Turkey late October

Hello, Love! I could spend a lot of time in Istanbul, I think 5 out of 10 days would be enough. Kusadasi is a cruise-port town (I'm not much of a beach person) but it is near Ephesus, which has one of the most extensive ancient ruins complexes in the world, very much worth a visit of a couple of days (I stay in Selcuk, 1 kilometer away from the ruins, much closer than Kusadasi). There's also Bergama, the site of ancient Pergamum, which was a healing and medical center over 2000 years ago. Both Ephesus and Pergamum are relatively close to Istanbul, but I would do overnights rather than day trips if you decide to include one or both. Buying English-language guidebooks in Europe, unless you go to a major bookstore, can be hit-or-miss, often you won't find the latest edition. If you have time to get the book before you go, you can just photocopy (or tear out) the pages you know you'll need once you get there.

I agree with Zoe. My husband and I were in Turkey last September and we spent 5 days in Istanbul and we found that to be just the right amount of time- we saw the old Town with Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Galata Bridge, the Chora Church (highly recommend, the most amazing mosaics I've ever seen), the Topkapi Palace, and, of course, shopping. The other 6 days we spent in Cappadocia (suggest you stay in Goreme) - it's like the Turkish version of The Grand Canyon, cool rock formations. We took a hotair balloon ride (pricey, but it was worth it). I think we were there for 3, maybe four days. Stayed in a cave hotel (very cool). The last 2 days we spent in Ephesus (Selcuk). Agree that you should stay in Selcuk if you want to see Ephesus. (It is pretty amazing, but if you by chance have seen Pompei, I would skip it and go to the beach) We were really exhausted by the end of the trip (we flew within Turkey, cheaper and quicker). Hope you enjoy Turkey, we found it absolutely fascinating

I keep forgetting my screen name on here and keep wondering why everyone responds to me with "Hello Love"!! Lol! Anyways thank you both for your suggestions. Both of those places sound amazing! Def right up my alley. So flying is better than train/bus I take it? Thank you!

flying within Turkey is cheap - Try Pegasus airlines and I think the other one was named Sun. They fly into Kayseri and you can get transport to Goreme. If you do go to Goreme, suggest you also see a caravanseri aka camel stop along the Silk Road. I really enjoyed Goreme - it's not to be missed, and DEFINITELY stay in a cave hotel (there are dozens of them. the rooms are carved out of the Rock formations). Interestingly there are also some old Roman ruins in Goreme. Enjoy your trip. PS if you fly remember to plan your time wisely. In our experience, there are TWO security stops at Kayseri airport - one to actually get into the airport, and one to get to the gate.

Every Turkish airport has the two security steps that Brenda described. To find flights within Turkey, you can use http://bulucak.com/Default.aspx. It's like Kayak, but for all Turkish airlines. It used to be switchable to English, but that button seems to be disabled. However, it isn't hard to use even in Turkish (you just need to pick originating city and destination city from the list, then your date of travel). Just like Kayak, it then takes you to the airline's own website to book. Flights within Turkey are cheap, as long as you book in advance, and they aren't too expensive even at the last minute. For Cappadocia, you can also use Nevsehir airport. It's closer than Kayseri, but also gets fewer flights. For lots more info about Turkey, I found the Turkey Travel Planner website very helpful.

I usually take buses in Turkey - different companies have slightly different levels of comfort, and you get what you pay for. Plus a bonus of lemon cologne to refresh your face and hands, sometimes hot tea and perhaps a cookie! My fondest bus memory is crossing the river Meander several times (it really does meander). Smoking may be permitted on the bus, but the ticket agent will usually put tourists up front near the driver (fresh air and better views).

I'll echo many of the suggestions here. Maybe spend half of your time in Istanbul and use the other half to visit Cappadocia or the western coast north and south of Izmir. Perhaps look at the Lonely Planet guidebook to decide what interests you most. It covers (albiet thinly) just about everything worth seeing. I suggest flying rather than driving/busing to the west coast or Cappadocia to save time. I like Turkish Air, but there are plenty of regional carriers. If it's in your budget I also suggest renting a car. There are a number of minor, but very interesting sites that are not covered by buses. A car will give you much more flexability. Have fun!