carolj

My sister and I (ages mid 60's) will be spending a week in Istanbul in March. We would like to add on another 4 or 5 days and are looking for suggestions. Greece would be a logical choice, but I've been there a couple of times. Any ideas for us?
Thanks

IMDonehere

Cappadocia is a short flight and one of the strangest places we have been.

carolj

I've never heard of it, but OMG! It looks fascinating.
Definite possibility. Thanks.

stricky

I agree that Cappadocia is a good choice. If you're adventurous, you can take an early morning balloon ride too. I would also consider going to Ephasus to see the remains of this ancient city. You would need to fly to Izmir.

yorkshire

early or late March? Check weather for Cappadocia if you have an aversion to cold like I do, but that would be my #1 choice for sure!

Sassafrass

Definitely Cappadocia!
It was on my travel dream list for years and was so amazing, it exceeded every expectation.
Dress warmly, especially if you do the balloon ride, which is beyond spectacular.
Esbelli Evi is a beautiful cave hotel. They will take care of everything from pick up at airport to return and prices are good. Lovely place.

It is a very short, easy cheap flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. Since you will already be in Istanbul, it makes sense to combine that visit with Cappadocia.

Three full days is a nice amount of time for Cappadocia if you want to do any hiking at all or have a leisurely time. You could do two full days though and see a lot.

A day in Ephesus is also incredible and well worth the travel to get there.

Turkey is such a wonderful and beautiful country. See more of it while you are there.
Great food too.

kja

I agree that Cappadocia and Ephesus are the most obvious add-ons, although you lots of other options!

FWIW, I thought 6 days about right for Istanbul, 3 to 4 full days about right for Cappadocia, and 1 FULL about right for Ephesus (counting the museum in nearby Selcuk). YMMV! And you would, of course, need to add in time to get from place to place....

I recommend that you consult a good guidebook or two (always a worthy investment, IME, but you can also check some at your local library). For inspiration and high quality photographs, you might want to start with Eyewitness or Insight or National Geographic Traveller. Then check Fodor's or Frommer's or the Michelin Green Guide (if there is one for Turkey) for prioritizing your options. And then check the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet to get nitty gritty details.

Enjoy!

otherchelebi

Here's a site I came across at Twitter today. It has some useful info, good photos and also unfortunately some advertisement which you can disregard:

http://www.captivatingcappadocia.com...lloon-sunrise/

zac495

Cappadocia is fabulous. We started in Antalya. We loved staying in the old city. Just amazing. Then we went to Feithye and Kas and Ephesus. The Lycian coast is beautiful.