Turkey ideas and itinerary help please! 15 - 18 days... September 2024

Posted by julie on 08/07/23 04:50 PM

After reviewing and trying not to spend too much time in airports, we are thinking landing in Istanbul, immediately go to Cappadocia for three, four days, then fly direct to Izmir, rent a car. Then Ephesus and surrounding areas. Then fly from Izmir to Istanbul for the remaining 5 or 6 days.

Couple questions - is Bodrum "worth it", is Alacati "worth it"? We love history, we love walking, but like to stay in one place for a couple days to really get the energy of the place. So if we stay in Ephesus we can go to the surrounding areas and beach. Wondering if we should do both Bodrum and Alacati?

Is three days enough in Cappadocia?

And, we would love to stay in a larger apartment, quieter area in Istanbul. Any ideas are so appreciated! Anything you can tell us is super appreciated! From guides to areas.

Thank you!!

Posted by valadelphia

08/07/23 05:13 PM

4384 posts

Did not go to Ephesus so can't help there, but I would make a list for what you want to see/do in Cappadocia. We stayed three days but I definitely could have stayed longer. We spent one day hiking the valleys on our own and on our other full day we hired a driver through our hotel (https://www.kelebekhotel.com) and visited an underground city, walked the Ilhara gorge, and visited Selime monastery (couple other stops).
Because our stays in Istanbul were split, we stayed in a hotel within close walking distance to the main sights for the first stop, then when we returned we ended up renting an apartment through a series of misadventures. We just took it easy the second stop, seeing anything we missed the first few days. I think it's a good plan--I'd just start searching on Booking.com.

Posted by Carol

Martinez, CA, USA

08/07/23 06:16 PM

1507 posts

We were in Turkey in 2011 and 2013 so I'm not sure of the value of my comments but, we didn't think Bodrum was really worth our time. It is a good idea to start in Cappadocia and end in Istanbul.

When you say 15-18 days do you mean days or nights in Turkey and when you say three days in Cappadocia, do you mean three nights which equal about 2.5 days? If you have a car, you can visit several other sights from Goreme in Cappadocia. We drove to Derenkuyu Underground city, Ilhara Gorge, Zelve Open Air Museum, Uchisar Castle, and went on a hot air balloon ride (which we said we would never do) and other sights. Several sights had good hikes. We spent four nights in Goreme and on the last day took an overnight bus to our next location so we had an entire day in Goreme.

Do you plan to stay in Izmir? For Ephesus we stayed in Selcuk and also visited various sights from there but you could do the same from Izmir. We have not been to Alacati so I can't comment on it. Also, because it's been so long since we were there I really can't comment on where to stay in Istanbul.

Turkey has so many beautiful and historic sights you may find it hard to pick which to see and visit! Have fun!

Posted by Jaydon Wilson

Boise - Idaho

08/10/23 02:40 PM

22 posts

My planned itinerary was as follows:

Spend 4 nights in Istanbul.
Explore Cappadocia for 3 nights.
The journey from Cappadocia to Pamukkale, making a stop in Konya along the way.
Enjoy 2 nights in Pamukkale.
Relax in Kusadasi for 3 nights.
If you're considering a visit to Bodrum, you have the option to drive directly from Pamukkale to Bodrum. From there, you can continue your journey to Kusadasi or Selcuk. You can catch a flight from Izmir Airport back to Istanbul.