Turkey or Egypt?
 

Hi everyone!

Am heading to London (where one of my best friends lives) this fall. Am going to visit Scotland & Greece as well. (Greece has been #1 on my to go list for years.) Would like to add one more location close to Greece since I don't know when I'll be able to go again. Was thinking about Turkey (Istanbul or Bodrum) or Cairo, Egypt. I'm more of a backpack/hostel traveller if that helps.

Has anyone been to either country or have any suggestions/advice? Anything is appreciated, thanks!

Budget? Number of days? Interests? Preferred airline/alliance?

Budget is around $3-5K. Looking to go around 12 days. Interests are historical sites, like to get recommendations for more off the beat things to check out.

Is the 12 days for Egypt alone or your whole trip?

If the whole trip you barely have enough time to do London, Scotland and Greece...in fact you are probably trying to do too much as it is without adding another destination that is quite far away for your others.

You could spend a month in Turkey, and still have more to see and do. I loved Istanbul, and only wish we had stayed longer. Bodrum did nothing for me, except for the historic waterfront. Definitely plan a trip to Ephesus, if you are interested in historical sites.

I can't follow this -- are you talking 12 days for everything? Or is it 12 days JUST for Turkey or Egypt?

Bodrum, apart from the odd ruin of an ancient wonder of the world, is a very pleasant beach resort. Unless you want to do that sort of thing there is nothing there.

Egypt breaks into 3 likely bits
1) The Red Sea, see above
2) Cairo/Alexandria interesting with some good museums, I'd not go there at the time
3) Luxor and south, such a wonderful place. Prices are very cheap at the moment so book into the best hotels, expect some hassle (not criminal) but not as much as Cairo, go see the tombs and the temples they will fill a week

Hi

I suggest Turkey. I really loved Egypt but it's too unstable/dangerous at the moment. Istanbul and Cappodocia are must do. Happy trails....

Our neighbors, who are from Alexandria, say that Egypt is not a good idea right now--especially Cairo.

If you plan to go to Rhodes then Bodrum makes the most sense, but Istanbul is an amazing city, especially the old Sultanahmet District.

I agree with worldinabag and others. We were in Cairo a year or so ago (after Arab Spring and before the anti-Morsi revolution). We spent 3 weeks driving around Turkey a year before that. Both are interesting but Cairo itself was disappointing. It was an absolutely filthy place then and can only have gotten worse. There was trash piled up along the side of the road, higher than cars. Tahrir Square is right next to the Cairo Museum (worth seeing to be sure) so if there were any demonstrations, you would be unable to go inside. The pyramids are of course just outside the city but a dangerous area to visit. You must have a guide with you. We are not faint of heart travelers but I would not go back given the current situation. It would be stressful and detract from your visit. Maybe in time, things will calm down and you can go without worrying about your safety and hit Luxor, etc. to see the Valley of the Kings....

While Turkey has had its issues too, we found the people to be very friendly and helpful throughout the country. A lovely culture, great food, and wonderful sights to see. I would suggest 4 days in Istanbul (take a day cruise up the Bosphorus). Definitely go to Cappadocia for a few days (you can fly there for not a lot of money). Getting to Ephesus would probably be too much given the short amount of time you have unless you are doing some flying. Amazing. Skip Bodrum. As another poster remarked, it is very nice and pretty but basically just a resort area.

Thank you very much everyone for the help!!