Need Advice - Turkey Itineray late October

First, I loved Fethiye - I stayed there for 3 days and it was beautiful and relaxing. I took a gulag out one day and had a wonderful time. As far as reservations, you should be fine in October. When I went to Turkey several years ago (in early May), I pretty much winged it most of the time with regards to hotels, and never had any problem finding one. The only place I booked ahead was in Istanbul, since I was there for a week. Every place else, I called when I got there and had no problem finding rooms. Also, I used buses (including a few overnight buses) the entire 2 1/2 weeks I was there and had no problems. Personally, I wouldn't mess with a car but that's just me. You're welcome to look at my blog from when I was there - http://mardeeinturkey.wordpress.com

pamukkale is worth a visit, i think you can skip izmir. you don't need any hotel reservation, and driving may not be good - roads are in relatively poor condition and esp hard to drive in town, so bus is probably better.

You are by far better off to arrange to get a car from a travel agency in Turkey. Rates for the international car rental firms are much, much higher than you can get from a local Turkish company, and they will likely not have a dr*poff fee. The cars may be a bit older, but still entirely reliable. We once lost a hubcap driving on a dirt road (taking an ill-advised shortcut), and when we returned the car and pointed out the problem, the rental staff just shrugged and said, "It's only a hubcap. No problem." Imagine that with Avis or Hertz!

I would make the arrangements at one of the big travel agencies along the Divan Yolu in Istanbul - they have relationships all over Turkey with local rental offices. I would fly to Cappadocia from Istanbul. You could rent a car in Cappadocia, drive to Antalya (stopping in Konya on the way to see the unforgettable mausoleum of the founder of the Whirling Dervish sect), then proceed along the Mediterranean coastline from Antalya to Fethiye. I guarantee you'll be stopping along the road frequently to photgraph the stunning mountains and turquoise waters! (If you want to visit the best sandy beach along that stretch, it's at Patara.) From Fethiye, you can head inland to Pamukkale for a brief overnight visit, then straight west to Selcuk for a visit to Ephesus. (An hour or two stop at Afrodisias for the less-visited ruins there is a good choice along that route.) From Selcuk, it's a brief drive to Izmir to drpoff the car at the airport - not much of tourist interest in Izmir, so a mere drp is fine - and a quick discount airline flight to Istanbul and you're done.

JER

Thanks for your insight. Would you recommend buying a Turkish road map in the US prior to going? or do you get a better, more detailed map in Turkey? Do you think we have enough time to drive and "do" Cappodocia>>Konya>>Patara/Kas/Fethiye>>Selcuk/Ephasus in 3 full days (+ alittle more depending upon when we leave)? We would fly from Izmir to Istanbul on the 4th day.

THANKS. Just bought our IST to Kayseri flight 10 minutes ago.

JULIE

Three days (or even a bit more) isn't going to work for the Cappadocia to the Mediterranean to Ephesus loop if you drive all the way. Technically you could do it, but you'll be driving most of the time. Here's another option: drive from Cappadocia to Antalya. Enroute you will go through Konya, so work in an hour long visit to the Mevlana dervish mausoleum. Make Antalya your overnight base and drive along the coast the next day. Stay at a pansiyon in the Kaleici walled city section of Antalya; La Paloma Pansiyon is a good one, but there are others. Then drive west along the coast the next day.Probably you shouldn't go as far west as Fethiye, but to Kas and back is quite doable and you will get a real taste of the Mediterranean coast. Then drop your car off at the Antalya airport and fly on a discount airline to Izmir. Spend the night at a small hotel in Selcuk (Hotel Bella is particularly good and very inexpensive). The hotel will arrange to pick you up at the airport and also will ferry you over to Ephesus. Then you'll fly again from Izmir back to Istanbul. Tight on time, yes, but it is doable and you'll see a good bit of why Turkey is such a beloved tourist destination. You can see which budget airlines fly between Antalya and Izmir on www.whichbudget.com.

I forgot to answer your first question! Definitely get a map here first. Roads are good and well signposted along the routes you will be taking, and you could probably get along without one, but it'll help you in planning and it's a good souvenir of your journey. With limited time in Turkey, you don't want to be spending time looking for a bookstore that has a road map. Here are a few suggestions for places along the Mediterranean coastal road: I mentioned Patara, which has the nicest, sandiest beach. Phaselis is also stunning - it's three little coves all connected, with amazing Roman ruins including part of an aqueduct right on the beach. Myra features ancient Lycian tombs cut right into the cliffs above. Demre is the birthplace of St Nicholas and contains the ruins of his church as well as a giant kitschy statue of Santa Claus as you come into the town. Cirali and Olympos have ruins along pebble beaches, and Cirali is famous for its protected sea turtle nesting grounds. Both Kas and Kalkan used to be charming fishing villages and are now still-charming tourist villages. The real star of the Mediterranean drive is the breathtaking contrasts between the mountains and the sea. Luckily there are lots of turnoffs along the road to stop and take pictures.

Awesome! Thanks for your advice. Will get a map here and be [INVALID]ive about where we drive. Your tips on which towns really helps us out! We may take an overnight bus from Cappadocia to Antalya and get a car there as another alternative. We would then have the 3 days to drive from Anatyla to Ephesus/Izmir..... ? If you know of a specific car company/agency in Istanbul to connect with for the rental car, please advise.

We'll do a trip report when we return. We leave Thursday! Jeff and Julie

Maybe you'll check your email one more time before you leave?? How exciting! We (husband, wife, 7 year old daughter) were in Turkey for 2 weeks last March. We flew from Istanbul to Dalaman, picked up a rental car (that I arranged here over the internet) and drove for three days to Antalya. Then took an overnight bus from Antalya to Goreme and spent 4 nights in Cappodocia.

1) You'll have no problems driving. Just stick to daylight hours. All is well posted and not much traffic. We were worried about this, but compared to Italy (we're we've driven many times), Turkey was a breeze. The coast road is really, really curvy. You'll want to plan for stopping to take short breaks (and drink freshly squeezed juice!).

2) I like the idea of the overnight bus from Capp. to Antalya for you. It's easy and convenient enough.

3) Our two favorite towns were Kas and Antalya. Also loved the ruins and beach of Patera. I'd recommend that you leave yourself some time to explore these two towns.

Have fun - I'm jealous! I can't wait to return to Turkey someday soon.

Darlene,
When you rented the car from Dalaman to Antalya, did you have to pay dropoff charges? How many days did you have the car? May I ask what it cost you to rent the car. As you can probably tell, my husband and i are planning a trip to Turkey/Greece next may and are planning to rent a car if we can figure out the logistics. As of now we are considering renting the car in Izmir and returning it in Bodrum (after driving to kas and back. Thanks for any info. Dorothy

Hi Darlene

Thanks for the info. That really helps! How much did your car cost per day? Online the best I see is $72/day. Based upon the earlier post from JER, I was going to try to find something in Istanbul once we arrive.

I'll take your advice on the places to visit along the coast - great. Happy to be leaving tomorrow.

JULIE