Ok - this is the third try at our plans. Plane reservations made for middle of September and thanks to all your suggestions, we've changed things. Hotel reservations also made but those can be change so we would like any other suggestions on the itinerary and help with two other questions: 1. How far in advance should we make plane reservations from Istanbul to Kayseri and from Izmir to Istanbul. 2. How far in advance should we make car reservations. This will be with a Turkish rental company and we usually use Budget so we're a little unsure of trustworthiness. 3. Itinerary. Arrive in Istanbul late afternoon. Istanbul, 7 nights Fly to Kayseri, pick up rental car. Goreme, 4 nights Konya, 1 night Antalya, 2 nights Cirali, 2 nights Patara, 1 night Pamukkale, 1 night Selcuk, 3 nights Return rental car at Izmir airport, fly to Istanbul late afternoon and stay near airport. Istanbul, 1 night This will give us six days for Istanbul and three days for Cappadocia. Konya is mostly to break up the driving. We hope to visit Side, Termessos, and Aspendos from Antalya, Olympos from Cirali. Of course Ephessus from Selcuk. It seems a good variety and not too rushed. Any help on the first two questions and comments on the third would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Posted by
Dunwoody, Georgia
338 posts
1). If you're flying Turkish Air, make the reservations as soon as your travel dates/times are set. That airline sells seats in the order of cheapest to most expensive. The earlier you book, the less you will pay. The cheapest fares are often less than half of the most expensive ones. I'm not as certain with other airlines. 2). A month or two in advance is plenty early for renting a car. I've never had a problem renting from local firms in Turkey. Someone who has been in Izmir in September may be able to provide more insight on availability at that time of year, especially if they've rented from the company you plan to use. 3). Your trip looks fun. You should have plenty of time to see all of the major sites and many smaller ones.
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
Rob gave you good advice on the first two questions. My only comment on your itinerary is that you have several one-night stays. If you needed an extra night somewhere, you could consider taking one night from Selcuk and adding it somewhere else. We had a similar itinerary but did not rent a car and did not visit Patara, Pamukkale, or Antalya. Four nights in Goreme is perfect, 2 nights in Cirali is good as Olympos is a short walk from Cirali. Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
Martinez, CA, USA
1506 posts
Thanks for your replies. Will make our domestic plane reservations asap. We found three car rental companies with reasonable rates so we can wait a while for those reservations.
Regarding the one night stays - we're staying in Konya because the drive is too long from Goreme to Antalya. We originally had two nights in Patara but as it is only a couple of hours driving from Cirali we took one night from there and added it to Goreme. It's always hard to decide how long to spend in each place and we've been going back and forth for months. As with most of us here, since we go with an open mind we always seem to have a great time. Right now we're looking forward to great historical sights, great scenery, great people, and great food! Thanks again for your replies to both this post and the previous posts on Turkey.