Kris

Just back from an 8 day trip to Turkey and wanted to pass along some info I thought might be useful<BR><BR>Istanbul<BR><BR>Cab from airport-about 10-11 million lira, cheaper than the transport offered by hotels. Try to locate the hotel on a map, the drivers don't always know where they are.<BR><BR>Pierre Loti Hotel-great location, on tram line, room was plain, charged us for the "free" airport transfer advertised on website<BR><BR>Grand Yavuz Hotel-5-10 minute walk from the Grand Bazaar or the Hippodrome, had a great room on an upper floor with a view of the Marmara Sea, looked like it was newly renovated.<BR><BR>Whirling dervishes-performance at the Galata Mevlevi Temple, 2nd and last Sunday, 5:00 May-Sept, 3:00 Oct-Apr, 10 million lira. If you're coming from Sultanahmet, take the Tunel tram once you've crossed the Galata Bridge, the climb is steep!<BR><BR>Bosphorus cruise-you can take a guided tour or you can easily do on your own from Eminonu dock 3 (Bogaz Hatti). The current times are 10:35 and 12:35 which probably change in the summer. Take the boat to the end at Anadolu Hisari, have a nice lunch, then take the ferry back, takes pretty much all day, 3 million lira round trip.<BR><BR>Cappadocia-booked our flights, hot air balloon ride and day tour with Cappadocia Tours (www.cappadociatours.com). Flights were $85 each way ($130 if I booked from the US), the guided tour was wonderful, the hot air balloon ride was expensive but worth it if you can afford to splurge. Stayed at Kelebek Cave Hotel in Goreme. It was cheap at $18 per night but the private bath turned out to be a bathroom down the hall. Great view, steep climb, esp. if you have luggage. Goreme seemed to be more of a backpacker/pension town, all kinds of tour operators if you wait to get there to book.<BR><BR>Drive from Cappadocia to Side, all day trip, flat until Konya, mountains from Konya to Side.<BR><BR>Side-mostly German tourists, locals were very surprised when we said we were from the US. Had a great room at the Side Beach Hotel, ocean view, included breakfast and dinner. Lots of people selling stuff, not a quiet beach resort.<BR><BR>Ruins at Termessos and Aspendos worth visiting, Perge if you have extra time.<BR><BR>Admission fees are dramatically increased from my guide books but there are still lots of places that are free or little charge. And the rest of the trip is relatively inexpensive-food (most lunches/dinners under $10 for 2), hotels, souvenirs, transportation.<BR><BR>We wore shorts while hiking in Cappadocia, at the ruins and at the beach but everywhere else we wore long pants. You will likely be stared at anywhere else (and probably also be considered rude).<BR><BR>Any questions, happy to try and help.

Kris

One more thing, we never felt unsafe anywhere in Turkey. The Turkish people are very friendly and most seemed to be pleased to see Americans. The decision by the cruise lines to stay out of Turkey this year has really affected the economy in Kusadasi (Ephesus), not so much in Istanbul as there still seemed to be plenty of tourists.

salih

If you visit Cappadocia, Please<BR>have a look at our web-pages then<BR>decide where you are going to stay Cappadocia and Which Cappadocia tour<BR>you will join.<BR><BR>Web : www.erkotours.com.tr<BR>

marta

Thanks! great advised. I am traveling with my parents (80 years old) my daughter (22) and the child (5)this saturday June 8. I would love to go to Capadocia but I think is not a good idea to take my parents due to the hiking. Did you visit Ephesus? HOw did you get there?

Kris

We didn't see Ephesus on this trip having been there already on a cruise. Ephesus has the best preserved ruins I think we have seen anywhere including Rome and Athens. I think most people that go there either fly into Izmir which is about 80 km away, take a bus or arrange for an escorted tour. It seemed like the travel agents in Istanbul could arrange for all of the side trips. You can probably even do Ephesus on a long day trip as the flight is only about an hour.<BR><BR>We did do quite a bit of hiking in Cappadocia which I think is the best way to see the area. Our guide mentioned that a fellow guide did panoramic bus trips through Cappadocia for their clients who were not able to hike. You can still see some of the landscape-the fairy chimneys and caves are viewable from the road but I think to really enjoy the area you need to get off the bus. The cave churches all require climbing and the underground cities, which are amazing, also require lots of bending and climbing.

Ariel

Marta - not sure about Ephesus with your 80 yr parents - I have done it and it is quite a bit of walking. But it is really wonderful and incredible - so if you and your daughter can go while that grandparents look afterthe 5 yr old (wait that is probably just as tiring!!) Anyway - a great place, wear hats if you go, carry water, and maybe they just sit in the theatre while you walk the place.<BR><BR>Ephesus is on the West coast near Kusadasi - my husband & Turkish in-laws drove there. My mum & her friend took a tour bus from Bodrum, tons of them and easy to arrange, they usually leave early as it is a bit of a drive from Bodrum up to the site.

jen

Ephesus was one of the highlights of our recent trip. We had a car the whole time.<BR>If you go with elder parents, try to get there as EARLY as possible. We were told that it can be so crowded that it's hard to walk, let alone see anything. I'll try to find out what time it opens if you're interested.

abc

When Ships come to Kusadasi for tour to Ephesus, the Ruin opens at 7.AM otherwise opens at 8.30AM until 6.PM<BR>In JULY and AUGUST you should go to Ephesus as early or late as possible because of HEAT <BR><BR>ABC

Paule

Marta,<BR>The highlight of my husband's and my trip last summer was Cappadocia. If I had a choice between it and Ephesus, I would choose Cappadocia because it is such an unusual landscape and the people are very welcoming. If you have a car or take a guided tour (either privately or with a group) you can visit places that don't require a lot of walking. The Open Air Museum at Goreme is a wonderful site and doesn't require much walking. And the lunar landscape throughout the region is spectacular. We stayed in a very small town and found that the essence of the place is special, with a real warmth in our interactions with most people.<BR><BR>We did visit Ephesus, and while it is a great site, it is a lot of walking and can get quite crowded, as others have said. We actually preferred some of the smaller sites that are in the region (Didyma and Priene), but we did have a car which was necessary. I've read that people have hired drivers to go to these sites,too.