6 weeks in Turkey: Archeological Sites, Istanbul, Beach Resorts???

The easiest (and cheapest) way to travel long distances in Turkey is to fly. Fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia and back to Istanbul. Then fly to Antalya or Izmir (depending on whether you decide to travel south to north or vice versa). Then make your way along the coast by rental car or bus, stopping along the way. Buses are cheap and easy. Rental cars are more expensive but give you more options.

You could visit Rhodes in the middle of your trip (ferries from Fethiye & Marmaris).

I’d add Pergamon (Bergama) to your list of archeological sites to visit. We loved Patara as well … little known, no crowds. I’m not familiar with the eastern sites you’ve mentioned.

I’m currently in Istanbul wrapping up a five-week trip that included four weeks in Turkey and one week in Greece on the islands of Kos and Rhodes. A lot of travelers are surprised to learn that Turkey is larger than the state of Texas— something to keep in mind before deciding how you’ll get around while visiting.
We found there is no one way to get around Turkey as
a mix of flights, buses taxis and renting a car for nine days seemed to be optimal for our itinerary. If going to commonly visited destinations - buses work well. Long distance buses are comfortable, inexpensive and you even get served snacks and beverages. Forget Greyhound- the Turkish long-distance buses are a pleasure if you can handle a ride of several hours. My tolerance level is about 4 hours, so that was the upper limit for bus rides. Anything greater than that called for a flight. Flights are usually under $75 each if booked in advance. We flew from Antalya to Kayserei to get to Cappadocia. The flight was $29 as I booked it back in February. The nonstop flight was great because almost all flights in Turkey get routed through Istanbul, and this flight took 1 hour instead of the 4-5 hours it would have taken on a connecting flight through Istanbul.
We started by flying from Istanbul to Izmir and spent time visiting a friend in the coastal town of Ayvalik, a coastal town not yet discovered by international travelers. Bergama was a daytrip to see the ruins of Pergamon.
Busing to Selcuk ( really great town) was the base for visiting Ephesus. We took the punctual, clean and new train for 3.5 hours from Selcuk to Denizli to reach. Pamukkale. Train fare was an unbelievable $2.50. A Dolmus, or group minibus connected to the town of Pamukkale from the Denizli bus station in 30 minutes.
After Pamukkale with its calcium carbonate terraces and ancient city of Hieropolis, the next stop was Bodrum to catch the ferry for Kos. Bodrum today is a high-end resort atypical of any other Turkish coastal town. My Turkish friends say Turks have surrendered the town to high-end international travelers.
I highly recommend Rhodes, which was the next stop after Kos and reached by a 3.5 hour ferry.
Following Rhodes, another ferry took us to Fethiye from where we traveled to Dalaman and had a rental car reserved for the next 9 days. After overnighting in Dalyan with its Rock tombs from the Lycian civilization,
we toured the nearby ancient ruins of Kaunos. Then it was off to the beach town of Kalkan which was the base for seeing the ancient sites at Xanthos and Patara. Patara has a beautiful beach reserved for sea turtles to lay their eggs in the warm sands. Beachgoers are welcome during the daytime.
This area of Turkey’s Turquoise Coast is best toured by car as public transit is spotty, making it tough to get around. From Kalkan, a couple hours south is Cirali and the incredible Olympos National Park with its beachside ancient city.
From Cirali it was on to beautiful seaside Antalya
with its Old town of Kaleici. Antalya’s remarkable archaeological museum has, the statuary of Perge, the ancient city near Antalya’s airport, and artifacts from many of the Lycian cities we saw along the coast.
From Antalya, the car was traded in for a flight to
Kayserei so we could taxi to Goreme in Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is a place to see to be believed, with its out-of-this-world geological features, underground cities, and ancient churches going back to 500 AD. Hiking through the valleys of Zelve and Goreme was a highlight. After five days, a flight to Istanbul was in the cards in lieu of going overland for nine hours.
And that completes the circle of this itinerary.

There are an infinite number of itineraries you can come up as you travel throughout Turkey. There’s no one way to do Turkey, and no single mode of transport
covers it’s vast distances optimally.

You might want to reach out to SRM travel, who are Rick Steve's partner in Turkey. They wrote Rick's book, run his tours, and Lale was on his episode in Turkey. Often cited on this forum as a source for great guides, they also work with individuals organizing whole trips.

https://www.srmtravel.com/aboutus.html

Based on our trip in 2012:Another shoutout for buses in Turkey. I've forgotten the name of the local airline we flew(it wasn't James' beloved Turkish) but it was as good as what we're used to and at a much lower price.

Just a couple of random notes:

I have gone swimming in the Mediterranean close to Fetihye, just a bit south of Bodrum, in mid-October, and I found the water very comfortable. Occasionally, you will cross a chilly current briefly, but then it's right back to a comfortable temperature.

A guide really made Troy come alive for us. The ruins are not in good condition, and my recollection is that there is not a lot of signage. Had we not had a guide to explain what we were looking at, I probably would have seen it as just a big pile of rubble.

As previously mentioned, Pergamon is definitely worth a visit.

There are ancient sites all over Turkey. I particularly enjoyed Termessos, an unexcavated site in the Taurus mountains, about an hour's drive from Antalya. It's not a must-see, but the hike is delightful and the view from the theater at the top is spectacular. I also hear great things about Sagalassos, but I haven't been there yet.

I would do the archaeological sites first and then relax at the beach, but that's just me. You could go either way. Of course, most of the beaches have archaeological sites not far away.

TravelMom,

It was fun to see your post and the replies, since my husband and I (also in our 60's) are planning our 7 weeks in Turkey with 2 weeks in the Greek islands mid-trip - for a total of a 9 week trip. I wish I could cut and paste it in a message, but that doesn't seem to format.

We also like to take our time and not jump from one place to another. Having time to relax and not be so hurried, as well as just get a better feel for a place is so nice.

Fly into Istanbul and spend 1 night
Fly to EDO (Balikesir Koca Seyit Airport) and bus to Bergama, 4 nights
Bus to Selcuk, 5 nights
Ferry from Kuşadası, Turkey to Samos, Greece, 2 nights
Ferry to Kos, 5 nights
Ferry to Symi, 2 nights
Ferry to Rhodes, 5 nights
Ferry back to Turkey at Marmaris, bus to Dalyan, 6 nights
Bus to Fethiye, 6 nights
Bus to Kas, 6 nights
Bus to Antalya, 6 nights
Fly from Antalya to Goreme (Cappadocia), 5 nights
Fly from Goreme to Istanbul, 10 nights

I'd love to hear about what you decided for your itinerary!

Thanks,
Tracy

TravelMom,

Also, forgot to include that we are going Sept 8 - Nov 12.

Take care,
Tracy

Hopefully, TrueSeattle left today for Turkey is planned. I hope we'll hear how the trip goes!

Hi,
I am Kemal.I am Turkish and licensed tour guide in English living in İstanbul.I will try to answer your questions.
If you want sun and beach you must start your holiday from Bodrum,Fethiye or Marmaris.At the end of September the weather is usually hot during the day but in the evening and at night it may be cool in those destinations.Also keep in mind that those destinations are famous with the wind in that period of the year.
You can also visit Datca and Knidos ancient city in Datca.Knidos is the ancient city where Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea unites.You can see the point where they get united in Knidos.You must also see Iztuzu Beach which is 64 km away from Fethiye.Iztuzu Beach is an important breeding area for caretta carettas so you can see caretta caretta's eggs on the beach.After those destinations you can go to Southern part of Turkey like Antalya,Alanya,Kaş.Summer lasts longer in those places.There are lots of ancient cities that you can visit in Antalya but the one that i highly recommend you is Phaselis.It is an ancient city where you can see the ruins and swim at the same time.After those you can go to Gobeklitepe than Kapadokya.Hattusa is in the northern part of Turkey.It is in Çorum.Kapadokya and Çorum maybe colder in that period of the year.My personel recommendation for you is visiting İstanbul at the end of the tour.Before your visit to Istanbul you can go to Troy.But it is your choice.
If you want to ask something don't hesitate to message me directly.
This is the website for Rhodes tickets
https://www.marmarisferry.com/