaman airport and Sanliurfa airport.

AshleyMike

1. Use public transport like buses and trains to travel between cities.
2. Within cities, use taxis or shared minibusses (dolmuş).
3. Visit archaeological sites such as Hierapolis-Pamukkale, Aphrodisias, Termessos, Aspendos, Xanthos, and Myra.
4. Stay in accommodation near the sites you plan to visit.
5. Consider hiring local guides at the sites for insights without joining tours.

neckervd

Myra has a stunning sandy beach called Andriake.
Nearby Kas has archeological stuff too.
If you go to Xanthos, don't forget Petara (aarcheological siste and beach).

MaryMat

Do not miss a hot air balloon ride over Capadocia

natylou

Topping this hoping for more input for you. I hope some of the above was helpful to you. There are some great sites mentioned. As neckervd mentioned, there are things to see close by cities like Antalya and Izmir. I would stay in nearby Kusadasi rather than in Izmir.

My suggestion is to fly between cities, and take buses or local day tours to the places you want to see. We enjoyed Patara (a bit out of the way), Myra, Ephesus, Perge. I am pretty sure we just took a local commuter train about a half hour out of Antalya and taxied a short distance to Perge. But for the other locations we had a rental car, so not sure how you would get to Kas for example, which we loved for its beautiful ocean front, the local market, and being able to cook meals in our airbnb. Probably a bus would take you there from Antalya.

Make sure and intersperse your ruins visits with beautiful views. Antalya has a beautiful location, but we did not have a good experience staying in the Old Town. It was much too noisy late into the night/early morning. Instead stay nearby to walk to the old center.

neckervd

ANTALYA - KAS
Direct buses about every hr
for stopovers along the itinerary:
more frequent buses up to Kemer - Phaselis (ruins) - Tekirova
more frequent minibuses up to Kumluca (handy for the visit of Olympos, Cirali, Adrasan).
other minibuses from Kumluca to Demre/Myra and from emre to Kas.
During the season daily local ferries from Kas to Kastellorizo (ar 10.30) where you can catch the connecting flight (dp 12.05) to Rhodos. Fare up to Rhodos 60 EUR/pax, up to Athens 100EUR/pax (+ checked in luggage).
2 weekly overnight ferries to Piraeus, plus some catamarans up to Rhodos only.

ANTALYA ACCOMMODATIION
During the night, the old town is the hell. But hotels a bit more in the East (foot distance from the old town) are fine: Park Hotel, Perge Hotel........