our preliminary plans in may are fly to Izmir, day1 Ephesis, day 2 Aphrodisias and Heirpolus, day 3 & 4 Anatalya and beaches, day 6 Fethlye area, day 7 & 8 Dalyan, Day 9 and 10 Bodrum, day 11 Priene, day 12 fly from Izmir to Istanbul, days 13,14,15,16 Istanbul, day 17 return flight .
appreciate any advice or experiences by others
Posted by
Dunwoody, Georgia
338 posts
I think your basic route looks like a lot of fun. I do have some big picture advice, assuming that you are traveling by car. I suggest you pick up a copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook to help with ideas to round out your days. It contains at least a few sentences on just about every site you might possibly be interested in or town you might want to go to. You have a lot of sites/locations listed that will not take a full day to see even with travel factored in. For example, Ephesus takes about 1/2 day for a detailed visit. While you're in the Selcuk area you could use your other half day to visit some combination of Sirince village, ruins of the temple of Artemis, Basillica of St. John, Mary House, Ephesus museum, the historic mosque and fortress, and the grotto of the seven sleepers depending on your interests. You might also find other locations that catch your eye between destinations. There are several ruined cities besides Priene between Bodrum and Izmir (Miletus and Didyma come to mind). Priene will take about two hours for a detailed visit. You might want to identify some other options along the route depending on how your day is going.
Have a good trip!
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2125 posts
I have not been to Antalya but if you're looking for beaches, there is a gorgeous 11-mile long sandy beach at Patara (between Antalya and Fethiye). There are some ruins between the town and the beach. Our favorite place to stay in Turkey during our 3-week trip last fall was Akay Pension in Patara. Very inexpensive. Very basic rooms, but absolutely clean. The owner is one of the most kind, helpful people we have met. But the best part is the food. They cook one dinner each night; in the morning, they tell you what's on the menu and you can decide to eat there or not. Every night was fabulous. We were there five nights (used it as a base to visit Kas/Kastellorizo and Saklikent Gorge and the sunken city of Kekova) and hated to leave. I might suggest spending 3 days there, combining your time allotted to Antalya & Fethiye.
We did enjoy Dalyan, especially the river cruise (don't miss the mud bath). We stayed at Kilim Hotel, right across the river from the biggest Lycian tombs, with a private dock where you could sit and watch the river traffic. Enjoyed the sea turtle hospital at Iztuzu Beach. Did not visit Bodrum (stayed in Datca instead).
Have fun!