2 weeks in Turkey - how do we use our time wisely?
October 16, 2013 12:04 PM Subscribe
The DingoWife and I will be honeymooning in Turkey this 2-16 November, and based on inputs to our last question, we'll be doing it on our own, sans-tour package. Now we would love input as we pin down our itinerary. Can you help?
We will be arriving in Istanbul on 2 November, and have ~2 weeks to make our way around to as much as we can reasonably see. We're primarily interested in the historical sites, interesting geography & beaches (to whatever extent beaches are feasible in November), and museums, and hope to rely exclusively on public transportation - if we HAD to hire a car at some point we'd do so, but I'd really rather let someone else do the driving. We plan to stick to the west coast for the most part, with the possible exception of a trip to Cappadocia.
So for right now our very rough itinerary looks like this - if you're familiar with these areas, can you please help troubleshoot, suggest places we don't want to miss, etc.?
- 2 Nov: Arrive in Istanbul; fly out to Cappadocia
- 3-5 Nov: Cappadocia (Kaymakli? Goreme? I'm assuming we ought to book a tour for this area)
- 6 Nov: Leave Cappadocia (by plane or train); head to Izmir
- 6-10 Nov: Use Izmir as our base to visit Pamukkale, Selcuk/Ephesus, Bergama/Pergamon
- 10 Nov: Bus to Canakkale; explore Canakkale
- 11 Nov: Troy (I am aware that some travelers say Troy isn't worth it; however, this is one of our "must sees" - no need for warnings on this front)
- 12 Nov: Canakkale to Istanbul
- 12-16 Nov: Istanbul
- 16: Depart Istanbul for home
At a high level, does this look reasonable? We're trying to maximize the amount of time we have to see things versus the time we spend traveling, but are there places we're really missing out on here - should we go from Cappadocia down to Antalya before Izmir (and if so, where should we cut back)? Does it make sense to base ourselves for a few days in Izmir to see the sights mentioned above, or would we be better off traveling from city to city? Are there places where getting around by public transport will be difficult?
Once we've hammered down our itinerary we'll be booking hotels in each place, so if you have any budget-to-mid-range suggestions on that front we'd love to hear it (our budget, minus tickets to/from Istanbul, is ~$3000 USD for the both of us). Finally, any other tips you have for first time travelers doing it on their own in Turkey would be much appreciated. Thanks!
We will be arriving in Istanbul on 2 November, and have ~2 weeks to make our way around to as much as we can reasonably see. We're primarily interested in the historical sites, interesting geography & beaches (to whatever extent beaches are feasible in November), and museums, and hope to rely exclusively on public transportation - if we HAD to hire a car at some point we'd do so, but I'd really rather let someone else do the driving. We plan to stick to the west coast for the most part, with the possible exception of a trip to Cappadocia.
So for right now our very rough itinerary looks like this - if you're familiar with these areas, can you please help troubleshoot, suggest places we don't want to miss, etc.?
- 2 Nov: Arrive in Istanbul; fly out to Cappadocia
- 3-5 Nov: Cappadocia (Kaymakli? Goreme? I'm assuming we ought to book a tour for this area)
- 6 Nov: Leave Cappadocia (by plane or train); head to Izmir
- 6-10 Nov: Use Izmir as our base to visit Pamukkale, Selcuk/Ephesus, Bergama/Pergamon
- 10 Nov: Bus to Canakkale; explore Canakkale
- 11 Nov: Troy (I am aware that some travelers say Troy isn't worth it; however, this is one of our "must sees" - no need for warnings on this front)
- 12 Nov: Canakkale to Istanbul
- 12-16 Nov: Istanbul
- 16: Depart Istanbul for home
At a high level, does this look reasonable? We're trying to maximize the amount of time we have to see things versus the time we spend traveling, but are there places we're really missing out on here - should we go from Cappadocia down to Antalya before Izmir (and if so, where should we cut back)? Does it make sense to base ourselves for a few days in Izmir to see the sights mentioned above, or would we be better off traveling from city to city? Are there places where getting around by public transport will be difficult?
Once we've hammered down our itinerary we'll be booking hotels in each place, so if you have any budget-to-mid-range suggestions on that front we'd love to hear it (our budget, minus tickets to/from Istanbul, is ~$3000 USD for the both of us). Finally, any other tips you have for first time travelers doing it on their own in Turkey would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Best answer: - 11 Nov: Troy (I am aware that some travelers say Troy isn't worth it; however, this is one of our "must sees" - no need for warnings on this front)
There hasn't been much to see in Troy for about 3000 years, but that didn't stop Alexander, Julius Caesar, and Hadrian from stopping by just to say they were there. That makes it a must-see.
posted by General Tonic at 1:57 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
There hasn't been much to see in Troy for about 3000 years, but that didn't stop Alexander, Julius Caesar, and Hadrian from stopping by just to say they were there. That makes it a must-see.
posted by General Tonic at 1:57 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Its pretty packed but doable.
Get a car for the Izmir part of the trip - and maybe don't stay in Izmir itself - especially if you plan on exploring. Try to get to Ephesus at off hours - it was much more enjoyable. There are a bunch of sites in that general area worth driving to. You should get this book.
Cannakale because its near troy I assume? I think you don't need two days for that if you can make the travel times work.
posted by JPD at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2013
Get a car for the Izmir part of the trip - and maybe don't stay in Izmir itself - especially if you plan on exploring. Try to get to Ephesus at off hours - it was much more enjoyable. There are a bunch of sites in that general area worth driving to. You should get this book.
Cannakale because its near troy I assume? I think you don't need two days for that if you can make the travel times work.
posted by JPD at 2:03 PM on October 16, 2013
Oh yeah - Istanbul - don't stay in Sultanahmet, stay in Galata - take a Ferry to the Asia side and explore up the bosporus
posted by JPD at 2:05 PM on October 16, 2013
posted by JPD at 2:05 PM on October 16, 2013
I agree with JPD. We stayed in Sultanahmet when we were there and it was a shame as Galata/Beyoglu is a much better place to stay.
posted by yeti at 2:27 PM on October 16, 2013
posted by yeti at 2:27 PM on October 16, 2013
Oh yeah - Istanbul - don't stay in Sultanahmet, stay in Galata - take a Ferry to the Asia side and explore up the bosporus
Heartily agree on this.
Take an early morning balloon flight in Cappadocia, you won't regret it.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 3:36 PM on October 16, 2013
Heartily agree on this.
Take an early morning balloon flight in Cappadocia, you won't regret it.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 3:36 PM on October 16, 2013
If it were me I'd spend longer in Istanbul. What an awesome city. (But there's also nothing I'd take off your list, ha.)
If you fly, we took Pegasus Airlines. They were very inexpensive and reliable - kind of seemed like the Turkish Southwest, if you're American :) Flying from Istanbul to Izmir let us avoid renting a car. We took a - group taxi, I guess, I can't remember what they were called - from Izmir to Selcuk, which was not very pleasant, but it was cheap as hell. Otherwise we took buses everywhere - the long-distance buses are pretty comfortable (though no toilets, mostly) and inexpensive.
In Selcuk, stay here and eat dinner at the pension. Nice people, beautiful rooftop, comfy rooms. I can't recommend it highly enough.
In Istanbul, consider that Sultanahmet does have the benefit of being footsteps away from all the major sights in Istanbul, which for a first and relatively short visit is a big plus, IMO. Food's bad around there, though. Don't eat at any of those restaurants if you can help it.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 4:14 PM on October 16, 2013
If you fly, we took Pegasus Airlines. They were very inexpensive and reliable - kind of seemed like the Turkish Southwest, if you're American :) Flying from Istanbul to Izmir let us avoid renting a car. We took a - group taxi, I guess, I can't remember what they were called - from Izmir to Selcuk, which was not very pleasant, but it was cheap as hell. Otherwise we took buses everywhere - the long-distance buses are pretty comfortable (though no toilets, mostly) and inexpensive.
In Selcuk, stay here and eat dinner at the pension. Nice people, beautiful rooftop, comfy rooms. I can't recommend it highly enough.
In Istanbul, consider that Sultanahmet does have the benefit of being footsteps away from all the major sights in Istanbul, which for a first and relatively short visit is a big plus, IMO. Food's bad around there, though. Don't eat at any of those restaurants if you can help it.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 4:14 PM on October 16, 2013
Best answer: At a high level, does this look reasonable?
Yes, but see my point below about not staying in Izmir.
We're trying to maximize the amount of time we have to see things versus the time we spend traveling, but are there places we're really missing out on here - should we go from Cappadocia down to Antalya before Izmir (and if so, where should we cut back)?
The old city in Antalya is pretty enough, but no different to others you might see along the coast. Speaking of which...the whole Mediterranean coast from Antalya to Izmir has lots of nice enough towns like Kas, Dalyan (or was it Dalaman?) & Bodrum...all of which would probably be nicer than Izmir as they're more like little villages or tiny towns, not a bigger city.
Does it make sense to base ourselves for a few days in Izmir to see the sights mentioned above, or would we be better off traveling from city to city?
I'd just go town to town. On my first trip to Turkey I basically did your itinerary in reverse, but with the Mediterranean coast added. I went Istanbul - Bursa (worth considering) - Canakkale - Bergama - Selcuk - a few places along the coast - Cappadocia - Istanbul. If you stay in Izmir you'll be spending a few hours a day travelling to & from places like Ephesus & Bergama, when you might as well do those legs once only & be done with it.
Are there places where getting around by public transport will be difficult?
No. As a tourist there's nowhere you actually need to take public transport in a city or town. You're always right there where the sights & restaurants are. It's not like being in a big, sprawling city like London, Paris or NY. Even in Istanbul we went basically everywhere by foot (or ferry: easy enough).
Between towns, Turkish buses are fast & modern, and the highways are very good quality. There are heaps of services leaving in all directions all the time. Very easy to get around (except at big festivals, like Eid).
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:55 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes, but see my point below about not staying in Izmir.
We're trying to maximize the amount of time we have to see things versus the time we spend traveling, but are there places we're really missing out on here - should we go from Cappadocia down to Antalya before Izmir (and if so, where should we cut back)?
The old city in Antalya is pretty enough, but no different to others you might see along the coast. Speaking of which...the whole Mediterranean coast from Antalya to Izmir has lots of nice enough towns like Kas, Dalyan (or was it Dalaman?) & Bodrum...all of which would probably be nicer than Izmir as they're more like little villages or tiny towns, not a bigger city.
Does it make sense to base ourselves for a few days in Izmir to see the sights mentioned above, or would we be better off traveling from city to city?
I'd just go town to town. On my first trip to Turkey I basically did your itinerary in reverse, but with the Mediterranean coast added. I went Istanbul - Bursa (worth considering) - Canakkale - Bergama - Selcuk - a few places along the coast - Cappadocia - Istanbul. If you stay in Izmir you'll be spending a few hours a day travelling to & from places like Ephesus & Bergama, when you might as well do those legs once only & be done with it.
Are there places where getting around by public transport will be difficult?
No. As a tourist there's nowhere you actually need to take public transport in a city or town. You're always right there where the sights & restaurants are. It's not like being in a big, sprawling city like London, Paris or NY. Even in Istanbul we went basically everywhere by foot (or ferry: easy enough).
Between towns, Turkish buses are fast & modern, and the highways are very good quality. There are heaps of services leaving in all directions all the time. Very easy to get around (except at big festivals, like Eid).
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:55 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
PS - why Canakkale? I was only there as a base to visit Anzac Cove & Gallipoli, which is a bit of a must-do for Aussies & Kiwis. I wasn't aware of any other real reason to visit Canakkale....?
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:56 PM on October 16, 2013
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:56 PM on October 16, 2013
- 3-5 Nov: Cappadocia (Kaymakli? Goreme? I'm assuming we ought to book a tour for this area)
Stay in Goreme. We stayed in Traveller's Cave Hotel and I recommend them, friendly folk and they can arrange any tour you want.
I actually don't recommend doing tours except for the underground cities since they're a bit far, otherwise if you're willing to rent your own car or scooter then that would be a far more convenient option.
I recommend the Open Air Museum, a hike to the Rose Valley, driving around and looking at the strange rock formations, a hot air balloon trip, and a visit to the nearby pottery-making town of Avanos. We took our own picnic stuff one afternoon and went to an old abandoned Greek village for a short hike and picnic.
- 6 Nov: Leave Cappadocia (by plane or train); head to Izmir
- 6-10 Nov: Use Izmir as our base to visit Pamukkale, Selcuk/Ephesus, Bergama/Pergamon
Don't do that. Izmir really isn't a nice place to stay in, or even visit. Land in the airport there and jump on the bus to Selcuk.
Selcuk itself is quite lovely, the Isa Bey Mosque and Basilica of St. John can both be covered in a few hours and are worth seeing. The dolmus [public transport minibuses] are convenient and they can drop you off at the beaches [no idea how doable those would be in November] and at Ephesus [it's a 20 minute walk from Selcuk or a really short dolmus ride].
The Milli Park is about 30km away and if the weather permits it's worth a visit - you can get there by taking a dolmus to Kusadasi and another dolmus from Kusadasi to Milli Park.
Sirince is just up the hill from Selcuk [not walking distance unfortunately] and worth a visit. If you can manage your own transport it's worth going in the evening once all the tour busses depart, you get to see the village without the throngs of tourists and enjoy a nice quiet dinner.
I can't recommend doing Pamukkale from Sirince, you'll end up spending the majority of the day on the road [8 hours by bus I think?], we skipped it and did a day at the beach at Milli Park and night in Sirince instead and that really was worth it.
- 12-16 Nov: Istanbul
Eat mussels off the cart from a street vendor on Istiklal. Try the wet burger on Taksim. Take the ferry to the Asian side and eat a Lahmajoon. No idea how the weather would be in November, but if you get a good day it might be worth a trip by ferry to one of the Princes Islands [We had a lovely time walking around and spending a day on the beach at Heybeliada]. Don't forget to visit the Basilica Cistern while you're doing the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia.
Enjoy!
posted by xqwzts at 3:30 AM on October 17, 2013
Stay in Goreme. We stayed in Traveller's Cave Hotel and I recommend them, friendly folk and they can arrange any tour you want.
I actually don't recommend doing tours except for the underground cities since they're a bit far, otherwise if you're willing to rent your own car or scooter then that would be a far more convenient option.
I recommend the Open Air Museum, a hike to the Rose Valley, driving around and looking at the strange rock formations, a hot air balloon trip, and a visit to the nearby pottery-making town of Avanos. We took our own picnic stuff one afternoon and went to an old abandoned Greek village for a short hike and picnic.
- 6 Nov: Leave Cappadocia (by plane or train); head to Izmir
- 6-10 Nov: Use Izmir as our base to visit Pamukkale, Selcuk/Ephesus, Bergama/Pergamon
Don't do that. Izmir really isn't a nice place to stay in, or even visit. Land in the airport there and jump on the bus to Selcuk.
Selcuk itself is quite lovely, the Isa Bey Mosque and Basilica of St. John can both be covered in a few hours and are worth seeing. The dolmus [public transport minibuses] are convenient and they can drop you off at the beaches [no idea how doable those would be in November] and at Ephesus [it's a 20 minute walk from Selcuk or a really short dolmus ride].
The Milli Park is about 30km away and if the weather permits it's worth a visit - you can get there by taking a dolmus to Kusadasi and another dolmus from Kusadasi to Milli Park.
Sirince is just up the hill from Selcuk [not walking distance unfortunately] and worth a visit. If you can manage your own transport it's worth going in the evening once all the tour busses depart, you get to see the village without the throngs of tourists and enjoy a nice quiet dinner.
I can't recommend doing Pamukkale from Sirince, you'll end up spending the majority of the day on the road [8 hours by bus I think?], we skipped it and did a day at the beach at Milli Park and night in Sirince instead and that really was worth it.
- 12-16 Nov: Istanbul
Eat mussels off the cart from a street vendor on Istiklal. Try the wet burger on Taksim. Take the ferry to the Asian side and eat a Lahmajoon. No idea how the weather would be in November, but if you get a good day it might be worth a trip by ferry to one of the Princes Islands [We had a lovely time walking around and spending a day on the beach at Heybeliada]. Don't forget to visit the Basilica Cistern while you're doing the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia.
Enjoy!
posted by xqwzts at 3:30 AM on October 17, 2013
I was in Turkey a few years ago and stayed in Kalkan on the Med coast. If you're going to be down around that area, let me know and I can give you plenty of recommendations (I can't tell from your itinerary if the places you're going will be in that area). I have a friend who owns a house there and rents it out if you're interested - I can send you the link. Of the things down around that area, the only thing I regret not making time to see was the Mevlevi Whirling Dervishes, so if that's your kind of thing and you're in the area, that may be a good stop (I think they already have similar shows in Istanbul as well).
Turkey was so incredibly beautiful, the food was some of the best I've ever had while traveling and the people are lovely. I'm so jealous of your trip - have a fantastic time!
posted by triggerfinger at 6:23 AM on October 17, 2013
Turkey was so incredibly beautiful, the food was some of the best I've ever had while traveling and the people are lovely. I'm so jealous of your trip - have a fantastic time!
posted by triggerfinger at 6:23 AM on October 17, 2013
Response by poster: PS - why Canakkale? I was only there as a base to visit Anzac Cove & Gallipoli, which is a bit of a must-do for Aussies & Kiwis. I wasn't aware of any other real reason to visit Canakkale....?
As I understand it, Canakkale is the best place to stop overnight if you want to go see Troy, but if this is not the case it's a place I'd happily take off the list. I know I saw mention of one hotel there right by Troy, so maybe we'd be better off getting there in the evening, doing Troy the next morning/afternoon and heading to Istanbul that next evening - any thoughts?
In the meantime, thank you, everyone, for all of your wonderful advice. We're excited but also a bit overwhelmed at the moment with all of the various options presented in our guide books and websites, so it's really helpful to hear from actual people who have been. Sounds like we can cross Izmir off the list as a "base" and just stay in Selcuk, Bergama, etc., so that's good to know - and we'll definitely be checking out those other recommended locales, hotels, etc. If anybody else has suggestions, please keep 'em coming!
posted by DingoMutt at 7:06 AM on October 17, 2013
As I understand it, Canakkale is the best place to stop overnight if you want to go see Troy, but if this is not the case it's a place I'd happily take off the list. I know I saw mention of one hotel there right by Troy, so maybe we'd be better off getting there in the evening, doing Troy the next morning/afternoon and heading to Istanbul that next evening - any thoughts?
In the meantime, thank you, everyone, for all of your wonderful advice. We're excited but also a bit overwhelmed at the moment with all of the various options presented in our guide books and websites, so it's really helpful to hear from actual people who have been. Sounds like we can cross Izmir off the list as a "base" and just stay in Selcuk, Bergama, etc., so that's good to know - and we'll definitely be checking out those other recommended locales, hotels, etc. If anybody else has suggestions, please keep 'em coming!
posted by DingoMutt at 7:06 AM on October 17, 2013
Response by poster: Okay, we just got back from our trip the night before last, and it was AMAZING. I'm still reeling from all that we've seen and done over the last two weeks; if anybody reading this is considering a trip to Turkey I would wholeheartedly recommend it.
In case anybody is curious, here's our final itinerary - we took UbuRoivas' suggestion and went from town to town up the Mediterranean coast rather than basing ourselves in Izmir, and snuck in an extra town as well (we had the amazing beach and lagoon of Oludeniz practically all to ourselves - hooray for traveling in the off season!). We also ended up staying in a hotel right next to Troy (Hotel Hisarlik) rather than Canakkale; the person who ran it gave a wonderful tour of Troy that was one of my absolute favorite experiences in a trip packed full of awesome. Finally, in Istanbul we did end up staying in Sultanahmet, which as goodbyewaffles suggested did work out since we were only there for a few days and most of what we wanted to see was there, but we also visited Galata/Beyoglu and agree that if this weren't our first trip to the city or if we'd had more time it would have been nice to stay over there.
Nov 2-5: Cappadocia (Goreme) (3 nights)
Nov 5-7: Fethiye/Oludeniz (2 nights)
Nov. 7-8: Pamukkale (1 night)
Nov. 8-10: Selcuk/Ephesus (2 nights)
Nov. 10-11: Bergama (1 night)
Nov. 11-12: Troy (1 night)
Nov. 12-16: Istanbul (4 nights)
It was a little busy but not at all overwhelming, and the bus & train (and one plane) trips between cities were kind of nice in enforcing a little down time between bursts of activities. Again, thanks to all of you for providing us with tips at a time when we were feeling pretty overwhelmed by the whole trip-planning extravaganza. If anybody considering a trip to Turkey would like to know about any of the places we stayed, what we did, how we got around, etc., feel free to drop me a PM - I'd be more than happy to discuss!
posted by DingoMutt at 11:18 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
In case anybody is curious, here's our final itinerary - we took UbuRoivas' suggestion and went from town to town up the Mediterranean coast rather than basing ourselves in Izmir, and snuck in an extra town as well (we had the amazing beach and lagoon of Oludeniz practically all to ourselves - hooray for traveling in the off season!). We also ended up staying in a hotel right next to Troy (Hotel Hisarlik) rather than Canakkale; the person who ran it gave a wonderful tour of Troy that was one of my absolute favorite experiences in a trip packed full of awesome. Finally, in Istanbul we did end up staying in Sultanahmet, which as goodbyewaffles suggested did work out since we were only there for a few days and most of what we wanted to see was there, but we also visited Galata/Beyoglu and agree that if this weren't our first trip to the city or if we'd had more time it would have been nice to stay over there.
Nov 2-5: Cappadocia (Goreme) (3 nights)
Nov 5-7: Fethiye/Oludeniz (2 nights)
Nov. 7-8: Pamukkale (1 night)
Nov. 8-10: Selcuk/Ephesus (2 nights)
Nov. 10-11: Bergama (1 night)
Nov. 11-12: Troy (1 night)
Nov. 12-16: Istanbul (4 nights)
It was a little busy but not at all overwhelming, and the bus & train (and one plane) trips between cities were kind of nice in enforcing a little down time between bursts of activities. Again, thanks to all of you for providing us with tips at a time when we were feeling pretty overwhelmed by the whole trip-planning extravaganza. If anybody considering a trip to Turkey would like to know about any of the places we stayed, what we did, how we got around, etc., feel free to drop me a PM - I'd be more than happy to discuss!
posted by DingoMutt at 11:18 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I spent 3 days in Cappadocia (based in Goreme), and it was fantastic. I could easily have spent 2 weeks there but sadly had neither the time nor the money. This is a part of the trip that I implore you to include in your final itinerary.
If you do go to Selcuk/Ephesus, may I suggest that you walk out to Ephesus from Selcuk, as you can then take in a brief stop for what's left of the Temple of Artemis. The nearby beaches are also fantastic.
I can't help you much with your travel plans since I got around Turkey mostly by overnight coach.
Your itinerary does seem very packed, but if that is what you want from your honeymoon then you will have a great time. Sorry that I can't be of more help.
posted by mnfn at 1:35 PM on October 16, 2013