|
"We
want to see Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cappadocia,
but we only have five days (after
attending a conference in Istanbul).
What's the best way to do it?" asked
two female travelers from California,
one of them in her 70s.
"We're
relatively adventurous travelers," they
said. "We don't do dangerous
things, but neither do we need hand-holding."
In
a private
consultation, I proposed
a five-day driving itinerary:
fly from Istanbul to Izmir,
pick up a
rental
car, see Ephesus, Aphrodisias and Pamukkale, then drive east through
Turkey's lake country to Konya and
Cappadocia, then fly back to Istanbul.
(If
you don't want to make the long
drive on Day
3, you can fly from
Izmir to Kayseri (for Cappadocia),
but then you miss the lake country
and Konya.
Here's
the alternative 5-day fly-drive itinerary.)
If
you want to do the drive, make
reservations as early as possible
for the services
you'll need. (Here are good
Turkish travel agents who
can make all the arrangements for
you if you'd rather not worry about
them, and here's my list of recommended licensed
private guides.)
YOUR
RESERVATIONS:
1.
Flights on Day
1 from Istanbul to Izmir,
and on Day 5 from Kayseri to Istanbul.
2. Rental
car from Izmir's Adnan
Menderes Airport,
on Day 1,
to be returned in Ürgüp, Cappadocia,
in late afternoon on Day
5.
3.
Hotels for
Days 1 through 4 (unless you'd
rather make these reservations
yourself.)
4. Hot-air
balloon flight reservation
in Cappadocia (if
you want this adventure). Reserve
your places for the morning
of Day 5. More...
5.
Turkish Airlines shuttle bus reservation from Cappadocia to Kayseri's Erkilet
Airport for your flight
to Istanbul.
Hint: Argeus
Tourism & Travel is
an official ticket agency for Turkish
Airlines as well as for AtlasJet, Fly
Air, Onur
Air, and Sun
Express, and also operates
the Turkish
Airlines shuttle
buses between Cappadocia and Kayseri's
Erkilet Airport.
Also, Argeus (based
in Ürgüp, Cappadocia)
has a particularly strong relationship
with Turkey's best car rental
companies, and many hotels,
and so is particularly well
positioned to make all of the reservations
you'll
need for this itinerary. More...
YOUR ITINERARY:
Day
1 - Monday: Fly Istanbul-Izmir,
Drive to Selçuk/Ephesus
Morning
flight from Istanbul to Izmir (ADM),
arrive by noon or earlier; lunch
snack at the airport, or carry a
picnic
lunch,
or stave off hunger until you arrive
in Selçuk.
Pick up your reserved rental
car at the airport and drive to Selçuk (62
km/39 miles, 1-1/4 hours), the town
next to Ephesus.
Arrive
in Selçuk by
14:30 or 15:00 (2:30 or 3 pm), check
in at your hotel (recommended: Hotel
Kalehan, an inn with several
small buildings grouped around a
small swimming pool; rooms decorated
with crafts; good restaurant with
vegetables from the hotel's own organic
garden). Visit Ephesus
Museum, Saint
John Basilica, Isa Bey Mosque (you
can walk to them all from the hotel).
Dinner and overnight.
Day
2 - Tuesday: Ephesus, Drive to
Aphrodisias & Pamukkale
In
the morning, explore the ruins
of Ephesus (2 to 3 hours),
then drive to Aphrodisias (143
km/89 miles, 2 hours); lunch either
before leaving Selçuk or
at Aphrodisias. Tour the ruins of Aphrodisias (1-1/2
to 2 hours), drive to Pamukkale (123
km/76 miles, 1-1/2 hours), arriving
before dark. Settle in at a hotel
in Pamukkale Town or Karahayit.
Day
3 - Wednesday: Pamukkale, Drive
to Konya
After
lunch, drive from Pamukkale through Turkey's
lake country to Konya (450
km, 280 miles, 7 hours); overnight
in Konya. Hotel
Balikcilar,
simple (almost spartan), modern,
has the best location: right across
the street from the Mevlana
Museum in the city center.
It's also one of the few hotels to
serve alcoholic beverages in this conservative Muslim city.
Day
4 - Thursday: Konya, Silk Road,
(Ihlara), Underground Cities, Ürgüp (Cappadocia)
In
the morning, visit the whirling dervish Mevlana
Museum and
other Seljuk
Turkish monuments (1200s) on
and around Konya's Alaettin Hill (2
to 3 hours), then drive east along
the ancient Silk
Road to Sultanhan (110
km, 68 miles) for a brief look at
the grandest of Seljuk
Turkish caravanserais (built
in 1229), and lunch.
Continue
through Aksaray (42
km, 26 miles, 40 minutes). If you
want to explore the Ihlara
(Peristrema) Valley, turn
right (south) 11 km east of Aksaray
for Selime, Belisirma and Ihlara
(23 km).
Spend
2 or 3 hours at Ihlara,
then head east to Derinkuyu to
see its underground
city, though if you don't watch
your time carefully on this day you
may arrive after it is closed for
the day (17:00/5 pm).
From
Derinkuyu drive north to Nevsehir,
then east to Ürgüp.
If
you don't want to see the Ihlara
Valley, from Aksaray go east along
the ancient Silk
Road to Nevsehir (65
km, 40 miles, 1 hour). There are
more Seljuk
Turkish caravanserais along this
road if you're interested, particularly
the Agzikarahan just
east of Aksaray.
Beyond
Nevsehir, in Ürgüp,
settle
in at the Esbelli
Evi, the first and still
my favorite of Cappadocia's
cave hotels.
Day
5 - Friday: Cappadocia, Fly Kayseri-Istanbul
Rise
before dawn for your hot-air
balloon flight (if you've
reserved this thrill-of-a-lifetime
experience). You'll be back at your
hotel in time for breakfast.
Visit
the Göreme
Open Air Museum in the
morning (no guide necessary; 2
to 3 hours).
Then drive to the nearby Zelve
Valley, Avanos
and/or Uçhisar,
exploring Cappadocia until it's
time to turn in your rental car.
You
could drive to Kayseri's
Erkilet Airport and turn in your
rental car there, saving yourself
the cost of the THY/Argeus
Tourism shuttle bus, but
I don't recommend driving
to the airport.
You'll have to leave earlier, take
the chance
of getting lost (the route can be
confusing), and deal with Turkish
city traffic in Kayseri, probably
at rush hour, and maybe in the dark.
Better to take the shuttle, believe
me.
Fly to Istanbul and return to your
hotel there.
If this seems like too much driving,
look at my 5-Day
Fly-Drive Itinerary.
5-Day Fly-Drive Itinerary: Ephesus,
Pamukkale & Cappadocia
Getting from Pamukkale to Cappadocia
Getting from Istanbul to Cappadocia
1
to 5 Days in Turkey
6
to 10 Days in Turkey
16
to 23 Days in Turkey
24
to 30+ Days in Turkey
Recommended Licensed
Private Guides
Recommended
Itineraries
Special
Interest Trips
Other
Sample Itineraries
Custom
Itinerary Planning
|
