Talking Turkey
 

I am considering going on an 11 day escorted tour around Turkey in the middle of march. The itinerary include Istanbul, Canakkale, Troy, Asclepion, Kusadasi, Pamukkale Hot Springs, Necropolis, Hieropolis, Konya, Caravanserai, Cappadocia and Ankara. I don't know much about Turkey but so far it looks like a very interesting place full of history and also a very interesting culture. I would appreciate your advice and perspectives around this trip.


1. The idea of being herded around and sitting on a bus for days on end seems like torture. But it does seem that getting to the sites does involve a fair bit of traveling anyway. How difficult would it be for a moderately traveled American to rent a car and drive around on my own ? Are car rentals even cost effective ? Are intercity buses easy to navigate ?

2. What would you consider the must-do's ? Looks like Istanbul, Ephesius, Cappadocia and Kusadasi would be on the list. Anything else ?

3. It seems that March is still winter. Is it foolish to go at that time ?

4. Despite my reservations, I'm able to get this whole tour including airfare from Seattle, USA for about $3300 all in which seems to be a pretty good deal. Is it ? The trip is through Gate 1 travel. Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with them ?

5. Any other random advice for traveling to Turkey ?

thank you,

Alan

Did I count correctly? 12 cities in 11 days? Sounds a little "if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium " to me. :D

We are also thinking about going to Turkey (but not on a tour) and we also live in Bellevue! So I'll be watching this thread for advice...

The answer certainly depends on what you want to achieve with your trip.
If your are just going for the pictures your itin might be a good choice to sqeeze the maximum out of 11 days.
For anything else it is completely overloaded.
To get the slightest idea of Istanbul alone, the fourth largest city in the world with a rich history of more than 2500 years, 11 days would be perhaps a first step.

My initial reaction is if you’re reluctant to get herded around in a tour group, then don’t do it…..Go to Turkey on your own.

Transportation: Intercity busses are typically new Mercedes busses. They’re clean, fast and cheap. Turkey also has a excellent network of low cost airlines, so flying is definitely an option. You’ll find a list of the low cost airlines on the website…Turkey Travel Planner. It’s written by the guy who writes the guidebook for Lonely Planet.

Cost: $3,300 is no bargain. The Turkish lire is now over 180 to the dollar. It’s a bargain destination. You can do Turkey for a lot less money on your own.

Timing: March will be cold…..especially in Cappadocia. Sorry…March will be very cold in Cappadocia. Travelling that time of year will be marginally cheaper, but why not wait until May/June when it will be pleasant along the Turkish coast.

Turkey has some terrific beaches in places like Alanya and Patara. And from mid-May onward, the weather will be warm, especially along the Mediterranean coast. You could also ferry to Cyprus or the Greek islands from the Turkish coast.

Jaymar offers some excellent advice. Only correction is that the Turkish Lira is only 1.8 to the USD.

Thank you Jaymar, this is indeed excellent advice. The Turkey planner web site is also great. We have decided to pull our trip together on our own and go at the end of May or June.

Hard2Please, if you'd like I will try to remember to PM you any information we gather.

The more I read about Turkey the more excited I get.

you'll find the people exceedingly helpful and bus routes aplenty for mid-distance travels. although outside of istanbul and izmir the language may be an issue.

Thanks, that would be great. We had originally thought to go in October, but it's starting to look like that won't happen. (Also, I'm starting to think Oct. might not be as warm as I'd like it to be.) So it may end up being May or June for us as well!)

Language could be a problem if you're really out of the way, but most hotels have English-speaking staff. I would strongly urge you to learn at least a few words in Turkish - "good morning, thank you" stuff. It's true everywhere that a few words break the ice and garner favourable attention but especially true in Turkey where people are especially hospitable and friendly.

As written above, the bus services and flights are good options. I'm not so sure about driving; I've driven there extensively but it's not, shall we say, for the fainthearted! It's anarchic and chaotic, though far safer and more structured than twenty years ago when I first worked there. Cost wouldn't need to a barrier to hiring a car.

I understand the temptation to see everything and go everywhere but I would strongly suggest that you are selective - part of being in Turkey sould be about the culture and the people. You simply won't get that on a whistlestop tour of big attractions. Istanbul can reasonably lay claim to being one of the worlds 1/2 dozen greatest cities, though Capadoccia and Ephesus could probably be covered in a day each. Bear in mind that Capadoccia is quite remote from other sites (Ankara isn't worth seeing, IMHO). Ephesus, however, is near Izmir, is on the coast and might be combined with say, Bergama (ancient Pergammon), Truva (Troy) and the Dardanelles.

I wouldn't get freaked out over the language.

About 15 years back I overlanded by bus and ferry from Istanbul, around the coast and down to just past Izmir. Went to some lovely out of the way places and managed to do the whole thing with just a lonely planet guidebook and a handful of Turkish phrases they had in the back.