Turkey in November
Jul 10th, 2010, 04:22 PM
#1
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Turkey in November
Hi
My son and I are going to Turkey the first two weeks of November so I have a few questions.
We would like to stay in older Istanbul, Ephesus, and Cappadocia. We're interested in the history mostly....not so much food and nightlife. We are novice travelers and not city people so we thought we would ease into it by doing Istanbul last. That being said, I have no idea where to start. But for me it would be helpful for a framework of sorts. We can do Cappadocia and Ephesus in no particular order. I will meet him and fly from Germany.
Can we fly between places so we don't use time driving.? If so, what airlines to what airport would be recommended between these three areas?
Does it make any sense to use a travel agent to do this for us...would we get better rates? We want to stay in old Istanbul and do the highlights.
How soon do we have to get our reservations before we travel in the first two weeks of November?
Do we need to book tours of an area ahead of time or can we do it when we get there?
Thanks ahead.
My son and I are going to Turkey the first two weeks of November so I have a few questions.
We would like to stay in older Istanbul, Ephesus, and Cappadocia. We're interested in the history mostly....not so much food and nightlife. We are novice travelers and not city people so we thought we would ease into it by doing Istanbul last. That being said, I have no idea where to start. But for me it would be helpful for a framework of sorts. We can do Cappadocia and Ephesus in no particular order. I will meet him and fly from Germany.
Can we fly between places so we don't use time driving.? If so, what airlines to what airport would be recommended between these three areas?
Does it make any sense to use a travel agent to do this for us...would we get better rates? We want to stay in old Istanbul and do the highlights.
How soon do we have to get our reservations before we travel in the first two weeks of November?
Do we need to book tours of an area ahead of time or can we do it when we get there?
Thanks ahead.
Jul 11th, 2010, 12:07 AM
#2
Please spend a bit of time and check other similar questions and answers on the Turkey Forums.
Just a few notes:
- Check THY, Pegasus, anadolu Jet, atlas Jet and Sunexpress for internal flights. There are some guidelines on buying tickets on-line on all these on the Trip Advisor Turkey forums right upper corner.
- Better do cappadocia first, as the weather will be getting colder there.
- Take a guide in cappadocia, arranged through your hotel. November will allow negotiating for low rates on the spot.
- rent car at both locations to give you flexibility and the fun of discovery. Again negotiating at Izmir airport for Ephesus will be feasible. I do not know the rental car facilities at Kayseri or Nevsehir airports.
- you need a guide only for Ephesus, available at either entrance. Park car at bottom entrance, take shuttle to top, get guide, walk down, do not miss Terrrace Houses.
- You can do Aphrodisias, Sardis, Herakleia, Prienne, Didyma. Miletus, etc. from selcuk as a base.
- Buy the relevant volumes of John Freely's books (Western Aegean +) if you are interested in the history and as you seem to have enough time.
- Take comfortable walking shoes, Goretex will be useful if and when it rains.
- A windbreaker with hood and detachable lining will be good.
- If you rent a car and like animals buy some dog and cat food from a supermarket to feed the strays you meet. (including the ones inside Ephesus)
- No need to take tours in Istanbul. You can always read a book before and after visit, while what the guide tells you will disappear after a short time (have you seen Slumdog Millionaire?)
Just a few notes:
- Check THY, Pegasus, anadolu Jet, atlas Jet and Sunexpress for internal flights. There are some guidelines on buying tickets on-line on all these on the Trip Advisor Turkey forums right upper corner.
- Better do cappadocia first, as the weather will be getting colder there.
- Take a guide in cappadocia, arranged through your hotel. November will allow negotiating for low rates on the spot.
- rent car at both locations to give you flexibility and the fun of discovery. Again negotiating at Izmir airport for Ephesus will be feasible. I do not know the rental car facilities at Kayseri or Nevsehir airports.
- you need a guide only for Ephesus, available at either entrance. Park car at bottom entrance, take shuttle to top, get guide, walk down, do not miss Terrrace Houses.
- You can do Aphrodisias, Sardis, Herakleia, Prienne, Didyma. Miletus, etc. from selcuk as a base.
- Buy the relevant volumes of John Freely's books (Western Aegean +) if you are interested in the history and as you seem to have enough time.
- Take comfortable walking shoes, Goretex will be useful if and when it rains.
- A windbreaker with hood and detachable lining will be good.
- If you rent a car and like animals buy some dog and cat food from a supermarket to feed the strays you meet. (including the ones inside Ephesus)
- No need to take tours in Istanbul. You can always read a book before and after visit, while what the guide tells you will disappear after a short time (have you seen Slumdog Millionaire?)
Jul 12th, 2010, 07:54 AM
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Thanks for the info. I have a couple more questions about Cappadocia.
How cold will it likely be? 45F.? How likely to be snowing or raining heavy in Cappadocia? Is it "layer clothing" cold or" bring a coat and thermals" cold? I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip but I'm not a fan of slogging around in rain and mud.
To that end,if weather could be an issue, would it make sense to leave the travel dates and internal flights open so that if the weather is really bad we could just move on to Ephesus?
If we decided to wing it, would the internal flight be much more expensive or are all flight prices set? Here if you buy a ticket at the last minute it's more. I do like the idea of being a little more flexible if it didn't make any difference price wise.
How cold will it likely be? 45F.? How likely to be snowing or raining heavy in Cappadocia? Is it "layer clothing" cold or" bring a coat and thermals" cold? I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip but I'm not a fan of slogging around in rain and mud.
To that end,if weather could be an issue, would it make sense to leave the travel dates and internal flights open so that if the weather is really bad we could just move on to Ephesus?
If we decided to wing it, would the internal flight be much more expensive or are all flight prices set? Here if you buy a ticket at the last minute it's more. I do like the idea of being a little more flexible if it didn't make any difference price wise.
Jul 12th, 2010, 10:06 AM
#4
- You can check average day and night temperatures and precipitation for November for Kayseri on the web.
_ would estimate off-hand that daytime will be like low fifties and nighttime all the way down to upper thirties.
- Again possibly 25-30% precipitation.
- As i said, the easiest to travel with and useful in different climates will be a rain proof jacket or short coat with detachable hood and detachable warm lining. Low warmth factor ski jackets with removable lining are light very easy to carry.
-THY tickets get more expensive as the flight time gets closer. It may not be the same with the other airlines.
- This is a good time to be flexible in terms of seats on flights.
- Please check early whether there are direct flights between Kayseri or Nevsehir and Izmir. This is a touristic route and early November may not have any flights.
- If there are no direct flights from Kayseri to Izmir, check the Sunexpress or Pegasus flights from Kayseri to Antalya. It may be another good idea to fly to Antalya and drive the coast route with a great deal of history and very scenic roads, all the way to Ephesus.selcuk. You can return the rental car at Izmir airport and fly back to istanbul.
_ would estimate off-hand that daytime will be like low fifties and nighttime all the way down to upper thirties.
- Again possibly 25-30% precipitation.
- As i said, the easiest to travel with and useful in different climates will be a rain proof jacket or short coat with detachable hood and detachable warm lining. Low warmth factor ski jackets with removable lining are light very easy to carry.
-THY tickets get more expensive as the flight time gets closer. It may not be the same with the other airlines.
- This is a good time to be flexible in terms of seats on flights.
- Please check early whether there are direct flights between Kayseri or Nevsehir and Izmir. This is a touristic route and early November may not have any flights.
- If there are no direct flights from Kayseri to Izmir, check the Sunexpress or Pegasus flights from Kayseri to Antalya. It may be another good idea to fly to Antalya and drive the coast route with a great deal of history and very scenic roads, all the way to Ephesus.selcuk. You can return the rental car at Izmir airport and fly back to istanbul.
Jul 21st, 2010, 06:40 AM
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One more thought and a correction;
Pegasus fortunately started to fly between Kayseri and Antalya twice weekly at midnight and last bookable date is 24th Septenber, hoping they will continue....Sun Express odes not fly to Antalya but flies 3 times weekly from Kayseri to Izmir and vise versa, Flight from Kayseri at 15:35 you land at 17:05 to Izmir...Monday's, Wednesday's and Saturday's are the direct flights....Ofcourse you can fly daily via Istanbul....
I would suggest to use a travel agent; two good reasons; I hear from clients, friends etc. booking domestic flighst from Us or other parts of the world is more expensive. If you buy a ticket online you have to purchase the ticket on spot can not reserve it. A travel agent can and secure the price. Waits until the last option date and fares might go lower than you enjoy this discount as well. Second, if you need to change ticket, you can only do it via a call center, last tiem I did it for a client who loves doing all on line cahnging time of the ticket was 25 minutes on the phone ( I had to do it as Turkish was easier than him arranging in English )This is from a recent experience so here you go, choice is yours.
You can start with Izmir or Cappadocia does not make much difference other than the weather ofcourse.....We do not expect Snow in November....but again a good jacket is adviced.
Have fun and enjoy Turkey....
Murat
Pegasus fortunately started to fly between Kayseri and Antalya twice weekly at midnight and last bookable date is 24th Septenber, hoping they will continue....Sun Express odes not fly to Antalya but flies 3 times weekly from Kayseri to Izmir and vise versa, Flight from Kayseri at 15:35 you land at 17:05 to Izmir...Monday's, Wednesday's and Saturday's are the direct flights....Ofcourse you can fly daily via Istanbul....
I would suggest to use a travel agent; two good reasons; I hear from clients, friends etc. booking domestic flighst from Us or other parts of the world is more expensive. If you buy a ticket online you have to purchase the ticket on spot can not reserve it. A travel agent can and secure the price. Waits until the last option date and fares might go lower than you enjoy this discount as well. Second, if you need to change ticket, you can only do it via a call center, last tiem I did it for a client who loves doing all on line cahnging time of the ticket was 25 minutes on the phone ( I had to do it as Turkish was easier than him arranging in English )This is from a recent experience so here you go, choice is yours.
You can start with Izmir or Cappadocia does not make much difference other than the weather ofcourse.....We do not expect Snow in November....but again a good jacket is adviced.
Have fun and enjoy Turkey....
Murat
Jul 29th, 2010, 01:59 AM
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This is a place where you can find nice apartments:
http://www.shortstayapartment.com/ap...ist+Apartments
http://www.shortstayapartment.com/ap...ist+Apartments
Jul 29th, 2010, 07:57 AM
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We are arranging a similar trip. You can book on-line with thy.com without a problem. We first flew Turkish Air in April when our return flights from Cairo were canceled to Newark via London because of volcanic ash. I booked online Cairo-Istanbul-Lisbon Turkish Air. We liked Istanbul and are flying from JFK-IST (US$691.20 all in) this October via Turkish Air which I booked online, and then we fly to IST to Izmir rent a car from Alamo and dropping it in Antalya four days later and flying back to IST from Antalya. The internal one way flights depending on the time of day range from US$29-89. Check out thy.com and you can get an idea of the prices.
