Turkey November Itinerary Help!
 

My wife and I are off to Turkey in November... because of some commitments, part of our itinerary is already set. Basically, it looks like this,

- On November 5, arrive at IST late morning and pick up the rental car.
- We are staying in Cappadocia on the nights of Nov. 6, 7 and 8, so I'm trying to figure out what to do, and where to stay, on the way from Instanbul to Goreme. It seems like Ankara is a good midpoint, but appreciate any suggestions.
- After Goreme, we have two nights to plan on the way back to Istanbul. Any suggestions on where to stay along the way would be greatly appreciated.
- Final two nights (Nov. 11 and 12) in Istanbul.

We'll be returning to Turkey on a cruise, so I'm trying to spend most of our time inland. We'll save the coast for the later trip.

We love small towns, little hotels (or B&B's) and plan to spend a good deal hiking or just walking around.

Thanks in advance!
alan

I would fly between Istanbul and Cappadocia unless there were a specific reason to drive; there are low cost flights between the two. But a car is useful in Cappadocia, and one could pick on up in Kayseri. We stayed here http://www.pachahotel.com/mustafapasa/index-en.html and liked it, although it might be useful to speak French.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4208741075/

Where are you flying from? The USA, overnight?

If so, I would definitely NOT rent a car and drive. Too dangerous with lack of sleep/jet lag.

I agree with Michael -- fly straight from IST to Cappadocia. It's much more efficient. I think you can also pick up a car from Economy Car Rentals in Goreme, too, last time I looked.

I think you're short-changing Istanbul, too. Two nights is barely enough to scratch the surface of one of the greatest cities in the world. But maybe you're going back to Istanbul as part of your cruise, later on?

<i>I think you can also pick up a car from Economy Car Rentals in Goreme,</i>

But the OP is more likely to land in Kayseri.

I agree with NanBug - if you are flying from the US, give yourself some down time to recover from jet lag before trying to drive!

If you do stop in Ankara, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations has some true treasures that I thought very well displayed.

we picked up our car in Kayseri, Budget Rent a car , I would not drive to/from Istanbul. You can get very inexpensive flights if you book early enough.

Thanks for all of the input... I'll look into the flights.

As for the jet lag issue, I'm not terribly subject to it and usually sleep pretty well on the plan. Our normal plan is to arrive, grab the car and drive several hours. It avoids the lost day on arrival and actually helps me aclimate to the new time zone. We've probably done this a dozen times and never had an issue. It only seems to become a problem if there are serious flight delays.

If we do decide to drive back from Goreme to Istanbul and spend a couple of days along the way, what are you thoughts around the Hattusha and that area?

Thanks again,
Alan

NanBug - we will be returning to Istanbul at a later date, so that's why we're keeping this visit a bit short.

Ah, ok, I'm glad you're returning to Istanbul later.

To clarify my comment (for Michael) about picking up the car in Goreme: Chances are you'd land (if you flew) in Kayseri late in the day so you really wouldn't "need" the car upon landing in Kayseri.

It's actually quite simple to get a shuttle ride to Goreme for about $15 or so. You could shuttle into Goreme, spend the night, then get your car the next day in Goreme or whenever you'd need it.

You may save a bit of money since you wouldn't need the extra day of car rental and you'd be able to leave the driving to someone else who isn't jet-lagged.

Just a suggestion, anyway.

Thanks for your suggestions... I did manage to get a dirt cheap rental car ($300 midsize automatic for 8 days), but the extra driving is a concern. Still trying to think things through...

> what are you thoughts around the Hattusha and that area?

If you have an interest in Hattusha, then by all means, visit it! Most of what you will see are low stones marking the bases of what once was, but there are some bits of better preserved walls and forts and ovens, etc. The extensive grounds include some stunning vistas. And the essentially adjacent Yazılıkaya contains some amazing reliefs.

I started my trip in Ankara (so I flew into Istanbul and flew on to Ankara as soon as the formalities allowed) and then spent 2 nights in Ankara, which gave me a day to adjust a bit to jet lag and to see some of Ankara's highlights, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which I already mentioned. On my 2nd morning in Ankara, I picked up a rental car and left Ankara just before noon. I drove to Bogazkale in plenty of time to visit Hattusha and Yazilikaya before dinner. I spent the night and then left the next morning for Goreme. I stopped on the way to visit Avanos and Surihan before checking into my hotel in Goreme. I still had time that day to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum and to hike from there through the Zemi Valley and back to Goreme in time to freshen for a late dinner.

You might find some helpful information in my trip report - just click on my name and then go to the trip report section of my page.

> As for the jet lag issue, I'm not terribly subject to it ... Our normal plan is to arrive, grab the car and drive several hours.

As I understand it, research indicates that one of the things that people don't always recognize about jet lag is that they cause "microsleep" episodes, which are so short that people don't even necessarily realize that they are experiencing them, but which leave them unable to respond to events that require immediate reactions - the kinds of things that may happen while driving. This research suggests that whether you know it or not, you are at increased risk of an accident if you drive with jet lag. (And of course that means that ALL of us are at an increased risk of accident if you and others drive with jet lag.) I don't mean to preach, but it seems to be a safety risk that has not often been acknowledged.

Hope that helps!

Your rental car does sound like a good deal. Don't know how it all adds up when you add in gas and time driving.

When we went to Turkey last year, we flew on to Cappadocia after a short layover in Istanbul. That worked very well, no wasted time as we were going to travel to Cappadocia anyway and it is a short flight. We felt every minute was used sight seeing, not a lot of time spent getting from place to place.

I might, next time, stay the first night in Istanbul (have a nice dinner and get a good nights sleep) and continue on to Cappadocia early the next morning, but would definitely fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia.

The two days we were in C, the hotel got a car and driver for us for about $50.00 one long afternoon and evening, and another for $45.00 for about six hours. The balloon ride took up one morning and transportation was provided for that. That was actually cheaper than a car and gas would have been for us.

You have some excellent responses to your questions.

Your limited time means that the more you fly the more you will get to see because the stretch between Istanbul and Cappadocia does not have too much worth visiting driving both ways.

If you really wish to get car immediately upon arrival and take off, a reasonably good idea for a rest stop is Koru Motel on the the old Ankara road on Bolu mountain. There is also a simpler and minimum facility hotel at Duzce on the intersection of the old Ankara highway and Akcakoca highway. The second one is a shorter drive from the motorway and earlier (two and a half hours or so from Istanbul)

The spa hotels at Kizilcahamam near Ankara are too far from the motorway and not really worth the price.

Getting into and out of Ankara is at least a two/three hour venture and may not be worth it unless you visit the Museum of Ancient Anatolian Civilizations.

KJA, Sassafrass, and Otherchebeli, thanks for the replies... very useful information. I'm going to do a bit more research and (hopefully) come to a few decisions.

Thanks for all your help!

No advice; I just wanted to wish you happy travels! I will be in Istanbul during the same time period! I also arrive on the 5th, and will leave on the 12th. Enjoy your time there and hopefully we'll have mild and pleasant weather!

mscleo - thanks, enjoy your trip as well...

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions... I'm rethinking things again.

United keeps changing the flight times. As I mentioned, I had originally planned on arriving mid-morning on Monday, picking up the rental car, and driving 'somewhere' about 1/2 way to Cappadocia.

Well, on Saturday, United changed the flight schedule (the 3rd or 4th time since I booked) so that the flight didn't arrive until 1pm. I figured with any kind of delay, getting through customs and immigration, and picking up the rental car, it would be too late to get anywhere.

Since I didn't want to 'lose' a day, I called United and they moved me to the Saturday flight (arriving 1pm on Sunday). This basically gives me an extra day along the way which, right now, I plan on adding to Istanbul at the end.

Wish me luck!