Turkey Trip Summary
 

Just got back from a wonderful 13 day trip to Turkey and wanted to post some highlights of the trip.

Istanbul (6 days): stayed at Ritz Carlton near Taksim Sq. Very nice hotel (though low on charm, of course) and very helpful staff. I would recommend staying in Taksim area over Sultanahmet if you are interested in experiencing the city (i.e., today's Istanbul) at night as well. We went to Sultanahment almost every day (cab ride was $3-5) and traffic was not too bad. The Cihangir area is particularly fun - very cute cafes and restaurants. Nevizade, off Istiklal is fun as well. Highlights were Bosphorus cruise, trip to the Asian side (Kadikoy), Topkapi Palace and several mosques. Waterfront places in Ortakoy were disappointing.

Cappadocia (2 days). Amazing - highly recommended. Stayed at Esbelli Evi (Oforparis, are you there? It was great meeting you - how was rest of trip?) in Urgup. Great place. Used Argeus tours - very professional, though tour guide lost all interest in us once we didn't buy carpet from teh place he took us. Highlights were tea in Mustaphapasa, Kaymakli, Soganli Valley and Goreme Open Air

Aegean (3 days). Really interesting. Stayed in Selcuk (great), Kusadasi (okay, not as bad as people say but nothing interesting) and Cesme (wonderful for just relaxing - Sheraton was not so great). Highlights include Priene, Miletus and Didimya (all three incredible). Ephesus is very nice as well, but a bit crowded and I felt a trifle overhyped (maybe it was the hot sun). In Cesme, Alacati is wonderful as is Dalyan (great seafood restaurants). Selcuk very cute as is Sirince (definitely worth a visit). Drove around this area - very easy - great roads and minimal traffic.

Thanks for the info about Istanbul - I'll be visiting in October.

You didn't mention anything about the Turkish people. I found them to be the best thing about Turkey. Or did you hang only with tourists? Any comments?

Indeed, the Turkish people are wonderful - kind, generous, hospitable, and charming! We had so many great interactions with the people we met, both in and outside of Istanbul. Sounds corny, but even some of the cabbies and shopkeepers who tried to rip us off were really nice. I didn't mention the Turkish people - truly one of the trip's highlights - in my original post b/c I assumed that their charm is a well-known fact (all guidebooks mention it).

I will be happy to answer any specific questions travellers might have about any of the places we went to, hotels we stayed at, and the people we met.

Thank you for the report. It is very interesting, Sounds like you went kind of high end?
I have a couple questions. How did you get between areas, did you fly between Cappadocia and the Aegean? Did you arrange for your hotels and car rental before you left and with whom? Sorry so many questions. Why did you decide to stay in three places on Aegean, was it enough time, how did it work out? Thank you.

Well, it was medium-end (neither high, nor low; all three of us are in our 30s-40s - can't rough it anymore :-)). One of us works in the travel industry so we got discounts at chain hotels. All hotels were in the $60-100 range. We flew to both Cappadocia (Kayseri) and Aegean (Izmir) b/c we were short of time. Each r/t (no direct flight between Kayseri and Izmir, have to go through Ist) was $200 (cheaper to buy in Turkey - you can use Argeus travels, they have website) - I hear that the overnight buses (at least the top end ones) are not that much cheaper. The car rental was $60/day.

We arranged all our hotels from US before we left (though all had rooms when we arrived). I would recommend all with the exception of Sheraton - very poor service and A/C didn't work.

We had booked a car with Avis in Izmir town, but when we arrived at airport, rented from Thrifty instead b/c it was right at the airport (Izmir a little far from airport).

continued...

We stayed in 3 places b/c we wanted to visit those specific ruins (Selcuk for Ephesus, Kusadasi for others though can stay in either for all three) and go to the beach (Cesme). We only had one day at the beach and would have liked at least one more day in Cesme. If you are not in a rush, I would say 3 days in Cappadocia and 4-5 days in the Aegean (if you want to relax at beach for 1-3 days). In Cesme, Alacati town is the nicest - nice small b&b's - but Sheraton on a nice beach in Ilica. The two are 10 minutes apart by car.

Thanks for the information. I am planning on going next year.
Just one more question. Did Argeus arrange for the hotel and guide in Cappadocia, and would you consider renting a car instead, now that you have been there? I've been wanting to go to Turkey for a few years now.

Yes - Argeus will arrange hotel, tours etc. (private guide or group tours). We booked the hotel ourselves though I think Argeus would have provided same rates. I would definitely recommend renting a car rather than taking a guided tour. You have much more flexibility and if you read up beforehand, you know exactly where to go and what you're doing. The only place you might want to take a tour is the underground cities, but even that's not a must if you have guidebook that gives you a good overview...

You'll love Turkey - it was all that I expected and more...

Sen, any recommendation for a restaurant in Urgup near Esbelli Evi, have just booked for April next year.

Nice report, fun reading about.
Does anyone have any info about Pasha Tours in Turkey? Thanks

PARFYM...you might try the message board at Frommer's..There was a question about Pacha tours posted there and they seemed to get very good reviews.

This link should work to get yu there!

http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?128@@.eeb46d3