Our Three Week Itinerary
through Turkey - Istanbul, Goreme, Antalya, Kas, Fethiye, Selcuk,
Pamukkale, Ephesus, Izmir
Day 1: Istanbul
Arrival from India via Turkish Airlines Flight
Day 2: Istanbul
Quiet day... Both unwell :(...
Day 3: Istanbul
Blue Mosque, Grand Mazaar Market, Gulhane Park
Day 4: Istanbul
Hagia Sophia, Galata Tower and Bridge, Fish markets at
the end of the Galata Tower
Day 5: Istanbul
Taksim Square, Istikal Avenue, 10TL
($5AUD) per person boat cruise along the the Bosphorous Strait
Day 6: Goreme
Depart Istanbul for Kayseri – Pegasus flight for $26
AUD per person
Day 7: Goreme
Wandered the walking trails reached from sunset point,
Goreme open air museum - 15TL
($7.50AUD) per person
Day 8: Goreme
Rose Valley, Lower edge Valley and
Cavusin Town by quad - 65TL ($32.50AUD) for two people
Day 9: Goreme
Depart Goreme for Antalya - 9
hour overnight bus ride through the Bati Antalya bus company - 50TL
($25AUD) per person
Day 10: Antalya
Arrived
Antalya, relaxing day after overnight bus, walk around old town
Day 11: Antalya
The port, 45
minute boat ride - 10TL ($5AUD) per person, walk around old town
Day 12: Antalya
Main shopping
strip, shopping centre, walk around old town
Day 13: Kas
Depart
Antalya for Kas – 4 hour bus - 24TL
($12AUD) per person through Bati Antalya
Day 14: Kas
Walk around
old town, The port
Day 15: Fethiye
Depart Kas
for Fethiye - 2 hour bus - 16TL
($8AUD) per person
Day 16: Fethiye
Full
day tour booked through the hotel - 40TL
($20AUD) per person, visiting: Oludeniz beach, Butterfly Valley, St
Nicholas island, freshwater lagoon, camel beach
Day 17: Selcuk
Depart Fethiye
for Selcuk – 4 hour bus - 35TL
($17.50AUD) per person through KamelKoc)
Day 18: Selcuk
Ephesus
- 30TL ($15AUD) entry
Day 19: Selcuk
Pammukale -
100TL
($50AUD) for a guided tour per person including transport, entry and
lunch – booked through agent at bus station
Day 20: Izmir
Depart Selcuk
for Izmir - 1.20 hour train - 5.5TL
($2.75AUD) per person
Day 21: The
harbour, The Agora, Main shopping street
Day 22:
Istanbul Depart
Izmir for Istanbul – Pegasus flight for $25 AUD per person
Day 23:
Istanbul Depart
Istanbul for Morocco – Turkish Airlines Flight
After a
lot of research and time, planning our time in Turkey, we decided
that three weeks would be a good amount of time to get a feel for the
country and see the varying landscapes, sights and tourist
attractions. We researched a lot online, in regards to where to
visit and for how long and made an itinerary that we were very happy
with, after the three weeks had ended.
Being on
a budget, we travelled as cheaply and economically as possible
however also wanted to make the most of the time we had – hence the
two flights we booked and the overnight bus. There are many bus
companies who always seemed to have seats available – and no one in
Turkey seems to book things in advance, however buses were extremely
regular so this wasn't an issue for us whatsoever.
The
accommodation we stayed in were double rooms with our own private
en suite and we set our budget at $50 per night. We chose highly
rated hostels and also checked the reviews on trip advisor, to ensure
we weren't staying in some dodgy bed bug ridden hostel!! Location was
one of the big factors we kept in mind, and all of our hotels were
within easy walking distance to everything we needed and we were able
to make our way via public transport to our hotels or on foot from
the airport or Otogar, in most cases. We were very happy with the
quality of our accommodation throughout Turkey, and we ended up
averaging $42 AUD per night in total ($21 AUD per night per person)
which we were very happy with.
Below is
our detailed itinerary including the hotel, the mode of transport,
the way in which we booked and got to and from the transport method
and what we did while in each place.
Days 1-5: ISTANBUL
Hotel – Istanbul Sydney
Hotel
We
arrived into Istanbul (Ataturk) Airport at 10.45am. We were
unfortunately both extremely ill on this flight and originally made
plans to catch a bus and tram, and then walk the remaining distance
to our hotel, however did not feel up to this after a 6 hour flight.
We went to the taxi rank and it was extremely easy to get a taxi. We
showed the man organising the taxi's our address, and he quoted the
price we had already found online. We paid 40TL ($20AUD) for a taxi,
and it took around 20 minutes to get to our hotel.
Our
hotel was located in Fatih, which did not feel touristy whatsoever
however we did not feel unsafe at any time, even at night time when
we were getting something to eat. The hotel was clean and the staff
were very friendly. The included breakfast was very nice and was
located on the top floor, overlooking the water. There are many
small eateries around the hotel, we paid only 2TL ($1AUD) for a
chicken kebab in a beautiful soft roll with salad and only 6TL
($3AUD) for a huge cheese and Sucuk (Turkish sausage) pide.
There is
a tram stop around 10 minutes walk up hill from the hotel, however
the blue mosque and grand bazaar market are walking distance so you
do not need the tram.
While in
Istanbul, we visited Gulhane park, Hagia Sophia, Taksim Square,
Istikal Avenue, Galata Tower and bridge, the fish markets at the end
of Galata Tower and we also did a boat cruise (10TL ($5AUD) per
person) along the the Bosphorous Strait.
As we
chose to fly to Goreme instead of catch a long day bus and waste a
day, we departed from Sabiha Gocken airport instead of Ataturk which
meant having to walk to the tram, catch the tram to Kadikoy, then
catch a ferry to Karakoy and then a shuttle bus to the airport. As
our flight left at 8.40am we decided it would be quicker for us to
catch a airport shuttle which picked us up from our hotel at 6am, and
cost 30TL ($15AUD) per person and went direct to the airport. If you
have time and want to save money – go for the public transport
route, however it did not seem worthwhile for us.
Days 6-9: GOREME
Hotel – Cave Life
Pension
We
arrived into Kayseri airport after the short 1 hour flight with
Pegasus airlines, which only cost $24 per person.
As
Kayseri is a fair distance from Goreme (1.5 hours) we pre arranged a
shuttle service with our hotel which cost 30TL ($15AUD) per person.
We could not find any cheaper alternative unfortunately.
Our
hotel was fantastic, the owner was extremely friendly and informative
and the included breakfast we had on the terrace overlooking the city
was amazing. The owner even allowed us to check out late as our
departing bus did not leave until 7pm. The hotel is located on the
Eastern side of Goreme city and up the hill, which unfortunately
meant a steep climb coming from the city – however it also meant we
were closer to a beautiful sunset lookout point which made for
beautiful photo opportunities and a good base for a walking trail we
would recommend.
While in
Goreme we spent a day walking the trails leading down from the sunset
point (we got lost also which made for a bit of excitement, however
spotted a tortoise on our travels which made it all ok!). After our
walk, we visited the Goreme open air museum which we found
interesting, however it was 15TL ($7.50AUD) per person and found it
more exciting wandering through the empty caves on our walk! We
visited the church opposite the road from the museum which is
included in the ticket, which was also interesting.
The
following day, we hired a quad bike for two hours with a guide we
rode behind, and visited Rose
Valley, Lower edge Valley and Cavusin Town. Exciting tracks ensured
the two hours were full of bumps and turns, great for an adventure
seeker!! We paid 65TL ($32.50AUD) for two people on one quad and
would definitely reccommend doing this!! We booked through
Hitchhikers quad hire in Goreme city and bargained with them to get
them down to this price – so make sure you haggle to get a good
price!
Our
next stop was Antalya. We booked a 9 hour overnight bus ride through
the Bati Antalya bus company in the middle of Goreme city. This was
extremely easy to do – we booked the day before to be on the safe
side, but you could have easily booked on the day and would have been
fine. We paid 50TL ($25AUD) per person and were very pleased with
the service. At 7pm, a smaller shuttle bus took us to a nearby town
'Nevsehir' and then we boarded a larger coach with comfy seats,
inbuilt tellies in the back of each seat and a drink and snack
service. The coach stopped a few times through the journey so we
were able to have toilet breaks and buy snacks/food etc if need be.
*Keep in mind alot of the toilets on these journeys require 1TL
($0.50AUD) payment. We were very happy we chose the overnight bus
option as it was not only comfortable and a good price, but it also
saved on a nights accommodation.
Days 10-12: ANTALYA
Hotel
– Hotel Twenty
We arrived into Antalya
Otogar at 6am and made our way to the line up of small mini buses
opposite the big buses, showed our Bati Antalya ticket to one of the
bus drivers who allowed us to board the bus for a free shuttle into
Kaleici town (where we were staying).
The hotel was family run and
the rooms were very clean and had a beautiful view of the water and
mountains. The terrace on the top floor was nice and relaxing, and
breakfast was 6TL ($3AUD) per person, per day and we found to be good
value.
The drive took only around 15
minutes and we were dropped off at Muratpasa tram station (ANTRAY –
the new tram service). You can get the tram from the Otogar if a
free shuttle is not included however. We walked through the very
quiet town to our hotel (asking the super friendly locals for
directions on the way!).
We found Antalya to be a
beautiful mix of quaint little streets, a beautiful Mediterranean
marina and a modern shopping strip and we would highly recommend
anyone to visit the city. We did alot of wandering the streets while
we were here as everything was decorated so beautifully and you could
walk for hours admiring the beautiful views of the ocean and the
lovely flowers, trees and plants everywhere.
We took a
45 minute boat ride which went past a grotto, a waterfall and out
into the deep Mediterranean. We only paid 10TL ($5AUD) per person
(the captain initially tried to charge 50TL ($25AUD) per person but
came down eventually! We later found that people paid only 5TL
($2.50AUD) when the captain wanted to fill the boat, however we
agreed that $5AUD in Australia would not get you a beautiful boat
trip that we had, so we were content.
Days
13-14: KAS
Hotel
– Hotel Kayahan
We did
not pre book our bus from Antalya to our next stop, Kas as we were
advised by the owner of the hotel that this was not required and the
buses run every hour. We made our way to the Otogar at 8am by
walking up to the Muratpasa tram station, (we paid 4TL ($2AUD) for
the card, and then 2TL ($1AUD) per person for the trip itself. We
are not sure if the purchasing of the card could be avoided due to a
language barrier, but when we handed this in upon arrival to the
Otogar, we did not get a refund).
We
arrived at the Otogar and walked to the furthest point away of the
bus terminal, which is for shorter bus journeys. We had breakfast in
the upstairs cafe and then purchased our tickets and departed at
9.30am. We paid 24TL ($12AUD) per person, purchasing our ticket
through Bati Antalya again and it took 4 hours to get to Kas.
We
arrived at Kas Otogar at around 1.30pm, and walked to our hotel (once
again asking very friendly locals for directions, despite having a
map...). We were welcomed by the friendly manager and shown to our
beautiful room with a gorgeous little balcony and amazing sea views!
The hotel was lovely and clean and the included breakfast buffet was
very impressive and also had amazing views with the panoramic
windows.
While in
Kas we spent alot of time wandering through the streets, walking up
and down the marina and visiting the small beaches along the coast by
foot. We found the water here to be beautifully clear and had a
lovely relaxing couple of days here.
Many
activities and day trips can be done here, however we had bad weather
on one of the days and decided to save money for day trips and
excursions in other cities on our trip, and make the most of the city
itself here.
Days
15-16: FETHIYE
Hotel
– Ten Apart
We
departed Kas via the same Otogar we arrived in, and the hotel was
kind enough to take us there! We purchased our tickets then and
there – once again – no need to book in advance with it being low
season and the buses being so regular. We paid 16TL ($8AUD) per
person for the two hour trip on a small mini bus, and departed at
9am. Beautiful postcard beaches were spotted throughout the scenic
journey and we were in Fethiye before we knew it.
We
arrived into Fethiye Otogar and were advised already by our hotel of
the directions to the hotel. We walked out of the Otogar onto the
main road and hailed a 'Dolmus'. These are small mini vans which
pick people up and drop people off as requested. We paid 2TL ($1AUD)
per person for the trip, and the destination they are going is
displayed on the front of the bus, however they will be more than
happy to confirm with you when you get on.
We
arrived at our hotel and were greeted by friendly staff, and had a
beautiful apartment which was well equipped with a fully functional
kitchen and a lovely little balcony. Our hotel was located near to
Challis beach which we found unimpressive – despite the amount of
tourists who visit the area regularly! The pebbly, dark sand beach
was unappealing and the promenade was lined with restaurants selling
full english breakfasts and touristy food. We didnt spend long at
this beach...
We
booked a day trip through the hotel, to visit the famous 'Butterfly
Valley'. We paid 40TL ($20AUD) per person and had a mini bus pick us
up from our hotel, and take us to nearby Oludeniz beach where we
boarded the boat. We visited Butterfly valley which was beautiful
and we had a dip, then we made our way to St Nicholas island,
had lunch and then visited a beautiful freshwater lagoon and finished
the trip with a visit to camel beach which unfortunately was nothing
special but we didnt stay for long. The mini bus dropped us back to
our hotel. All up, we were very pleased with the tour and were happy
with the price we paid.
As we didnt have very long
here, we only saw the marina from the shuttle on our way back from
the tour, but it looked like a beautiful place to spend a few hours
wandering around.
We were pleased we only had 2
nights here and were very pleased we arranged the day tour. We were
also happy we had a kitchen in our apartment as there are many
supermarkets nearby and a lovely local sunday market selling fresh
fruit, vegetables, cheese and olives which we purchased and made a
lovely meal with.
Days 17-19: SELCUK
Hotel – Boomerang Guest
House
We left Fethiye by walking to
the main road from our hotel and taking the Dolmus back to the
Otogar, the same as when we arrived. Once at the Otogar, we
purchased our tickets to Selcuk with the KamelKoc bus company. We
paid 35TL ($17.50AUD) for the four hour journey and this was a large
coach (similar to the overnight bus, again with comfy seats and
tellies in the back of the seat). This bus ride was extremely
comfortable and not busy at all, and again departed each hour. This
bus however did not go all the way to Selcuk, we needed to stop via
Aydian Otogar, in which we showed a KamelKoc shuttle bus driver our
ticket, and we boarded a small mini bus which took us to the city
centre of Aydin. From here, we turned left off the main road and
walked about 200 metres, and took a left turn into another bus
terminal in which we boarded a Dolmus. We paid 7TL ($3.50AUD) per
person for the 45 minute journey into Selcuk.
We arrived into Selcuk and
the hotel is directly opposite the bus terminal (walk through the
park and up the street and it is on your right). The staff were very
friendly and the room was nice and clean, and newly renovated.
Selcuk is not a big city, and
there is not too much to see or do, besides obviously Pammukale and
Ephesus. While here, we booked a day trip to Pammukale through an
agent (Michael at the very left hand side booth at the Otogar). We
weighed up the option of getting to Pammukale ourselves VS a tour –
here is what we calculated...
Self tour...
Bus to and from Pamukkale
(via Denizli) 60TL ($30AUD)
Entry into Pamukkale 24TL
($12AUD)
Lunch (average of 10TL $5AUD)
= 94 TL ($47 AUD)
Guided tour
Bus to
and from Pamukkale (direct)
English
speaking guide (very informative both on the way to Pamukkale and
when there)
Entry
into Pamukkale
Buffet
lunch including many salads, vegetables, bread, fruit and chicken and
beef kebab meat (no drinks included)
= 100TL
($50AUD)
We were
initially quoted 135TL (67.50AUD) through the hotel, however they were
unable to get any seats so we tried at the Otogar and managed to get
the price cheaper AND get seats which was great.
We also
visited Ephesus while staying in Selcuk. We walked to Ephesus (2kms
away up a main highway, on a shady path) and it was very pleasant and
then caught a Dolmus back for only 2.50TL ($1.25AUD). The entry to
Ephesus was 30TL ($15AUD).
After
our stay in Selcuk and passing through the nearby seaside town of
Kusadasi to drop people off from our Pamukkale tour, we very much
agreed that we would have preferred to stay there with the beautiful
beach, marina and bustling shops and restaurants. We would
definitely recommend staying here instead of Selcuk as buses can
easily be arranged for trips to Ephesus and Pamukkale from here.
Days 20-21: IZMIR
Hotel: Olympiat Hotel
Izmir
We were
originally going to catch a bus from Selcuk Otogar for 9TL ($4.50AUD)
per person, however later researched and found out that the train was
actually quicker, takes you direct to the train station (instead of
having to get a Dolmus from the Otogar) and is cheaper.
We
purchased our tickets at the train station for 5.5TL ($2.75AUD) per
person. The train departed at 11.30am and took around 1 hour and 20
minutes. The train was very modern and comfortable, however it was
hard to get a seat at this particular time, but there is a lot of room
for luggage.
We
arrived into the train station and walked to our hotel (5 minutes
walk, as you exit the train station towards the mosque – walk up
the street on the opposite side of the street of the mosque, then
take the last left and the hotel is on the corner).
The
hotel was clean and staff were very friendly. The rooms are a little
out dated but have everything we need. Don't be expecting any fancy
views – ours was a brick wall... The buffet breakfast was very nice
and the staff even said goodbye to us with a beautiful box of Turkish
Delight as a souvenir!!
Izmir
was vibrant, non touristic and has a lovely harbour you can walk all
the way along, with many places to sit and people watch or get a
drink or a snack. The city is full of extremely cheap foods –
chicken kebabs for only 2TL ($1AUD). Head towards the Agora, which
will take you through many shops selling souvenirs, clothes, nick
naks, perfume and markets full of fresh fruit, veg, fish, olives and
cheese in addition to many restaurants.
We
thoroughly enjoyed our time in Izmir, despite the negative things we
were told and read about online. Our flight departed from here to
Istanbul – hence the stay here, however if you are in the area, we
would definitely recommend a day or two here to get a taste of a
traditional Turkish city.
To get
to the airport, we simply caught the train from the same station we
arrived, and got off at the airport station (Adnan Menderes).
Day 22: ISTANBUL
Hotel: Kevins Hostel
We
arrived into the Sabiha Gocken airport from Izmir and took the
Havatas shuttle bus (when you exit the terminal, you can see the
Havatas area straight ahead). The shuttle took 50 minutes to get to
Kadikoy (where we were staying) and it cost 8TL ($4AUD) per person.
The shuttle dropped us of at the main bus terminal right in front of
the water, and our hotel was only a short 5 minute walk up a street
behind the bus terminal.
The
hotel was a basic hostel type of accommodation and we chose a double
room with a shared bathroom, as we were only here for one night, and
found Istanbul quite expensive compared to the rest of Turkey. The
shared bathroom was well facilitated and the whole hotel was clean.
Staff were quite unorganised and spoke very little English and were
not so helpful with information we asked for.
We
wandered around the very busy Kadikoy area that evening, and found it
different to the Sultan Ahmet/Fatih area and a lot less touristy.
Day 23: IN TRANSIT
On our
final morning, we made our way to Ataturk Airport, Istanbul via taxi.
We did a lot of research and asking around for the best way to get
to this airport, as previously we were able to get a shuttle bus from
the Sultan Ahmet area to Ataturk or Sabiha Gocken, but here there was
no such thing with Kadikoy being on the Asian side of the country.
We
worked out that it would cost around 36TL ($18AUD) for a taxi to
Taksim and then 10TL ($5AUD) to the airport via Havatas shuttle. As
our flight was at 10am, and we were not sure of bus times etc we
ended up choosing an option of a taxi which cost 80TL ($40AUD) for
the two of us.
We
absolutely loved Turkey and its people, food, culture and the amazing
cities within. All cities we visited were extremely different and
unique and the three weeks passed way too quick! We would definitely
recommend travelling to Turkey and think three weeks is a great
amount of time to discover the country (obviously if your schedule
allows!).
As
Turkey is so close to the Greek Islands, we would have loved to have
gone straight to Greece from Turkey, however due to the weather
(April in Greece wouldn't be as warm as July) and already booking a
cheap flight to Morocco from Turkey – this wasn't possible for us,
but we would highly recommend to others.
Turkey was an amazing place and we had a great three weeks visiting the places we did.
We would not suggest staying in Fethiye town and maybe Oludeniz instead which was a lot nicer.
We would recommend staying in Kusadasi instead of Selcuk as you can still visit Pammukale and Ephesus from there and it is more vibrant than Selcuk.
We would recommend staying on the European side of Istanbul (We stayed in the Fatih area) as we found it had lot more character, was cheaper and far easier to get to the airport for an early morning flight than the other side of Istanbul.
