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some questions about last minute turkey trip i'm planning

Posted by on

Hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help,

this is my first time in Turkey and I think overall from research it seems like a pretty much a generic first time in Turkey trip. I don’t plan on renting a car and am solo. I wrote my itinerary below and here are some questions

  1. is it worth going to fethiye and/or kas in October? I’m not interested in beaches but am interested in saklikent gorge and tombs carved into cliffs. How much time does that require? From a transportation standpoint, I think fethiye is better for those locations. Is Kas “worth” a day trip? Right now, I’m thinking no Kas and one day in Fethiye but can add a day and be in Istanbul 4 days (one of those possibly a day trip to Gallipoli) instead of five.

  2. how much time (if any) is worth spending in konya? I pretty much have a full day scheduled there in between goreme and antalya.

  3. is pergamon “worth” a full day? I know it depends on opinion, etc, but I think some ruins are more worth it than others. I also see 2 day tours from Istanbul to Selcuk (or vice versa) that include pergamon/Troy/Gallipoli. They are expensive but I may never be in this area again as there are so many places in the world.

  4. my plan involves late night and night buses to maximize time. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea (really talking from the safety standpoint)

Day 1 - Land in antalya at 12 – explore kaleici

Day 2 - Antalya – day trip to side

Day 3 - Antalya – perge and aspendos tour - late night bus to goreme

Day 4 - Goreme – red tour

Day 5 - Goreme – green tour

Day 6 - Goreme – open air museum and hikes - late bus to konya 8:10 PM to 11:40 PM bus

Day 7 - Konya to fethiye late

Day 8 - fethiye (saklikent gorge and tombs on cliff in city)

Day 9 - Fethiye bus to denizli – go to pammukalke – sleep in denizli

Day 10 - Early morning bus denizli to Selcuk - day trip to Ephesus - sleep in selcuk

Day 11 - Day trip to pergamom?? – late night bus selcuk to istanbul

Day 12 - Istanbul

Day 13 - Istanbul

Day 14 - Day trip to Gallipoli ??

Day 15 - istanbul

Day 16 - Istanbul

Day 17 - Flight out

Posted by
10333 posts

I did not go to Pergamon or Kas so I can't help you there. I did love Fethiye, but I was there in May not October. I think one day would be fine for seeing the tombs and so on, though. I would not take any time away from Istanbul, though. It's an amazing city and there is so much to see and do.

my plan involves late night and night buses to maximize time. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea (really talking from the safety standpoint)

No, not at all. Keep in mind that I was there in 2007 so it's been awhile. But I can't imagine too much has changed. The Turkish people were wonderful. I was there as a solo female traveler, and never ever felt unsafe, and I took several late night and overnight buses. They are very comfortable and will make a couple of stops at places to buy food and use the toilet. I really enjoyed riding the buses, and met some fun people on them.

After visiting Selcuk, I stoppin in Izmir for the day, then took the night bus from Izmir to Istanbul. We stopped around 2 am at one place to get food and the young mother with a baby who sat in front of me, turned around and handed me the baby, motioning that she wanted me to watch him. 😊 So I did and had about 10-15 fun-filled minutes entertaining a 6-month old baby. I think that's what I loved about Turkey more than anything - the people were amazing.

Posted by
7341 posts

Overnight bus? Not a choice I’d make but maybe right for you (we travel as a couple and rented a car for much of western Turkey). Worth noting: domestic flights in Turkey are gobsmackingly cheap. I’d think twice before toughing out a sleepless night on a long bus ride.

Which tombs carved into cliffs are you contemplating? Some are not accessible.

We spent a few hours at Bergamom (however one spells it). Nice set of ruins, spectacular setting - perched on the side of a deep valley. We are big ruin fans but I wouldn’t spend a whole day there.

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