Turkey - 15 day itinerary in september

Posted by sandy.nguyen48 on 04/15/15 07:21 PM

Hi everyone! I will be traveling solo for the first time to turkey in september for 15 days. I am trying to piece together my itinerary and would appreciate any suggestions. Here's what I have so far -

Day 1: Arrive in Istanbul at 430P
Days 2-5: Istanbul
Day 6: Fly to Cappadocia in the morning
Day 7-8: Cappadocia
Day 9: Fly to Antalya
Days 10-11: Antalya
Day 12: Bus to Pamukkale in the morning (spend one night here)
Day 13: Bus to selcuk in the morning
Day 14: Ephesus
Day 15: Kudasi/Selcuk, Fly back to Istanbul at night
Day 16: Fly home from istanbul 8A

Are there any other must travel places that I might be missing? I'm also wondering if I should spend an extra day in Antalya or Cappadocia or any other destination that i'm missing and cut a day out of Selcuk/Kudasi.

Posted by Laura

Rick Steves' Europe

04/15/15 08:20 PM

16895 posts

I would take one day from Kusadasi (not much of importance in the city itself) and even a day from Istanbul, also, to add to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is spread out and many towns could be of interest, if you have the time.

Posted by Rob

Dunwoody, Georgia

04/16/15 03:21 PM

338 posts

I'll second Laura's suggestion to drop a day in Selcuk. Ephesus and the sites in Selcuk can pretty much be seen in one day. You could use your second day in Sirince or at some of the nearby archaeological sites (e.g. Priene, Belevi). Are you flying out of Izmir? If so and you have an interest in ancient history, you could go to the north of Izmir and spend a day in Bergama/Pergamom. An extra day in Cappadocia is also a worthwhile use of time. I'd keep four days in Istanbul, however. There is a lot to see and do there.

Posted by leslieebert1

04/16/15 08:42 PM

145 posts

We were in Selcuk in November 2014 and I totally agree with Laura and Rob that 1 day at Ephesus is enough... It depends what you like but we loved Bodrum and Kas. I think the Mediterranean coast is magnificent! I think Bodrum wasn't a long drive from Selcuk.
I would pick Bodrum over Kudasi.

Also, we stayed in Kaleichi (old city) of Antalya for 4 days-(we loved it so extended time...we stayed in an inexpensive-clean pansiyon. we ate great food and loved our time there.

I recommend staying in pansiyons,, being open to locals - The Turkish people are respectful, hospitable, and lovely!
In Istanbul I loved the Blue Mosque best...I recommend staying in old city not Beyoglu or near Taksim Sq. although depends what you want to see/do.

We flew Pegasus and Onuair and both excellent!

If you need more info or names of fabulous pansiyons let me know...

Posted by sandy.nguyen48 OP

04/16/15 10:02 PM

2 posts

Thank you everyone for your responses! I will definitely take a day away from Selcuk.
Leslie, did you stay at one pansiyon in Antalya and then traveled out to other places on the coast during the day? I would love to visit Kas, Fiethiye, and Bodrum (if that's possible in 4 days without exhausting myself from traveling inbetween places), but I'm not sure what the most cost effective way of doing that is. Did you rent a car during your time Antalya or was public transportation accessible?

Posted by route785NB

Canada-Istanbul-USA

04/17/15 08:13 AM

90 posts

Take the bus with company called 'Bati Antalya Seyahat' from Antalya Otogar and go to Kas. You can hop on and hop off by Olympus, Pahalesis, Saint Nicholas Church in Demre , XANTI Antique City. Stay a night in Kas( you can take boat tour Greek Island called Kastellerizo) and take small mini bus from Kas to Fethiye which is 1 hour ride. See Fethiye and take the bus from Fethiye to Pamukkale which is about 3 hours.