My husband and I are leaving for Istanbul from Toronto on the 10th of Sept. arriving on the 11th. Need a day for jet lag and we plan to spend 5 (or 6) nights in Istanbul and then fly to Cappadocia and spend 4 days, 5 nights there. Fly back to Istanbul for 2 days before flying home. Don't want to rent a car and travel night after night so we want to take tours in both places or walk or take the buses (etc.) to see sights. Does anyone know if that is a plan? Can you take day trips in Cappadocia to see Troy, etc? Also, since I am alergic to mold, do the caves in Cappadocia smell musty? Thanks so much. Also, are we spending too much time in Instabul? I have been told you could spend days there especially if we want to see the Jewish quarter, etc. One other thing. Have seen that many Cdns and Americans will be in Turkey at that time. Anyone doing the similar trip, maybe we can meet up. We are staying at The President Best Western Hotel but don't know about Cappadocia yet. Very excited. Let me know.

Get a map of Turkey and you'll see you can't visit Troy from Cappadoccia... way over on the other side of the country.

As to Cappadoccia - this is a very large area, where exactly will you be staying. I aslo presume you'll be flying into Kayseri, the closest airport. I would recommend you rent a car to get around the Cappadoccia area, though it's not necessary to change hotels.

The one great thing about the underground cities in the Cappadocia area - it's cool down there, considering September will still be warm if not quite hot above ground. Likewise the other "caves"... these go on for miles and miles through town after town and have been here for thousands of years, so I don't know whether anyone can guarantee there is no mold. If I were you, either wear a mask, or don't go in.

There is certainly lots to see and visit in Istanbul - a good guidebook will help you decide what you want to visit, the hours, locations, so you can best schedule your time. But whether you need 7-days, I can't say.

You might consider 2-days to Ephesus, via Izmir (a flight) and arrange a tour from there. You can consider a day tour to Bursa; even from Istanbul you can do a 2-day tour to Troy (but not from Cappadocia).

The same guidebook will give you ideas of what other areas in Turkey you can visit.

MxSmrs,

Ccappadocia Caves are NOT moldy BUT there are many DUST.

When you get to Istanbul you may buy 2 day tour to visit TROY and Bursa then you can fly to Kayseri for your Cappadocia tour.

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz

Just a few words about Cappadocia. It is a wonderful place. I have just returned from there, and my wife and I both feel it was the highlight of our vacation. You can easily spend 4 days there. My wife and I had a wonderful guide, Adnan Tanguler, and we found his website very useful. He operates on the Internet under the name of asianturkey (all one word) and you need the page on Cappadocia.

The caves in Cappadocia are very dry (like the air)- not wet like the neolithic caves in the Dordogne in France. If you want to be on the safe side, stay in a normal hotel, but don't let it stop you visiting an underground city - Kaymakli is the best, by the way.

The local airport is Kayseri, but you can't fly there from Troy or Izmir, only from Istanbul - so build this carefully into your plans. Alternatively you could fly to Ankara, see the wonderful museum of Anatolian Civilizations and then go to Cappadocia, which is at least 5 hours away.

Adnan was telling me that he does a lovely tour from Ankara airport, visiting the museum and coming to Cappadocia via the Hittite capital city. After visiting Cappadocia you can go on to Mount Nemrut, then to Urfa (Abraham's birthplace) and eventually end up in Antakya. My wife and I are going to do this tour next year. These places look very interesting on the Internet, and visiting the SE of Turkey after Cappadocia makes sense as you are not too far away.

Hope this was helpful. Whatever, I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

James

Hello Mx Smrs,
Two weeks ago, I and my partner were in Cappadocia.We had great time. We stayed in Uchisar, in Lale Sarayi Hotel(it has cave rooms, too). The people are so kind.
We went to Sanlýufra(maybe spelling is not correct). I love these places.

Kaymakli was wonderfull, don't miss it. Dusty yes but not as bad as some hotels I have stayed in.We stayed at Esbelli Evi and our room was cut into the hill, very very comfortable. Personal opinion skip Troy unless you are an archaeology fan ! As much as I like Istanbul you need to get to Ephesus, you will not regret it !

first of all you have enough time in Turkey.If you can find someone to make a plan for you that will be a wonderful trip.
5 or 6 nights in Istanbul can easily cover Troy as well. there are several travel agencies organising one night 2 days tours to Troy.
About Cappadocia, cave hotels are very comfortable and they dont smell musty if you choose the right one, Lale Saray is one of my Favorites, and "Cappadocia Cave Suites" is another one i like. Both have got web sites you may check them.
If you send a blank e mail to me i can send you 2 different programmes for 4 days in Cappadocia and can help you to organise different things with good rates. my e mail is [email protected]

mtitour, your attempts to advertise here (which is not allowed, by the way) are going on deaf ears. MxSmrs, who registered here and asked those questions has not re-appeared since May, so I suspect she is not returning to Fodors and alas won't be seeing your ad.

I'm still here and reading everything. Just been too busy. I'm leaving in a week so I'm getting my itinerary together. Thanks for all the help everyone. I find that most of these tour guides and companies are outrageous in their prices. If I had to rely on them (although some of them have good itineraries)I wouldn't be able to go to all the places I've seen in the world. I have to budget but at least I get to go and my husband and I do pretty well taking the public transportation and viewing things ourselves. Sometimes we take a guided tour (if it's not too expensive).

Apart from Troy bit from Cappadocia your plan looks good to explore both parts and enough to enjoy highlights and perhaps off the beaten tracks. In both parts one or two organised tours could be helpful for you to understand and get accustomed. Public transport between cities are good also istanbul quite managable but in Cappadocia you may need more than that if you are not hiking only. One small note on the costs ; petrol and other services are not very cheap anymore, so private transportation may feel expensive but overall all the costs together will balance. We use the most expensive petrol of all europe thanks to taxes

Happy travelling,
Murat

You can easily spend 4-5 days in Cappadocia, but you will not get to many places by public transport - and you will have long waits for the bus at the sights you do get to. Backpackers usually take daily tours, but others often take private tours. For more information, and information about tours, please see my AsianTurkey website. My name is Adnan and I am a professional tour guide in Cappadocia. I can help with all aspects of bookings and answering questions. For example - I can tell you that the caves in Cappadocia are very dry and you do not need to worry about mouldy dampness - this is because of the nature of the volcanic tufa soil. Get in touch through my website with any more queries. Happy travels.

I just got back from Turkey. Rented a car in Cappadocia. It's the best way to see the area. Loved the small towns--Uchisar, Orthisar, the Ilhara Valley. Might like to stay in one of those areas next time!

Stayed in 3 different cave hotels--Kelembek, Yunak Evi, and Giramasu. Cave rooms are the best, the only way to go in Cappadocia. Most of the rooms have been rehabbed and modernized. You stay nice and cool and comfortable--a great relief to the heat and humidity outside. I didnt detect any mold or musty smell, but then again, I'm may not be as sensitive as someone with an allergy might be.

Guys do you realize this post is from last year!!!! And september is passed already. Better to help new posters rather than put an old post to the top...
Murat

I know this is an old post but i hope i can ask one question:

Is driving from Istanbul to Cappdocia not possible? It seems like most people fly to other destinations within Turkey rather than drive. I am trying to get a sense of distances as I am interested in a future trip someday.

I will get a good map of Turkey but I dont have one now. Thanks.

yep, we realize the original post is old but, it still has some good info on it.

driving one's own car from Istanbul to Capp would be onerous, i think.

a lot of people take the overnight bus or fly.

i flew to kayseri. well worth it, i think.

to wit, i met someone during my travels in Capp whose bus broke down for 3 hours. i think that's pretty atypical, but "ick" nonetheless.

Hi chicagolori; You can find the full map of Turkey at :
http://www.propertravel.com/destinations.htm
Driving from Istanbul to Cappadocia is not really you should do. Ofcourse you can if you have other targets in between. Best ýs to Fly. From 16 June onwards there will be also direct flights to Nevsehir Airport ( at least 30 min. shorter drive than Kayseri) by Pegasus Airlines.

Asa4, I know what you mean by the information, however one should better post a new question and new topic to have a fresh start
All the best,
Murat