3 days around Ephesus, Alacati, Chios or Samos....
 

We are going to arrive to Izmir for 3 days in early May.

Originally we were going to Ephesus and Pamukkale, but we think is too far away.
So we are evaluating some options, where our main tourist place is Ephesus. Should we give 1 full day to Ephesus?

We may do Alacati, Cesme and Chios, in addition to Ephesus
Or
Selcuk and Samos plus Ephesus

Our kids are 10 and 13 and they like very much history and also enjoy the beach. One of their many wishes was to go to Greece (also mine), so we really want to go to one of these islands, maybe the one that captures the most the Greek culture and way of living.

What would you do in those three days?

B

It would be easier to recommend if we knew where you'll be before Izmir and how you plan to get to Izmir. If these aspects are flexible, I can say that Ephesus is closer to Kusadasi than Izmir and is a place I like very much, in part because it's smaller but still big enough.

We spent a week on Naxos, which I loved, then took the ferry to Kusadasi. During the week in Kusadasi we hired a taxi to take us to Ephesus and back and it worked nicely.

IMO, the archeological site of Ephesus easily merits a half day, plus whatever time it will take to get there and back. (I spent about 4 hours on site; I neither rushed nor dawdled.)

I was glad to visit Selcuk, which is not only the home to the excellent Ephesus Museum (check to see if it will have re-opened when you plan to visit), but also a wonderful market and other worthy sites.

I also really enjoyed Pamukkale. In the absence of information about how you are traveling or why you think the distance prohibitive, I don't know what I can say that would be helpful.

Good luck with your planning!

Here is more detail:
We will be flying from Istanbul to Izmir on the first Sunday of May, arriving at 9:05 am and departing on Wednesday at 19:50 pm, also on plane from Izmir.

We are thinking on renting a car there.

I will do some research on Naxos.

Naxos is too far away, and can't be reached easily from Izmir... Chios via Cesme would be the closest island to visit.
Chios is a beautiful island, that does not attract many tourists .

My suggestion of Naxos predated the information the OP has now given us. If looking for a Greek island before arriving in Turkey then it's an option. I agree that it makes no sense to go to Naxos from Izmir, then back.

Actually it's 4 days!
I could even travel among Greek islands and stay there for a couple of days plus one day at Ephesus and Selcuk. Does it make any sense?

For all of it in 4 days, no, it doesn't make sense to me. But then I'm not fond of rushing around and ferries, which I am fond of, take time. It makes more sense to me to settle in, someplace with a beach if that's what your kids want and visit Ephesus one of those days.

What about this alternative:

day 1: arriving to Izmir at 9 am, renting a car and driving to Ephesus. Afternoon at Selcuk, and sleep there too.
day 2: 9 amPamukkale (3 hours drive + 4 hours there + 3 hours back)
day 3: Chios
day 4: Alacati (beach) + flight to Istanbul at 7 pm

The other alternative would be to stay at Selcuk all the time, and instead of going to Chios, go to Samos. I don´t know where we would go to the beach on the 4th day

Is there anything I´m missing?
I am still not sure about a couple of things:
1) Greek Island: Is Chios a better island for my family than Samoa? We are looking for a nice very greek island with good food and happy moments. Maybe some sightseeing.
2) Pamukkale: does it make sense to drive 6 hrs in a day to go to Pamukkale?
3) Alacati: I saw some pictures, and the hotels are nice there. Is it worth it to pick it as our beach destination? It is far from the other places if we pick Samos instead of Chios.

I hope you can help me with my doubts.

B