Just back from Turkey - WOW!
 

Just got back from two weeks in Turkey. Istanbul, Ephesus & Cappadocia. Unfortunately my actual trip report is going to take some time to write up. If there's any fellow budget minded travelers out there I can try to help out in the meantime please feel free to ask away.

Cheers, the turnip

Perhaps just a hint about the 'Wow !' part ?

Incredible history, stunning scenery and the friendliest people that I've met in any of my travels.

Thanks.
Exactly as I experienced it in Oct. 2006.

Looking forward to reading your report.

M.

Turnip:

I agree with your comments. The scenery is magnificent and the people are so friendly and polite! I urge
those interested in history to give
Turkey serious consideration. They will not regret the decision to go.

We went in May 2008-a lovely time to
visit. We were not budget travellers,
but a budget traveller will enjoy the same scenery as we did.

Pat

Looking forward to your report!

We are headed to Turkey in February so I'm axiously awaiting your trip report!

Best wishes,
Tracy

Welcome home turnip--

You might have already seen the sticky about our Turkey contest but I'm personally inviting you to participate. :-d
http://www.fodors.com/contest/turkey/

You can check out recent entries here:
http://www.fodors.com/contest/turkey/entries.html

Turkey is high up on my list of "where next". I'm looking forward to your report. How long was your trip for starters? I'm looking ahead to '09 and trying to figure out where I could take a longer bit of time off.

Katie,

Many thanks for the invite. I'll be sure to submit a photo or two.

Our trip was two weeks in length. We spent six days in Istanbul, two in the area of Ephesus and four days in the Cappadocia region.

Looking back, as much as we enjoyed Cappadocia I think I would have pulled a day from that section to spend another day in the Ephesus area.

Cheers, the turnip

I too agree with the comments about how great Turkey is. We were there in 2000 and were very impressed with the beautiful scenery, history, and the friendliness of the people. Loved it. We were in Istanbul, and Ephesus, and cruised thru the Black Sea. Next time we'll include Cappadocia also.
Looking forward to your report.

I Hope Mike will contribute his Dark Church photos from Goreme Open Air Museum too....

This photo contest is a great idea....

Happy Travelling,
Murat

Hi turnip,
Turkey is on our to-do list as well. Everyone we know who has visited Turkey has loved it.

We wouldn't want to hire a car, did you get around by public transport? And if so, was it easy?

Thanks,
Kay

'Incredible history, stunning scenery and the friendliest people that I've met in any of my travels. '

I couldn't agree more, Turnip.

One of my favourite holiday destinations ...

Steve

Kay,

There is NO WAY I would try to drive in Istanbul, besides public transportation there was wonderful.

In Sulcuk/Ephesus the hotel provided free transportation for the short jaunt to the site of the ruins.

Cappadocia is a different story in my opinion. There were some buses and little van/buses for public transport but I wouldn't want to be forced to rely on that system. We rented a car while we were there and loved it. There is little traffic and while the way finding, or public direction signs, left quite a bit to be desired we did just fine with the car.

I wouldn't want to drive in Istanbul either. However, we had no problems driving from Izmir to Cappadocia, including driving into and out of Konya.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35151861

Thanks turnip and michael, there is no way we would ever drive in Istanbul but what about getting from one place to another? There are no trains I believe, did you do internal flights or catch longhaul buses?

The distances must be quite long between places, as Turkey is a big country. Or have I got that wrong?

Kay

Totally agree with what you said - friendliest people, beautiful country - and great food, may I add.

driving in the towns and cities would take a lot of concentration, but between them wouldn't be bad.

The idea of buses didn't appeal to me so we did internal flights. I went to THY.com and after a little trial and error I was able to the website to work for me. We found very reasonably priced flights. We flew from Istanbul to Izmir (near Selcuk/Ephesus) and then from Izmir to Kayseri in the Cappadocia region. From there we flew back to Istanbul. The total for the three flights was around $250.

In my opinion there comes a point when time is money and I felt that being able to see the things we really wanted to see without spending entire days for just travel justified the minor additional expense.

Cheers, the turnip

Good to hear all worked out well Turnip, look forward hearing your report....
Have a nice sunday
Murat

PS: As a local I also do not dare to drive in Istanbul. using public transport or taxis just fine....
driving at other places are just fine

turnip, I'm anxious to read your report as I'm leaving Dec 3 for Turkey. Please post a report soon, I hope getting a report from you isn't like getting blood from a turnip. :-D

I'm just back from Turkey (trip report 'Talkin Turkey Part 1 and 2)
but I would just like to say that driving around Turkey is extremely easy. We drove from Urgup in Cappadocia down to Side near Antalya then drove the coast to Kas, Marmaris, Bodrum, Selcuk, Pumakhale, Izmir, Canakkale, Galllipoli and then into Istanbul airport.

Signage is generally very good and if all else fails the locals are extremely helpful and in one instance after asking directions on a map the fellow jumped in his own car and said follow me and I'll get you to your exit.

You will never run out of petrol as service stations are everywhere.

Driving Turkey is a great experience and one that I would recommend and advise that it is an option definitely worth considering!

Hi Storm,

Well done and drove all the way :-)

As long as you drive day time and avoid Istanbul travellers will be fine with a hire car.....is my recommendation.

Greatings,

Murat

Kay,

I have been researching internal flights in Turkey as we are going in February. I found that the cheapest flights seem to be on Pegasus Airlines (http://www.pegasusairlines.com/EN/). A flight from Istanbul to Izmir, for example, is coming up at 51 lira, or $33 USA, for a February 18 flight.

We plan on renting a car and driving along the coast.

Good luck and happy planning!
Tracy

Sorry...that was supposed to be "USD", not "USA"

Tracy

Thanks Tracy, that's very useful info and a good price too. Do you know anything about the airline, eg safety record, what sort of planes they have? My husband hates small planes.

I had a feeling that domestic Turkish airlines had a bad reputation but I could be totally wrong.

Kay

KayF;
yes you are informed wrong TO MY Opinion.
Turkish Airlines a member of Star Alliance has one of the most sophisticated and young fleet in all Europe. Service is good and well maintained fleet is Flag carrier of Turkey.

I am taking a semi long houl flight tomorrow with TK so I search just out of curiosity and share with you here.

http://www.thy.com/en-INT/corporate/...e.aspx?pid=945

Pls. check following.

http://www.airlinequality.com/StarRanking/4star.htm

http://www.airlinequality.com/Airlines/TK.htm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...6182722AAFafMh

http://www.airguideonline.com/airgui...rguide9708.htm

http://www.airguideonline.com/airgai...e_review_t.htm

I only use Turkish Airlines as much as if I can both Domestic and International and so far all so good.

Happy Flying,
Murat

Thank you Murat, that is good to know. We have talked about visiting Turkey for a while but how to get around was bothering me, as I don't like buses for lengthy trips and I believe there are no trains. I will look into the airlines and these websites.

Thank you
Kay

There certainly are railways in Turkey, but the network is limited, with services radiating from Ankara. They are of little use if you're visiting the Aegean or Mediterranean coast, which is where most tourists go.
I prefer trains to buses for long journeys, but there is often no choice in Turkey. The buses are very comfortable, generally German-designed vehicles, with tea or coffee served on some journeys.
From Istanbul to Izmir, there are connections by ferry to Bandirma, then train from there to Izmir.

Murat, do you know anything about Pegasus Airlines? The prices are significantly lower than Turkish Airlines so we are planning on booking our intra-Turkey flights this weekend.

Tracy

We flew Pegasus from Kayseri to Istanbul. The flight arrives at the Asian airport, which means a stiff taxi cost unless you are willing to use public transportation (we did) or arrange for a van to pick you. Pegasus si like any other airline.

Michael, thank you for your comment on Pegasus. We will book with them I'm certain. The flight is so short that I'm not worried about comforts that I would on a longer flight. We will probably take public transportation from the airport back into Istanbul for our final night.

Tracy

Looking forward to your trip report. We visited Turkey in April and are budget travelers. Loved the whole adventure except for that one taxi driver who ripped us off in Istanbul :-). The people, the food and the history were all great experiences.

tcreath,

This is what I wrote about our experience using public transportation:

<i>We returned to Istanbul via Pegasus Air, landing at Sabiha Gocken International Airport, We arrived at the domestic terminal with no vans to be seen. Walked over to the international terminal, and it was absolutely deserted. Obviously the vans are there when international flights arrive around 4 and 5 a.m. 7 or 8 a.m. is already too late. We walk back to the domestic terminal just as the last bus pulls out. The dispatcher whistles him down, the bus stops in the middle of the access road, we run like mad across the grass and climb into the back door. At some point during the trip, when the bus clears a little, I walk to the front and pay our fare. We did not catch the airport bus but a local bus. After a long ride, including crossing the Bosphorus on one of the suspension bridges, I see a metro sign. We get off, go down to the metro. We are at the last station. We take the metro to Taksim Square, the last station at the other end, go to the funicular which we take down to the streetcar which takes us within 1.5 blocks of our hotel in the Sultanahmet district. Total time: 2.5 hours. Cost: 16 TRY. To avoid the anxieties we experienced, one could take the airport limousine directly to Taksim Square--it also would speed up the trip. On the other hand, since all the rides are obtained at the beginning of the line, luggage is less of a problem in that one can place oneself comfortably in the bus, funicular or streetcar without having to push through a crowd.</i>

pegasus is kind of easy jet of Turkey. They have also a fairly young fleet and successful operation. Only downfall is mainly they use Asia but again thats is suitable for some who needs to be at asian.
Havas buses with a change will take passangers to Europe too&ccedil;.
Murat

pegasus is kind of easy jet of Turkey. They have also a fairly young fleet and successful operation. Only downfall is mainly they use Asia but again thats is suitable for some who needs to be at asian.
Havas buses with a change will take passangers to Europe too.
Murat

Turnip,
How did you get from Izmir Airport to Sulcuk?

I am not Turnip, but our hotel provided the transfer, transfer for 2 was $75.

Turnip, totally agree with you. So far, I have not heard anybody not loving their Turkey trip but I have not heard anyone who has not been to Turkey say something positive or encouraging remark about the country!

I'm so glag you had a wonderful time. I look forward to reading your trip report.

We rented a car in Izmir and drove to Selcuk. Easy, peaceful drive.