Hello sisses! This would be a long and detailed post. I just came back from Turkey and would like to share my itinerary. I am not a fan of arranged tours, but for this trip, I had to concede kasi masyado magkakalayo ang mga tourist attractions, my initial attempts for a DIY trip didn’t seem to be the best option.
After reading reviews in Trip Advisor, I contacted one of the travel agencies based in Turkey and they have arranged everything for us. The trip was for
8 days – 4 days in Istanbul, 2 days in Cappadocia and 2 days in Kusadasi (for the Ephesus & Pamukkale tours). Here’s our itinerary:
Day 1- Arrived at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 07:15 am. Half Day Afternoon
Bosphourus Cruise at 1-5:30 pm.
Grand Bazaar in the evening.
We didn’t stay that long in the Grand Bazaar, we just checked the prices of the goods but didn’t intend to buy as we need to limit our luggage to 15 kilos for the domestic flights pa. The prices are actually high, too, so we just looked around and were done in half an hour.
From the Grand Bazaar we just walked our way back to our Hotel. We had dinner at Ortaklar in Sultanahmet district as this is very near our hotel na. Their kebabs and pide are really sumptuous.
Day 2- Got up early and headed to Ataturk Airport for the flight to Kayseri at 06:55 am. From there we travelled to Cappadocia, travel time from the airport to Cappadocia is 1.5 hours.
Our travel agency has tied up with HtR Tours. Their van had wifi and the tour guide was really knowledgeable. Our Cappadocia Tour Day 1 included
Goreme Open Air Museum, Pasabagi (also called the
Monks Valley),
Devrent Valley (also known as Imagination Valley),
Avanos (lunch and pottery making) and family
fairy chimneys,
Panoramic view point. Tour ended at 4pm.
We stayed in a cave hotel which is located near the
Sunset Point. So by 6pm we walked up the hill to the Sunset Point and enjoyed the breath taking view.
Day 3- We were supposed to have our hot air balloon ride in the morning, but due to weather conditions, it was cancelled. Too windy daw according to their Civil Aviation.
We were devastated, but then again, safety comes first.
We had a full day regular Cappadocia tour including
Goreme Panorama (for a complete view of Goreme valley and Goreme village),
Kaymakli Underground City, hike in the
Rose Valley,
Çavuşin Village and
Pigeon Valley.
In the evening, we were transferred to Kayseri Airport for the flight to Izmir that departs at 22:05. We arrived in Izmir very late na, past midnight na and the land travel from the airport to Kusadasi took a little more than an hour. Malayo sya. Super dilim ng roads na dinaanan namin, may ibang areas na walang lamp posts so for those who will do a DIY trip, please consider your safety and choose a reliable transfer service.
Day 4 – Full day Ephesus Tour. Our Travel agent has tied up with Apasas Tours. It was a big group of around 16 tourists. We explored the
Ephesus Ancient City, Artemis Temple, House of the Virgin Mary and Sirince Village. At the Ephesus Ancient City, the entrance fee to the
Terrace Houses were excluded from the arranged tour and we had to pay 25 TL separately. Tour ended at 4pm.
Back to Kusadasi after the tour. Kusadasi is a resort town and the place is so alive even at night. Our hotel had a very wonderful view of the sea and the port. There are so many options on where to eat but we opted to dine in a family-owned resto called Oz Urfa. We enjoyed the food and the walk back to our hotel.
(To be continued…)
