Turkey itinerary-7 days
 

Hi all
I'll be going to Turkey in October! My husband has a meeting in Istanbul on Oct. 22 and 23-we need to be there the afternoon of Oct. 21 for a dinner, and are planning to leave on Oct. 24.
That leaves us Oct 17-21 to fill with fun (I'd be arriving the evening of Oct. 16) We'd like to visit Ephesus, Pamukkale, and get in some beach and hiking time before heading back to Istanbul for the dinner on the 21st. We could rent a car, take the train, or even fly. I was thinking fly into Istanbul and then transfer by a short flight to the farthest destination (beach?), then work our way back north to Istanbul by whatever means.
So, I have a couple questions:
1) First of all, does this seem a do-able itinerary?
2) Is October still a good time to visit the beach? Given my time restraint, I would think the Aegean would be a better choice but I'm not sure it would be as warm as the Med at that time of year. We are more interested in quieter beach scenes-not the 24-hour party places.
Thank you so much for any help!

I would fly down to Ismir, arrange for a driver/guide (in advance) to meet you at the airport upon arrival, visit Ephesus and explore the rest of your time in the area. Have fun

I would go for the beach idea and hiking on the Med..as it will be warmer than the Aegean side...and a greater chance of better weather.

you best idea is to take a flight from Istanbul to Antalya and then head southwest to the quiet village of Cirali perfect for beautiful scenery and great time of the year from Hiking..

there are about 6 different hikes possible in the Cirali area

Ulupinar-Chimaera(Yanartaş)-Cirali: 3 hours.

Cirali-Chimaera--Ulupinar-Cirali: 5-6 hours

Cirali-Olympos-Adrasan-Cirali: 8 hours

Cirali-Maden Beach-Tekirova: 7-8 hours.

Highland of Beycik-Peak of Mount Tahtali: 5-6 hours.

and have a look at my photos of Cirali and the other areas in Turkey..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/sets/

Domestic airline carriers in Turkey

http://www.onurair.com.tr/

http://www.thy.com/

http://www.atlasjet.com/

http://www.flypgs.com/EN/

http://www.sunexpress.de/english/ann..._100126_0.html

If you like the beach Oludeniz is the place to go. You can stay there, or in the town of Fethiye. I loved Fethiye, and Oludeniz is a very easy 15 min. minibus ride from there. Pamukale is also very beautiful and not too far away, a couple hours by car.

Hi Scoop,

October is a fantastic time to visit Turkey. We visited October last year and the weather IMHO was perfect - not too hot and really just pleasant and the water is still fine for swimming.

I would recommend you base yourself at Selcuk to visit Ephesus - Selcuk has some of the friendliest people in Turkey - we had a wonderful time there. The little B&B Pension we stayed in actually dropped us off at Ephesus and came back to collect us about 3 hours later.

We drove from Cappadocia to the coast at a place called Side (Seeday) near Antalya. We then drove all the way up the coast to Istanbul via Gallipoli. We particularly loved Kas (Kash) and Bodrum. We didn't care for Marmaris at all. We did a wonderful day trip from Kas on a Turkish gullet and it was one of the highlights for us. The Captain's wife prepared the food and the Captain cooked the kebabs for us and it was absolutely delicious.

Turkish people are extremely friendly and it would really help to learn just a few words before you go - you know, hello how are you , thank you etc.

We loved Turkey and I get very homesick for it - I would go back in a heartbeat.

Sorry Scoop forgot to say that the trip out to Pamukkale is well worth it.

Thanks for all your help! I'm actually considering adding 2 days to the beginning of the trip-I really don't want to miss Ephesus or Pammukale!!! I will let you know how it all works out.