You can rent a car or hire a driver. We hired a driver because we did several point-to-point hikes and did not want to have to work out the difficult logistics of getting back to our car. We hired a driver through our hotel but this private driver service gets rave reviews.
Where We Stayed: I highly recommend staying in a cave hotel in Cappadocia. We stayed at Yunak Evleri Hotel in Urgup and had a perfect experience. The staff was friendly, attentive, and met all of our needs. Our room was quiet and comfortable and had plenty of room for our family of four. I would stay here again on a future visit to Cappadocia.
Seeing the unique scenery of Cappadocia from the vantage point of a hot air balloon is an unforgettable experience. If you do one thing while in Cappadocia, a hot air balloon ride gets my vote. It may be painful paying the fee, but the memories and photos you will have make it worthwhile. Your day will start very early. We were picked up at 5 am at our hotel by Royal Balloon and at am we were floating up into the air. We got so close to the ground that our basket almost brushed the treetops.
Located a half hour south of Urgup, this valley is filled with churches carved into the mountains. The Old Greek House, recommended in tour books and by our driver, is a great place for a lunch break. Located in Mustafapasa , this is a great pit stop on the way back to the heart of Cappadocia.
Spend the afternoon hiking the Rose and Red Valleys. This is another short, easy hike and the views are amazing. Sunset Point , overlooking the Rose and Red Valleys, is the most popular spot to watch the sunset in Cappadocia. Enjoy the view and then end the day with dinner in town. Derinkuyu is the largest of the underground cities in Cappadocia.
Believed to have been built in the 7th and 8th centuries B. Derinkuyu was inhabited until the early 20th century but is now on display as a museum. About an hour away from Cappadocia is the Ihlara Valley. This hike is a 4-mile point-to-point hike through the Ihlara Valley. It is a flat, easy hike that can be done quickly, as there are few climbs or obstacles.
The follows along a river, with chances to explore more caves along the way. The hike ends at Belisirma Valley.
A collection of restaurants are located on the river. At the advice of our driver we ate at Aslan Restaurant. The food was very good and we enjoyed sitting next to the river while we ate our lunch.
From Selime Cathedral, the highway that takes you back to Urgup is the same path as the Silk Road took hundreds of years ago. Located on the side of the road is a caravanserai , a large stone building that was an overnight stopping point for people transporting their goods along the Silk Road. Get more details about this 3 day Cappadocia itinerary in our post:. Today you will begin your journey home.
Most likely, you will fly from Cappadocia to Istanbul to your hometown. Or, for those with more time, continue your journey. The days are warm and the nights are cool with little rainfall. The spring months are peak season for tourists, so expect higher prices and large crowds.
Summer is hot and dry and can also be crowded when people take their summer holidays. The winter months can be cold and wet. We had a mix of cool, cloudy days with a touch of rain, and warm, sunny days. Even though we visited during Easter, most places seemed surprisingly empty. Turkey is a Muslim country. Women should keep their knees and shoulders covered.
I recommend bringing a scarf to wear as a head covering when you visit the mosques. Most places will provide one for you but I prefer having my own.
The Museum Pass is a card that covers your admission to several of the main museums in Istanbul. It is valid for 5 days and with this card you can skip the ticket lines. It costs TL. If you follow this itinerary, you will visit three of the museums that are covered Chora Church, Topkapi Palace and the Harem for a grand total of TL.
If you follow this itinerary, the Museum Pass no savings, although it does allow you to bypass the ticket lines. In my opinion, it is not worth it to purchase the Museum Pass. Click here to learn more about the Museum Pass. If you have any questions about this Turkey itinerary, comment below.
Planning a trip to Turkey? Read all of our articles in our Turkey Travel Guide. Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we get paid a small commission at no extra cost to you. Hi — I plan to visit Turkey with my husband from Dec Jan 2 this year.
Do you think it is a good time to visit and we can still have the experiences you had. What changes you would recommend in your itinerary if we are visiting in December?
Any insight would be helpful. Cheers, Julie. Hi, we are thinking of going in October just Istanbul and cappadocia! What is a good number of nights you would suggest and which to do first? Also would you please explain the transportation from one place to the other? Hello Carla. I think a minimum of 4 days in Istanbul is good, 5 is better, if you have that kind of time. For Cappadocia, we spent 3 days here and it seemed to be the perfect amount of time for us. Essentially, you can follow this itinerary, just omit Izmir.
Fly into Istanbul, spend 4 to 5 days in Istanbul, then travel to Cappadocia, spend 3 days in Cappadocia, and fly home from here Cappadocia to Istanbul to home. You can also switch the order, flying to Cappadocia first and ending in Istanbul. To get between Istanbul and Cappadocia, flying is the quickest and most convenient option. There is an airport in Cappadocia with several direct flights a day from Istanbul. Here is a sample itinerary with 4 days in Istanbul: 1 arrive in Istanbul 2 Istanbul 3 Istanbul 4 Istanbul 5 Istanbul 6 fly to Cappadocia early, sightsee in the afternoon 7 Cappadocia 8 Cappadocia 9 fly home.
On this itinerary, you will spend 5 nights in Istanbul and 3 nights in Cappadocia. The cost depends upon the time of year you are visiting, whether you take tours or travel independently, and whether you stay in budget vs. If you are looking for a guided tour, Here is one going to these places in October You said you hired a driver for point-point hike, where did you hire the driver from? Which hikes were done point-point? We hired our driver through our hotel in Cappadocia, the Yunak Evleri.
All of the hikes we did were point-to-point. We visited Turkey in and at the time we felt very safe. I recommend checking the US State Department website for updates on travel warnings. Great work Julie! The information is more than enough and also explained the historical point of view. Just keep it on. Living in Turkey, we are fortunate to be able to explore a lot of this country. Apart from the Ephesus day, which would be too packed to our taste, but is a standard day for most people visiting , this post is a great tool for people to start planning their trip to Turkey.
They are a must-see. Hi Julie — Your 10 day itinerary for Istanbul is just awesome! I am travelling with my family husband and 12 year old on June 14th to Istanbul from Dallas and thinking of connecting on to Cappadocia ,reaching there on June 15th night. Given the long international flights, what do you recommend we do in Cappadocia would love to do the Hot Air Balloon ride on June 17th. We will leave for Istanbul on June 17th night or 18th early morning and then explore Istanbul per your suggestions June 18th — June 22nd.
Hello Rachna. Take a look at our 3 day Cappadocia itinerary. I recommend doing days 1 and 2 since this hits our favorite spots in Cappadocia. Put the hot air balloon flight on your second day since you might need to sleep in the first day after those long flights. To get around, I recommend a driver for Cappadocia. This allows you to do some point to point hikes and to sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery.
We arranged our driver through our hotel. Are the Turkish people friendly with Americans? The Turkish people are some of the most friendly and welcoming people we have ever met.
We would have spent less time, but they did not kick us out at closing time because of an evening event taking place. We felt that was a good amount of time to wander the city from the bottom of the hill to the top and back again.
These were our favorite stops along the way. The Library of Celsus is the highlight of the Ephesus ruins. The Library of Celsus is the third largest library in the ancient world. It was built to hold 12, scrolls and completed in — A.
Built by his son to honor him, Senator Celsus is buried in a mausoleum underneath the library. The facade lay in ruins for years before being put back together again between and After I saw pictures of it online, I knew I wanted to see it but that it would be crowded. Since we went in the afternoon, we decided to make it our last stop, hoping the tours would leave by then.
It worked! While we did make it our last stop, we also stumbled upon it earlier. As we wandered through the ruins on the main path, I noticed a decent amount of people around taking pictures of something.
I looked over, and there it was. At first, it was smaller than I expected. From the road, you walk down a path to get to the bottom of the library. When we came back later and walked down, it looked more like the size I expected.
At first, I thought that it must be a similar building instead of the real thing. The first time we walked past the Library of Celsus. Because the Library of Celsus is the main stop in Ephesus, it is also one of the more crowded spots. If you want to get photos without anyone in them, get there when it opens and go straight to the Library. Do not stop anywhere along the way as you can go back later. If you are like us and visit in the afternoon, make it your last stop.
There will probably still be a few other people there, but you can use creative angles to crop them out or take turns taking photos. We ended up waiting for the last family to finish their photos before we took our photos. Because we were the only ones left, we set up the tripod to take a picture of us.
It was right at closing time, and a security guard walking by came over to us. We assumed it would be to tell us to leave. It was not. He just let us know that we could not use the tripod to take pictures for security reasons and then left us alone.
We respected the rule even though there was no one else around to take pictures of us. We ended up setting the camera on a rock instead.
If you are traveling alone, have a plan to get pictures of yourself that does not involve a tripod. Curetes Street is one of the main streets through Ephesus. It connects the upper part of Ephesus to the lower part of Ephesus. Many of the main stops throughout the ruins are along Curetes Street. The street leads from the Library of Celsus up through a main street that was full of shops in ancient times.
This street is made of marble, and parts of it were a bit slick. While avoiding these areas and finding steady footing is not difficult, be aware of the slippery patches, especially if it is wet.
You can see the parts of the street that have been smoothed out and have become slippery from years of use. It is worth the fee. If you visit in the summer like we did, it is worth it even more because you get a break in the air conditioning and shade for a while. The area opens at the same time as the ruins but closes 30 minutes beforehand. The Terrace Houses are the homes where the wealthy lived in ancient Ephesus.
The houses were used from the first to seventh century A. Inside the closed in area, you find six homes full of mosaics and walls that tell the stories of ancient myths. While inside, you follow a walkway through the different levels of the homes. When we visited, we were the only ones inside. We took our time, enjoying the air conditioning and imagining what life was like for these families. The work that went into these homes is incredible. The mosaics and painted walls show the wealth these families had.
There are signs along the way to point out things or explain things for visitors. If you are visiting with a tour, you will have to see if the tour includes the Terrace Houses or not. These two theaters in Ephesus are at opposite ends of the ruins. If you enter from the lower entrance, the Great Theater is the first one you see.
If you enter from the upper entrance, you first come across the Odeon Theater. The Great Theater is the more crowded of the two, at least when we went. It is also the bigger of the two by far. If you walk the main roads through the entire ruins, both theaters are on your route. Take time to explore the Great Theater, the biggest ancient theater in Turkey. It seats 24, people.
Built back in the 4th century BC, it was a Greek theater that later became a Roman theater. For Christians or those interested in history, the Great Theater is where the events of Acts — 41 took place. A silversmith by the name of Demetrius started a riot against Paul for speaking out against Artemis Diana.
Because Paul spoke out against worshiping her, the silversmiths worried they would lose income for their silver shrines sold to visitors. Eventually, a city clerk dispelled the crowd, encouraging them to take their problems to the legal system instead of a public assembly as the men had committed no crime.
There was a concert in the Great Theater on the day we visited. It was a special event being held that night.
Because off that, we were not asked to leave at closing time. I am not sure if they are as lax about closing time when there is not an event, but it worked out well for us.
It seats 1, people, so it is much smaller than the Great Theater. Before it was excavated, the entire theater was underground. It is also less crowded than the Great Theater, making it a good photo spot. The Temple of Hadrian sits across the street from the Terrace Houses. Built in the second century, the temple honors the Roman emperor Hadrian. Later it became a Christian church. Follow the link for the train schedule. Only Pegasus Airlines has direct flights from Kayseri to Izmir.
There are none from Nevsehir. Though comfortable, they sometimes wait to fill up their buses with passengers so the three-hour ride can become four or five. Some people swear that the exchange rate is even better. In my experience, my ATM card works in some machines but not in others. We liked it just the way it was — rustic and undeveloped with a charming small town vibe. We stayed in five different hotels during our 2-week trip to Turkey and Amazon Petite Palace was easily our favorite.
You can book a room at Amazon Petite Palace through Booking. It has a vibrant nightlife with large resorts and many bars and restaurants. Built in the 10th Century BC, this ancient city was a key seaport that was once the center of trade and commerce in the ancient world, as well as being a hub for early Christianity.
If you were to visit just one archaeological site in Turkey, then this should probably be it. Check out my post on the ancient city of Ephesus for more pictures and information. There are audio guides available for rent and they do a good job of explaining all the different sites at Ephesus. It includes buffet lunch as well.
No visit to Ephesus can be complete without a stop at the archaeological museum. John the Apostle while İsabey Mosque is regarded as one of the oldest and most impressive surviving examples of Anatolyan beylik architecture. Both are monuments to faith located just minutes from each other on Ayasuluk Hill. Check out my post on the Basilica of St. Suggested Length of Visit: Located on Mt. Check out my post on Meryem Ana Evi for more pictures and information.
What a sad sight this was. Rebuilt three times before its ultimate destruction in AD, any surviving pieces are now on display at the British and Ephesus Archaeological Museums. The temple is located just a short walk from the otogar. The travertines are formed by naturally occurring hot springs that gush water supersaturated with calcium carbonate. The calcium carbonate is deposited as a soft gel which then crystallizes into these terrace-like formations.
Follow the link for more inofrmation and to book the full-day Pamukkale tour on Get Your Guide. Turkish food is uh-mazing! We fell in love with it the first day we were there. Check out my post for a list of 27 delicious things to eat and drink in Turkey. They served us the best lamb we had during our entire Turkey trip, which is saying a lot with lamb being such as important ingredient in Turkish cuisine!
We had lunch here on a beautiful day and had great views of the Roman Aqueduct. Can you see the nests there? Made entirely of sticks, each of those giant nests can weigh up to kilos.
We enjoyed this place so much that we wound up eating two meals here. Be sure to get the grilled lamb kebabs. Most of the places recommended in this guide are pinned on this map.
If you download Sygic Travel and have GPS switched on, then you should have no problem finding anything. As far as I know, no minibuses go to Meryem Ana Evi , so your best bet would be to go by taxi. You can hire one at the otogar to take you to Meryem Ana Evi, wait for you there, then drop you off at the South Gate of Ephesus.
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