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Feedback on my three week itinerary

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Hello All:

I wanted to get your feedback on my three-week itinerary this May/June. We will be renting a car when we get to Cappadocia.

Also happy to take hotel reccs - I like boutiques with character rather than chains.

In particular, I want to know whether to bother fitting in Pammukale/Hierapolis or not and, if so, when in this itinerary (I plugged that in after Sirence but that may not make sense).

THANKS so much.

May 25 arrive in Istanbul
May 25, 26, 27, 28, explore Istanbul (I know we could go straight to Goreme but wanted to start with Istanbul) (Staying in Sultanahmet). Include Bosphorus cruise, street food tour (if I can find one that accommodates pescatarians), Asian side (Staying in Hotel Empress Zoe)
May 29th fly to Cappadocia and pick up a car
May 29th, 30, 31, June 1st - explore Goreme/Cappadocia (balloon ride for Roger, Red, and Green tours – can we self-drive or do we need a tour guide?) (29th is a partial day as we have to fly and rent the car) (Plan to stay in Goreme in cave hotel - still picking)
June 2nd - drive to Konya - stay overnight – possible side trip to Cataholuk
June 3rd - Drive to Antalya
June 3rd, 4th - Stay in Antalya – go see waterfalls
June 5th Drive to Kas -
June 5th/6th - Stay in Kas - take a boat trip to Kekova
June 7th Drive to Fethiye Stop in Salikent Gorge on way there - stay over. IF time, drive to Odeniz and take boat to Hidden Butterfly valley
June 8th Drive to Akyaka/gokova and stay there
June 9th drive to Lake Bofa and stay over (NOTE: this was a recommendation from a friend who lived in Turkey and I love the idea of going to a place that is not as touristy as others).

June 10th drive to Sirince
June 10th and 11th stay in Sirince and visit Ephesus
June 12th – Aphrodisias/Hierapolis/Pammukale - stay over in Pammukale OR drive to Pergamon and continue up to Cannakale? OR should I add a day to one of the other sites?

June 13th drive back to Istanbul
June 13th/14th stay in Istanbul (Maybe Kadakoy?) - see whatever we missed last time
June 15th Leave for US in the am

Posted by
699 posts

Ooh! I am jealous. Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned.

Most of my input is for the Antalya area because I have spent a lot of time there.

  • There are two waterfalls in Antalya, Upper and Lower Duden Falls. The upper falls are not very high, but they are in a lovely park, and you can walk behind the falls. The upper falls are very pretty and are visited mostly by locals. The lower falls are best seen from a boat departs from the marina. The lower falls are taller, but you don't get very close. Both falls are nice, but neither would be my choice if I had only one day in Antalya. If I had just one day in Antalya, I would go for some of the ancient sites. Perge is huge and is on the outskirts of town. My favorite, though, is Termessos, the unexcavated ruins of a Pisidian city high in the mountains about half an hour outside of Antalya. The best way to get there if you don't have a rental car is to hire a taxi from Kaleici. I have hiked Termessos twice, and would do it again without hesitation. Termessos is definitely non-touristy. Don't expect to see more than a dozen or so other people while you are there.

  • Another favorite ancient site is Sagalassos, an hour or two from Antalya. You will need a rental car to get there. Once again, an amazing place with very few tourists. It is high on my list of places I would like to visit again.

  • The drive to Kas is gorgeous. Phaeselis would make a nice, brief detour en route from Antalya to Kas. The ruins of the town are nestled between two small bays, and it's quite beautiful. It was cold on the day I visited (in April), and there were no tourists. I understand that it is more crowded in the warmer months.

  • I loved Aphrodisias, but was underwhelmed by Pamukkale/Hierapolis. Pamukkale is over-touristed in the extreme, and all of the pools, except for a handful of artificially fed ones, were bone dry when I was there. Although I did enjoy hiking (barefoot) up the travertines from the village to the top of the hill, and I am glad that I visited Pamukkale, I am not sure that I would do it again. Laodicea, not far from Pamukkale, is impressive and worth a stop.

  • Pergamon is incredible. I would be happy to go there again.

  • You mention Canukkale, and I assume you are thinking about visiting Troy. You really need a human guide to help make sense of Troy. Otherwise, it looks pretty much like a pile of rubble. Still, it's Troy. No place is more legendary. I have heard that they have added an interpretive center since I was there in 2015, and so it may be easier to make sense of it on your own now.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you so much for your feedback. That's a lot to see just in the Antalya area. I don't think I have enough time. Do you agree? If so, should I cut something out? And if so, what?

Posted by
2342 posts

Looks like you will cover a lot of ground. Are you planning to do anything in Konya besides sleep? It's a good 3 hour drive from Goreme to there so you won't have much time unless you get an early start that day. You might consider flipping the June 12 and June 10 stops as that is a bit of backtracking (I think - that lake name is not showing up in Google maps). I'd suggest dropping the car in Izmir and taking a cheap one way flight to Istanbul from there. Otherwise you have a very very long day driving back into a busy city that I wouldn't drive in even if someone paid me. Have a wonderful time.

Posted by
699 posts

It looks like you have two full days in Antalya. My picks in the Antalya area would be (in no particular order):

  • Perge (1/2 day)
  • Kaleici and the Archaeological Museum (1/2 day or more)
  • Termessos (1/2 day)
  • Sagalassos (full day including travel time)

(Obviously, I have a thing for ancient ruins.)

If you want to see the waterfalls,

  • Lower Duden Falls (a couple of hours max from Kaleici)
  • Upper Duden Falls (an couple of hours if you have a car, a bit longer if you are relying on public transit)

You could easily fit Perge and the archaeological museum into one day, and Termessos and Kaleici (Old Town) into another day. If you want to do Sagalassos, you would need to cut one of the other items.

Maybe it's best to share my trip report and photos:

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