Itinerary Request for Feedback

Too many places for two weeks, IMHO. You will be spending so much time in the car or bus that you'll have very little time to see the places you're going to. An example: Eskişehir looks to be at least a 5 hour drive from Çanakkale, and Istanbul appears to be a good 4+ hours from Eskişehir. So you'll be driving 9+ hours to spend a day in Eskişehir. If you take a bus, their schedules may give you even less time. Eskişehir looks intriguing, but you may need to give something else up to enjoy it.

Another thought: unless there's something pressing to see in both places, stay in either Fethiye or Dalyan - not both. They're about an hour from each other, which is an easy day trip. You could even visit Dalyan on the way from Fethiye to Bodrum. If you stay 3 nights in Fethiye, you can add a night somewhere else (like Eskişehir).

I am unfamiliar with Ayvalık, so I cannot comment on whether it is worth staying there two nights.

Unless you really like moving around a lot, consider arranging your itinerary to allow 3 or more nights in a location. It's less hectic, and it allows you more time to experience an area. Once we started adding extra days to each location, we found we enjoyed our travels much more. That said, there's no right or wrong way to travel - it's personal preference - and it's perfectly fine if you prefer to move a lot.

I have not been to Turkey.
The only way I would do such a routing/schedule is with a rental car. Perhaps there is someone who can address public transit for this itinerary, but at first look I suspect trying to use buses will waste a lot of the day waiting, or scheduling everything around the bus schedule

Fethlye to Istanbul is ~1100* miles, so less than 100 per day (average). I do not view that as onerous or unduly rushed

My $0.02

Happy travels

• That is after you get to Fethlye from Kusadasi ( ~175 miles)

I appreciate your comments. We'll incorporate your thoughts as we perfect our plan!

May I suggest renting a car, heading south and then flying to Istanbul? There is a lot to see on a southern route, and you won't have as much of a language barrier.

I haven't been to Alicati or Cesme. My neighbors visited Ayvalik last year and weren't over the moon about it. (I stayed in Assos, across the bay from Ayvalik, once. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit.) Canakkale is interesting mainly for visiting Troy. If you don't have your heart set on Troy, I would skip Canukkale. I have not been to Eskisehir.

My route would be very roughly:

• Kudasi to Bodrum or Marmaris, with possible stops at Priene, Miletus, Didyma, or Herakleia en route.

• Bodrum or Marmaris for a few days. (I would probably pick Bodrum, although Marmaris is less of a detour.)

• Dalyan or Fethiye (or maybe Patara?) for a few days. Pick one. (Dalyan has a lot of English and American expats. Fethiye might have more to see/do.)

• Maybe an overnight stop in Kas? (especially if you stay in Dalyan instead of Fethiye)

• Leisurely day trip from Kas to Antalya, including stops at Demre/Myra, Phaselis, and more. There is a beautiful stretch of road that hugs the Mediterranean just south of Demre.

• Several days in Antalya with day trips to Perge, Termessos, and Sagalassos. Your one tour day in Antalya is not enough.

• Fly back to Istanbul from Antalya. You should be able to get a morning flight from Antalya to Istanbul with a same day connection to your flight back to the US.

(Full disclosure: I have a thing for ancient cities and ruins because they are so unlike anything in the US. Your preferences may be different.)

Edit: I think I just talked myself into yet another trip to Turkey. I want to do this itinerary now.

Thank you for your thoughts, Marie! This is so helpful. We've not considered some of these cities, but we will do some more research and amend our plans.