Turkey is a wonderful country for independent travelers. It offers breathtaking sites, affordable travel and a user-friendly transportation system.
Travel Turkey is designed to provide you with the on-line and off-line information you need to plan your trip. We encourage you to read guide books and do some basic research so you can best decide where you want to go. Our pages are not designed to provide this basic research -- that really depends on what interests you.
We also encourage you to visit our readers' Tips page to see what advice and places to go that fellow travelers recommend.
Travel Turkey's Transportation pages will also be of value to you in planning how to get there and how to get around.
On this page we also offer some help with places to visit. We do not plan itineraries. If you need help with this, please contact a local travel agency as Travel Turkey is not a travel agency. We can help you once you've outlined an itinerary and are wondering can you really do all that in 4 days! We're happy to answer these types of questions with our Concierge service.
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Web Resources
There are some excellent web sites and articles about Turkey that can be of use as you determine what you must see and do!
1000travletips.org is a great page for independent travelers. Here you can find informative personal stories about the wonderful places to see in Turkey without the first person narrative of how I spent my summer vacation. They also have information on travel in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
If you need an overview, try a CNN story, Destinations: Turkey.
SkyLife is Turkish Airlines in-flight magazine on the web. It's great. Lots of interesting articles that can help you find places not found in the guide books as well as different things to see in even the most popular towns. It's easy to navigate and you can even find past months articles. It's well worth visiting.
If you have time do a search of the New York Times travel sections it seems like they run something about Turkey every other week. You can find them at http://www.nytimes.com.
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Istanbul
All roads lead to this historic city and there's lot to see and do! The Turkish Ministry of Tourism's pages includes listings and photos of the key sites including Palaces, Mosques and Musuems to visit. Time Out Istanbul is also another interesting site to visit.
Istanbul Travel Agencies
Places to Stay in Istanbul
OTHER LINKS:
Architecture
of Istanbul
The
City's Walls
The International Istanbul
Festival
Istanbul
Mosiac Museum
Istanbul
Travel Tips
Museums
Topkapi
Palace Museum
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Bodrum
Bodrum is well known for its Medieval Castle as well as the place to lay on the beach all day and party until dawn. The Turkish Ministry of Tourism pages not only give a good overview on Bodrum town, but also on all the surrounding villages. Bodrum is also the home of the Blue Voyage: charter a wooden gulet for a slow relaxing journey along the shores of the Mediterranean.
GETTING THERE: Flights from Istanbul daily, but sell out early in summer so its best to book ahead. Overnight bus trips are popular. Express buses from Istanbul take 12 hours. Buses from Cappadocia take a little longer. Selcuk (Ephesus) is just 3 hours away. Izmir is 4 hours. Ferries usually run daily from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos.
Bodrum Travel Agencies
Places to Stay in Bodrum
OTHER LINKS:
A
Heraldic Tour of the Castle of Saint Peter
Institute of
Nautical Archeology
The Museum of Underwater
Archeology
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Canakkale/Eceabat
Theses two little towns are separated by the straight that joins the Sea of Marmara and the Agean. More importantly, they are the gateway to two famous battlefields in history: Troy and Gallipolli.
GETTING THERE: Overnight express bus from Istanbul.
OTHER LINKS:
ANZAC Day
Excavating
Troy
Military
History: Gallipolli
The Tale of
Ancient Troy
The
Iliad by Homer
Trojan War-History,
Myth & Homer
Wreck of
the AE2 Submarine
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Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey. They are many towns in the area inlcuding Avanos (famous for its pottery), Goreme, Nevsehir, and Urgup. It is the home of some of the most unique geology on the planet. Perhaps, you caught a glimpse of it in the Star Wars movie. The early Christians also called it home and left entire areas of small churches as well a series of underground cities where they hid for safety. It also offers a welcome relief when the rest of Turkey is so hot!
GETTING THERE: Flights from Istanbul. Overnight bus trip from Istanbul takes about 10 hours. From Selcuk more than 12 hours. From Ankara around 3 hours.
Cappadocia Travel
Agents
Places to Stay in
Cappadocia
OTHER LINKS:
Cappadocia
Travel Tips
Underground
Cities
Early
Christian Churches in Cappadocia
Kappadoyka Balloon
Rides
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Dalyan
This is a great town for children of all ages. It is quiet and easy to get around. A beautiful boat ride down the river takes you to three remarkable sites: the precious sea turtles called Caretta-Caretta, the mud baths (wear a bathing suit!), and the ancient Lycian rock tombs.
GETTING THERE: By air flying into Dalaman airport. By bus and dolmus from Bodrum, Datca and Fethiye. By day boat from Fethiye and by ferry and hydrofoil from Bodrum.
OTHER LINKS:
Lycia:
A Forgotten Civilization
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Datca
If you're looking for a nice uncrowded beach town to spend a week in then Datca is it. The night life is quiet and the usual breeze (sometimes wind!) keeps it cooler than other seaside resorts. Hire a boat and visit other beaches and enjoy a day at sea! Visit the ancient city of Knidos.
GETTING THERE: By air flying into the Bodrum aiport. From Bodrum by ferry. By bus or dolmus from Marmaris.
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Fetiye
People come to Fethiye for two reasons. the foremost one being Oludeniz, the most beautiful beach in Turkey, immortilized on posters as the Turquoise Riveria. Oludenz is a 15-minute dolmus ride from the city center. The second reason for a visit is making day trips to some famous anicent cities like Telmessus, Tlos, Pinara, the Letoum and Xanthus. This is also a place for departures of the Blue Voyages.
GETTING THERE: By air flyng into Dalaman Airport. By bus from Marmaris and Antalya. By ferry from Rhodes.
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Izmir
Izmir is the perfect place for those who are interested in less crowded archeology sites as it makes an interesting jump off point for day trips to Sardis and Pergamum. It is possible to day a day trip to Aphrodesias, but you must catch one of the early buses. Cesme, a small beach town with its own castle, is about an hour away by bus.
GETTING THERE: Domestic and international airport. By bus from all ponts across Turkey. By ferry from Istanbul, from the Greek island of Chios via Cesme and from Italy.
OTHER LINKS:
The
Lydian Queen Omphale
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