cececat

We have booked our hotels and now we are going to book the domestic air. We land in Turkey and from the airport we will directly fly to Cappadocia in the evening arriving at the hotel around 7 or 8ish. The next day we will explore as much as we can in Capp. The morning after our 2d night we are planning on taking an early balloon ride and then will check out of our hotel and fly to Izmir. It is a long day, I know, but we really did not want to miss Ephesus or Cappdocia, so this was the best we came up with.

We overnight in Ephesus and then the next morning, we will hopefully get up early and be at the ruins around 9 for about 3 hours. I was told that this was enough time to wander around Ephesus. Afterwards we will check out of our hotel and leave Izmir for another part of Turkey.

Has anyone done an itinerary like this? Does it sound "sound"? I know that we will not have time to wander around the town of Secluk -- but we are really only doing the night in Izmir for Ephesus.

Comments, cheers and critiques welcome PLEASE!!!

Thanks. ccc

AP6380

What time of year are you going? I was in Ephesus a few weeks ago, and it was so hot that we had to take breaks in the shade from time to time. This will add to your time. I love ruins, but my father doesn't like them as much as I do, but we still spent more than 3 hours there. It might have been closer to 4-5 hrs.

cececat

Hi thanks for replying. We are going in September. Was Ephesus awesome -- enough to fly for 1 night as we are doing?

Did you go to Cappadocia perhaps, -- what were your thoughts about there?

Please reply. Thanks.ccc

LindaL

It depends on your personal preference for travel. I am the type that likes to be "on the go" so I would be able to do this no problem. Other people like a more leasurely pace and want to stop and rest, have drinks, browse, shop etc. As I recall, we took a taxi to Ephesus and the driver charged us a flat fee and took us to a couple of other interesting spots we not have been aware of. I think Ephesus is awesome and should not be missed. Just my own opinion, of course.

cececat

Thanks LindaL, how many nights did you spend in Izmir -- or didn't you?

Did you spend time in Cappadocia too?
How was that for you?

LindaL

We stayed one night in Izmir and two nights in Cappadocia. In Cappadocia we took a two day tour arranged by the travel agent while we were in Izmir. The tour guide was a local who lived in the caves when he was a child before the government determined they were unsafe. He took us to the underground city, the caves, we saw the "fairy chimneys", a caravansary (essentially camel stops during the olden days), the obligatory rug making stop and beautiful countryside where people live they same way for the past umpteen hundred years. It really is a magical place. I wish I had taken the balloon ride like you're going to. Let us know how your trip went when you get back.

AP6380

If you like ruins you will love Ephesus. Like Linda said, if you want to keep on the move it might work for you. If there was a way to make it 2 nights, it might be more pleasurable. Will you have a car? Why not stay in Selcuk? Where are you headed to after Ephesus?

cececat

Thanks for the replies. AP -- we are staying in Secluk. I understand it is only about 10 minutes to Ephesus from Secluk and it is more quaint, do you agree? We are headed to Kalkan afterwards. Talk about being on the go -- LindaL -- we are planning on driving straight through to Kalkan after we see the ru

cececat

sorry -- hit wrong button!

After we see the ruins, we are planning on picking up a car and driving straight through to Kalkan. I am nervous about doing this b/c it will probably be dark by the time we arrive. I hope I did not make a big mistake. I am already paying for a week at a villa and only staying 6 nights -- I do not want to cut it down to 5 nights in Kalkan in order to stay another night in Secluk so we can get an early start and be a little bit more rested for the long drive. I figure we will be exhausted upon arriving at Kalkan, eat a little something and start the relaxation part of our vacation the next day. I just hope it is safe to drive in Turkey after dark on the road we are travelling. ccc