Villa Mahal is beautiful but would be waaay over your budget.

Hello fellow Seattle-ite!

I just got back from 3 weeks in Turkey about a month ago. It's fabulous, you'll love it, but it will be HOT as you've already realized (I was dying of the heat in late May/early June--I can't imagine what it's like in August!).

We spent 2 weeks on a gulet on the Lycian coast (Gocek to Antayla and back) so can't advise on hotels but having seen/visited both Kalkan and the Olympos area from the boat I'd agree with those suggestions. The Chimera near Olympos was a particular highlight we thought (we were on an archeological cruise so the focus was ancient sites). But there are so many wonderful sites to see and great beaches.

If you can get a cottage at Nisanyan House in Sirince, do it for sure. We stayed in their 2 BR cottage up above the Inn, it was amazing. That would be worth booking ahead IMO. Same with Esbelli in Cappadocia if you go there.

We stayed at the Dersaadet in Istanbul and loved it.

I echo the recommendation for Nisanyan House. We stayed in their main building and were very pleased with the rooms and with the whole feeling of the place.

If you will be in Efes and Sirince, you might consider spending a few nights in Foca. We had two nights there on a car trip (rented car with hired driver) from Istanbul to Efes/Sirince and I recommend the town of Foca if you want to get away from the usual tourist haunts. It is a relaxed port town with a lovely beach and good seafood restaurants. We stayed at the Focantique Hotel, a small place on the sea in a historic stone building.


http://www.focantiquehotel.com/english/index.html

It's Erik in Seattle, with an update on plans.

So what I'm thinking is staying 2-3 in Istanbul upon arrival from Seattle. That's to get over jetlag and see a few sights. We'd return at the end of the trip for more sightseeing in Istanbul.

I don't think we'll drive from Istanbul to Antalya. From what I've read, that'd be a very long day of driving. We'll likely fly to Dalaman or Antalya, and rent a car.

We want to go on a blue cruise, and, again, from researching, I'm leaning towards
http://www.olymposyachting.com.

They have 2-night or 3-night cruises. I sent them an e-mail about availability and prices.

We'd love to go ballooning, but that's in Cappadocia, as I understand it. Has anyone driven from Antalya to Cappadocia? How long does it take? Is it worth it? Is it better to fly there? I'm weighing the time factor. My daughter can only be in Turkey for 10 days. I'm settling on Istanbul, a blue cruise and something else, as the 3 things to do. That something else could be ballooning, which I read is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The rest of the family will stay longer in Turkey, so I wanted to do something that'd be real highlights during the first 10 days.
I welcome your suggestions!

Erik in Seattle

Don't miss Cappadocia. You'll never see anything like it. We recently were there. Stayed at Esbelli Evi, which was a very peaceful welcoming place to stay. Did a balloon trip with Kappadokya Balloons, had a private guide for a day (highly recommend so you understand what you're looking at), went to see a whirling dervish ceremony at Surihan (a 13th century caravanserai) and ate at some very good restaurants! The underground cities are perhaps the most amazing places I've ever seen in my life. Our teenage kids loved it as much as we did. You really only need a couple of days there so you can easily fit it in.

It's Erik in Seattle.

Thanks, BKD,

Cappadocia it is. Now, I have to figure out if we 1) fly Istanbul to whatever airport is in Cappadocia, and then fly to Antalya, or 2) fly Istanbul to Antalya, and then either fly or drive to Cappadocia.

Any further suggestions?

Thanks,

Erik in Seattle.

Other than renting a car to drive from Sirince to Bodrum and back to the Izmir airport, we flew everwhere. The distances from place to place make for pretty long drives and flying is pretty cheap. Even though security is tight at the airports (we could learn a few lessons at U.S. airports), the airports are small and very manageable. Even the domestic terminal at Istanbul was easy.

We actually skipped Istanbul at first and went straight to Sirince via Izmir. It was a very long haul (New Orleans to Houston to Paris to Istanbul to Izmir-whew!)but it was for us a very wise decision after now having visited Istanbul. We found going to a smaller, calmer place was a great way to unwind after the long flights and catch up on the time change. Istanbul is hectic to say the least and I'm glad we saved it for last. Also, I'm glad we didn't split up Istanbul so we didn't have to pack up one more time.

To get to Cappadocia you fly to Kayseri and then it's about a 45 minute ride. Your hotel can arrange a transfer, if you don't want to rent a car in Kayseri. It was only about $10 per person. Word of warning--renting cars is not cheap and gasoline is crazy expensive something like $9 a gallon!

As far as airlines go, we went with Turkish Airlines domestically and I thought they were great and a great value. We also flew Sun Express-not as nice as Turkish Airlines, but ok. One problem you might have is that most flights go in and out of Istanbul so it's harder to get to places without having to go back to Istanbul. It looks like Sun Express has non-stop service to Kayseri from Antalya so you may be okay to fly w/o having to go back to Istanbul. Sun Express can be booked through the Turkish Airlines web site. There are a couple of other domestic airlines, Onur and Atlas, that you may also want to check out.

Hope that helps.

Hi Erik,
Another recommendation at Cirali & Olympos region is www.canadahotel.net
I have not been there myself but hear good things about the service and the owners.... My land Nature can be also another alternatif.

As for Cappadocia;
You can do both of your plans. If you plan to fly to Kayseri there are two flights in a week from either side.
Do not skip the option of hot air ballooning in Cappadocia if your budget permits.
Let me know if I can be any assistance for Cappadocia as an insider of the region.

Driving from Antalya or to Antalya is easy but needs about 7 hours.

Happy travelling,
Murat

Hi Erik,

The first one looks good. You can fly to Kayseri and after Cappadocia tour drive to Antalya.

Hi, it's Erik from Seattle.

Any suggestions on best deals for a hot-air balloon trip? I also think we'll spend at least a night in one of those hotels built in a cave.

Thanks,

Erik

Hi Erik, You sound like a wonderful parent. I would love to take my kids someday, especially the gulet part. What a great way to make some memories. We spent 3 days in Istanbul, (I would have liked 1 more)flew to Kayseri and spent 2 days and 1 night in Cappadocia. Then we flew to Antalya and did a 4 day Gulet. That was my favorite. We ended up spending 1 day in Izmir and 1 in Ephesus. Now, what we could have done differently? We flew, and I highly suggest it, if time is an issue. Its about $100 one way, each segment. The only problem with flying was we had to keep backtracking to Istanbul and that was a giant waste of time. I think its better now. I could have spent only 1 long day and night in Cappadocia and seen enough of the amazing sites to be happy. I could have also done a 3 day Gulet and still had the best time, and Izmir really should have just been where we ended up for our flight home. It was nothing special. Sorry, (to any Izmirites), but its the truth. Turkey is sooo amazing and your time there (this trip)is limited, so you are probably better off taking advantage of your time to see all the stuff that's very touristy, but makes Turkey so unique, and save the B list for next time. Have fun. P.S., We just returned from Slovenia & Croatia with no prior hotel reservations, but it was late May, before the hoardes arrived. I did come with names and # of hotels so (just in case) we couldn't find anything, or everything we found was too much, atleast we would have some leads. Good Luck!

Best deal you can find hot air ballooning with the best operator is at:
http://www.goremehouse.com/eng/rates.htm

2 night accommodation, tour, transfer package for 275 Euro p.person.

Its an experinece not to miss.

Good luck,
Murat

Hello,it's Erik from Seattle.

Thanks for your many kind replies!

So I think we'll arrive in Istanbul,likely jetlagged, and so spend 3 days there. Then we fly to Cappadocia,stay in a cave hotel, do the ballooning,hopefully in some package plan. Then we fly off to the coast for a 2-3 day boat cruise and drive around there. After that, my daughter has to fly back to Seattle and the rest of the family has a week in which to see things. My 18-year-old son will be with us, and I'd like to have see some sights, other than the ones in the clubs along the coast, which would mean he sleeps in until noon or whatever. So if you have suggestions for the last week, it'd help.

Thanks!

Sounds like a great plan so far! Hopefully you'll incorporate many of the ancient sites into your itinerary on the coast.

For your last week, I'll reiterate the suggestion of heading to the Ephesus area and stay up in Sirince, doing day trips from there.

I too stayed in the hotel part of Nisanyan house and would highly recommend the hotel and the village as a base. If you haven't found it yet, the owner of Nisanyan house also has a book and a website for other great small places to stay throughout Turkey. www.nisanyan.net