Who is going to Turkey in 2005?
 

Due to the declining US Dollar (boo-hoo, I know it's been done to death on this board!) I am thinking of Turkey instead of Spain this summer. If you are going, what areas will you see? What country are you from? I just ask because I'm thinking there will not be a lot of American tourism.

I was just there in October. There were a lot of British and German tourists and just a sprinkling of ameridans, Italians, and Spaniards.

(It would be worth going to Turkey even if he exchange rate were not so good.)

Meant Americans--terrible typist.

I was suppose to go this past summer but went to the Italian Riviera instead - so next summer going to Antalya including a return visit to Istanbul.

Anyone else?

I am planning a four-day trip to Istanbul for next week :)

Here's are a few tourist sites I found:
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/index.html
http://english.istanbul.com/?Vst=2
http://www.istanbultourist.com/index.php

I am going mid September, 2005. Already have the tix - using FF miles, yippee!

By the way, I am a Wisconsin-American.

We are going to follow a fairly common tourist trail. Istanbul, Cappadocia, Med Coast and up to Ephesus.

I am seriously considering a trip to Turkey at the end of Sept 2005. My husband and I would love to do a relaxing gulet cruise along the coast. I have found a great rate to charter an entire boat, for 4 or 5 couples for a week. At our Christmas party we are going to "talkup" Turkey and see how many of our friends we can convince to come along! If we can get a group of 8, the price would only be something like $600 per person for a week on the boat, including food. Can't get any deals like that with the Euro now.

I am going in April. Have my FF tickets. We are going to Istanbul, Capadoccia, and Kusadasi for Ephesus. We decided to fly between areas since we'll only be there for twelve days. Have been planning to go for years, put it off a couple times but are on our way now.

cruisinred, even if your friends all sign up to get a boat, consider looking into Sea Scape for Turkey (they do Greece too). My husband and I went with them for a week in Turkey in May 2003 and it was a wonderful trip. www.seascape-sail.com. It is like having friends who have a great boat and other great friends. Enjoy planning your trip!

I'm pleased to see this thread! My dh and I are seriously considering a Turkey trip this year, and have just now started to research possible dates, etc. Turkey has been on my "must see" list for a while, and the value of the dollar there has swayed us to go there next year rather than somewhere in the Euro zone.(Although I fantasize about a return to Paris, it may have to wait a bit) For 2004, we traveled to Malaysia and Hong Kong, so our last trip to Europe was 2003. Seems like a long time ago, but there's so much of the world to see!

I look forward to more threads about Turkey as people plan their trips and share their experiences.

We want to go to Turkey in September. I've started planning. We were there for a week in September 2000 (just the Mediterranean coast) and wanted to go back earlier, but for one reason or another never made it back. We'd like to take a 3 week trip this time, and see a lot more. We're planning to see Istanbul, Cappodocia, Konya and somewhere else - not sure yet whether that will be the Aegean coast and Ephesus, or further south nearer to Antalya. (We'd like a few days on a beach somewhere.)

I just realized you were asking about American tourists. I'm not American, but my husband is (although he's lived in Canada for more than 1/2 his life).

We both loved our short time in Turkey and can't wait to go back.

I am Swedish married to an American. We travelled to Turkey 3 times (first for the honeymoon) and really enjoyed a lot. We went to Istanbul, Bursa, Ephesus, Kalkan, Kappadocia and now looking forward to go again this summer but maybe to a less touristy Black Sea cost or to Med Coast again (I heard that there are hotels called Kremlin and Topkapi Palace in Antalya, built with an exact look of the original ones).
Although most of the tourists were Europeans especially Germans, we also met fair number of Americans, mostly independet travellers.
If you are looking for charming places to stay I suggest clicking on www.nisanyan.net

I highly recommend Mr. Nisanyan's website. It is a guide to small hotels throughout Turkey. We stayed in his own hotel (more like very upscale B&B in size and character) in Sirince near Ephesus in May 2003 and it is one of most beatiful and comfortable hotels we have ever stayed in. Mr. Nisanyan is wonderful too. Enjoy planning your trip!

I am thrilled to be going to Turkey in May! I copied my itinerary along with questions from www.turkeytravelplanner.com. That is an amazing website with oodles of great info! See below.

"First of all, I want to thank Tom for this fabulous site!! This is my first posting so please be gentle.

We will be traveling around Turkey for 17 days in May/June and here is our rough itinerary. I would appreciate any advice you may have.

Arrive in Istanbul the morning of May 20th - 2 nights at Apricot hotel
Has anyone stayed here? I know they have a building that isn't finished on the outside that they are offering great rates for and it looks great on the web.

Fly to Cappadocia on Sunday, May 22nd - 3 nights in Urgup

Esbelli Evi is highly recommended. Any other recommendations that would be a bit less expensive would be appreciated.

We will do a lot of hiking and reserve a balloon ride.

Rent a car and drive towards coast on Wed., May 23rd - 1 night in Konya

Is it advisable to rent a car and drive this route? A friend of mine has said not to bother, just take the bus. I like the freedom of having a car and I have driven in Spain, Holland, Germany, Austria, Croatia and had no problem (although at times it was a bit exciting!)

We are not sure where to stay along the Mediterranean coast. We want to see Olympos and the greatest Lycian ruins. Any recommendations for staying 2-3 nights along the Turquoise coast? - 2 nights

Drive (or bus) towards Bodrum and stay (where?) for two nights. We prefer small towns over touristy ones. A friend highly recommends Bodrum but, from what I have read, it is quite crowded. We were considering Fethiye. Any recommendations? - 2 nights

Drive towards Selcuk - 2 nights

Drop off car and find transport back to Istanbul - 2 nights

This itinerary leaves us with 2-3 nights still free. I would welcome recommendations as to where to spend those additional nights.

Should we spend more or less time at each location?

Is there another destination we should consider?

What are your favorite small towns?

What are your favorite quiet beaches?

Favorite restaurants?

Best way to mingle with the locals? During my research for this trip I don't think this will be a problem. I am really looking forward to experiencing the hospitality of the Turkish people!

One of the main reasons I travel is to learn about other people and their culture. I travel fairly extensively and I have never been so excited about a trip before!

I realize Turkey is very large. Does this itinerary look draining?
_________________
Cheers and happy trails!"

Tamara

You will have a wonderful trip. For mingling with locals, learn a little bit of Turkish. I used "In flight Turkish" to get the pronuciation (on CDs with a small book) and then also took a Lonely Planet phrase book. If I first spoke in Turkish, even to say hello, I always received a compliment which always led to a conversation. Acutally, many people spoke very good English. I would always ask "how did you learn to speak English so well" which then lead to a conversation about their own travel or education in English speaking countries. Turkey is a wonderfully hospitable place and I highly recommend it.

Regarding quiet beaches- try Patara Beach near Kalkan. . Ruins of the old city of Patara nearby. The beach is many kilometres long with just one small chair rental and snack place as you access beach. A short walk and you have the beach to yourself.
Kalkan is still much more quiet and less crowded than most places on the coast. It has some small hotels, pensions, nice shops and numerous restaurants.

cruisinred,
I'm interested in hearing more about the boat charter. Any more info available?

Byrd

Prior to going to Croatia this year I found a great audio site for learning some Croatian.

I am pleased to have found one for the Turkish language! Go to http://www.onlineturkish.com/vocab.asp

I will also post a separate thread for this info.

Cheers!

Tamara

My husband and I are considering a Mediterranean Cruise this summer to celebrate our 20th Anniv. We are hoping to see Greece and Turkey. I have a good friend who will be visitng his family in Istanbul -- the best case scenario is being there at the same time. I've got lots of planning to do.
((c))

Hi Byrd
A web search pulls up tons of gulet charter "agencies". But,as with renting a house or villa, it is always cheaper to go directly through the owner. I found several captains with whom you can make direct arrangements. Here is one that had very resonable prices and responded promptly to my inquiries.
www.yachtdogan.com

Another idea depending on how many there are is www.seascape-sail.com. We had a fabulous week in June 2003 with them. I have posted otherwise about them, but the best summary is like having two friends who have a great boat and great other friends.

Topping

AP - have you decided when you are going yet?

We will be in Istanbul twice - once next month for a couple/three days, then again in the autumn - it is our start/end point for this year's round-the-world adventure.

June 8th-21st, 13 nights. I believe it will be 5 in Istanbul, 3 in Kalkan, 2 in Bodrum, and 3 in the Kusadasi area. I decided to do a "ruins" trip and save Cappadocia for another trip. I didn't think my dad could handle more flights & moving around!

First off, let me say that I am a world traveller...literally. The only continent I have not visited is Antarctica. My father is Turkish (Mom's American, and I only speak a smattering of Turkish, unfortunately), so my family has spent time there over the years. I absolutely LOVE Istanbul. Very cosmopolitan, yet so full of history. Another great trip is to Cappadocia. I convinced my mom to get into a hot air balloon in Goreme and have her addicted to hot air ballooning ever since. Spending a day in Ephesus was incredible. As far as the Turks go, I know I'm biased, but they are wonderful, friendly people and I enjoy every trip I take there.

AP - sorry we will miss you! We aren't going til September. Do you have hotels arranged yet? Just curious, we are still trying to decide between Kalkan and Kas ourselves, and where to stay in either place. I am hoping you will have some great hints to offer those of us coming after you this summer!

I am pretty sure I will be booking with Club Xanthos (http://www.clubxanthos.com) in Kalkan. The website just really appealed to me. I will most likely see Kas as a daytrip, and I will definitely write up a trip report.

I just purchased my plane tickets a few days ago, I'm so excited!

very cool! I love that "for sure" feeling you get after the tix are a done deal. Xanthos club looks great - the pool and restaurant balcony area - nice!

For everyone planning to go to Turkey, some Istanbul info. from a post I started earlier today:

Message: I get their daily newsletter and found this interesting and it should be useful for my upcoming Turkey trip:

http://www.dailycandy.com/article.js...926&city=1

Actually, we are going to both Spain and Turkey. We've already been to the "West Coast" ot Turkey and the ruins, etc., and this time will confine out visit to Istanbul. You will not regret your decision IMO.