christine

My husband and myself are planning a trip to turkey for 12 days in august and plan on the following. Would appreciate any pointers from people on this forum.

4 days Istanbul
Fly to Izmir and use this as a base to visit
Pergamon for a day
Ephesus one day( overnight in Selcuk)
Pamuukale and Aphrodisias the third day


I would really like to visit Cappadocia for three days but as this means flying back to Istanbul or a lot of driving my better half is more inclined to drive Leisurely down the coast( leaing Cappadocia for the next trip) stopping at beaches before flying back to Istanbul for the last two days.

Am really torn -Cappadocia or coast????What would you advise?

Have heard from friends that visited Turkey last year that Pammukale was not worth the visit as the pool waters had dried up.Have not read any such thing on this forum and would appreciate your views.

Am so excited as the more I read the more I am facinated by the country.I would really like to make the most of our trip.Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

sinan

Hi Christine,

I recommend you drive to Canakkale instead of flying to Ýzmir and Tour to Pergamum 1 day. WHY you can stay in Canakkale the day next you can visit TROY and Pergamum.

If you do`not like to see PAMUKKALE which I recommend you to see you may go to KONYA (to stay overnight and visit Mevlana and other Selcuk building) then drive to Cappadocia via one of the larges caravanserai on the Silk road then to Cappadocia.

There are many alternative to spend tour 12 days in Turkey.

Sinan Akdeniz

propertravel

Hi Christine,

As Sinan states, 12 days can turn out great amount of time to visist some of the highlights of Turkey if planned well. Altough it takes an extra flight Cappadocia could be one of the real highlights. How about 3 days istanbul, 2 days Cappadocia ( at least 2 days )drive down to Konya and Pamukkale 1 day Ephesus Next day and the rest as you desire....

Have a lovely time in Turkey and should you have questions or dilemma on spots we are here to help...

[email protected]

zwho

We went to Turkey for 12 days in June of 2001. You better buy yourself a very good guide book on Turkey, Frommers, Lonely Planet and check out all the info on here by typing in Turkey on the Search. You will love it, but it makes no sense to try to see everything in the time youy have. We did Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Antalya (gulet for 4 days) and finished with Ephesus. All the help you need you can probably find in old posts.

nancy

To miss Cappadocia is to miss one of the most fabulous sites in the world, IMO It's going to be incredibly hot in August (I say this because I visited in July 1996 - practically collapsed in Antalya on the coast!).

Re Pammukale: I had seen pictures so naturally wanted to see it. It was very interesting for a short visit but I have heard since that you cannot wade thru the pools and, of course, if they're dried up, it's definitely not worth it.

It looks like you have a total of 6 days in Istanbul but you could cut it down a bit. I loved Istanbul (only had virtually 3 days) and would go back in a second but if it meant not including Cappadocia (also to which I'd go back - only had 2 days there) I would use any extra days.

I did stay in Izmir but was very unimpressed. Just a big city.

I was in Turkey for approx. 2 weeks and thought the my itinerary for the most part was pretty good. Granted it was a tour but practically private! If you would like my trip report please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Between Cappadocia and the coast, I would personally choose Cappadocia simply for the landscape. Beaches are everywhere in the world; Cappadocia is only there.

Of course, if you could also squeeze in a boat trip along the Turquoise Coast that would be fabulous. Couldn't talk my friend into adding that on

rickandpat

We were in Turkey last month and I asked our guide about the Pamuukale formations. Unfortunately, they have dried up.

Though the Mediterranean was beautiful, and I loved the ruins everywhere along there, Cappadocia was really special. I personally like Murat's suggestions. Konya was also a neat place to visit for an afternoon.

And yes, August will be very hot on the coast.

Pat

Pat

harzer

This is a language question for Sinan.

When I dabbled in Turkish some 15 years ago there were two letters /i/, one having no dot.

Can you explain the new system to me please where y is used somehow?

Thanks

Harzer

sinan

Hi Harzer,

I am now in Turkey so I am using some internet cafes to send some comments because I am moving one city to another.

We do not have new system in Turkey. The alphabet I used was "ý" instead of "i". As you know we have some different alphabets like "ý, ç, þ, ð,ö, ü" (If you have Turkish alphabet in your computer or server that you use you can see these BUT if you don`t have you can see some different figures).

Many Turkish computer has Turkish Key Board.

Sýnan Akdeniz (look at the first "i&quot

Wildfire

Agreeing with the above statements.

To miss Capadoccia is to miss something special. I visited Turkey several years ago when my parents were stationed there. I went on a guided tour to Capadoccia (3 nights i think) and it was fascinating. I had the most aweesome experience, villagers from the little village at the edge of my hotel, i photographed them and they invited me to drink tea and later saw how these homes are carved into the rock, it really was unforgettable.

i also went to pammukale and didnt find it worthwhile at all.

if you can get out of the way..try Diyabikir (forgive spelling)

mehmetvural

Dear Christine;
first of all a holiday of 12 days in turkey is enough if you have a good programme. In 12 days you may do everything you want to do in Turkey.
that is an itenarary for you:
1st day: arrival at Istanbul check in the hotel. half day city tour (chora museum, spice market,dolmabahce palace)
2nd day: full day city tour ( Topkapi palace, st.sophia, blue mosque, grand bazaar)
3rd day flight to cappadocia (at 08:30 a.m.)half day cappadocia tour( Göreme openair museum, pasabag,avanos, devrent,wine tasting, sunset at kizilcukur valley)
4th day: full day cappadocia tour( kaymakli underground city ihlara canyon, selime monastery,sunset at Uchisr castle.
5th day: drive to antalya via aksaray to visit sultanhani caravansarai,then konya to visit mevlana museum which is the center of whirling dervishes,
check in the hotel in antalya.
6th day: full day antalya tour ( aspendos theatre, perge ancient city, kursunlu waterfall.
7th day today you will start a yachting tour for 3 days.
8th,9th,
10th day drive to pamukkale and afrodisias ancient cities andcheck in the hotel at kusadasi.
11th day fulll day tour to ephesus, virgin mary's house,
12th day visit pergamum ancient city and transfer to Izmir airport.

this is a general tour and if you want more you may send me a mail and i may prepare a more detailed tour for you and give you ideas about the fares. if you need any informations about Turkey you may use my mail address: [email protected]

jeanie

We just completed a 2 week trip to Turkey in June. We spent 5 days in Istanbul (because we had a wedding to attend) and you could easily see most everything in 2-3 days. Then we flew to Bodrum, which we loved. We skipped Ephesus since we had read it was second to Pompei, which we've seen. If we returned, we'd do what you mentioned, which is fly to Izmir and base ourselves in Selcuk (or Kusadasi, since it's on the coast). We spent 3 days in Bodrum and it was our favorite spot. Yes, it's a party town, but we still had a perfectly relaxing time. Then we took a bus to Fethiye (3 days) and spent time at Oludeniz. Yes, it's touristy but it's beautiful! I'd go back, despite the hordes of British tourists. Then we flew from Dalyan to Kayseri and got a private tour of Cappadocia. It was really awesome, even though we only spent one full day. We actually did get to see almost all of the highlights and go at our own pace. So there is a way to see it all and still have a relaxing time. Be warned, though, it's going to be HOT on the coast!
If you want more info, or to see our photos (to help you get excited for your trip!), email me: [email protected]
Have a great trip - you will LOVE Turkey, we did!!!

propertravel

Glad to hear Jeanie that you had a wonderful time in Turkey. Hope Christine will have a great time too.

jeanie

I think Turkey may be our favorite destination so far. I cannot say enough good things about Turkey, especially the people, the food, the sights, etc. I am just looking for an excuse to go back soon!

It amazes me how many people are afraid to travel to Turkey right now. It's such a wonderful country - I'm jealous that Christine gets to go there soon!

propertravel

Lets wish Christine a wonderful Holiday in Turkey and Lets hope Jeanie comes back again soon....

abcdef

I just returned from Turkey. If you think your itinerary is ambitious, I did Ephesus, Fethiye and Cappadocia in a week. Although tiring, I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING and Cappadocia was a highlight. Two/three days in Cappadocia was more than enough. Usually tour companies market two day tours- one of N Cappadocia and one of S Cappadocia. I'd forgoe one because you pretty much see the same things and participate in the Ihlara Valley tour instead.

That being said, I also had an amazing time in Turkey. Everyone was hospitable and it's just a beautiful country in so many different respects.