10 days in Turkey-itinerary?

you need min.3 days in cappadocia and if you can fly from istanbul to ankara then it saves time. the bus ride is long so if you take evening bus it saves a little bit time, just being exhausting. istanbul needs at least 4 days. you can either do some day trips around istanbul or take an evening bus to selcuk to see efes for a couple of days. you might be able to fit pamukkale in but will be a stretch.

I'd suggest spending 5-6 days in Istanbul. Use one of the discount airlines to fly to Cappadocia (fly from Istanbul to Nevsehir or Kayseri) to spend 3-4 days in Cappadocia. We used Rick Steves' Istanbul book to plan our time in Istanbul and Lonely Planet for other parts of Turkey. We like Hotel Sultan Hill in Istanbul and liked the town of Goreme in Cappadocia though we wouldn't recommend the hotel we stayed in! Enjoy your trip!

We have just returned from spending a month in Turkey. We spent a week in Istanbul at the Sultan Hill and four days in Goreme Cappadocia. Presuming you are flying in and out of Istanbul, you may want to do as we did, first 2 nights in Instanbul, 3 nights in Cappadocia and the remainder back in Istanbul. We found most flights home left Istanbul early in the morning, so if it is was your thought to fly from Kayseri to Istanbul to catch a connecting flight home it may not work for you.If you spend your last days in Istanbul then you won't have any worries. Sultanhill has a convenient shuttle to and from Ataturk Airport. In Goreme we stayed at the Sultanhill Suites Cave Hotel. They are part of the Kelebek group of hotels.It was excellent and they have a great restaurant. You will enjoy both places.

Visited Turkey in May and June of this year. 4 days in Istanbul, 14 day RS Turkey Tour, 5 nights back in Istanbul staying at Sultan Hill Hotel - if you stay there be sure to mention RS Istanbul Book when making reservations to save some $ and they did ask to see it when we checked in. I'd stay there any time I go back to Istanbul. RS Istanbul Guide book along with Lonely Planet Turkey Guide Book were VERY helpful. We took a mid-morning flight from Istanbul airport back to Paris for an overnight so we could catch a 10 AM non-stop flight back to Seattle. Be sure to visit the Spice Market and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. I wish I had brought back more Turkish Delight candy. Happy travels.

Keep in mind that you will be in Turkey in early winter. Istanbul is likely to be chilly and wet, but there are loads of indoor activities there in case of inclement weather. Cappadocia is likely to be flat out cold and potentially snowy. Unfortunately, Cappadocia has virtually all outdoorsy activities. Make sure you have good cold-and-snow hiking clothing and shoes, and be prepared for wintry conditions. (If it were me, I'd be inclined to skip Cappadocia in the winter, but that's because I'm a hiking wimp when it comes to snowy or icy hiking.) You might consider the Aegean coast to see Ephesus. It's likely to be a bit warmer than Istanbul and much more so that Cappadocia. Warmest of all would be the Mediterranean coast, though the weather is still likely to be coolish and possibly wet. I've been to Antalya twice in winter, and the high temperatures as I recall were in the fifties and low sixties on those occasions. Istanbul was more like the forties.

I hadn't considered the weather in Cappadocia. JER makes a good point - Ephesus (near Selcuk) is also a great place to visit. In that case, (and if you decide not to go to Cappadocia) I'd spend 2-3 days in Selcuk and the rest in Istanbul.

Dania, Five of us visited Turkey, Flew to Istanbul stayed 5 days in Istanbul at the Sari Konak Hotel (Marvelous hotel.) Then we flew to Izmer on Atlas Jets then rented a car previously arranged on the net anmd drove to the Bella Hotel in Selcuk where we stayed five days and visited Ephesus and surrounding sites and really enjoyed the freedom of having your own transportation. the Bella Hotel in Selcuk and the Sari Konak in Istanbul were both marvelous hotels and very reasonable. WE Hated to leave Bob in Florida

Thanks everyone! This is really helpful advice. I was wondering about the weather being an issue, especially in Cappadocia. If i don't have plans to hike in Cappadocia, but rather just sight see (ex. Gerome) should i still be as concerned about snowy weather? I was thinking it would be cold, but not expecting snowy.