lrsnyc

I'm planning my honeymoon and would love some suggestions. Here are the plans I've come up with:

arrive morning 8/23 in istanbul
8/23-2/26: Istanbul
8/26: fly from Ist to Kayseri
8/26-8/29: Cappadocia and surroundings
8/29: travel to Kusadasi
8/29-9/1: Kusadasi and surrounding areas
9/1: travel to Istanbul for flight departing on afternoon 9/2

Please help with suggestions on travel from Ist-Kayseri, Kayseri-Kusadasi, and Kusadasi-Ist.

Also, the formula one race car tournament is in Ist from 8/25-27 so I was thinking about saving Ist for the end. That would mean arriving on 8/23 and catching a flight to Kayseri, adjusting the above itinerary to go back to Ist from 8/30-9/2.Any thoughts on doing it that way?


Thank you very much,
Lauren



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AP6380

I topped my Turkey report from last summer, here is the link:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=34644385

I would use a travel agent in Turkey to book flights within Turkey. I found their rates much more reasonable.

lrsnyc

If I didn't go to Cappadocia, would I regret it? We have 10 days and I am wondering if we're trying to pack too much in. If we don't go to Cappadocia, we would have 1 or 2 extra days in Istanbul and along the coast - either a gulet trip, or just our own time to explore. What do you think?

AP6380

I didn't do it, and I don't regret it because I fully expect that I will go back someday. I guess it depends if being near beaches & the water for an extra few days is what you want? Or, if that is not important, I would go to Cappadocia, everyone raves about it.

tower

One hour flight on Turkish airlines from Ist to Kayseri...rent a car in Kayseri, drive to Urgup and stay at Esbelli Pansyion (..wonderful cave establishment). Turn car in at Kayseri and fly Turkish airlines to Kusadasi, and rent another car for your stay in the Ephesus-Kusadasi (koosh--a desu) area. Highly recommend The Hotel Kismet overlooking the harbor..delightful. You can reserve TA on line..very reasonable..we did it a few years ago.
Stu T.

jules4je7

I've heard great thing about Cappadocia, but haven't been. Personally, I can't wait to see it.

You might be trying to cram a bit too much in though -- you could easily spend 4-5 days in Istanbul, and a few days down south to check out Ephasus, and be plenty entertained.

I would recommend flying when possible...trains are not prevalent, but the bus system is outstanding and has EXCELLENT service.

The bus we took from Izmir to Istanbul was a 9-hour ride, but we saw some fabulous countryside, had a lunch break, and it was fully staffed with a driver, steward, AND a baggage handler. "This is not your father's Greyhound".

I would also suggest staying in Izmir instead of Kusadasi. Both cities are on the water, but Kusadasi is a big tourist town (lots of cruise ships stop there, so there are the associated residents who are accustomed to separating you from your money), whereas Izmir is just a couple hours north (closer to Istanbul, and larger), but has much less tourist claptrap. It's a large city of 3 million, so it's quite entertaining...just less touristy.

We spent a couple of nights in Izmir (just an hour from Ephasis) at the Aksan hotel, a four-star hotel for $50/night for a double, and had a guide take us to Ephasus one day. We had a WONDERFUL time there, and enjoyed the real Turkey -- full of welcoming people who weren't used to seeing Americans, and who treated us like royalty. We talked with several who were absolutely delighted that we were there...I will never forget that.

Happy travels,

Jules

propertravel

Your plan looks good, timing is just about fine.
Istanbul - kayseri by plane. Cappadocia-ankara drive or bus and fly to izmir...
Happy travelling
Murat

yakamozkar

First of all, HAVE A GREAT HONEYMOON. It is kind of short, isnt it?.... Regardless, you made your plan and it looks fine. The reason I said short, because it is too short in Istanbul and it will be rush, rush. I assume, you know where you will be staying in Istanbul. YOU MUST SEE CAPPADOCIA, YOU WILL NEVER REGRET. If you dont, than you will be sorry. Flying to Kayseri is excellent idea and your travel agent can make that arrangement when you are buying your tickets in he US. You can rent a car in Kayseri airport very easily or you can take what they call is service vans to Urgup. Urgup is the hub in Cappadocia. It really is becoming more and more the center. Some of he car rentals, the car you rent in Kayseri you can drop at the airport when departing from Izmir to Istanbul. So that means you can drive all the way to Kushadasi. Driving in Turkey along the highways are excellent. It would be good idea to avoid night driving. However, you can take public transportation from Nevshehir to Izmir and to Kushadasi. Nevsheir is about 18 Km from Urgup and it is the province. The bus company is called NEV-TUR runs buses to almost every major destination. And there are buses, mini vans from Urgup to Nevshehir. While in Kushadasi you will have to go and visit Ephesus and the museum in Selcuk. Because of your limited time, you can skip the Virgin's House and from Kushadasi Ephesus is some distance. If you have the rental car, it will be easy. If you dont, than I suggest you get a taxi or talk to a locak travel agency people who arrange tours.

Visit www.goTurkey.com, www.kulturturizm.org.tr websites get some ideas.

BON VOYAGE.......

Marko

Do not miss Cappadocia! The suggestions about flying are very good too, quite efficient.

lrsnyc

now i really don't know what to do! if we don't go to cappadocia then we have more time in istanbul and the coast and we won't be packing/unpacking, checking in/out of hotels as much. i feel like if we had 3 or 4 more days we could do it without a prob.

but in 10 days, maybe it would be better to get to istanbul, fly to izmir, maybe do a gulet trip (4 days, 3 nights?), then have time to spend in istanbul without feeling rushed.

this is a great dilemma to have b/c i know either way it will be an amazing trip. i just don't want to feel rushed on my honeymoon or that i'm spending all my time in airports, waiting to get to the next place.

if anyone has done a 10 day trip i'd love to see your itinerary.

thank you all SO much! i really love this board

sinan

I recommend you go to GULET tour. This is your honeymoon. DO NOT drive one place to another.

Fly to Istanbul then Izmir. You can have Ephesus, St John Church, Virgin Mary's house maybe you can stay overnight in SIRINCE (This is very nice small town 7 KM far from ephesus)
Kusadasi is 25 KM (around 15 miles) far from Ephesus. If you love nightlife stay in Kusadasi or stay in SIRINCE.

Then if you love History or Archaelogy you may visit PRIENNE, MILETUS and DIDYMA on the way to BODRUM where you may stay overnight then have GULET TOUR 4 days is OK.

Then fly back to Istanbul from BODRUM.

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz

sandi

Whichever direction or what areas covered, August is going to be full of tourists. If flying within Turkey, almost all flights take you via Istanbul. If thinking of driving from Cappadocia to Kusadasi/Ephesus/Izmir - it's more than a day, you'll have to stop somewhere, probably along the Med Coast.

Sinan's recommendations to stick to the Aegean coastal towns is a good one, but it is busy if traveling by road - a gulet on the water will avoid road travel and gulet itineraries provide land tours at the various towns.

Cappadocia is wonderful, but with limited time you might just have to forego this area for another trip.

If you can fly into Izmir (there are flights that go directly here - or first night IST [or connecting flight], then to IZM) visit Ephesus and Aegean coast via gulet, then end in Istanbul - you avoid the race - though not necessarily the many visitors everywhere in Turkey.

Best wish on your wedding. Turkey is a wonderful honeymoon destination.

propertravel

If you want to do it all and still have good time :
Istanbul on arrival 3 nights, fly to Kayseri and cover Cappadocia... 5 days gone. Drive to Antalya and get a gulet and off near Kas & fethiye region and fly to istanbul from Dalaman. If you can arrive early and leave late you still have a day in istanbul to relax.
Consider hot air ballooning in Cappadocia. So you have : a great city which is the only one within two continents and hosted 3 emperors, you enjoy the chyristal clear mediterranean by Gulet which is unique to Turkey and saw Cappadocia, out of this world, loaded with history and done a magical flight over Cappadocia with hot air ballooning..... A lot of stories and good memories to tell your grandchildren one day......
Happy travelling;
Murat

Grcxx3

Oh - what choices to have to make!

My son and I travelled to Turkey last March (Bodrum, Ephesus, Aphrodesius, Pamukule, Cappadocia, Istanbul). My husband is in Antalya now on a guys golfing trip, and we are going to Istanbul at the end of the month! We love Turkey!

As for Cappadocia - yes it is wonderful and very interesting. My 12 year old had a blast running around the "houses" in the rock formations and exploring the underground city. As a geologist - the whole area fascinated me.

BUT - if it was just me and my husband and we were on our honeymoon - I think I would skip it and stay along the coast. Much more picturesque and romantic.

Just a thought.....

callalilli

this is SUCH good itinerary information.. i am peeking in as i'm just starting to plan a trip. I have a friend getting married (pretty sure in Istanbul) in mid-July.. no other details yet. Murat - with the itin you suggested, do you think it would be possible to also go to Ephesus? (how much time is suggested there?) that is high on my list... and also - what exactly is a Gulet?
i think we will only have about 7 days total. thanks for any suggestions.

propertravel

Hi Callalilli;
If Ephesus is on your to do list than do not rush to do it in a day. Fly to Izmir and 45 min. drive & transfer to Selcuk. You can either stay in Kusadasi or Sirince Village. Do not visit Ephesus before visiting Selcuk Museum. You can spend q whole day in both with a lunch break. Than you explore other sites including Virgin Marry.

You can than search for a Gullet trip. Kusadasi, Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, Gocek are the main ports for sailing and Gulets. Goulette or Gulet is traditional hand made Turkish wooden yachts. Generally speaking starts from 40 / 50 feet and grows bigger. Usually they have 4 to 8 cabins. Cabins are bigger in terms of sailing boats and offer more space. They usually run on engine, very few able to sail as well.
Good ones have air conditioning, good kitchen, sport facilities etc. The fun is they serve you everything while you feel pampared, enjoy the coves, sunbathe on the decks or siesta at the rear deck. You have shower, wc etc. in the cabin. Master cabins are my favorite. If someone has the budget the best way to enjoy this is to charter the Gulet privately to avoid crowds you never met before.
Should you need any other information please ask your questions.
Happy travelling,
Murat

wally34949

I really enjoyed Cappadocia. Did a hot air balloon ride at 4:00 in the morning. Don't wear warm clothes on the balloon. It's a hot air balloon.

bluevoyage

Gulets tours are great, especially around Gocek and Marmaris. But for honeymoon I have doubts - there will be other people in the boat, around 8-10. And will you be comfortable to spend day and night with other people in a small place and sleep in tiny rooms in the boat? I recommend to take the gulet tours - also known as blue voyage; with good friends of yours. For honeymoon, I'd prefer to stay in Ada Hotel (www.adahotel.com) in Golturkbuku, Bodrum, which is verryyy romantic and very popular. Kusadasi is not an interesting place for me,it's too overcrowded. There is only Ephesus to see there. So for a 10 day tour, I'd spend 4 days in Istanbul and then fly to Izmir from Istanbul, rent a car, drive to Ephesus finish it in a day, spend the night in the area (if you are tired) and drive to Bodrum from there (only 2-2,5 hours). Spend the rest of the holiday in there. Nightlife is also very good in Golturkbuku, Bodrum (www.golturkbuku.com). You can then fly back to Istanbul. But as others said, plan in advance since the flights will be full.
If you really want to see Cappadoccia I recommend Yunak Evleri (www.yunak.com).
Meanwhile congratulations in advance...

propertravel

If I would go to honeymoon I would choose the best venues suiting to my budget. I would either take it easy and stick to two centers or combine travelling few more places but add style into. I would not choose any hotel more than 10 /12 bedrooms and I definately would consider to charter a Goulette on my own. Cabin charter for a honeymoon would be to risky to go ahead. In cappadocia Sacred House, Cave Suites, Esbelli or Goreme House could cater all the intimacy one would need during a honeymoon rather than tourist loads of minibuses in and out to your hotel !

Happy travelling,
Murat

alialami

Lauren,

My wife and I just got back from Turkey and our Itinirary was similar to yours. We had a blast. Here are some of my suggestions:

1. Your suggestions on IST sound ok to me either if you go there in the beginning or end, we spent 2 days in IST at begining and 3 at end it was more than enough time and helped us get over jet lag then have a break flying from/to Seattle.

2. From IST to Kayseri, and Kayseri to Kusadasi I would Fly, we booked our tickets online at Turkish Air, they do open JAW was pretty economical and gave us time to fit in much more.

3. Most hotels in Cappadocia offer free shuttle from Kayseri Airport. We stayed in Kelebek in Gorome, the others recommended on this thread were also very nice.

4. For less than the price of renting a car or a taxi for whole day we we hired a guide for two days http://www.middleearthtravel.com/
for a private/specialized tour. They're knowledge of history and the area was great. I highly recommend them. The rest of time we were able to hike and go to the Open Air museum on our own. Your time in Cappadocia seems sufficient. I wouldn't cut this out, it was the highlight of our trip.

4. Depending on your style you should consider staying a few days at http://www.nisanyan.com/index.asp when your near Kusadasi, if your into beaches I don't recommend it but if you want a quite romantic place to relax with great food and views this is it.

5. Check expedia.com and tripadvisor for what others say about the hotels your thinking of staying in. I noticed they have recent reviews from actual travlers. This came in handy for us requesting the best rooms and picking good places.

Enjoy,
Ali