My fiance and I are planning to go to Turkey for two weeks (June 17 - July 2) for our honeymoon. We definitely want to spend time in Cappadocia and Istanbul. The remaining few days of our trip are up in the air. My fiance really wants to visit Troy (yes, we realize it's not a spectacular archaeological site in comparison to others, but the Iliad was the first work he translated in ancient Greek, so it's a pilgrimage of sorts for him), which means we will probably be in Canakkale one night. We're looking for suggestions for someplace to spend 2-3 nights before concluding our vacation in Istanbul. We were thinking Bozcaada but weren't sure how busy it would be at that time of year. In general, we're looking for something relaxing, possibly beachy, or possibly an archaeological site, and not too touristy. Also somewhere in close proximity to Canakkale so we can avoid another long bus ride. Any thoughts on Bozcaada in June would be appreciated, as are additional comments/critiques of the tentative itinerary. Thanks so much! Sun. June 17: Chicago -- Zurich Mon. June 18: Zurich -- Istanbul -- Cappadocia (flight, arrive evening) Tues. June 19: Cappadocia Wed. June 20: Cappadocia Thurs. June 21: Cappadocia Fri. June 22: Cappadocia -- Istanbul (night bus) Sat. June 23: Istanbul -- Canakkale (see Troy, stay overnight in Canakkale) Sun. June 24: Canakkale -- ?? (Bozcaada???) Mon. June 25: ?? Tues. June 26: ?? Wed. June 27: ?? -- Istanbul Thurs. June 28: Istanbul Fri. June 29: Istanbul Sat. June 30: Istanbul Sun. July 1: Istanbul
Mon. July 2: Istanbul -- Chicago
Posted by
Corsicana, Texas, USA
354 posts
Whatever itinerary you choose, remember that there are inexpensive flights from Cappadocia to Izmir (takes about 1 hr, costs as low as $40), in case you decide to use Izmir as a base for your beach and archeological sites. Also, depending on your interests, you might be able to complete your Cappadocian itinerary in three days instead of four, spending that extra day somewhere else in Turkey.
Posted by
Dunwoody, Georgia
338 posts
I'll second the suggestion to look into flights instead of buses, especially from Cappadocia. You will save a tremendous amount of time and avoid an unnecessary stop in Istanbul. Here is one idea - fly as you have planned to Cappadocia (Kayseri?), skip Istanbul and fly straight to Canakkale, rent a car and with your extra days drive down the coast towards Izmir. Fly back to Istanbul from Izmir. Turkish Air has a nice website and will give you a good idea of what flights will cost verses buses. If you decide to sightsee between Canakkale and Izmir be sure to stop in Bergama. It has some really nice Roman ruins. There are also some nice WW-I/Gallipoli sites in the area if you have an interest in military history. The Lonely Planet guidebook has a good overview of northwest Turkey and might help you figure out other places that you'd like. If you want to go a bit further south, Selcuk (Esphesus) is a top site about a half day to the south of Izmir. One additional suggestion - rent a car in Cappadocia. There are lots of interesting sites fairly close to each other. With a car you'll have the opportunity to visit spectaular smaller sites and will likely have them to yourself (e.g. the Church of St. John in Gulsehir and the Eski Gumusler monastery near Nigde). Good luck!
Posted by
Dunwoody, Georgia
338 posts
I just thought of a second idea. If you do decide to take the bus from Cappadocia to Canakkale via Istanbul, you could break up the long leg of the trip with a day or two in Ankara. There is plenty to see there.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
West coast of Turkey is very romantic. Think warm, beaches, beautiful coastline. Reduce nights in Cappadocia to 2 nights, 4 nights in Istanbul nothing in Ankara. Fly to Izmir from Cappad. to save time. Take a day tour of Ephesus or bus it from Kusadasi and cruise the coast for half day.
These are my recoms having just been there in March 2012.
Posted by
Madison, WI, US
85 posts
Hi Laura - I just got back from Turkey (4/23). I traveled non-stop from O'Hare to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines...you might check that out. I really enjoyed Ephesus....stayed in Selcuk which is a fantastic city of about 25,000. Stayed at the Boomerang Guesthouse which was 6 rooms or so. I would recommend that as a place to stay. Selcuk is just 2-3 miles from Ephesus. Then we stayed in Sigacik which was a nice little Aegean Sea town maybe 1 hour from Selcuk and 1 hour from Izmir where flew back to Istanbul on Pegasus Airline. I really enjoyed these 2 towns....and they're on the way to Troy. Went to a Turkish Bath in Selcuk which was about $60 cheaper than Istanbul. In Sigacik I got a shampoo, haircut and shave for $15. The straight edge shave was followed a procedure to remove remaining stubble and ear hairs with a cotton ball set on fire...do a search on yahoo..turkey shave fire...for a sample video. Have your husband get it a try.