Turkey Itinerary 2024

Have you considered that Turkey is very hot in summer? Except for the coastal areas, it is not an especially good time to go for this reason. If you could move your trip back a month to late Sept/early October it could be more enjoyable.

@ponygirl813 the majority of the trip is in September. Should I move it back more? I just want good weather (no rain) but reasonable hotel prices (expect for the coast I assume). Is everything open when it's warm?

The heat does not bother me as much. We are from Georgia, USA. It gets really hot here in the summer. Glad to hear any suggestions.

I'm not an expert but I took the RS Best of Turkey tour last year in mid-October (it started the 17th and I was in Istanbul beforehand) and the conditions were ideal. The tours do not run in August and early September, I believe because of heat in central Turkey. From what I have read, Cappadocia is baking hot in summer and freezing in winter. A friend was just in Istanbul in August and she found it very hot. So you might just take that into account. Turkey is an amazing country and I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Looks like a great itinerary. You will have a wonderful time!

Couple of thoughts/questions:

• The weather is great in mid-September through October. Antalya is unbelievably hot in the summer. When I was there in late May a few years ago, the temps were over 100°. Chances of rain increase in Istanbul as you get later into October.

• I recommend staying in old town (Kaleici) in Antalya. There are tons of small boutique hotels. There are lots of ancient sites around Antalya. Termessos is my personal fave. Perge is easy to get to on public transportation and is also very good.

• How are you going to get from Ephesus to Pamukkale and then to Istanbul?

I was thinking I would daytrip from Izmir to Pamukkale and Ephesus on those days.

I assumed you could Bus from Izmir to Istanbul?

Is this not the correct idea or model for this area. I just learning for this trip so if you have a better idea please tell me.

Are you staying in Goreme and doing all the tiny towns like Çavuşin and Kaymaklı as day trips? It's a little unclear. FWIW, I absolutely loved Çavuşin - I walked there from Goreme as it's only about 6 km away, and spent an enchanting afternoon there. But just be aware it's a very tiny town - once you've climbed up the caves and seen some of the sights, there's not a lot to do. That's why I was asking.

For the rest, you could get a driver pretty inexpensively to take you around to some of the other places. I had one and he took me to so many of the caves and sights. He even took me to his mother's house for tea, which was an incredible experience.

For the rest of it, it makes no sense. You are spending a lot of time backtracking. And doing Ephesus and Pamukkale as day trips from Izmir is quite frankly, ridiculous. You can take buses, which is what I did, but they take a lot of time. The bus from Selcuk to Izmir was over an hour and you will need a lot of energy for Ephesus. I was there in May and it is hot and there is no shade at Ephesus, I stayed overnight in Selcuk and would recommend you do that. It will make seeing Ephesus so much easier.

Also, given that it will be warm, have you considered heading down to the Turkish Riviera to some place like Fethiye? It is gorgeous there and will be a nice relief from the heat. :) You could easily stop there after Antalya and spend a few nights, then move on to Selcuk (Ephesus).

So bottom line, I would suggest that you stay in Goreme for 3-4 nights and see all the stuff around there. Next head to Antalya and stay there for several nights. After that, possibly the Turkish Riviera, then Selcuk (to see Ephesus) for 1-2 nights, and back to Istanbul, skipping Pamukkale.

I was thinking I would daytrip from Izmir to Pamukkale and Ephesus on
those days.

When I visited Ephesus as part of a larger tour, Ephesus was an easy day trip from Izmir. I don't know about the logistics on public buses to Ephesus.

Pamukkale would be more of a stretch. It's a 3-hour drive each way from Izmir to Pamukkale. If you are taking public buses, you will most likely have to go from Izmir to Denizli and then transfer to a minibus, which will add to the 3 hours. That's a lot to squeeze into one day. There may be some options for a day tour that would leave Izmir early in the morning and return that night.

I recall when I was looking at doing something similar going from Antalya to Pamukkale that it was a bit more than I was willing to tackle in a single day. (Antalya and Izmir are roughly the same distance from Pamukkale.)

I assumed you could Bus from Izmir to Istanbul?

You should be able to take a bus from Izmir to Istanbul. The bus system in Turkey is very good.

Also, I second Mardee's suggestion to skip Pamukkale. Although I was glad I went, I wasn't over the moon about it. 99% of the travertines were bone dry, and the tiny handful that did have water were absolutely overrun with social media influencer wanna-be's. Heriapolis is nice, but no better than umpteen other ancient sites in Turkey.

You should be able to take a bus from Izmir to Istanbul. The bus system in Turkey is very good.

I agree. I took a bus from Izmir to Istanbul and it was a very nice ride. It was actually a night bus - I left Izmir around 10 pm and arrived in Istanbul the next morning, which saves you some time. There are a few local clunkers, but for the most part, the majority of buses are very large with lots of amenities like TV screens, reclining seats and the attendants come by to spritz you with toilet water every so often. They stop for bathroom and food breaks, too. The Otogars (bus terminals) are quite large - more similar to an airport terminal than a bus station in the US. I found it a very pleasant form of transportation. I took the train one time, but mostly stuck to buses.

If you're interested, here is my online journal of my Turkey trip. It's been a while (2007) but I doubt too much has changed. Since you are traveling by bus, you might find it helpful. https://mardeeinturkey.wordpress.com/

OK...I have taken everything into account and the dates may change but how about this?

Tuesday, August 27, 2024 Fly to Istanbul

Wednesday, August 28, 2024 Arrive in Istanbul and fly to Cappadocia

Thursday, August 29, 2024 Göreme Main town of Cappadocia region.
Friday, August 30, 2024 Uçhisar, Avanos Kaymaklı, Çavuşin & Paşabağ
Saturday, August 31, 2024 Kaymaklı, Çavuşin & Paşabağ Towns of Çavuşin & Paşabağ, and Kaymaklı underground city
Sunday, September 1, 2024 ???

Monday, September 2, 2024 Travel to Antalya (Overnight)

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 Antalya

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 Antalya

Thursday, September 5, 2024 Travel to Fethiye

Friday, September 6, 2024 Fethiye

Saturday, September 7, 2024 Travel to Seleck

Sunday, September 8, 2024 Ephesus, Selçuk, Şirince

Monday, September 9, 2024 Travel to Istanbul (Overnight)

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 Istanbul

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 Istanbul

Thursday, September 12, 2024 Istanbul

Friday, September 13, 2024 Istanbul

Saturday, September 14, 2024 Fly Home

Hi Robby, I think that looks much more doable. You will have an incredible time in Turkey - it is one of my most favorite places I have traveled to. There is such diversity in the scenery - it is amazing. And the Turkish people are incredibly friendly and will go out of their way to help you. I once got lost trying to find a bus stop and one man went 4-5 blocks out of his way to guide me there.

By the way, this is an excellent resource for Turkey that was created by Tom Brosnahan. I used it when I went back in 2007 and found the site very helpful, and it is still going strong. It has a lot of affiliate links but if you can get past that, there is some very good information there. https://turkeytravelplanner.com

Schedule your hot air balloon ride early in your visit to Goreme, as these rides are weather-dependent and you would want time to re-schedule if yours is cancelled.

Also, it looks like you’re planning a couple of overnight bus trips. Unless you sleep well on buses, I’d swap those out for inexpensive plane trips. From Goreme you have to return to Istanbul to catch the flight to Antalya, but we found it worthwhile.

And finally, instead of Fethiye, I suggest you look at Patara. There are miles of sandy beach, an archaeological site, and a great little place to stay called Akay Pension.

If you are staying in Kusadasi, I recommend checking out the Signature Blue Resort. It is on the beach and includes breakfast and dinner (amazingly delicious Turkish meals). We paid about $85 a night in May 2023. The hotel is very clean and safe. Ask for a room overlooking the water. We had two small decks overlooking the water. Hotel staff recommended a taxi driver who took us to places where tourists rarely ago as well as the more familiar places in the area. He refused to take money from us and was a true delight.

And finally, instead of Fethiye, I suggest you look at Patara. There are miles of sandy beach, an archaeological site, and a great little place to stay called Akay Pension.

I don't know Patara, but can tell you that Fethiye really is an incredible destination. The beaches, especially Öludeniz, are so blue and beautiful that it make your eyes hurt. The lagoon at Öludeniz was especially lovely – a circle of deep blue water surrounded by the beach and a mountain backdrop. It really is a lovely city. There are markets there where you can buy fresh fish, and they will clean it and cook it for you right there. On my 2nd day there, I took a boat cruise for the day that did some island hopping and loved it. We stopped at a number of remote places where we all jumped off the boat to go swimming in the water. You can also see the ruins at Tlos, a Lycian city ruin that surrounds Fethiye. The ruins are believed to be more than 4,000 years old and include rock-face tombs, a theater, and a hilltop acropolis on the slope of Akdağ Mountain. It is truly an amazing sight.

OK....I have spent some time looking at this and my dates have changed. I plan to use public transportation. What do you think about this. Should I change, add or remove anything based on past experiences. Can I add things to the Daytrips in Antalya? Is it possible to do all this via buses? I have looked and believe so. Is the daytrip to Ephesus from Izmir OK? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!

Tuesday, September 24, 2024 Fly to Istanbul
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 Arrive in Istanbul and fly to Cappadocia
Thursday, September 26, 2024 Cappadocia
Friday, September 27, 2024 Cappadocia
Saturday, September 28, 2024 Cappadocia
Sunday, September 29, 2024 Cappadocia (9:35pm Overnight 9 Hour Bus to Antalya )
Monday, September 30, 2024 Antalya (6:35am)
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 Side Daytrip
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 Termessos Daytrip
Thursday, October 3, 2024 Perge Ancient City
Friday, October 4, 2024 Travel to Fethiye (8:30am -> 10:20am Morning)
Saturday, October 5, 2024 Fethiye
Sunday, October 6, 2024 Travel to Izmir (Afternoon Bus)
Monday, October 7, 2024 Ephesus Daytrip
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 Izmir (Ancient Smyrna) Travel to Istanbul (Overnight)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 Istanbul
Thursday, October 10, 2024 Istanbul
Friday, October 11, 2024 Istanbul
Saturday, October 12, 2024 Istanbul
Sunday, October 13, 2024 Fly Home

Re: your updated itinerary, I'd go to Kusadasi from Fethiye, do your Ephesus tour, then move on to Izmir. Otherwise you're backtracking quite a bit. I didn't use public transit much in Turkey other than Istanbul, but as was noted earlier you may save a lot of time by hiring a driver. With such limited time slotted for some of the locations I would think that could be a worthy investment. There are also pretty cheap flights from Izmir to Istanbul, I'd definitely suggest doing that. I also went to Pamukkale (with a RS tour) and though a small bit of it is quite lovely, much of it is dried up. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to go there given the other great sites you can see. And definitely schedule your balloon ride very early in your time in Cappadocia in case you have issues with weather. Most companies will schedule you a following day without penalty.

I'm not necessarily suggesting that you take a Gate 1 tour, although they tend to be a good value. However, you may want to look at what they include on their tours, the order they go places, and the length of time they are there to see if you get any ideas for tweaking your trip.

Since you will not be driving, a tour like this might be a way to really reduce transportation hassles.

https://www.gate1travel.com/europe/turkey

Carol now retired I don't have a issue with driving but I don't use credit cards (it's a principle thing) and renting a car in there seems difficult without them. I have looked into it some. Does anyone know of a way around that? I have rented cars in the USA and Canada with just a Debit card with no issue. Every car rental there seems to require a credit card. Renting car for the portion between Anatalya and Izmir would be ideal.