Traveller Tips! Our Three Week Itinerary through Turkey - Istanbul, Goreme, Antalya, Kas, Fethiye, Selcuk, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Izmir

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.

Our overall opinion on our itinerary...

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.