AlessandraZoe

I had posted earlier that I was trying to deal with some set parameters with our upcoming Athens/Istanbul/Turquoise Coast trip, and without a lot of Turkey travel knowledge, I needed to get some ideas of how to make this all work effectively.

Now that I have read a bit more, I have some more focused questions. I will review what my general plan had to be, the refined plan, and then some specific concerns. <b>My big questions about Ephesus to Bodrum thing are at the end of this post, so you just might want to scroll right to there rather than wade through my details</b>.

<b>To review, our SET itinerary is as follows:</b>
June 26: Arrive around 9:30 a.m. at Athens airport. Tour Athens over the next two days.
June 30: By evening, must be in Bodrum, TR
July 1 through July 6*: Go on biking tour plus coast cruise on Turquoise Coast. Trip end in Gulcek.
<i>*I know that this sequencing is not ideal, but the above cannot be changed. I have the option of a free shuttle to take 9:50 a.m. flight out of Dalaman to Istanbul or I could stick around for a bit</i>
July 12: At 11:30 am, fly out of Athens to the US.

Posters otherchelebi, mariha2912, propertravel, and weadles (forgive me if I forgot anyone), gave me some excellent suggestions. It has taken some time for me to absorb their advice. I've done a lot more reading, and I think this is what I want to do:

<b>My New General Itinerary</b>

Athens portion:
Arrive June 26; check into our hotel, stay for two days.
June 28, Leave Athens for somewhere, but ultimate goal is to tour Ephesus area.

Turkey Portion:
--From June 28 through June 30: Tour something up around Ephesus
Must be in Bodrum by evening of June 30.
--July 1 through 6 is on the Turquoise Coast
--July 6: Willing to depart for Istanbul right away at 9:50 a.m. OR am also willing to follow otherchelebi's advice to consider
+ taking a guided tour to Tlos and Saklikent and then end up at Dalaman for evening, or
+ taking a taxi, bus or dolmus to Fethiye to see the town, eat at the fish market, at Paspatur or at a sea side restaurant. shop and walk around and then take a shuttle or taxi to Dalaman.
<i>Note: I weighed going across to Rhodes, and have decided I'm going to pass.</i>
--July 6 or 7 through evening of July 11: Istanbul
<i>No matter what, I do want to end the trip (before returning to Athens the night before we leave) in Istanbul. My husband has never been there. I have been there before and I know I can make this part work rather well. So while ending up with around 96 hours is Istanbul is ideal, I can make 84 hours work well, too.</i>

<b>My New Big Questions for June 28 through June 30</b>
--I have checked and checked, and I am not seeing any <b>DIRECT</b> flights on June 28 from Athens to Izmir. I am seeing a lot of flights that are Athens/Istanbul/Izmir. Am I missing something?
--Has anyone used the AtlasJet Shuttle from Izmir to Selcuk? Supposedly, transport from Selcuk to Ephesus is rather cheap, but where would we stay?
--What the best way to get down to Bodrum from that area with opportunity to see something on the way? My husband HATES renting cars, so please pretend driving is not an option.
--Has anyone used a travel agent (Turkish) who would make this part of the itinerary work smoothly?
<i>Note: I am SO anti-travel agent because I've usually found that they rarely know more than I do and often just act as brokers. However, when my oldest daughter and I went to Egypt, we hired an Egypt agent who very creatively patched together things (three internal flights, transfers, cruise, private guide that traveled with us on and off the cruise portion) that I could never have done on my own. </i>

I thank all the posters who have helped me so far and all who will help me more. I'm going to become a pest!

Kristina

I am currently researching Selcuk and Ephesus myself so I'm interested in seeing the replies you get. From what I can tell there are quite a few nice small hotels in Selcuk so finding a place to stay for a couple of nights should not be a problem. I've also read that many of them offer shuttles to Ephesus which is only 2km out of town.
I'm more interested in figuring out if we can get around Selcuk to see other things without a car. Like yours, my husband is not really interested in renting a car for this trip, although I've been told it would make things far easier.

AlessandraZoe

So happy to hear about another "non-car" person. We rented in France twice, and in 2001, my husband finally put his foot down and said, "Nope, not doing it again."

How are you geting to Selcuk, Kristina? One of the reasons I'm interested in the AtlasJet shuttle is that supposedly the Izmir transport is the pricey part; the Selcuk to Ephesus part is supposed to be cheap.

Axel2DP

You shouldn't have a problem finding a place to stay in Selcuk. Have you look through the guide books on the area for listing of suggested hotels? Go also onto TripAdvisors for hotels in the area.

AlessandraZoe

Axel2DP--Thanks for replying.

To clarify, I actually am not worried about finding a hotel--I'm a hotel search site junkie. I'm worried about WHERE I should situate myself in that general area given my parameters.

Again, the earliest I can get to Izmir from Athens is June 28, probably by noon/afternoon since I'm not seeing any DIRECT Athens to Izmir flights. I have to be IN Bodrum by the evening of June 30. I want to see Ephesus and am open to more.

otherchelebi

The two travel agencies I personally know are:

www.allaboutturkey.com
this is not very big. The owner was a Trip advisor DE and I met him at some gtgs and he successfully guided my daughter's American in-laws and friends when they arrived for wedding dinner in istanbul.

The other one is"

http://www.festtravel.com/en/

This is a large and experienced agency which is owned and managed by a man with a passion for travel, archeology, Turkey and history. Many of our friends have been taking his tours in and outside Turkey for the last 20 years.

There is a direct bus from selcuk to Bodrum. It is either Metro or Truva. Check their websites for schedules. The distance is 100 miles and will take 2.5-3 hours. It will leave from the Otogar which is in the town. You can also get your hotel reception to check for the schedule and get you tickets.

I cannot understand how you would expect to see any place like Priene, miletus, Herakleia, Euromos, etc. between Selcuk and Bodrum if you are going by bus.

AlessandraZoe

Thank you so much, otherchelebi. You are a gem. I was trying to decipher the Metro site just a few moments ago and was not having much luck. However, your assurance emboldens me.

As to the other sites you recommended--I wish I could see everything! The problem remains that my time is just too limited. I do want to give two days to Athens because I know when I'm jet lagged, I just don't remember what I saw. That means I MUST stay until the early a.m. of June 28.

Since I'm not seeing one single direct Athens to Izmir flight anywhere, then that means the morning of June 28 will be spent travelling from Athens to Istanbul and then I have to allot the time to get and take flight the flight to Izmir. My next time cruncher will be the transfer to Selcuk.

I AM prepared to arrive in Bodrum really late on June 30.

Again, thank you so much for these wonderful suggestions you throw me.

tatersalad

In Selcuk we stayed at Hotel Bella <[email protected]>. Erdal, the hotel owner drove us to Ephesus and return for no charge; he dropped us off at one entrance and told us to ask the person in the bookstore near the other entrance to call him when we were finished.

We did use a rental car to travel around so can't make any recommendations, other than that for transport, except to say that driving in SW Turkey was very easy and enjoyable.

AlessandraZoe

Thank you so very much. Ok, Tatersand, I'll bite:
Was the car a stick? Or were you able to get an automatic? I'm gonna be the one driving, I guess, and there is no way I will survive a stick.

By the way, for anyone who is trying to find out the same information as I am, Pegesus airlines (http://www.flypgs.com/en/)DOES have direct flights to Izmir. Three days a week. Not on the day I want to fly, but at least someone else will have that option

AlessandraZoe

Oops! Should have clarified: Pegesus has direct flights from ATHENS to Izmir three days a week.

Weadles

AlessandraZoe,

Hi again. Like you, we don't really like driving so much on vacation, especially when we don't know the language. So we hired a driver/guide through ANKER Travel in Kusadisi. ( This was a few years ago and we worked with CEYDA. No idea if she is still there). The guide was wonderful, and we felt we saw a lot more this way than we would've if we had tried to do it all on our own. Plus we had some amazing conversations about Turkish history, relations between the two countries, etc. on the long rides between Kusadisi and Bodrum, and Bodrum to Mamaris (sp). Highly recommend it if it's at all affordable these days.


If you choose not to do it this way- and please check with otherchelebi about this or someone much more expert about Turkey than me- but I think Ephesus is quite close to Izmir. I think we drove there in under an hour. Then after our visit, we went on to Kusadisi, which from Ephesus ( again, please check times!!) I think is only about an hour, possibly less. As I remember, Kusadisi is about a 3 or 4 hour ride from Bodrum. On our way there, we stopped at a gorgeous lake for lunch, which was a highlight of the trip.

Lastly, I am glad that you are stopping in Istanbul on the way back to Athens. I think it's a very special city, and a totally different experience from any other European city that we've visited. Have a great time!

AlessandraZoe

Ahhh---this is so much help, Weadles.

tatersalad

The car we rented was a stick but an automatic is an option.

The roads are good and well marked; also, a GPS navagation system can be included in the rental, we didn't use one.

AlessandraZoe

Tatersalad: What we found in Europe was that we would request an automatic, they'd confirm an automatic and then we'd get there and there would be no automatics on the lot. I've been trying to scour the 'net for trip reports that show any success in getting an automatic.

otherchelebi

We have always hired automatics but we used Hertz, Avis, Europcar, National and Budget and not the small local agencies or the brokers, in Turkey. Must have rented more than twenty times last six years and never had a problem.

AlessandraZoe

Yeah, Otherchelebi! Thanks.

We rented through AutoEurope and both times ended up with Hertz, so that's why when we had the "no automatics on the lot" thing, my level of distrust went up big time.

Otherchelebi--I am seriously considering just taking you with us. Would make everything much simpler.

otherchelebi

Take my wife. I will even package her for you. LOL

tatersalad

The only time we rented an automatic (outside North America) was in Ireland because I didn't want to deal with driving on the left side of the road at the same time I had to shift with my left hand; I'm not a good multi-tasker; we used Hertz.