3 week trip Western Turkey
 

After all the advice and info I got from reading trip reports and asking questions on this forum a trip report is coming up slowly. We travelled independently as not big on tours. However spent alot of time dodging those tours.
Itinerary: April 17/18--Vancouver to Istanbul through Amsterdam with KLM
April 18-22 Istanbul
April 22-26 Capadocia (Goreme
April 26-27 Selcuk (Ephesus)
April 28---Aphrodisias and night at Pammukale
April 29-30 Faralya
May 1-3 Kalken, Patara, Kas area
May 4 Simena/Kale
May 5 Cirali
May 6-7 Antalya
May 8-11 Istanbul
May 11-19 Paris
We flew Turkish Air domestic to Kayseri and rented car at airport. Used Autoeurope, a broker and rental was with Budget. Flew Sun Express from Kayseri to Izmir. Again rented car through Autoeurope with Europcar. Drop off in Antalya airport was $70 euros. Did have a GPS of our own and was more helpful then I expected. Seemed to pick up town names when we were in area. Flew Turkish air domestic back to Istanbul. All flights were main airport Ataturak(sp?) except Kayseri to Izmir direct. Used shuttle to airport through our hotel, 2 were included with our stay and 2 we paid for. Felt it was worth it not to lug luggage around and try and find our hotel initially and get to airport on time. No one ever weighed our carry on even tho there were weight restrictions. Maybe we were lucky but that was a concern for me.
Driving was worth it to get the the out of the way spots. Courtesy went out the window. We had a deisel car and were not driving all the time at all but got from A to B
Booked all accomodation ahead except Kale and Cirali.
Used museum pass to avoid ticket lines.
Likes: Turkish people were very helpful and friendly.
Every Hotel, the staff were exceptional.
The food most of the time. Did have a round of Turkish belly mid trip but my husband didn't.
History, markets, culture did not disappoint
Loved mix of fresh squeezed oj with pomagranite juice.
Enjoyed the lokum, pistachio and pomagranite, and I think my husband tried every kind of Baklava he could find.
Used Istanbulkart and ferries
Just wandering and seeing locals shopping and the different streets that specialize in different items from a mile and half of wedding dresses (on way to Chora Church on the bus) to household items or toys or fish in Kadakoy. People watching.
Lights at night
Selcuk market day Saturday
Dislikes---all endless tour buses. If you want to see the highlights expect the buses.
--Tour boats around Simena/Kale middle of day, coming from all directions.
-- watching constantly to avoid cars or buses. I actually got hit by a car when we were out by old city walls a few blocks from the Chora Church. There was a flea market in a field on other side of wall. I was standing near a table by the wall and a car must of come in and decided to quickly turn around and leave. My husband said the I rolled up the rounded back of the car instead of under it and was sent flying. People were yelling in Turkish but I did not pick up on it. Fortunately nothing broken, just bruised and scraped. I had a thick fleece jacket on that probably helped. The fellow who hit me was quick to leave when I said I was ok, but the people at the market got me a chair, paper towels, water and were very kind. My ribs are still sore over month later but didn't let it stop us from doing the rest of our trip.
---actually got comical with all the creative sales lines. Learned to say no thank you in different versions. Most original line was where did you buy you hat. It was hot down the coast so I have a big fun wide rim white sun hat and soon realized that was a line to start the sales pitch.

In addition:
Want to thank kja for tip about sink plugs missing. My husband brought some universal plugs along as he has contacts and it was great to be able to plug sink. As well we did some washing of small items along the way between stops. A few places had full clothes lines whcih we took full advatage of.
Will break down trip as to each stop. But this is a start.

Welcome back, looking forward for the details.

Day One- arriving at the airport the line to buy our Visa for $60 US was short but for passport control was huge. Went quite quickly and spilling out into main entrance were all the signs with names on them for pick up for shuttle rides to hotels. Most hotels offer this as part of their service. First impressions were how modern Istanbul was. The tulips were still in bllom so saw boulevard displays as we drove in. We were staying at a small family run Hotel below the Blue Mosque called Tashkonak Hotel. Little one way streets that were 2 way anyway. Turkish drivers are experts at small spaces and backing up.
Our room was small overlooking the courtyard with a glimpse of the Blue Mossque above. The room was very clean and little slippers provided for us. The Breakfast included eating area was on the roof with a great view of the water and Kadikoy across the way. We arrived around 6 pm so jet lag or not I dragged my huband for a walk up to the Blue Mosque. I carried a little head scarf with me all the time in Istanbul to wear at any Mosque we went into. We must have looked just off the boat as someone latched onto us immediately to offer help then come to his family rug shop. Often you will be told something is closed so that you might as well go with them.
Needless to say the Blue Mosque is impressive and the stting of the big square with Obelisk and Aga Sophia is amazing. The sky was blue and as lights came on magical. Going back to our Hotel was always a bit of a maze to me but we found our way. Often went through the Arista Bazaar to avoid traffic on the the streets specially in the morning as was a main route for tour buses.
Day 2-- Through connections we had arranged for a guide for the day. A friend's neice has lived in Istanbul for 12 years and does private tours. Some of her friends work for Istanbul Eats. Leah met us at our hotel at 10. We then walked to grand bazaar through the back streets stopping at a few places along the way. We then saw gold, silver and other workshops behind the scenes. She explained the working of the bazaar, the tea rituals,and showed us obscure little corners. She introduced us to the orange juice pomagranite mix. I wanted to buy some scarves so she helped me do that.She would have helped me buy anything I want as she knows the better shops. We went to a great place to eat in a corner of the bazaar. Eventually we left the bazaar and headed to a rooftop for a view of Istanbul. We wound our way through the local market streets down to the Spice bazaar. She gave us samples of different foods. We then went to Rustem Pasha mosque. Excuse my spelling as I don't have my guide book with me. We then walked around Galata bridge area and saw the fish shops which we ate at another day. She helped us buy our transit cards and showed us how to load them. We took the tram back to Sultanamet and walked back to our hotel. She answered a lot of questions and gave us advise on seeing other sites. She had picked up our museum passes for us.
All in all a super day and we got our bearings.
The restaurants close to our hotel were ok but eventually we went further afield to eat.

Day 3-4 Ended up with only 2 days to use the museum pass meant for using over 3. The Friday was the only day we could hook up with Leah as she was going to be away when we returned to Istanbul in May, near the end of our trip. Also we had changed our flight to Monday to Capadocia as a Holiday on the Tuesday and a lot of places closed Monday anyways. I was glad we started with Leah as gave us a lot of good insight. Basically when one does the highlight sights in Istanbul the best way is to get there early so to get the jump on the lines. The Saturday we were at the entrance to the Topkapi Palace about 15 minutes early. We chose to go directly to the Harem apartments which does open at the same time. We had the Rick Steves guide book which overall was good. We were able to take lots of photos with no other people around. I loved the beautiful tiles. On exiting we joined the throngs going through the treasury etc but moved quickly. You cannot take photos in that area anyways. Spent time in the gardens and are at back and once again tulips were in their glory. We then went to the Turkish Archaelogical museum which is very close. Enjoyed their amazing exhibit of ancient sarcophagus(sp?) Did mosaic museum which is in Arista Bazaar behind Blue Mosque and close to our hotel later in day. Chose to do the other sights next day as lines were huge. This was 3 week of April and on our return 3 weeks later the crowds were even larger. Turkey and Istanbul are definitely on the grid. That night we wandered around Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia with all the lights and and fountains going. Very impressive.
Next day we started with Hagia Sophia, same idea early in line. Some areas were under scaffolding and seems to always be different buildings having work done. We then took tram to Eminou and caught bus to Chora Church which was definitely worth seeing. Again we tried to weave between the tour groups.
Then we had our adventure at the wall which I mentioned earlier I had my car encounter.
Grabbed a bus back to Eminou and had our tasty fish sandwich by Galata bridge. Wandered around people watching then headed back by tram to our hotel.

Hi Wistler, great info, thanks.
Do you remember what tram # and bus# you took for Chora Church?
What map did you use for Istanbul?

Tram was regular tram from Sultanahmet area(Blue Mosque tourist area) As to Map, just used Rick Steves book, tourist map from hotel and had an ipod touch that used wi-fi at Hotel. I goggled and copied a few maps before I left home, specific Chora Church area. Go to IETT website for transit info and stop info, has english section. I also read a lot of trip reports on trip advisor and asked questions there as well.

Day 5 Flew to Kayseri which is one of the airports for Cappadocia. At airports in Turkey you go through security twice. Just as you enter airport then at gate to flight. Very efficient so goes smoothly. We picked up rental car at airport. Gas is very expensive so helps to have a deisel car. Roads were well marked. Took about hour and half to drive to Goreme. We love to hike so were happy to have trails in every direction. We stayed at Aydinli Hotel. Talking to people we met it sounds like the hospitality in this area is equally wonderful at all the hotels. They offer to drive you everywhere. When we arrived we went to Tourist info and called the hotel as unsure where to find it and in minutes someone arrived and we followed them to our hotel.I had decided to go to Goreme open air museum in the later afternoon and this was a good choice as tour buses were clearing out. We walked back and stopped to eat at Dibek restaurant recommended by Jem from our hotel. Of course it was a cousin but was very good. Sprawling on cushions at low tables. We had not really had lunch so had an early dinner. Wonderful lentil soup and complementary mezes to start. I had downloaded the chapters from the new Lonely planet for Turquoise coast and Cappadocia in I books in my husband's i-pod and worked well. We ate at Topdeck, Seten and Dibek and all were some of best food we had in Turkey.

Day 6---We did balloon ride with Butterfly. It was one of the first sunny days they had had in awhile. We really enjoyed our one hour+ a bit ride. In light of recent events I'm glad I don't have to make a decision to do it or not. At the time we thought it was amazing.
We then had second breakfast back at our hotel. We then were dropped off at trailhead past open air museum and hiked Red, Rose and assorted valleys. Ended up at Cavusin at Panoramic restaurant where they called to our hotel when we ready for a ride. We had hooked up with a couple from US and 2 young women from Italy for last part of hike. We ate at the restaurant, had lots of laughs and everyone had instructions to call their hotel for a ride. Not enough room in one vehicle so we split up. We had bought nuts for 3 lira from a couple with a stand on trail. Not sure what kind of nuts as I think they said apricot but doubt that. They were good and seemed to endlessly multiply as we shared with group as well and ate them throughout our trip.

Thanks for the very detailed and informative trip report.

The nuts were probably apricot kernels, smaller than almonds. They are mostly used in pastry but can be eaten roasted or raw. However, large amounts (I mean , more than a pound a day) may actually be toxic. Also, only a few types of apricots have sweet kernels. The bitter kernels are the more toxic ones.

Whistler,
Was your diesel car an automatic one? I could not find details on the rental car web sites about the gas/diesel option...we have an automatic reserved.
I am wondering if we would have the option to pick gas or diesel...or it's gas only.

WhistlerNorth thank you so much for the useful and interesting information in this TR. I plan to print it out as it is so chock full of good suggestions; and we are planning a very similar itinerary. Your experiences have so far been both appalling and encouraging. I really look forward to your continuing posts on this thread....well done, and, again, thanks.

Our car was a standard. When I looked at categories for car rentals, deisels and gasoline cars were listed at different prices. Deisel was more expensive.
I did not let my car encounter slow me down and risk of having that happen must be small. I'm noticing my ribs more now that I'm home, was too busy to let it stop me. The Turkey belly episode is a risk and where we were staying they were surprised that we had been there over 2 weeks and I had not had a problem earlier. We had been using bottle water exclusively for drinking and brushing teeth up to that point. But this place was suppose to have amazing artesian spring water so I had some or Might have been some salad I had which is washed with water or not well enough. I'll never know but my husband was fine and no one else staying there had a problem.
A 86 year old American lady I met later told me she had come to Turkey for first time in 1958 as her husband was teaching for a year in Istanbul at the University. The first morning she went into a local cafe for breakfast and the men were having something so she ordered it. Was tripe soup or drink. She was sick for 2 weeks, fever aching etc but has never had any problem since and comes to Turkey all the time. Figured she has immunity for life. The first time she went to Kalkan in 1959 it was boat access only so they came overland by donkey. She had her 2 small children with her. Kalkan was just a little fishing village and I took a photo of her photo of Kalkan that is on their wall.

Day 7-Finally used our car. We drove to Kaymakli underground city. This one was suggested because it does a loop so you don't backtrack through same route. We had programmed our Tom Tom for Guzelyurt near Ihlara valley but guess there is a street in Nevsehir with same name so ended up in area with those famous words you have reached your destination. We had to go through Nevsehir anyways but didn't realize it had picked some spot of it's own. Reprogrammed it with Nigde which is south on same road we wanted. We had been told to get there before 9:30. It actually opens at 8. It was not busy when we got there around 9:20. Remember we got lost a bit. We hired a guide at entrance and he too had lived there as a little boy until 1963 when government took over and set up as tourist site. By the time we were leaving the tour buses had arrived and it was getting very busy. I think a guide was worthwhile as he explained the set up well and took us on a few detours we would not have done on our own.
Our next destination was to go to Ihlara valley. Went a liitle further south before turning west. Meant to turn at Derinkuyu but turned at Yesilgolcuk instead. However we saw a more rural Turkey with simpler townlife and mountains that were georgeous. The photo op I missed was an old man lying flat on a donkey carrying a load of branches along the side of the road. Didn't think it would have been appreciated to back up and take a photo. Mind's eye instead. We ended up coming into Guzelyurt from the south. Rick Steves is big on this town. We ended up driving through it and not spending time there. We went to the main entrance for the Ihlara valley north of the Ihlara village. There are 400+ steps down to the valley. Our hotel said park there have lunch at Belisirma and ask for a ride back. I said they will give you a ride? and he said yes you just paid for lunch at their restaurant so yes. Well I was too embarrassed to ask for a ride so we walked back and did the 400+ stairs. Lunch was good and we ate on a platform like a dock extending out into river. It was a pleasant walk and a sunny day. Checked out quite a few churches but they have been defaced and damaged. We should have driven to Belisirma on west side at river level, parked and walked back towards Ihlara to avoid steps. Oh well exercise is good. We then drove to Selime monastery at north end of valley. The later afternoon light was perfect and being on our own we were able to take out time here. It was a highlight for us. My husband was skeptical when I said I wanted to go here as he had seen enough churches at this point but this is huge and carved into wall. Our ticket for the valley was good here as well. From here we went to main highway to north and programmed tom tom for Goreme and seemlessly made our way through Nevsehir rush hour home. The views late afternoon from Uchisar towards Goreme were perfect despite the usual mass of tour buses at same viewpoints.
A very good day topped off by great dinner at Topdeck restaurant. Our hotel was able to get us in as long as we were finished before 9. One of our managing staff was friend of the owner at Topdeck. Topdeck is a small family restaurant in the downstairs of a home. Reservations are advisable. We were lucky to get in. Seems everyone a cousin or a friend. Met someone who needed gluten free so they were sent to Fat Boys bar and restaurant. Said food was good. An Australian woman with glutin intolerance is married to a Turk and they have this restaurant. The husband is a cousin again of our hotel family. anyways it seems to work.

Day 8--- Headed out opposite direction to Soganli Valley. Went through Urgup which looked very nice as well but maybe bit bigger than Goreme. Drove through Mustafpasa which looked interesting and we stopped in on way back, more greek like. Stopped at Keslik monastery on way which had custodian who gave us some history. Was a small fee. Countryside changed quite a bit on drive and went through variety of small towns, some more affluent than others. We had been told to stop at some excavations of mosaics in Sahinefendi. We always consulted our office staff at hotel when going somewhere for advice as well. Found scenery very interesting and quite beautiful. Soganli is a village with historic churches outlying around town.Geared for tourists for the day, the women make small dolls which are unique to this village. They are set up in a square selling them. Seemed to have small mini bus tours not big tour buses. Was an enjoyable day stopping at viewpoints around Urgup on way back.

TRAVEL GUIDE BOOKS
I had been able to get an assortment of Turkey guide books from our local library and copied alot of info from them. So other than a few chapters from latest lonely plane on the i-pod touch I just had copied pages as did not want to have heavy guide books. Found Rough guide which was older date 2010 or 11 had alot of good detail and practical info on sights and how to getto places with road name details for access. Not maybe as up to date on restaurants and hotels but I copied alot from it. Hopefully it will have a newer edition out soon. I also had Fodor's, Frommers's, Lonely Planet,National geographic, Blue Moon to look at besides my paperback Rick Steves for Istanbul which I bought. I was able to leave a small suitcase at our hotel in Istanbul with some clothes and Istanbul guide as we had some weight restrictions with some of our smaller airlines. All the planes we were on were very modern and clean. Service was good and fed on Turkish air flight. Don't remeber getting much on Sun express but we only paid $94 Canadian for the 2 of us for flight from Kayseri to Izmir so cannot complain.


Day 9- Our hotel gave us an early simple breakfast as we had flight just before 9 am. Gave ourselves enought time to return rental car so was early start. The gas tank was only quarter full when we picked it up so told to return same. All gas stations are full service and they clean your windshield etc. I did not want them to fill tank just put in 5 lira and I held up a ten and tried to say I wanted only 5.. There were about 3 guys and they thought this was vey funny so they put some gas in tank held up ten I gave them, indicated they were splitting it in half and laughing handed the entire ten back to me and waved goodbye. It was just enough gas to put us to the quarter tank mark. But this was just typical of the friendliness we encountered in Turkey.
When we arrived in Izmir which is another modern airport we picked up rental car. I had a list of things to ask/do when renting car. Ask about HGS sticker for tolls which our car had and we got billed at end of trip. Was $3.91 on my credit card on returning home. We had own insurance so sign and check box to decline. Pay drop off fee of 70 euros. When we got car we were suppose to walk around car and point out dings, scratches etc which we did in Kayseri. Which had none as it was a new car. This one they were in a hurry to get us out of paid parking lot as free for only 15 minutes so we forgot completely. A few minutes later we stopped at gas station for pit stop and realized this car has tons of dings, scratches and even had been keyed scratched. However when we returned it at Antalya it was the same parking lot scenario and I said do you want to check the car and they said don't worry just get back in and we will drive you to the domestic entrance. Nothing else appeared on my credit card for that day we dropped off other rhan toll fee. So I think we dodged a bullet as couldn't believe we forgot to check car first.

Did you have any problems finding the return rental car place in Antalya? What rental car company did you use? Thanks

We asked for directions when we picked up car at Izmir and they called europcar in Antalya. We were flying domestic so went to car park at domestic terminal which is in middle flanked by 2 international ones. Think there even was rental car return sign. All the car rental outfits had little offices in trailers at one end of lot. We used Autoeurope , a US company that is a broker. Had used before for Italy and France. I wanted to rent from a main player who had a actual booth at the airport. others just meet you. I'm sure we paid more. another broker is economy car rentals out of Greece which alot of people on trip advisor have used but you don't know actual car agency such as Budget or Europcar until you have paid. They use smaller local outfits as well and definitely are cheaper. I wanted a car that was in good shape to plug my GPS into cigartte lighter etc. I read a lot of variation on the trip reports of what people got for a car. Autoeurope has american and Canadian website, cheaper on website than talking directly. I still talked directly to get information then booked. I was using my credit card for part of the insurance so wanted more info. Booking direct I think you can cancel right up to before pick up while online day before. I paid a little extra and booked one directly with agent and one online. I had a 4 day rental in Cappadocia and 12 day on the coast. One was budget and one was Europcar. Both were fine.

Day 10-- We got caught up day before in International bike race on our way to a sight and were detoured out of town for a few hours. A bit frustrating. Wandered town eventually. We stayed 2 nights at St john Hotel, which is year old. Very nice but the street it is on has a lot of people all ages just hanging out. A little gritty but never felt unsafe. Hotel itself is lovely and great breakfast. A young couple manage it, moved to Selcuk with young daughter as felt better place to raise their daughter. The owner is always present in the background. His son Omir was very nice. The first day we arrived just after lunch and on our way out the owner's family were just starting lunch, sitting around the pool, and offered for us to join them for lunch. Was a pasta dish with fresh tomatoes, peppers and yogurt and was delicious.
I really liked Selcuk as was a working town. Saw a lot of local life. Turkish men socialize a lot at cafes drinking chai(tea) and playing games.
This day we went to upper entrance of Epheus shortly after 8 and were able to wander Ephesus before masses of tour buses arrived. Sorry about the tour bus theme but in popular spots it is a reality. We listened to free Rick Steves audio we had downloaded on ipod and it was great. paid extra for terrace house and felt it was worth it. Spent about 3+ hours there and took dolmus back to town. Saturday was market day and if you can hit that it was so interesting to just wander. Was huge ane went to late in day. Saw the locals with little pull carts loading up for the week. Fruit, vegetables, spices, cheese, meat etc and then clothes, household items and anything you could imagine. Visited local sites in town as well. Restaurants were good and felt very comfortable here. I don't think I have meantioned weather but from Cappadocia on it was sunny and got warmer to actually hot. Ended up in mid 30's Celcius, or high 90's F. for at least a week. Istanbul to the north was never more than 16-20 with a cool wind but great temp for sightseeing.

Mixed feelings about continuing my report with all that is going on at the moment in Istanbul and other areas. Hopefully this will be resovled peacefully though obviously there are serious underlying problems that need to be addressed. So in the interest of those who will choose to keep on planning I will slowly add to my report.

Day 11---A Sunday so traffic was light as we drove regular roads through Aydin to Aprodisias.Felt no need to use toll roads. Used Tom Tom but was really just to see how well it worked as route was well signed. Lots of fruit stands all along the way. Strawberries were in season and they were the kind that are red all through and ready to eat. freeze or eat, not for long storage or travel.
Parking for Aprodisais was across from the site with paid parking. Wait to use washrooms in site as free. Washrooms at parking lot are clean but have attendant with fee which we used as thought might be our last chance. A tractor like transit system moves you about quarter mile. I was surprised that it was quite busy as supposedly off the beaten path. It was a Sunday as well, so who knows. Well worth seeing as museum was very good. Unfortunately Selcuk Museum that complements Ephesus is closed until the fall as building being updated. Site is great and we walked it counterclockwise. Large stadium very impressive. We enjoyed this site very much as compared to Ephesus, quiet and again countryside driving there was different and interesting.

I had been waffling about going to Pamukkale as I thought we might be disappointed. Having Aprodisias on route probably was the deciding factor to see it. We stayed at Melrose hotel and it was fine. Food was good, as we arrived late afternoon and were starving, so had late lunch and they then drove us to to upper gate. It was a sunny day and again it was a weekend Sunday so seemed busy towards pools. We hiked up to the upper ruins and these were not busy. We saw some surprisingly interesting intact odd pieces of ruins. We eventually made our way down to the white pools. This day the water was running all the way down filling numerous pools. I had old socks just in case but my feet were fine. Was a little slippery near the top where more people walk but all in all easier than it looked and I expected. Light was perfect late afternoon and I got great pictures of some pools as I was able to get shots that looked like no people around. I had talked to a couple at our hotel in Selcuk who had been here earlier in week and they said hardly any water was running. So maybe being on a weekend they run more or we were just lucky. I understand they switch around as trying to restore whiteness by letting sun bleach the stone.
We had a good dinner back at our hotel which we walked back to from the bottom pools. Again service was great and genuine. They had told me I could arrive early if I had chosen to but glad we did Aprodisias on way.

Please continue this great informative report. We are in the midst of planning and booking for late September, and will just watch the situation.

Realized I spelled Aphrodisias wrong earlier missing the H. Also spelled Afrodisias some guide books. You drive through Denizli (quite big city with freeway system through it with some areas where road goes under in tunnels)to get to Pamukkale. We came from the south as we went through Tavas after Aphrodisias rather than back tracking. We did use the Tom Tom here but probably would have been ok without but it was helpful. We are new to using a GPS as we usually have found a map adequate. We had a Michelin Turkey map#758. Was more useful on coast than some areas in Cappadocia. Probably could buy map locally at gas station with more detail but i had it ahead of time and was adequate.

Day 12,13-- Left fairly early and retraced route back through Denizli as we headed south on E87. On advice from people on trip advisor we drove route through mountains that went through Cameli. Definitely a secondary route with sections under construction but small towns and lot of rural life and scenic. Came in north of Fethiye. We stayed in Faralya which is through Fethiye and Oulendiz on coastal road. Road climbed up out of Oulendiz becoming narrow and bit rough bit still paved. Was definitely scenic. Parts of Lycian trail run through here. The Watermill had been recommended to us. Unfortunately this was where I had some stomache issue. Weather was great so my huband explored on his own. We had 2 nights here. Harder access to get to beaches but was beautiful. Watermill itself is lovely, good food, nice accomdation, pool. A favorite with the Germans and hikers. On leaving we went to KayaKoy the Greek ghosttown that was created in 1923 when Ataturk sent Greeks back to Greece.
In hindsight I think for a first time staying closer to Fethiye might have given easier hikng and access to beaches and better choice. Oulendiz is the famous lagoon bay. Also I didn't think it was going to be warm enough for a gullet cruise but would have been fine. Most are a week long though and need to choose carefully. Some start further up coast in Bodrum and Marmaris. Also I regret not spending time in Daylan and Datca Pennisula but only had so many days and chose Pamukkale which was quite to the east away from coast and Faralya instead. As season goes on I'm sure the gullet cruises are very busy and lots of boats. Pronounced "GOULET" like Robert Goulet

Day 13/14/15---Our time from Cappadocia on our weather was sunny and gradually hotter. The Watermill is found under Die Wassermuhle as well, german for Watermill. We had a very nice unit with large deck shared with 2 other units. Had our own kitchen where if staying longer and organized could have had food for our dayhikes etc. Breakfast and dinner were included, with lunch available. Driving from Faralya to our next stop we could have gone a shorter route over the mountains but chose to backtrack through to Fethiye and see KayaKoy on way. We later ran into Brigitte the owner and Angelika, her manager, at Patara beach. They had a free day so decided to refamiliarize themselves with the route over the mountains and said it was lovely.
Our next stop was at Lycia House in Islamlar 15 minutes above Kalkan. This was reccommended by a friend. A beautiful guesthouse run by an American called Peter. The house was an oasis with infinity pool ( new this year) and great views. The home and furnishings are first class. However the road up to it is curvy and potholed. Always seemd longer going up than going down. That is when we found out there is no personal tax or property tax in Turkey to be directed to local roads etc. "Benzene" or gasoline is a main tax revenue.
We drove down to Kalkan to eat at night and did daytrips in all directions during our stay. Kalkan is very popular with Brits. Eating at Trio, we were asked where we were from as not British ( We're Canadian). Told 90% of tourists in Kalkan British. Old town was small and interesting but hillside to south up to highway all concrete condos.
Did day trip to Patara ruins and beach. Quite liked the beach, were lazy and rented lounge and umbrella for 10 lira all in for both of us. Was a sandy beach and easy to get in and out of water. Another day we went to Kas on it's market day. Liked it better than Kalkan though I would think I would stay in old town rather than out on pennisula at the fancy resort hotels. None looked like they had easy beach access but I don't know for sure. On way back we stopped at Kaputas beach after lunch at roadside restaurant just south of Kaputas. Peter rx this to eat at as one of the brothers goes fishing in morning and fish always fresh. Struck up converstion with an American woman there with a friend. She has lived in Kalkan for the last 25 years, so thought to myself, says something if she is here. Later that evening saw her at Trio in Kalkan again. At Kaputas they wanted more than double what Patara charged us for lounge/umbrella etc so passed. We had our own beach towels. Small bay that looks gorgeous, with lot of steps down. Was small stones/pebbles not sand. Without beach shoes hard to get in and out of water.Bit more of a drop off. Later bought nice Turkish beach towels in Kalkan. Wished we had made it to Pinara ruins as Peter says he likes it alot as in natural setting but our schedule got changed when I missed some time in Faralya so did KayaKoy on our travel day instead.
Kas would have been an option to stay in as well but worked fine being centred in Islamlar. Kas probably would have been an ok place to relax/chill out but don't think it has a great beach area. Forgot to mention the drive south of Kalkan to Kas and sections through to Antalya are absolutely beautiful with that turquoise water.