Turkey Itinerary
 

We are planning a trip to Turkey from 4th Oct to19th Oct. We arrive into Istanbul on 4th Oct at 3.30 pm and our flight back is at 5.55am from Istanbul on 19th Oct.
I want my vacation to be a mix of cultural sightseeing as well as relaxation.
Here is what I came up with:
5th Oct - Istanbul
6th Oct - Istanbul
7th Oct - Istanbul
8th Oct - Istanbul
9th Oct - Fly to Cappadocchia, Valley of the Fairy Chimneys
10th Oct - Cappadocchia, Goreme and Uchisar valley
11th Oct - Urgup and underground city
12th Oct - Drive from Cappadocchia to Konya, see whirling dervishes. Stay in Konya
13th Oct - Fly from Konya to Antalya or Bodrum or ????
14th Oct - Stay at a resort
15th Oct - Sightsee Priene, Miletus, Didym .....
16th Oct - Drive to Selcuk, stay in Selcuk sightsee Ephesus
17th Oct - Sightsee Aphrodisias, Sirince
18th Oct -
19th Oct - early morning departure
I would really appreciate any insights into my itinerary. I would like to know which coastal towns are worth staying at like Fethiye?
Is Konya worth a visit, I do want to see the whirling dervishes.
Can we do Capaddochia on our own or guides are essential? Is driving around that region easy?
Any help with the itinerary would be great!
Thanks!

While in Goreme, the hotel told us about a show nearby that included a meal and dancing, including the dervishes. Meal was OK, dancing was interesting.

Konya was not a particularly interesting stop for us, just an overniter. It is supposedly one of th emore conservative cities. We were driving from Goreme to Antalya.

Antalya has a resort feel to it. We stayed at the Sheraton ($$$). If you are driving along the coast Kas and Marmaris are good places to stay and spend time at. We shopped and hafd lunch in Fethiye, seemd like a nice place.

Driving from cappadocia to konya is a waste of time and there re no flights from konya to Antalya or Bodrum, or Dalaman for that matter. take Michel_Paris' advice with one exception: Marmaris is an overcrowded concrete jungle, unless you go outside it to places like "Maris", or pass on the outskirts of Marmaris to get to one of the villages on Datca peninsula.

Also prienne, miletus and didyma are between Bodrum and Selcuk and have no proximity to Antalya. Why do you wish to visit them?

Sorry to say that your itinerary has no relaxation component and a great deal of driving back and forth.

We stayed in Urgup last year and had an evening of the dervishes at a reconstructed caravansary nearby (no meal, only the ceremony). It was very interesting and the caravansary was beautiful. You may want to consider experiencing them in when you're in Cappadocia.

Ellen

Thanks everyone for your responses. I gather that Konya is not a must see for the whirling dervishes and that experience can be fulfilled at Capaddochia. I will book a flight from Cappadocchia to Antalya.
Otherchelebi, you are correct. Priene, Miletus, Didym are the cities that should be visited from Selcuk. I think I wrongly typed them earlier as excursions from South in Bodrum.Are they worth it?
Is my plan of Ephesus and Aphrodisias along within the 3 other towns mentioned earlier workable in 3 days.
Will Sirince be a better choice to stay than Selcuk as a base for sightseeing that section of Turkey?
I would like to get advice if the routing is correct, should we do cappadocchia earlier from Istanbul or reverse the loop.
Now that I have done a bit more research into the resort bit of our trip, the choices are either
- resorts close to Antalya like Maris, Kas that are closer to Antalya
- OR resorts at Fethiye, Oludeniz, Kas, Datca, Kalkan which are accessible from Dalaman airport
We will surely be taking a flight from Cappadocchia to the resort area
Please feel to advise you think I should cut short or extend our stay anywhere in the itinerary.
Sorry for posting so many queries, thanks for everyones input.

Hello rvidwa,

We actually stayed in the old historical town of Side (pron. Seeday)just near Antalya.

We loved our stay at Kas and we also had the most wonderful stay at Bodrum. We drove into Marmaris stopped for lunch and drove straight back out again - hated it - but that's just us and many people do like Marmaris.

We also really loved our stay at Selcuk - we stayed at a most delightful B&B and the owner arranged for transport for us to Ephesus and we were picked up about 3 or 4 hours later.

I would recommend that when you get to the Underground City it is worth it to pay the 25 lira for your own private guide. They are all just near the entrance.

There are quite a few beautiful valleys in Urgup - Love Valley, Rose Valley, Dove Valley - beautiful to walk through.

We have friends who live in Urgup and when we were there they took us to a wonderful place for lunch where your little hut, I suppose you'd call it, is built over the water - something different - I will contact them to find out exact details for you.

In Cappadocia I strongly recommend a Hot Air Balloon ride as well (our friend is a hot air balloon pilot) the place is just spectacular from the air but so are the other 35 or so balloons all up with you at the same time. He works for Royal Balloons and is an Aussie Pilot!

I'm sure you will be captivated with Turkey - I really loved our visit and would really love to be able to return some day.

Oh meant to say that driving is very easy in Turkey. We drove from Urgup to Side then all the way up the coast to Gallipoli and back into Istanbul - we had absolutely no problems whatsoever.

You can also see the dervishes in Istanbul at the train station. Ask at your Hotel. Their monastery is undergoing renovation. It was a very spiritual performance. Everyone there was entranced, even a little six year old boy near us made no sound during the Sema - only open mouthed wonder. Do not see them at a dinner show - this is a religious experience.

I hope that the winter schedules will not have kicked in by the 11th of October. Check pegasus and sunexpress for Kayseri-Antalya flights. And also for Kayseri-Izmir flights and make your plans accordingly.

There are no Dalaman or Bodrum flights from Cappadocia in the Summer either. You would have to go through Istanbul.

1, If Kayseri-Antalya possible:
Rent car at Antalya and drive to Beldibi or Goynuk for an O/N if flight is in the evening. If flight is morning drive all the way to Cirali or kas. Very different type of resorts. Lots of info here and on Trip advisor. This drive is very scenic. the road is winding but wide , banked well and i find it invigorating because of the surroundings.

You can have your relaxing at Cirali or Kas there and then drive up to Selcuk on the 15th, while visiting Phaeselis on the way and Olympos and Demre, etc, from your village some of it by boat.

If you keep moving to Fethiye, dalyan, Bodrum, etc. you will have to stay a night each everywhere you go, without really getting a feeling for any of these locations.

I would prefer Selcuk to stay because of the touristy taste of Sirince against the very local atmosphere of Selcuk, and also because of the ease of access.

In any case and for most of your coastal accommodation check the "small hotels of turkey" website. We have been using this in book form since 1995 or so and have always been satisfied with its recommendations.

Didyma is unfortunately in the outskirts of one of the ugliest developments on the Mediterranean, and rather insignificant when compared to plasec like Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Pergamom, Sardis, Termessos, Perge, side, Anemurium and even Assos.

Miletus was also mostly destroyed both by men and nature and the ancient glory is almost all gone. Prienne may be interesting and can be combined with Herakleia which offers, also a scenic lake, hikes to medieval monastery and/or early man cave drawings and Turkish village built on ruins surrounded by huge shatteres red rocks as if gods had been throwing them against each other. The area also boasts of 60 different types of wild orchids and is a bird sanctuary (although i have no idea if october is a good time for either)

You can either fly back from Izmir airport after visiting all these from selcuk, or leave Herakleia/Prienne and even aphrodisias out and drive back to istanbul visiting Sardis and/or Pergamom and/or assos. Just three more days and you could have done all this.

If you were getting there earlier, you could combine all Selcuk area sights with your relaxation by staying at a Kusadasi resort rather than in selcuk and swimming and relaxing before and after the sightseeing. However, mid October may be cool for that in that area. still it is something to be considered as this will allow you to do the Northern Aegean and leave the excitement of the South to your next visit.

Marmaris was a busy town, with lots of restaurants around the harbour area. Nightlife, boat tours. If I had to choose, Kas would be my first choice as 'destination' and take OC's advice for where to stay.

The town that we had lunch on the river is Belisirma, half way up the Ihlara Valley and it is about a one hour drive from Kapadokya. It is generally on the day tour that includes a visit to the underground city. You might want to check it out.

Thanks everyone for your info.
OtherChelebi,
You were right about the flights. The Kayseri airport offers flights only to Istanbul and not to the Aegean or Mediterranean coast.
If I have to choose between resorts along the Mediterranean, like Kas or the ones along the Aegean coast like Fethiye or Oludeniz etc, which is a better choice.
Thanks!

rvidwa, it really depends on what you are looking for.

kas has no beaches so you would either swim from rocks or take a boat to a beach or drive to one. It is a beautiful small hilly town with lots of bays, promontaries and islands.
Again, you would need to take a boat or drive to the nearby historic sites.

Fethiye is a bigger and also vry nice town with an excellent weekly market, a nice market street. Gulet cruises, some nearby and some not so far away ruins. Two excellent holiday villages, one of them Letoonya more reasonably priced. We stayed at both Letoonya and Hillside Beach and liked the, a lot. If you stay in a smaller hotel within Fethiye town, the beaches are not far.

Olu deniz is on the beach, part of which is a calm and shallow warm lagoon (dead sea). Rather British in terms of lodging, bars and restaurants.

In between Fethiye and Oludeniz you have Hisaronu a totally British resort not on the beach and Kaya Koy, part of an old large abandoned Greek village, interesting and simple with access to the lovely Gemiler beach. (Villa Rhapsody has an excellent reputation in Kayakoy)

you can also consider Patara for an excellent beach, a small and friendly village, simpler accommodation and with nearby ruins.

Thanks again for your help! I think now I am tending more towards Oludeniz or Fethiye than Kas. As per my revised itinerary I have two and a half days in Capadochia, should I add another day. If that is the case then I will have to push out the departure date by a day.
We have:
4 full days Istanbul
2 1/2 days Capadocia
One day spent in driving from Capadocia to Fethiye
2 full days in Fethiye
2 1/2 days in Selcuk
On the last day of the trip, drive from Selcuk to Izmir. Fly Izmir-Istanbul. Have dinner in Istanbul.
Thanks!

rvidwa:

Your itinerary looks like something we have been considering for our March 2011 trip. After looking at a map I suppose that you will drive from Capadocia directly south to the Mediterranean coast and then follow the coastline to Izmir. How much driving time will this involve?

We have about the same number of total days (14 nights stay) as you to spend in Turkey but would like to take about 6 days total in Istanbul (3 on arrival and 3 before departure). We don’t plan on spending any “resort time” along the way but do want to see the major historical sites plus the natural scenery and local culture without being rushed. Including Capidocia, is a week enough time for this road trip?

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I do like your itinerary and will appreciate any further input that can be helpful to both of us.

Thanks,
Rod

rvidwa and rod,

the drive from cappadocia to fethiye cannot be done in a single day if you follow the coastal route.

You can either do Konya-Manavgat-Antalya-Korkuteli-Fethiye, or

Konya-Burdur-Tefenni-Fethiye.

Both will require about ten hours hard driving, although the new increased speed limit of 110k/hr plus 10% on divided highways will help.

I would fly even if it requires a stop in Istanbul, because you will not have any time to enjoy any of the sights on these routes.

Tatersalad,
It's a pleasure to share the travel plans to benefit fellow travellers.
We have two options after having researched flight schedules for Sun Express and Pegasus airlines.
1) At the moment there are no flights connecting Kayseri airport (Capadochia) to Dalaman airport(Fethiye). If we have to do Fethiye then we have to fly Kayseri-Istanbul-Izmir. Drive to Selcuk (1 hour) Spend three nights in Selcuk (Ephesus) and then drive south to Fethiye, stay there and take a flight back to Istanbul.
2) Drive from Urgup to Mediterranean coast (Antalya), that is about 7-8 hrs as there is no flight on 12th Oct from Kayseri (Capadochia). I was thinking of staying in Kas for the stay, but I will probably reconsider it as the driving distance from Antalya to Kas is 3 hours.
Then fly from Antalya to Izmir for the next section of the itinerary. The driving distance between Kas and Selcuk (near Izmir, Ephesus) is 6 hours, I want to avoid driving. The only flight is at 7.00am in the morning by Sunexpress. Hence staying to a resort near Antalya would be a better option than staying at Kas which is 3 hours from the Antalya airport for the early flight. OR we stay at Kas for two nights and the night before the flight move closer to Antalya.
3) We drive from Urgup to Konya (190 miles)then take a flight from Konya to Izmir (Pegasus) at 11.15am. Stay in Selcuk. Drive south to Fethiye, stay there and then fly to Istanbul.
I hope this answers your doubts, maybe I have too much information.

OtherChelebi,
It would be great if you can give me your input about the three options that I have come up with. If we end up selecting the option to stay close to Antalya what is the best choice for a town. Thanks again!

Driving from antalya to fethiye is only 3.5 hours, just slightly longer than driving to Kas. (You would take the Korkuteli inland route)

If you prefer to stay around Antalya and then fly to Izmir, i will recommend one resort in each direction:

Side, to the East will give you very sandy beaches, longer daylight hours, warmer sea, town partially built on antique city, possibly some cultural activities in the area. Good market at manavgat nearby, white water raftinf and lovely mManavgat waterfalls not far away. Aspendos and Perge antique sites within easy driving distance, cosmopolitan resort with hotels and aparts for all budgets, not small.

Beldibi, to the West of antalya, about 45 minutes from the Airport. High mountains covered with trees coming all the way to sea, lovely pine smell, pebbly beach quickly deepening, best beach locations taken by holiday villages. A good chill out place, Renaissance Hotel has good reviews, no antique sites very close, but can visit Phaeselis, Chimera and Olympos by car or boat on leisurely day trips. Mountain jeep safari and hikes possible, small resort with just a few bars and restaurants because mostly large AI holiday villages. The Club Med Beldibi is not very good, but the two club meds further at Goynuk (palmiye) and at Kemer are terrific for food, sports and fun. (I also received mail on excellent discounts for October)

You will see, checking your map, that the route from Urgup to Antalya will bring you very close to Side, thus reducing your driving time, and i think this is a better option than trying to somehow get to Fethiye or Kas.

Side is a better chill-out location than fethiye, although quite touristy, it is more spread out then the Fethiye resort area.. has natural beauty and antiquity, reduced single day driving and less hassle with dropping off car (konya may be problematic in that respect)

No matter how much you manage to see there is just so much more to see and experience in our fair country that we will probably lure you back. Check some of my posts on the Black Sea, on the Northern Aegean and on the Eastern Mediterranean driving route from Urgup to Antalya. My wife and i also have a blog on Eastern Black Sea and Eatern Turkey and some presentations on areas like Mardin and Hasankeyf on webshots, u-tube , etc.

Thanks OtherChelebi! I am trying to work out the best possible option in terms of travel. I am not particular about either Kas, Fethiye after having researched the routing of the trip. I figured that I have to find the best possible resort option with comfortable travel. As the flights are not well connected in Oct, hence the issue.
Coming back to my three options, could you please give your input regarding the best of the options in terms of travel time. You being from Turkey, know the conditions of the roads and how much the mileage on the map translates to in terms of driving in reality. Thanks again for all your resort info.

I thought that i had given you that suggestion, but here it is again in less verbose terms:

- Drive down to Side from Urgup. Stay there for chilling out. Fly to izmir to rent car again and do the area around Selcuk.

About seven hours driving to side and then less than an hour to Antalya airport from side.

- Fly to izmir from Urgup, 3.5 hours + transfer + 70 minutes flight = 7 hours. + Drive to Fethiye from selcuk 6 hours + Fethiye Dalaman 90 minutes = 14.5 hours.