Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Turkey Trip
Turkey
Road Trippin’in Turkey
Turkey is an amazing destination with lots of historical sites, ancient ruins, beaches, and geographical wonders. With limited time in the country and a long “must see” list, we opted to road trip through Turkey during our 13 day stay. In addition to our three amigo travel team, we also had our two university age kids with us. Here is our itinerary overview with more details to follow:
- Day 1: Land in Istanbul, Rent the van & drive to Ankara
- Day 2: See sites in Ankara in the morning & drive to Cappadocia
- Day 3: Cappadocia
- Day 4: Cappadocia, drive through Konya to Antalya
- Day 5: Antalya
- Day 6: Antalya, Termessos, drive to Pammukale
- Day 7: Pammukale, drive to Izmir
- Day 8: Izmir, visit Ephesus
- Day 9: Drive to Istanbul & return van
- Day 10-13: Istanbul, fly out
Road & Gas Station Conditions
We took toll roads for most of the trip and they are excellent. Google maps works well and got supermarkets like those in the United States. Off the toll roads, the gas stations were more of a gamble with a few of the restrooms having only the “squatty potties” which I generally try to avoid. Getting pee spray on my shoes is not my idea of fun. For those sketchier gas stations, bring some tissues.
Check the weather conditions if you are traveling in the winter. This itinerary takes you through mountains and we hit a lot of snow. There were snow plows out and the roads were clear, but we saw some accidents.
us where we wanted to go. The gas stations on the toll roads all had clean bathrooms and little
Itinerary Reflections
We liked Ankara and could have spent two nights there, especially at the front end of the trip when we were getting acclimated to the country. Cappadocia is also a place to stay longer if you want to hike in the summer. For the winter, our time there was just about right. Pammukale could just be a stop while en route to Izmir. There is no need to spend the night there. We found it a bit overrated
The Trips Details
Ankara Highlights
The capital of Turkey, Ankara houses a lot of government buildings and embassies, as well as a quaint old town area near a historic castle. We stayed in the embassy district which had lots of nice restaurants and shopping.
Anitkabir
This is a must see in Turkey and houses the mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. After the collapse of the Ottomon Empire at the end of World War I, Ataturk led Turkey to establish itself as an independent, secular, nation-state and is considered the father of modern day Turkey. The grounds are spacious and it is free to walk around the area.
Old City & Castle
The castle sits at the top of the town and has several cobblestone streets with shops and cafes that are fun to enjoy. The castle itself is a short hike up some stairs and has a nice overlook of the city. We drove up through the narrow streets and parked in a paid parking area near the castle, but a taxi would have been an easier option if you are staying longer.
Hotel: Hilton Ankara
Restaurant: Luppa (walking distance from the hotel)
Cappadocia Highlights
There is so much to see and do here! We stayed in a cave hotel in Goreme and loved the experience.
Hot Air Balloon Ride
In the summer 160 hot air balloons take flight every morning with visitors experiencing the unique, other worldly geography by air. We went up in the winter and it was equally breathtaking with a dusting of snow in the valleys. If you are not going in the balloons, they are picturesque to watch from the ground or a hotel/cafe balcony. We arranged the balloon ride through our hotel, but there are dozens of companies in Goreme that offer the balloon rides with transportation from your hotel. Book for your first day in case the weather is not good and you need to try for another day. If you struggle with stairs, it may be challenging to climb in and out of the balloon, but they have a little ladder and help people in and out.
Underground City
We booked a day trip tour that took us to one of the underground cities where Christians used to hide from Roman persecution. It was fascinating and our guide walked us through the maze of underground rooms and explained their living situation. Having a guide for the underground city was definitely worth it, but we probably did not need to pay for a whole day tour. Turkey is great about having licensed tour guides at all the tourist sites and you can pay an individual to walk you through the site for a small price. The day trip also took us to some panoramic viewpoints, a ceramics and jewelry shop, Pigeon Valley and gave us lunch. With a car, you can do these sites on your own and go at your own pace.
Goreme Open Air Museum
A quick drive, with plenty of parking, gets you to the Goreme Open Air Museum. There you can walk through multiple early Christian cave churches with well preserved frescoes. You can also get some great views of Goreme. There are quite a lot of stairs, some uneven, so it may be challenging for some with mobility issues.
Museum Pass Note
Turkey has several museum pass options that will save you money if you plan to visit several of these sites. They also have an Istanbul only option.
Hotel: Cappadocia Cave Suites
Restaurants: There is a main street in Goreme that has lots of restaurant options depending on what type of food you want.
Antalya
We wandered through the maze of streets around lunchtime and enjoyed window shopping. We started at Hadrian’s Gate, saw the fluted minaret and several mosques, and made our way to the old Harbor. We took a 2 hour boat ride to see the Lower Duden Waterfalls from the harbor. If you don’t mind ridiculous techno music, the boat ride offers scenic views of the coast and a close up of the falls.
Hotel: Akra Hotel
Termessos Ruins (Antalya Region)
This was our biggest surprise and possibly the highlight of our trip. Don’t miss it! A 45 minute drive from Antalya (and kind of on the way to Pammukale) is Mount Güllük-Termessos National Park. Once you enter the park, you drive up the mountain and reach the trailhead for the ruins. There are some ruins at the parking lot, but you have to hike 30 minutes or so up the mountain to get to the main ruins. We did not know how long of a hike this was when we started so we almost called it quits, but it is worth it. Once you reach the upper walls, follow the signs to the theater. As we stepped up to the theater area, we were immediately blown away. The back of the stage is at the edge of the mountain so as you sit in the audience, you can see the stage and a beautiful mountain backdrop behind it. It’s breathtaking. Another bonus is that there are a lot less crowds so we had the place to ourselves. This is obviously not a stop if you are not able to hike uphill for 30 minutes or so.
Pammukale
I will admit that the beautiful tourism photos of pretty women splashing around elegantly in the pristine Pammukale springs made me want to experience a bit of that glamor for myself. I imagine that you can stage some cool Instagram pics here, but it was not as idyllic as we thought it would be. The surface of the rocks is not smooth and hurts to walk on. If you want to go into the pools, you have to walk a decent way on the sharp rock surface and in our case, very cold rocks. I made the trek and ended up with a huge bruise on the bottom/side of my foot that hurt when I walked for the rest of the trip. It was a constant reminder that for me, Pammukale was overrated.
Hotel: White Heaven Hotel (very friendly staff)
Izmir
Ephesus