mliang

Hi all,

The soon-to-be Mrs. and I are planning our Turkish honeymoon in July and need some advice.

We're planning on visiting Istanbul, Cappadocia (Goreme), Ephesus and a beachy town along the Turquoise Coast.

We're considering Bodrum and Fethiye but are open to any suggestions. Is Oludeniz a "must-see" if we're in the area? Will it be too crowded in July?

I've also been reading about some of the quieter towns like Olimpos and Kas. Are they better options? How are the beaches?

Thanks!

Steve_James

Hi ML - I think one of the nicest options on the Turquoise Coast is Kalkan - which I much prefered to Kas or Bodrum.

It has a small beach if I remember, though I preferred swimming from the quayside.
http://www.turkuaz-guide.net/kalkan.html

If you prefer somewhere quiet, consider Patara - about 30 mins away - which has the longest beach in the Mediterranean, I believe.

You should definitely visit Oludeniz if you're nearby. It's visually stunning - though it will certainly be crowded.

Steve

propertravel

If talking about Turquoise cost kalkan and Kas first than Cirali the second options on top of my list.

By the way congratulations and have a great time where ever you decide to go.
Murat

Michel_Paris

Kas was wonderful. Small town, nice harbor with boat tours to Lycean ruins, very scenic. We walkde everywher, nice shops, good selection or restaurants.

Our room was 30' from the Med, so we could hear the waves at night. I would go back.

brenda66

I really think that it is a matter of varying tastes...and many people will have their favorites...if you are looking for a beach then I would say Cirali and especially if you are looking for a less crowded beach...

Yes Olu Deniz will be busy in July..any beach in Turkey will be in July and August with the schools being out for holidays..

Kas and Kalkan are nice towns and have both advantages and disadvantages..Kas is excellent for diving if you are into that..

Also it is really hard to compare places like Kas, Kalkan, Olu Deniz or Bodrum to the area of Cirali / Olympos..its like comparing apples to oranges..totally different atmospheres..

Cirali still remains an unspoilt village whereas the rest are resort towns..

If I were you I would plan my trip like this..

Istanbul - Cappadocia
Cappadocia - Antalya

Hire a car in Antalya and self drive along the coast visting may different spots ( if you have the time however )

Antalya - Selcuk ( self drive along the coast )
Selcuk ( Ephesus ) - Istanbul by flights from Izmir..

Also you can fly from Istanbul to Nevsehir or Kayseri ( Cappadocia area ) then over night bus to Antalya..

mliang

Thanks to all for the great advice.

Brenda66:

Funny, we kind of decided to do Antalya with a day trip to the Olympos/Cirali area. Any recommendations on where to stay?

Question, is Olympos and Cirali one in the same? I hear them used interchangeably.

So our itinerary is tentatively going something like this:

Day 1: Arrive in Istanbul; transfer flights to Cappadocia; Kelebek hotel (Goreme)

Day 2: Cappadocia

Day 3: Cappadocia

Day 4: Cappadocia; Overnight train/bus to Antalya

Day 5: Antalya

Day 6: Antalya

Day 7: Antalya; Cirali/Olypos

How do we get from Antalya/Olympos to Ephesus?

Day 8: Ephesus (Selcuk) Where should we stay?

Day 9: Flight to Istanbul? Sari Konak Hotel

Day 10: Istanbul

Day 11: Istanbul

Day 12: Fly home from Istanbul

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Michel_Paris

Well, the one place I did not really appreciate was Antalya. Bit too developed, too resorty. We spent 2 nights there.

There is a nice long beach, but overall we wished we had spent more time further west along the coast.

mliang

Hmm, duly noted.

I thought Kas and Kalkan both sounded great but I heard there aren't really any beaches. Is this correct?

I thought there were concrete slabs jutting out from the hotels where people swim off of.

Am I wrong?

Michel_Paris

Correct.

The main beach in Antalya were made up of large stones. Tough on the feet. We accidentally stayed at the Sheraton in Antalya (long story!) and they had a fantastic outdoor pool. Of course the room was US$400 a night, ouch.

We swam in Kas off of a ladder in front of our hotel, and a diving board. We also took a boat crusie to see ruins and lunch at small town. there were 3/4 stops along way to swim in ocean.

Just west of Kas (10 minutes) is "the secret beach". As you are driving the twisty road along coast, you look way down and you see this pristine beach, azure colors, no people...magical. Tour buses stop so people can take pictures. We spent two hours there.

In Marmaris, the beaches were 'sandier'.

Steve_James

The town beach in Kalkan isn't special - but I enjoyed swimming off a (- private) quayside in town. Crystal-clear water

There are also daily boat trips with gorgeous swim stops nearby.

http://www.kalkanturkey.com/kalkan-b...activities.htm

Steve

brenda66

Hi mliang,

I will try to answer your questions...

1. Question, is Olympos and Cirali one in the same? I hear them used interchangeably.

Yes they share the same beach but are two separate villages...and also are separated by mountains..the quickest way to access each other is by foot ( no cars are allowed on the beach )..or if not by car back up to the junctions on the main highway...

ie..from Cirali to get to Olympos..you have to walk along the beach and enter into the Olympos ruins and stay on the foot path for about 15 minutes and then you are in the village of Olympos

Olympos is pretty famous as a backpackers hangout..with bungalow and treehouse acommodations whereas Cirali is a bit more unpscale..

As by your plans you do not have a lot of time so 1.5 days in Antalya is enough to see the major sites..

However Antalya is very important for its histoical sites and value..yes it is a big city...

You might not have a chance to see them all but Termessos, Perge, Aspendos, the Antalya museum, and the ruins and history of the old city ( Kaleiçi ) are worth having a look at..

There are 2 beaches in Antalya..the Konyaalti beach which is a mixture of both sand and pebbles and Lara Beach with is finer sand..

However the beach around Lara tends to cater more for packages tours etc..with large hotels..

2. Question...How do we get from Antalya/Olympos to Ephesus?

The quickest way would be to fly from Antalya to Izmir and the airport at Izmir is only about 50 mins to Selcuk ( Ephesus ) ..or take a bus from Antalya to Selcuk possibly stopping along the way at Pamukkale..

Or alternatively you could add one more stop along the way
along the coast and consider Fethiye or another favorite area of mine Kaya Koyu...then from there it is about 4-5 hrs by bus to Selcuk..

Will you be driving or by bus..??

question 3. Ephesus (Selcuk) Where should we stay?

Try the Akay Hotel...we really liked it..and stayed there last year.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ay-Selcuk.html

..that secret beach that Micheal is reffering too is Kaplutaº...and it is reached by 180 steps down to a small beach that does not have any facilities..toliets, showers, etc..at least I have not seen any there but maybe over the sumemr months they bring it in..( but cannot say for sure )and lots of boat anchor there as well on daily boat trips..

and again sorry Micheal..but I found the beach in the resort town of Marmaris to be very dirty and short..short meaning the distance from the promenade to the sea..however I have heard that outside of Marmaris is better..but never been..but I have visited Marmaris 3 times..sorry that place is not my cup of tea..just my opinion..

hope this helps a bit..

brenda66

sorry forgot the links for Cirali..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirali

http://www.cirali.org/index_eng.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g3...li-Hotels.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...pos-Kemer.html

Michel_Paris

In Antalya we used the public beach (west of city) as well as the private beach owned by the Sheraton. From what I remember, neither was sandy.

For Marmaris, we spent one night and used the hotel pool. The main beach in town is long and short, as Brenda said. We stopped and took photos, but did not use the beach. There seem to be a lot of package deals that use Marmaris as a destination. The one slight annoyance were the gentlemen at the restaurants doing the hard sell to get us to come in. It would have been nice to explore it a bit more but we were on a schedule.


Thanks for the name of the "secret beach". It is one of my good memories. We were there early morning, and the beach was almost empty, the umbrella guy was starting to set up.

brenda66

Hi Micheal just realized that I spelt the name wrong..you do mean this beach as seen here.. correct ??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/...7604043102203/

sorry the correct spelling is ..Kaputas beach..it is lovely just access to it is more difficult..

Like I said before there are 2 main area beaches in Antalya..one closer to the city center which is the beaches you visited..and then another long sandy beach which is on the Lara side of Antalya..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soner/224315849/

Steve_James

More views of Kaputas:

http://www.kalkanturkey.com/kalkan-kaputas.htm

Michel_Paris

Ahhh...I'm having flashbacks. Yes that's the beach.

We had trouble finding accomodations in Antalya near water, so we went to the eastern edges of the city, where there were rows of large hotels. When I saw the Titanic hotel, I knew we may have strayed from what I had come to Turkey to see. So we went to the Western edge of the city, about 2 blocks up from the main boulevard that runs along the beach and found a cheap hotel. The beaches along there had the large stones. The next day, at the private Sheraton beach, smaller more 'bearable' stones. Mind you the water was nice in August.

brenda66

Micheal..you are right about that long stretch of beach ( Lara beach ) with the endless stream of big 5 star package hotels..that for any independant traveller..is not the ''real Turkey ''..

Nearest to the city center is the Konyaalti beach area...and it is a mix of sand and pebbles..

as seen here..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/...7602793497166/

this photo was taken across the street from the Antalya Museum..

Glads the photo brought back nice memories !!


Ps..did you ever visit Cirali ???

http://www.flickr.com/photos/canmom/...7602793492234/

heatherandmike

Hi all,

Soon-to-be Mrs. here... We have decided to make our stop on the Turquoise Coast in Cirali/Olimpos. Thanks to all who gave advice. We need it!

Now our question becomes more complicated. We've figured out our itinerary, but we need help getting around. Our plan is to fly into Istanbul, then fly directly to Cappadocia for a few days (easy enough). Here's where it gets tricky: from Cappadocia, we're headed down to the coast (Cirali). From there, we're headed to Ephesus (Selcuk). We have no idea how to accomplish those two trips. After Ephesus, we're flying out of Izmir and back to Istanbul. That part is easy as well.

So what we need help with is two parts: getting from Cappodocia to Cirali, and then getting from Cirali to Ephesus (Selcuk). We don't want to fly, because we don't want to have to connect back through Istanbul each time. We're happy to take buses, but we have no idea how to begin to research this. We're short on time, so driving isn't really an option. In fact, overnight buses would be ideal. I don't think trains are really an option here, right?

If anyone has any input or help on this subject, we'd be most appreciative!

Thanks, Heather

brenda66

Hi Heather,

I am sure that you will like Cirali..to answer yur other questions...

1. getting from Cappodocia to Cirali...

It is very easy..you take the many over night buses from either Goreme or Nevsehir at the bus station first to Antalya...leaves at about 8-9 pm and arrives at about 7am ...this will take about 9 hrs and should cost about 40 liras roughly..from Antalya to can take the may other mini-buses..

antalya tur, bati antalya, cicek tur or kumluca tur...they will run about every 20 minutes or so from the antalya bus station....takes about 1.5 hrs....and the cost of the tickets are about 8 -10 liras per person..

However make sure that when you buy your tickets you tell the counter and as well the driver to let you off at the Cirali ( pronounced chir-ali ) junction..

From there you can catch a mini-bus into the center of the village ( about 7 kms - and a 10 minute drive ) or the hotel or pansiyon you might be staying at..

2. Cirali to Ephesus (Selcuk)

The quickest way would be to go back to Antalya and fly from there to Izmir...Or at the Antalya bus station and take a bus from there to Selcuk...

There are plenty of buses and companies..just inquire at the bus station ( otogar ) in Antalya for the times and cost and departures..you do not need to book in advance..

Pamukkale turizm...they have buses leaving every night at 11:30 ( 23:30 ) from Antalya to Selcuk..takes 5.5 hrs..it cost 30 YTL ( turkish liras )

http://www.pamukkaleturizm.com.tr/bilgi.html

this route is inland and that is why it is faster than following along the coast..

However it can be reached along the coast however it will take longer and hard to do in one day...so you could consider 1 over night at or in and around Fethiye..from Fethiye is is about 4-5 hrs by bus to Selcuk..

hope that helps :=))

heatherandmike

Brenda, thank you so much for your detailed reply. This is going to be extremely helpful for us. I appreciate it!