Our family of four will be traveling to Turkey from July 12 through July 24 and would appreciate any suggestions. We plan to visit Istanbul (3-4 days), Cappadocia (3-4 days), and the southwest coast for (4-5 days). We enjoy being outdoors (hiking, kayaking, etc.), interesting food, and history.

Great hiking in Cappadocia. If you can manage it, a hot air balloon flight there is fantastic. A great place to stay is Esbeli Evi, a beautiful cave hotel. They have family suites with good included breakfasts.

You might find some helpful information in my trip report - just click on my name to find it. Enjoy!

Loved the hot air balloon flight in Cappadocia. A must do IMHO. Ephesus is incredible, especially the Library of Celsus. In Istanbul, Hagia Sophia, the Chora Church and the Basilica Cistern are musts. I also enjoyed the Archeological Museum. For mosques, my favorites were the Sulyeman the Magnificent mosque and the little Rustem Pasa (sp?) mosque. And if you enjoy hiking, I loved hiking the Saklikent Gorge, just outside of Fethiye.

I really love the cruises along the coastline between Fethiye and Olympos. Ive done quite a few and never bore of them. They are so relaxing and beautiful. A lovely way to see the coast, lots of swimming & relaxing. Also, there are some lovely walks in the Fethiye area as it is close to the Lycian way. There are some short one day walks easily accessible from Fethiye.

nextholiday, are you talking about day cruises or overnight ones?

Talking about both cruises. I personally love the 4 day ones that go from Olympos to Fethiye as you get to see the best of the coastline that way. The coastline here is pristine & some of the sites you see along the way are stunning, but even just some of the bays you stop to swim in are spectacular on their own. But if you are pressed for time Ive also done day cruises out of Fethiye.

Do you have any recommendations on who to use for day or overnight cruises?

Would love to hear suggestions for a Gullet cruise company whether from Fethiye, Bodrum or ?

I've just got back.

Can recommend kayaking down Xanthos river to Patara beach, not strenuous but beautiful and the beach is astonishing! You can hire stuff or join a small group.

Lovely walks in the areas too - we did a trek from Kaya abandoned Greek village up over hill/mountain and down through forest to Olu Deniz. The trail is waymarked but I could see that people could get lost and it has it's tricky bits, so I can give you our guides details if you like.