On a 10-day trip to Turkey, will spend first four days in Istanbul, then?

Question

any suggestions of what to do for the rest of the time. Don't want to travel too far; would like to include relaxation and sightseeing. Is it advisable to spend entire 10 days in Istanbul and take day trips to places of interest? Probably need to decide soon as have booked hotel in Istanbul and after that, nothing organized!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Hi,
i would recommend to you Edirne...
http://www.trakya.edu.tr/Eng/edirne/
http://www.trakya.edu.tr/kulliye_ing/
http://www.enversengul.com/photos/index.…
http://vdb.gib.gov.tr/edirnevdb/edirne/e…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmEEe-mwv…
have a nice holiday in Türkiye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-Z2bVuEY…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YAvfxA6a…

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks so much to everyone who made recommendations for my visit to Turkey. I do appreciate all the advise. It was difficult to choose the best answer because all included something interesting and useful. Thank you Cetin for the links to Edirne; it looks beautiful and is definitely on my list!

Answer 2

You should go to the beachs in Antalya or Bodrum! Turkey has some really beautiful beaches!

Source(s):

Been to Turkey. Saw the beaches. Were beautiful.

Answer 3

Bodrum is a good place to go but thats me done was a long time ago since i was last in Turkey but check out the source link below for more information for places to visit and accommodation
enjoy

Source(s):

http://backpackers-world.net/destination…

via http://backpackers-world.net/

Answer 4

I would say three days is more than enough in Istanbul but probably just 2 will be fine. Turkey is a big country so you really need to sleep else where. Plus staying in a town overnight is part of the experience.

Anyway after Istanbul I would suggest spending a day in Bursa which is a beautiful Ottoman town just south of Istanbul.

Then heading down the coast go to Galopoli to see the WWI battlefields and the memorials commemorating the 250,000 British, Turkish and ANZAC troops that died on the Gallipoli Peninsula. It's all seeable in a day

Then close by is Ephesus which is the ruins of a roman city which is spectacular. Selcuk the nearest town is also quite nice but again not worth spending too much time in.

Heading further south you get to the Mediterranean coast which is relaxing or intense depending on where you go.
Towns like Bodrum have the biggest clubs and serve exclusively english food and everyone there is English. It wasn't my cup of tea but if your looking for a party bodrums the place to go. Another similar place is Antalya (which is slightly nicer).

However the south coast has many places to relax too. One of my favourite place in Turkey is Olympos near Antalya which is a small collection of hostels in tree houses in a valley and a beautiful beach. It's got a really nice atmosphere and most people spend much longer then they expect there.

However my favourite of all places is Cappadocia in the middle of turkey. It's a little far to go but its well worth it.
Goreme in Cappadocia is the village where most people stay and is where all of the houses are built into the strange rock formations... i.e. http://www.tatilsepeti.com/Files/TurResi…

I spent a long time there riding round the mountains on a hired moped and getting drunk on the local spirit raki.

If your a little more adventurous then you could head east to mount nemrot which is apparantly amazing,and further to kurdistan but travelling there can be a little difficult at times.

There are probably more places worth mentioning but I forget. Guide books like the lonely planet usually have recommended itinerary for 10 day trips so check them out.

But remember don't try and see to much. Turkish buses are notoriously stuffy and can be cramped so traveling every day can be extremely tiring.

Answer 5

If you've booked four days in Istanbul (which is a good idea - there's loads to see there, you could spend longer) and have only ten days in total, you don't want to waste too much time travelling.
As beautiful as they are, I would leave Bodrum, Cappadocia, Antalya etc for your next trip, otherwise you will spend a day travelling each way - distances in Turkey are vast!

You could do day trips from Istanbul - up the Bosphorus, the Princes Islands etc or move on to another (relatively close) centre.

If you like history and scenery, how about the north-west Aegean, Dardanelles, Marmara area?
You could go to Canakkale from where you can tour Gallipoli and Troy, visit Assos and perhaps have some more sea at (for example) Akcay.
These places are about 6 hours from Istanbul but there's lots to see and do in that corner of Turkey without having any other long journeys once you are there.
Day trips from Istanbul would each incorporate 1-2 hours travelling just to escape the city.

Answer 6

you must try to see either ephesus-- one of the wonders of the world --or go to the cappadochia area. you can take short flights to both areas, tho you will probably have time for only one or the other. both have "open air museums" and plenty to do and see....you will not be sorry...

http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/ephesus_lo…

Source(s):

been

Answer 7

5-7 days will give you plenty of time for an in-depth look at Istanbul and to really explore the city properly. Istanbul is fascinating but also a very busy city, so if you spent another 2-3 days in one other place it would be a nice variation and change of scene to relax a bit.

You could try either Ephesus or Cappadocia (fly to one of these places in one hour so you don't waste time travelling on long speeding overnight buses). Then you would also see another famous part of Turkey other than Istanbul - you could either relax in the countryside and small villages of Cappadocia or by the Aegean Coast to swim near Ephesus.

If you come back to Turkey again later, you would still need to come through Istanbul anyway and spend some more time there as well as some other parts of Turkey, so it's nice to keep some more of Istanbul til next time anyway, in my opinion!