8 Day Turkey Itinerary?
 

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are taking a trip to Turkey in early November. We arrive Saturday around noon and leave the following Monday around noon (a total of 8 full days with a few extra hours on either end). We want to spend 4 days in Istanbul, but then I really would like to visit Capadocia and Ephesus with the surrounding beaches. The original itinerary was:

Saturday: get to Ataturk, immediately transfer to flight to Izmir, night in Izmir

Sunday: Day trip to Ephesus

Monday: Hang out in Izmir or drive around to the beaches

Tuesday: Midday flight to Kayseri, night in Goreme

Wednesday: Hot air balloon tour + walking around Capadocia

Thursday: Fly to Istanbul in the morning

Monday: Fly home to the states

As we were looking to book internal flights, it seems like by going to all 3 locations, we'll end up spending almost a third of our trip on flights or transfers. We don't want to pack too much in, but also can't tell if it would be a giant mistake to skip out on either Capadocia or Ephesus. Given that it will be too cold to lay out on the beach, we'd probably skip Izmir/Ephesus, but then we'd feel guilty not at least seeing part the beautiful coast. What do you guys think? Is the original plan too much traveling and not enough time to sit back and relax? If we should cut out a city, which should we cut out? And if we cut out a city, what would you suggest as an itinerary?

Thanks so much!!!

Fly to Kayseri on Monday and spend another day in that area. We spent 3 days in Cappadocia and wish it had been longer. The coast was great - but getting to go on a blue cruise and swim had a lot to do with that experience. If you can't do that, skip it to have a day in Cappadocia. And don't feel guilty about it.

I'm hesitant to tell you to skip Ephesus or Cappadocia; they were both such highlights. Perhaps skip the relax part??

If you can find time to get to Pamukkale it is also very worth it. Its about 4 hours drive from Ismir. You can drive fro there to Ephesus. Allow 3 days for the Ismir, Pamukkale, Ephesus leg if you can. Turkey is an incredible country, its impossible to visit too often.

One other thing, a guide in Cappadocia is well worth it. The guide we used was [email protected], a very nice guy with great English. Walking opportunities are not good, the distances between sites are too large and they can be difficult to find on your own.

there are quite a few current threads on day trips to visit ephesus from istanbul. There are also many recent ones on cappadocia. You should find all your questions answered there.

Skip istanbul. Or, do one day there with a quick city tour.
See ephasus. Spend more time in cappadocia