We are planning a trip to Turkey this summer with our two kids, age 7 and 10. We aren't your typical family travellers, and don't look for tourist resorts or water parks. What we usually do is travel around for a couple of weeks stopping at 4- 6 places, usually a mixture of beach and towns, with a mixture of accommodation. We usually stay in fairly high end hotels, and then balance it out with some air b&b's and usually a bit of time in a villa with a pool. As an example previous trips we've loved have included south Spain stopping at Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Tarifa and Cadiz; and a trip to Crete, Santorini and Athens, stopping at Phalasarna, Chania, Heraklion, Rethimno, and Elounda. We really like mooching around historic but vibrant old towns like Corfu Town or Rethimno with nice cafes and some shops, but we also love swimming in clear blue sea and beautiful beaches, especially ones that lean towards being a bit quieter and more remote. My son is into Greek history, and we might visit one or two sites, but generally we don't do tons of tourist attractions.
As I've started researching our trip I've realised how vast Turkey is and I feel a little overwhelmed choosing somewhere to go. We've got two weeks and will hire a car. We travel fairly light, and I don't mind doing an internal flight but don't want to waste too much time hanging around in departure lounges. So, can anyone recommend an itinerary that might work for us with a good mixture of places that would suit? Would need to be able to fly in and out from the UK via gatwick. It'd be even better if we could fly into one airport and out of another to avoid backtracking. My initial thoughts are that either Izmir or Bodrum to Antalya might work(?) but very open to other suggestions. Thanks