Turkey Itinerary Questions

Most of it looks good but I agree that a half day at Ephesus is very rushed. Is there a reason she doesn't want to see it? The history of that place is mind-boggling, in my opinion, but it's your trip.

I’ve gone to Ephesus twice - in 2009 and in 2023. In both instances I’ve found that four hours is an exceptionally generous amount of time. Since there are not any programmed activities one can wander at a convenient. The “Terraced Houses” within the site are still under excavation and well worth seeing. This well laid out one way walk about structure provides an excellent perspective. Additionally, visiting it would be a welcomed respite from the potential crowds.

I had the opportunity to visit Kusadasi twice within a two week period. The first visit I went to Ephesus which I found truly amazing. The second visit, I chose a day trip that went to Priene, Miletus, and Didyma. This was also a truly amazing day and such a contrast of experiences. We found ourselves practically alone exploring these three extremely interesting sites in contrast to the crowds at Ephesus. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Ephesus is the only interesting location in the area.

Some details of your proposed travels within Turkey look a bit optimistic to me.

After spending the morning at Ephesus, we would take an evening flight
to Antalya...

From what airport would that flight depart? There's no airport in/near Ephesus. Or Kusadasi. The closest airports with flights to Antalya would be Izmir (and Bodrum), neither of which are going to be quick/convenient (and which I think also have limited flights). You might want to take a hard look at the flight options you will have to choose from.

Also, Pammukale is located almost exactly half-way between Ephesus and Antalya, so your plan has you flying between those cities, then driving halfway back to where your flight originated from.

After spending 4 nights in Antalya, (where we would take a day trip to
Pammukale...

Take a good look at drive times, I think it's a bit of a haul from Antalya to Pammukale/Hierapolis. Google lists the drive as about 3 hours (each way) and IME Google often is significantly optimistic. If you plan to drive (or have someone else drive you), that looks like a pretty long day in the car to me. You might consider instead simply renting a car in Kusadasi, visit Ephesus, then head east to Pammukale/Hierapolis. Spend one night there, before moving on again and heading towards Antalya. We did something similar - we rented our car in Izmir, drove it to Ephesus, then to Hierapolis, and overnighted there. We then went south, to the coast, and followed it eastward, ending in Antalya. We dropped our car in Antalya then flew to Kayseri (in Cappadocia).

Hope that helps.

Some random thoughts:

• I know that there are day tours from Antalya to Pamukkale and back, but it's a long haul. I would be more inclined to rent a car in Kudasi and drive to Pamukkale and then on to Antalya, probably spending the night in Pamukkale. (Aphrodisias is more than worth a stop if you are driving from Kudasi to Pamukkale.)

• I have mixed feelings about Pamukkale. On the one hand, I am absolutely glad that I went. On the other hand, the travertine pools have all dried up except for a narrow string of 8 or so artificially fed (and very crowded) pools along the right edge. Make sure to set your expectations accordingly, and don't be disappointed when it doesn't look the tourist brochures and influencer sites. You can see what I am talking about from a visit in spring 2023 here: https://mariematthews.smugmug.com/Ancient-Turkey/Pamukkale-Travertines. Hierapolis is interesting, but if your daughter isn't interested in Ephesus then I doubt she will be interested in Hierapolis either. (Also, make sure to bring a swimsuit for the antique pools. I left mine back at the hotel because it was so cold that morning that I couldn't imagine swimming. I regret that decision.)

• The traditional gulet cruises tend to run out of Bodrum, Marmaris, Gocek, and Fethiye. Although there are boats that offer day trips out of Antalya, most of them are more like 3 hour cruises that take you to Upper Duden Falls and back to the marina. I think there may be some that go to Phaselis, but you will definitely need to do your homework. Although I enjoyed the boat tour that I took in Antalya, it wasn't in the same league with the full gulet cruise I did in Gocek and Fethiye.

• I have spent a lot of time in Antalya, and can offer additional suggestions on things to do there. Admittedly, I have a thing for ancient sites, and there are plenty of them around Antalya. I go into considerably more detail in my trip report here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/ancient-cities-of-western-turkey

Just curious, roughly how old is your daughter? I might recommend different activities depending on her age.

Thank all of you for your wisdom and taking the time to comment. I think I need to rethink the flight from Izmir to Antalya and consider renting a car instead. My daughter is actually a 32 year old engineer and although she loves history (but not especially Biblical history) she wants to prioritize having a more beachy, relaxing experience on this trip. I will study your suggestions and make changes!

she loves history (but not especially Biblical history) she wants to prioritize having a more beachy, relaxing experience on this trip

I may be showing my ignorance of the Bible here (wouldn't be the first time for that...) but what exactly does Ephesus (or anything else on your list, for that matter) have to do with the Bible or Christianity? I'm about as non-religious as one can get (no disrespect intended to those more devout than me), but Ephesus is just an amazing ancient site.

FWIW our half-day at Ephesus was adequate for us - and I'll happily spend hours wandering through old stones (Ephesus was filling up with tourists that morning as we tried to stay ahead of the crowds spilling out of tour buses, so that kept us moving). There's plenty of other amazing (non-Biblical) stuff across the region, too.

I agree with Marie's points above - I also had some mixed feelings about Pamukkale (it's pretty touristy, the "antique pools" aka "Cleopatra's pool" seemed like a total tourist trap to me). Personally, I found Hierapolis (adjacent to Pamukkale) at least as interesting. And Aphrodisias (not far from Pamukkale and an easy stop if you have a car) was by far and away the absolute best thing we saw in the region - for us, it beat all the other ancient sites nearby hands down.