Turkey travel tips

TofuMofu said:
Turkey is freakin awesome. I've only been to Istanbul, but geez there was a lot to see and do there! Would love to go back. And as you said, it's super cheap now. It was cheap when we went 5years(ish) ago.

If you're going to Istanbul, most of the old cool stuff are on the European side. We stayed near Taksim Square and traveled using their metro system. 1 card for the Trams, metro and buses. Very efficient. Also gives you access to the public toilets.
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Did you have any problems with noise at night? I also heard one should not stay too close to mosques as their early morning prayers blasted over their loud speakers might wake you up?

Planning on a 2-3 week Turkish trip with the gf next month. Will fly from Istanbul > Cappadocia > Antalya and then take busses to as far as Troy before heading back to Istanbul. My list of ancient ruins to visit is too long so trying to narrow it down to about a dozen(?) out of the following:

Sagalassos, Perge, Aspendos, Side, Termessos, Phaselis, Myra, Patara, Xanthos, Kayakoy, Amyntas, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Didyma, Miletus, Priene, Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamon, Assos, Troy.

Any tips on which ones of the above to pass would be appreciated. Except for ruins I also marked down Koprulu Canyon, Kursunlu Waterfall, Saklikent National Park and Butterfly Valley. Are the Pamukkale travertines worth it? Seems like a lot of tourist damage has been done there over the years.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Did you have any problems with noise at night? I also heard one should not stay too close to mosques as their early morning prayers blasted over their loud speakers might wake you up?

Planning on a 2-3 week Turkish trip with the gf next month. Will fly from Istanbul > Cappadocia > Antalya and then take busses to as far as Troy before heading back to Istanbul. My list of ancient ruins to visit is too long so trying to narrow it down to about a dozen(?) out of the following:

Sagalassos, Perge, Aspendos, Side, Termessos, Phaselis, Myra, Patara, Xanthos, Kayakoy, Amyntas, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Didyma, Miletus, Priene, Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamon, Assos, Troy.

Any tips on which ones of the above to pass would be appreciated. Except for ruins I also marked down Koprulu Canyon, Kursunlu Waterfall, Saklikent National Park and Butterfly Valley. Are the Pamukkale travertines worth it? Seems like a lot of tourist damage has been done there over the years.
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Nope, we didn't have any issues with noise inside the hotel. We stayed here: https://goo.gl/maps/9MVwKjcYYSm9rhTo6

It's a great location as it's very central and close to the metro. I was thinking the other day how I'd love to go again.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Did you have any problems with noise at night? I also heard one should not stay too close to mosques as their early morning prayers blasted over their loud speakers might wake you up?

Planning on a 2-3 week Turkish trip with the gf next month. Will fly from Istanbul > Cappadocia > Antalya and then take busses to as far as Troy before heading back to Istanbul. My list of ancient ruins to visit is too long so trying to narrow it down to about a dozen(?) out of the following:

Sagalassos, Perge, Aspendos, Side, Termessos, Phaselis, Myra, Patara, Xanthos, Kayakoy, Amyntas, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Didyma, Miletus, Priene, Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamon, Assos, Troy.

Any tips on which ones of the above to pass would be appreciated. Except for ruins I also marked down Koprulu Canyon, Kursunlu Waterfall, Saklikent National Park and Butterfly Valley. Are the Pamukkale travertines worth it? Seems like a lot of tourist damage has been done there over the years.
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That is a lot of travel for such a short trip, public transport in Turkey is not as good as in Europe and getting from one place to another is not so easy. There are no reliable buses from Kas to Bodrum, that is a 5/6 hour trip and you will have to get private transport for that stretch, it costs about 5000 TL in a private taxi. The closest airport to Kas / Kalkan is Dalaman and not Antalya.

There are also no flights between most of the airports in the south, you will have to fly back to Istanbul each time.

Rather go check which area you want to go to and check the transport available.

Bodrum to Kusadasi to Selcuk to Izmir to Cannakale to Istanbul is doable by bus and that is a two week trip on its own.

I did Bodrum to Kas to Kalkan to Istanbul and that was 2.5 weeks.

You are going to have an unhappy gf if you take her on your planned trip.
 
bokka1 said:
That is a lot of travel for such a short trip, public transport in Turkey is not as good as in Europe and getting from one place to another is not so easy. There are no reliable buses from Kas to Bodrum, that is a 5/6 hour trip and you will have to get private transport for that stretch, it costs about 5000 TL in a private taxi. The closest airport to Kas / Kalkan is Dalaman and not Antalya.

There are also no flights between most of the airports in the south, you will have to fly back to Istanbul each time.

Rather go check which area you want to go to and check the transport available.

Bodrum to Kusadasi to Selcuk to Izmir to Cannakale to Istanbul is doable by bus and that is a two week trip on its own.

I did Bodrum to Kas to Kalkan to Istanbul and that was 2.5 weeks.

You are going to have an unhappy gf if you take her on your planned trip.
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Thanks for the tips. Yeah can't afford an unhappy missus...

Was planning the south western part on busses due flying not being an option, but I already knew I am trying to bite off more than I can chew. Will have to go back to the drawing board I guess, or extend the visit.

How much time do you think is needed for this itinerary? 1 month?

Cheers
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Thanks for the tips. Yeah can't afford an unhappy missus...

Was planning the south western part on busses due flying not being an option, but I already knew I am trying to bite off more than I can chew. Will have to go back to the drawing board I guess, or extend the visit.

How much time do you think is needed for this itinerary? 1 month?

Cheers
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I am not even sure a month is going to be enough to see everything.

Rather stay longer at places and enjoy the stay, Turkey has beautiful coastal towns that are very good to also relax at.

I was there in June last year and it gets really hot, everyday is in the mid to high 30's. I don't think you want to spend your time on buses every day. Choose a few places and go enjoy the holiday. Look for places to stay with a pool, you are going to use it during the day. All the coastal towns will have boat excursions that are very lekker.
 
bokka1 said:
I am not even sure a month is going to be enough to see everything.

Rather stay longer at places and enjoy the stay, Turkey has beautiful coastal towns that are very good to also relax at.

I was there in June last year and it gets really hot, everyday is in the mid to high 30's. I don't think you want to spend your time on buses every day. Choose a few places and go enjoy the holiday. Look for places to stay with a pool, you are going to use it during the day. All the coastal towns will have boat excursions that are very lekker.
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Did you go to Butterfly Valley close to Fethiye by any chance? Looks beautiful.
 
Bill Clitnon said:
Did you go to Butterfly Valley close to Fethiye by any chance? Looks beautiful.
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No, we did not go to Fethiye.

Last year we did Bodrum 5 nights, Kas 5 nights, Kalkan 4 nights, Istanbul 4 nights. This was mainly a beach holiday, but I checked now and the accommodation prices have gone up a lot, some places double what I paid last year.
 
bokka1 said:
No, we did not go to Fethiye.

Last year we did Bodrum 5 nights, Kas 5 nights, Kalkan 4 nights, Istanbul 4 nights. This was mainly a beach holiday, but I checked now and the accommodation prices have gone up a lot, some places double what I paid last year.
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Dammit. I see people on Tripadvisor also say everything has gone up a lot there recently.
 
Wife is travelling to Turkey now for a business trip, anything worth buying therte or items they are famous for ? (Besides Carpets / Rugs)
 
L-Dog said:
Wife is travelling to Turkey now for a business trip, anything worth buying therte or items they are famous for ? (Besides Carpets / Rugs)
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Turkish Delight, spices and tea.

And fake branded shoes.
 
L-Dog said:
Wife is travelling to Turkey now for a business trip, anything worth buying therte or items they are famous for ? (Besides Carpets / Rugs)
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Nothing says "I just came back from a Turkish holiday" better than one of these bad boys
 
Anyone know of any easy ways to send money to an account in Turkey? FNB simply says they can't help and Wise seems to have stopped allowing transfers to Turkey too :cautious:
 
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