Turkish Travelers Help me fine-tune my trip!
 

We will arrive in Istanbul airport on Sunday September 18th, flying immediately onward to Izmir. At Izmir we will rent a car and proceed to Kusadasi, where we will stay at the Kismet Hotel for 4 nights, giving us 3 1/2 days to explore the area.

On Thursday, we drive back to Izmir , taking a 9 AM flight to Istanbul, where we will stay 5 nights at the Celal Sultan Hotel in Sultanahmet.

I need some suggestions on the following:

Car rental ideas? Our travel agent contact in Istanbul is suggesting a Ford Focus manual for $82/day, including taxes, cdw, loss protection, but not personal accident insurance. That per day price seems high to me, but I'm llooking for others' experience.

As we'll be jet-lagged on Sunday our arrival day, I don't forsee trying to do any ambitious sightseeing, planning to use Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for daytrips. Obviously, one day will be devoted to Ephesus and the museum at Selcuk. We are trying to decide if one day should be a drive south, taking in Meletus, Didyma, and Priene, then driving onward to see the Crusader castle at Bodrum, have dinner and drive back to Kusadasi. Does this sound too ambitious?
What about seeing Pammukale and Aphrodisias? Can these be done in a day?

Does anyone have a good suggestion for guided tours both in the Kusadasi area and in Istanbul? We inquired of our contact in Istanbul, but her quotes were for private guides costing over $100 per person per day, which is out of our budget.
We don't object to being part of a group if the tour covers the sites well. I don't want to end up on "shopping" tours".

I know this is long, but all suggestions are welcomed. It is because of poster's comments that we settled on Celal Sultan Hotel in Istanbul, and the Kismet hotel in Kusadasi. Thanks in advance for your help!

I think we ended up paying about $70 US per day for an automatic car in Turkey. You could try contacting Mehmet at Argeus Travel, which I used. The travel agency's info. is on turkeytravelplanner.com

We did Pammukale as a day trip from the Kismet, it was LONG, and we did it ourself. It was well worth it. You can go right into Kusadasi & there are travel agency's everywhere. They had organized bus trip to Pammukale that probably would have been more economical, but I like to do things independently. I think it would have been about $50 US each.

Barb_in_Ga,

Today I went to Izmir Airport and I found some rent a car companies there and one of them was good price here is their web page:

http://www.durayrentacar.com/fiyatlar.asp

You do not need to rent ford focus manual BUT you have to get AC because weather still hot in Kusadasi or Ephesus. Today I was really hot in Ephesus.

If you want to see Aprodisias and Pamukkale you have to stay overnight in Pamukkale because visiting Aprodisias takes 2 hours and road is not one the way to Pamukkale.

Have a nice trip in Turkey

Sinan Akdeniz

Sinan--thank you for the information on the rental car website. It is in Turkish, and I did not see a link for English. I was able to figure out that there are 2 seasons, and we are in YAZ prices. It also appears that the rates are quoted in Euro. So it appears that cars are available from 45 euro per day when rented for 4 days. What I could not read is what is included in the price. I have sent an email to them, so I shall see if I get a good rate.

Thanks again

Hi Barb_in_Ga

If they don't reply in 3 days let me know I'll call them for you. I am in Kusadasi now until sep 20th

Sinan

Hey Sinan, Ice cold efes and a plate of nice olives, have one for me !

Of course Marko

Every night I am getting Efes really COLD one. I know that when I go back to NYC I can not drink so I store them in my stomach.

Sinan

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Reply:
Barb....the Kismet is lovely..and what views of the harbor and the sea...easy walk into town.It is on our Top Ten List worldwide. Anyone want the list, write.
Do not miss Pamukkale..worth a night over ..Aphrodisias is serene and beautiful, with red poppy fields all over....try to see both of thee amazing sights. When it's hot, Ephesus is boilng...wear a hat and take water...the Kismet will supply it for you. There are three or four very reasonably priced overnight hotels in Pamukkale... Priene is also a rather small, compact ruin and lovely surroundings....but Bordrum is a bit too far for a day trip we liked it very much but stayed two nights in Bodrum and then on to Marmaris for a ferry to Rhodes.
For car rental, call Autoeurope at their Portland, Maine office here in USA...they should be able to get you the best rates....we had an old beat up Renault in Turkey but at that time it was $45 per day through Autoeurope. Good luck and enjoy the great food and hospitallity of the friendly locals. Learn how to properly pronounce Kush-a-desu (kusadasi)
Stu

P.S. Barb....if you decide to visit serene Priene, don't be shocked by the factory outlet store at the entrance to the ruins....Wrangler Jeans!!
Stu