Dianne

We will be in Istanbul for 2 weeks. The first week we are on our own and the 2nd we will be working. We thought we would get a tour for the first week and travel around with a guide. This is not our usual style...we have never traveled in a group but we wondered about the safety or difficulty traveling by car alone. Any advice? Any itinerary suggestions?

Michael

We traveled on our own. You might want to take a look at my trip report; click on my name to find it.

otherchelebi

Please read recent trip report by tedgale.

We will answer any questions you have after you have an idea where you are headed.

geetika

Dianne, this is what I've been pondering about too. Ideally we'd like to go on our own but our itinerary involves transportation between several cities I'm not very sure how we'd work it all out. Unlike Michael we don't want to drive and so looks like we'll have to take a tour, am looking at one of the smaller groups.

PegS

Dianne, to clarify...you said you would be in Istanbul but wondering about traveling by car? Are you thinking of driving throughout Turkey or actually just in Istanbul?

propertravel

If you are thinking about exploring Istanbul on own and driving yourself, I would sy DON'T. Take tax, public transport, tour whatever but driving in a city of 17 mil. will be your challange for life
Travelling around and getting used to the ryhtim of the city with a private guide if you can afford is a good idea. Alternatively if you are there for work and you have Turkish connections I am sure they will be delighted to help and assist. If you want to explore other parts than consider Cappadocia & Ephesus those are great places for the first time visitors as an introduction to the country.
Happy Travelling,
Murat

Aduchamp1

We did as well and everything was fine until we met Other.

tower

Helo Dianne:
I did it twice (once while working with the Turkish Airforce many years ago...with a lot of free time)..and once with my wife more recently..we did all the planning and drove everywhere as we had always done...we flew from Istanbul to Kayseri where we rented the car. Drving is not difficult. The only city of any size was Antalya. These scanned pics may give you a feel for both Istanbul and the other popular parts of the country. I don't do TR's these days. You'll enjoy Turkey..it's great!

Adu, are you back in town?..hope trip went well..meeting Other (OC) was something I didn't have to face...didn't know of him back then. I lucked out...at least my wallet was in tact...though Eser sounds infinitley more interesting.

Hey Murat..nice to see you're still around to give very good advice.

stu (pics will follow below)

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nesOfIstanbul#

All pics of Istanbul and vicinity, including Bosphorus ferry

stu

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...cenesOfTurkey#

(Cappadocia, Lake District, Antalya, Kekova Sound and Turquoise Coast as far as Kas(h)...Pamukkale, Aphrodisias, Ephesus, Kusadasi, Priene, Bodrum, it's peninsula and vicinity)

Turley is a delight..thusly they named the chewy candy. Try some, floss soon after.

tower

That's Turkey above, if spelled properly. All above pics have been approved for content by the esteemed Turkish Olympic coach, "Other Chelebi", whose "Risk Management" team has qualified for London...where they will face the opposition at center-field, armed with lap tops. Gold medalists, for sure.

PegS

Murat! So nice to see you active again.

Dianne

Thank you all. To clarify....no we would not drive while in Istanbul. We have Turkish connections there and feel like we could do city tours if need be. The question was venturing out a little further on our own. A few nights here and there within driving distance. Which looks like Cappadocia and maybe Princes' Islands. I don't want to do domestic flights so our itinerary out of Istanbul would need to be car do-able or train or bus or ferry or all of the above! I have looked at some of your sites but not all of them so I will do that as well.