Hello all, we will be traveling to Turkey for our first visit this upcoming late September, early October. We will disembark our Blue Cruise in Fethiye in the early afternoon and then travel to Pamukkale, where we will spend the night.
The next day, we will visit Aphrodisias, Hierapolis, and Pamukkale, and then make our way to Selcuk to our hotel there. The following day, we will visit the sights in Ephesus and surrounds, and then fly out either that late afternoon, early evening (flight not booked yet), to Istanbul.
My husband, who does the driving on our trips and has driven a car in several other countries (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, and Italy so far), has some trepidations about driving in Turkey. I think it’s partially because it’s in a geographically new-to-us part of the world. Also, he simply wants the experience to be more relaxing on this trip and driving in a new place can be stressful at times, no matter where you’re at in the world. So, at first I thought hiring a private driver and guide might be the way to go, to avoid the stressors of having to drive/navigate ourselves. But then I worry about losing that intimacy of sharing incredible sights between just the two of us…there is definitely some magic in those moments. I don’t know if we will feel “peopled-out” after spending a few days on a cruise and then seeing all these wonderful sights with another person. I also don’t know if we will feel pressured to move at a certain pace with a guide versus moving exactly at our own pace. We’ve never had an experience of hiring a guide/driver for anything longer than a day’s excursions on our past trips.
The flip side is that I know a guide will bring so much knowledge and expertise to what we are seeing, know exactly where to navigate, and simply take the stresses out of transportation.
So, I’m looking for insight from those of you who have traveled these parts of Türkiye. Did you use a private guide? Or have you driven yourselves? What would you do if you were to do it again with the knowledge that you have of being there before? I appreciate any insight you can give me. Thank you!