Cappadocia Overland on our own

[Musicgirlcruiser]

We’re going on an Eastern Med cruise this July which includes a 2-day stop in Istanbul (7am dock on day 1, 1pm departure on day 2) with the next port stop at Kusadasi (11am – 8pm). We would like to see Cappadocia as well.

 

The cruiseline offers a 3 day 2 night overland tour, so I know that logistically, it’s possible. The tour offered goes like this:

Day 1 – Tour of Istanbul, fly to Cappadocia in the afternoon, check in hotel

Day 2 – Tour of Cappadocia, return to hotel

Day 3 – Fly to Kusadasi, tour of Ephesus, rejoin ship

 

I’m trying to see if I could closely parallel the IT above but tweak it a bit for our purposes, for the following reasons

1. We are a party of 10 and generally prefer going on private tours rather than ship tours

2. The tour is marked as strenuous. My 2 elderly parents might not be able to keep up. We prefer the flexibility of a slower pace, alternative sites that require less walking or can be driven up to closer, or sitting in the car or nearby café to wait.

3. My parents have been to Istanbul and Ephesus and are willing to sit these out

4. The ship tour includes a visit to a carpet place and a leather place which we would rather do without, considering the limited time on shore

5. Leaving my parents on board ship while we go off for 3 days, 2 nights is not an option.

 

There are private day tours for Cappadocia but starts too early for us to join on Day 1 and arrives too late for us to do on Day 2.

 

Please comment or advise on the following course of action:

 

Day 1 – Tour of Istanbul, parents stay on ship, we return for dinner together

Day 2 – Fly to Cappadocia, tour, stay overnight at hotel

Day 3 – Fly to Kusadasi, return parents to ship, we continue tour of Ephesus

 

Would this be allowed by the Turkish government and by the ship? (I’ll check with them, but is this an acceptable deviation?) What are the risks of the ship not being able to dock in Kusadasi? (What happens to those on tour?) How reliable is Turkish Airlines in terms of flight cancellation or delay? Is this a good IT?

 

A more hectic alternative (but does not involve being left behind by the ship) is:

 

Day 1 – Short tour of Istanbul (whatever we can see in a couple of hours), fly to Cappadocia (there’s a noon flight), tour of Cappadocia (tour operator willing to go till sunset – around 8pm?), stay at hotel

Day 2 – Fly back to Istanbul (7am flight), continue tour of Istanbul till 12 noon?)

 

How much of Istanbul can we realistically see? My top sites are: Hagia, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace. We don’t normally take in every detail so overview type visits are ok. Please advise.

 

Thanks!

[campolady]

Deleted.

Edited May 10, 2014 by campolady

[UKBayern]

You do know it is a very long way to the area, and you do know you have to do a substantial portion of travelling once you are in Cappadocia? The area is fairly poor and uninhabited. The airports in Capadocia are not in the middle of the sights, but a bit out of it, either in Kayseri or Nevşehir. There is no airport in Kusadasi, the nearest is in Izmir. There are no direct flights to ADB from ASR or NAV, you have to backtrack through Istanbul, a recipe for complications. Do not expect a modern international airport, both Kayseri and Nevsehir are backwaters, nearly a 1000 Km from Izmir. If Turkish Airlines goes on strike, if there is a broken down plane blocking the runway, if it is bad weather, if the guide does not turn up: you are in deep trouble, you are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

You already mentioned that you are travelling with people who have walking issues. How are you going to visit Göreme National Park, go into the rock churches, the underground cities? You are in a second world country. I have been to all the sites, you have to be fit, do not expect elevators, ramps, etc.

 

It is commendable that you want to see as much as you can of one of the friendliest, most beautiful countries, but sorry, this plan is just so risky, you are just inviting Murphy to the party.

And you will no doubt get replies here too from people who have done it and say "no problem". It is up to you what you do with the information.

Edited May 10, 2014 by UKBayern

[UKBayern]

Another thing: sunset will be late in July, but have you considered the insane temperatures in central Turkey in July? Over 100 Fahrenheit is no exception. Not only the rough inhospitable terrain will slow you down, but also these temperatures.

[Musicgirlcruiser]

Thank you for your reply.

 

I was uncertain about the risks but got encouraged by the ship offering and thought I should at least explore the option. Most of my research shows how wonderful Cappadocia is without mentioning the on the ground scenario you've described. Your comments are exactly what I needed and have helped us decide to drop this option.

 

Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

I'm glad you decided to give up the idea. I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to arranging things on my own (and did something similar when I was on a land trip in Turkey by stringing together 2 or 3 smaller tours on my own) but there's no way -- given the time constraints you'd be under -- that I would try this or recommend it.

 

Hopefully you will get back to Turkey in future, and I'd plan to spend not less than 3 days in Cappadocia to really get the best of it.

Edited May 11, 2014 by cruisemom42

[UKBayern]

Your comments are exactly what I needed and have helped us decide to drop this option.

Now you have more time to explore wonderful Istanbul!

 

Hopefully you will get back to Turkey in future, and I'd plan to spend not less than 3 days in Cappadocia to really get the best of it.

 

There is so much to see, we were there a week, with a professional guide, and I still have the idea that we only scratched the surface.

 

Tip: In the off-season, the Turkish government heavily subsidises land tours. The reason is bifold: keeping the locals working in the low season, and tempting tourists with low rates to show that there is more to Turkey than Istanbul and beaches. I don't know about travel agents in the US, but here in Europe excellent one or two week tours with everything included (coach, guide, entrance fees, 5-star hotels with lunch and dinner) are offered for insanely low prices (as low as $600 for 2 weeks, including 1 week tour and 1 week all-inclusive resort). This is one of reasons we go to Turkey fairly often in the winter.

 

Turkey is such a beautiful, interesting and culturally diverse country, and the people are so nice and friendly (also if they do not want to sell you something). Did you know that there actually are more Greek ruins in Turkey than in Greece itself?

[cruisemom42]

 

Turkey is such a beautiful, interesting and culturally diverse country, and the people are so nice and friendly (also if they do not want to sell you something). Did you know that there actually are more Greek ruins in Turkey than in Greece itself?

 

And some very impressive Roman ruins too. I've been to Turkey on various trips and cruise stops and it remains one of my very favorite destinations. Going back this fall and will finally have a chance to visit Aphrodisias, which I'm excited about....

[Musicgirlcruiser]

Thank you UKBayern and Cruisemom!

 

In retrospect, we should have picked a cruise with Istanbul as one of the end ports. I didn't realize there was so much more beyond Istanbul till after we booked the cruise and I started researching the ports.

 

I do hope we would be able to return for a more in-depth visit, but most likely, not all 10 of us would be able to go together.

 

Have a great time on your trip, cruisemom!

 

Thank you UKBayern for your tip re: off-season. When are these insanely priced 2-week trips normally offered? When's off-season? I should look into that. Any hints who these tour companies are? :)