Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to read this and offer suggestions.
1. Our family with kids will be taking the ferry from Rhodes to Marmaris in June. We would prefer the Rhodes-Bodrum ferry, but cannot find much information about this. Has anyone taken either ferry and can share any insight - prices, reliability etc.? Best site to book the ferry directly with the ferry lines? Once in Turkey, we will rent a car to see Bodrum-Epheseus-Pamakkule-Antalya and then fly to Cappadocia & Istanbul. Hence it makes more sense to ferry from Rhodes into Bodrum, instead of taking the ferry to Marmaris and then driving 3 hours from Marmaris to Bodrum. We do not plan on seeing Marmaris. Suggestions?
Would Selcuk be the best place to stay for 2-3 days while we see Bodrum & Epheseus? Are there any family-friendly type, clean budget places to stay with kids?
We do not want to stay in downtown Antalya with a car and also since we will be driving around archeological sites in Antalya vicinity(Pamakkule, Hierapolis, Olympos, Perge). Do we need to stay in Pamakulle, Hierapolis? Or, can these basically be done in a day if we leave early morning from Selcuk to Antalya and see these 2 sites on the way? We then plan to fly out from Antalya to Cappadocia. Any suggestions on where to look for budget, clean accommodations near the Antalya airport?
Any suggestions for places to stay in Goreme that families will enjoy. We plan to spend 3 days renting a car again in Goreme and hiking.
Our final stop will be Istanbul and I have narrowed down a few hotels near the Sultanahmet or Guhane metro stops from useful posts on this forum. Istanbul hotels seem pretty pricey. Any budget suggestions? We are not looking for anything fancy. Just the typical Rick Steves friendly, clean place? We have always used Rick Steves' budget hotel suggestions on our Western European travels and have befriended some of the best local people during our travels.
Any help is highly appreciated.