Have enjoyed this site and now hope I can get your thoughts on my trip. Planning an 8 day trip through Turkey - including Istanbul, Izmir and Bodrum.

Days 1-3: Istanbul, leaving early Day 3 morning.

Day 3 - in Epheseus

Day 4 early morning - bus to hotel in Bodrum (any suggestions on transport and hotel are welcome)

Day 4-7: Bodrum hotel - Fly from Bodrum to Istanbul - return.

Questions:
1) is this too much in 7 days
2) anyone have recommendations for a nice resort in Bodrum - nice beach, etc.
3) any suggestions on side trips from Bodrum.

Thanks for any help and keep posting.

Your itinerary is doable.
If you are looking to beach holiday you better choose bays & areas around Bodrum like Torba, Turkbuku etc. Depending on your travel dates and budget you can find many choices within Bodrum.

A day gulet cruise, Bodrum Crusader castle and underwater archeological Museum, backwards to Selcuk Didyma, Miletus, Prienne can be interesting tours.

Have fun and happy travelling,
Murat

I think you should cut a day from Bodrum and add it to Istanbul. With only two days in Istanbul, you'll barely have time to sightsee and experience the city. It's definitely worth at least another full day.

As for Bodrum, we were there last year and didn't like it at all. Our hotel was gorgeous (BODRUM MARMARA), but we could have seen and been done with town in a day. Town caters to tour packages, and is full of shops selling gold and cheap jeans. The castle was the only interesting place that we visited while there.

There is a huge club scene in and around Bodrum, and if you're interested in that, go. We were really looking for Turkish culture and a wonderful beach, both of which we didn't really find in Bodrum.

If you want a hotel by the beach, these are three suggestions:

The Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay is a beautiful but large resort with a nice beach, a kids program, a great pool, and wonderful restaurants. It's not "in" town, if that's important.

The Queen Ada Hotel is an affordable four-star on the beach with just 22 rooms.

Casa Dell'Arte is right next door to Queen Ada and feels like a private residence with 12 suites. Definitely 5-star and priced accordingly.

These are great recommendations - wasn't sure about Bodrum so this is great. Has anyone used Jasminne Tours before and booked a similar itinerarey.

Just to update; While I love Casa Dell Arte, they have an extention Casa dell Arte Village where they also accept children and more moderate priced..... But I would go for the first option......

People all have different feelings about Bodrum. Many raves about and many hates. Its like love and hate relationship about this town.

July and August I would avoid as Turkish high society and pretend to be high society is filling Bodrum but usually not the town itself.

Best gulets of the world are in Bodrum and if one is lucky enough Bodrum is only an embarkation port for them. Nightlife is big ofcourse.
Clubs, lounge bars, discos you name it.

If you go there Sept. October you see a different face of Bodrum.

I was there last week and our captain parked at marina night before disembarking the gulet and that was not a vice decision.

I like Bodrum but not my cup of tea... Kempinski Barbaros Bay, Ada Turkbuku, Divan Palmira, The Marmara, Casa Dell Arte, Maca Kizi are the most famous and quality hotel options of the Bodrum.

Crusader Castle and Underwater Archeological Museum is beautiful. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world used to be there before stolen !Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus...Pitty to see only the foundation of it.

Happy travelling,

Murat