2 Week Itinerary for Turkey
 

Hello,

I'm planning on going to Turkey for 2 weeks in May of next year and need some help with my itinerary. I would like to stay in the same general area as this will be my first trip out of the U.S. and I'm a bit nervous. I'm want to fly into and leave from Istanbul. I want to visit Cappadocia and Epheseus. Possibly a beach? I will only be able to take public transportation though. I plan on staying in hostels and a hotel in Cappadocia. I would like to keep it a bit budgeted to $1000 (excluding airfare) or is that too little? Any information would be appreciated.

We are going to Turkey in September with On the Go Tours. We went with them to Egypt and Jordan and were very impressed. Check their website and brochure for Turkey tours. They will at the least give you some itineraries.

Hi, you can go through my blog, http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...o-turkey-trip/
You'll get an idea of which places to visit, although I did not visit the coast.
And this :http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...s-and-details/
should give you an idea of how to travel by public transport.
1000$ is not very unrealistic, but you'll need to find out the cheapest way of doing things beforehand.

There are some threads by Lancasterlad (I think that was the name) on Trip Advisor from possibly two years ago with great advice on budget stays and tours especially in istanbul.

Here are some pointers :

- The intercity bus system is excellent and reasonably priced. In most cases you can just pop to the bus depot and find place. However, the bus depots are usually a bit outside the town in most cities and you will need to get a city bus or "dolmus" to get there.

- The "dolmus" sytem in Turkey are minibuses with fixed routes sometimes leaving stations at fixed times, sometimes when full, and also picking and dropping passengers anywhere enroute. They are very cheap and great to travel between city center and suburbs, between small towns and from cities to surrounding villages and small towns. They also take you from the bus depot to the city center and back.

- Having said that, if you buy restricted tickets early enough on local airlines, the flights cost as little as the bus and will save you quite a bit of time. Local airlines are THY, Pegasus, Sunexpress, Onur Air, Atlas Jet, Bora Jet.

- Always use the web sites of the airlines to buy rather than an agent or a broker.

- THY the national carrier frequently has special deals. It is a good idea to check their web site for both International and local deals.

- The restaurants which serve hot plate meals are usually very tasty and priced well.

- Usually avoid fish. Good fish is very expensive and the cheap ones are not very good except for the grilled mackerel sandwich at Eminonu, one end of Galata Bridge (which may not be very hygieneic but smells and tastes great).

- Even the round sesame pretzel like stuff (simit) is very tasty at half a dollar and can be great with some cheese and tomatoes and/or cucumbers.

- Tomatoes and cucumbers are usually cheap and very tasty.

- The white Turkish cheese is great and reasonably priced.

- Try buying fresh bread from bakeries. They are terrific when warm from the oven.

- "Pogaca" and "borek" in are savory pasties with good taste and very reasonably priced. Many pastry shops start producing them early in the morning for breakfast.

- You will find people to be friendly and helpful but never accept invitations to homes, bars and cafes from older people as those have been known to have been associated with a number of scams. Young kids who act as cheap guides may show hospitality and invite you to their home to meet his family for a cup of tea sometimes and that is fine as long as you feel OK about it.

We did 17 days of western Turkey in June this year.
Started and ended in Istanbul as well. We had a small rental car from car del mar which is very convenient. Pricewise this is a good and flexible alternative, if you are at least 2 people.
Cappadocia is great, there are some hostels in Göreme where you can sleep in a cave. e.g. http://www.nomadcavehotel.com/rates/
Göreme is a great headquarter for Cappadocia (very central, public transport).
We stayed on a camping ground in Avanos. It had a pool and that´s what you want after a day in cappadocia ;-)
If you have a car you could also consider camping in Turkey. It´s not very common, but very inexpensive. Also Wildcamping is no issue at all.
There is a beautiful lake a couple of hours away from Göreme called Eirdir lake. In the town of Egidir there is a hostel with great atmosphere. It´s very relaxing hanging out at the lake for a day or two after the dry heat in Cappadocia.
Here is the link to the hostel: http://www.lalehostel.com/?Lang=DE

For Ephesus we stayed at the http://www.anzguesthouse.com in Selcuk. Not my very first chice, but inexpensive and with a nice rooftop terrace.

Also consider visiting Pamukkale. It´s a very impressive Landmark, however try to be there early. And with early I mean really early. Because it gets really crowded after 9.30 in the morning.
There is a campground on the hill. Not on of the best I´ve seen, but close to the entrance.

For Budget travel consider bringing a cooker. (I prefer the trangia, however getting ethyl alcohol for it is a hazzle in turkey). It saves a lot on your budget and you get in contact with the people in the supermarket, at cheese stores or even at the butcher (which was one of our most remarkable experiences in Turkey).

Buying Fish at the market is an overwhelming experience as well. It might not look too hygienic, but the people there do it every day and are still alive. We bought a small bbq in Egidird for about 20 TLA which is next to nothing and had a bbq right at the beach in front of the hostel.

There is a beautiful sea beach area in Ayvalik between Izmir and Istanbul. If what you seek is places away from the tourist crowd this is one where the locals are going.

Milipark in Güzelchamli is also a beach region for locals that I would recommend visiting. If you have a tent try wildcamping in the hills. (Not in the park it´s almost impossible there) but a little outside the city works...

Enjoy! Take your time! Try to do less!

... forgot:
If you have to look after your budget avoid the balloon ride in Cappadocia. We went to the Akkoy area at sunrise instead and watched the baloons rising around us at sunset.
For nothing...

I've written a lot about costs(transport,food ,sites) on this page, http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...s-and-details/ Do go through it. I spent a little more than 1000$ on my 14 day trip(but I dont drink, I walk a lot,I use only public transport, but I did take several tours,did the balloon ride for 100EU and ate very well and traveled a lot,and visited many sites, no "relaxing" or "hanging around" for me).
Selcuk and IStanbul are very cheap, if you go local, Cappadocia is a little more expensive. Haven;t been to the coast though.

Oh I just realized I have already commented here..