Canakkale, Bodrum, Fethiye and Antalya Turkey

[Susan-M]

The ports of Canakkale, Bodrum, Fethiye and Antalya Turkey are all on my June Azamara Quest itinerary.

 

I've done some research on each port to determine what the highlights are, but haven't determined the best way to get around. Azamara hasn't announced their shore excursions yet, although we prefer to tour independently whenever possible.

 

I would enjoy hearing from those who have been to these ports, and how you spent your day in port.

 

Thanks for your input. :)

[Californiajack]

Looks like we are on the same Quest cruise departing 6/7! I have the same questions you have posed!

CaliforniaJack

[Mike Andrews]

The ports of Canakkale, Bodrum, Fethiye and Antalya Turkey are all on my June Azamara Quest itinerary.

 

I've done some research on each port to determine what the highlights are, but haven't determined the best way to get around. Azamara hasn't announced their shore excursions yet, although we prefer to tour independently whenever possible.

 

I would enjoy hearing from those who have been to these ports, and how you spent your day in port.

 

Thanks for your input. :)

 

Fethiye is a nice little town and not far from the beautiful beaches of Olu Deniz

[Susan-M]

Hi Jack....we've had to postpone our trip till October ... I would have preferred to go in June, but unfortunately it's not going to work out. Please post your thoughts when you return....I'm looking forward to hearing about it!

 

Mike - thanks for the feedback. Another idea I had for Fethiye is to take a dolmus to Kaya Köyu and hike back down. Do you recall seeing this abandoned village when you were there? I guess it's quite visible from Fethiye, and hoping that exploring the town and the hike back down will be an interesting way to spend a few hours.

[bluebelle]

Only been to Canakkale. Ship docks some way from town so a bus will be laid on. Takes about 15 mins to the bus depot at Canakkale. Nice waterfront area - good for walking along with some bars restaurants and some shops. You will see a replica of the wooden horse of Troy.

[Mike Andrews]

Hi Jack....we've had to postpone our trip till October ... I would have preferred to go in June, but unfortunately it's not going to work out. Please post your thoughts when you return....I'm looking forward to hearing about it!

 

Mike - thanks for the feedback. Another idea I had for Fethiye is to take a dolmus to Kaya Köyu and hike back down. Do you recall seeing this abandoned village when you were there? I guess it's quite visible from Fethiye, and hoping that exploring the town and the hike back down will be an interesting way to spend a few hours.

 

I have visited the Ghost Town of Kaya Koyu which is an abandoned Greek Village some distance from Fethiye and you can take a Dolmus there from Fethiye but it is an infrequent service so I would probably recommend getting the regular frequent Fethiye to Olu Deniz Dolmus and getting off at Hisaronou and taking a taxi to Kaya Koyu.I believe you can hike from Kaya Koyu to Olu Deniz.

[franu]

Canakkale is the port city for the ancient city of Troy. It was the belief of Heinrich Schliemann that the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey were factual accounts of history. Although the Greek end of this war story has not been proven, the accounts were followed by him and exactly where he thought it to be the lost city of Troy was found.

 

With not enough resources to make this trip on our own, we took the ship's tour to Troy. Schliemann's controversial methods of digging did have success but at a high cost.

 

This site is part of the history where Helen and the Trojan horse occurred. When you arrive at the site you will find the actual horse used for the movie. Kitschy. It seems that they are not really used to the tourism so there are very few postcards and books available.

 

Later we went into town to a museum which had a lot of things from Schliemann. Unfortunately I was not able to go into the museum for reasons of my own so I can't give you a better description.

Fran

[harveyb]

We are booked on the Quest in June and plan to spend the time in Canakkale visiting the Galipoli site and Troy. One can do both in the same day.

From Bodrum we will take a private tour to Ephesus. We should be able to get there and back before the ship leaves.

Harvey

[Susan-M]

Thanks everyone for your recommendations!

 

Harvey, I also thought that Galipoli and Troy would make for an interesting day in Canakkale, although I'm still debating doing just Troy and perhaps having some time in Canakkale. Have you found a guide? I've looked at Hassle Free's tours, (one of the tour companies recommended on Tripadvisor.)

 

I would like to see Ephesus, but I've read that it is 100 miles from Bodrum and a 2.5 hour bus ride each way, so I think we'll save it for another trip. I've read that the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum in St. Peter's Castle is worth visiting, and I'm hoping that in at least one of these ports that we might be able to do a snorkelling trip, although I'm not sure what the water temps are like at that time of year.

 

In Fethiye, we will follow Mike's suggestion to do a combination of Kaya Koyu and Olu Deniz and hopefully do part of it as a hike.

[Brahmama]

Thanks everyone for your recommendations!

 

Harvey, I also thought that Galipoli and Troy would make for an interesting day in Canakkale, although I'm still debating doing just Troy and perhaps having some time in Canakkale. Have you found a guide? I've looked at Hassle Free's tours, (one of the tour companies recommended on Tripadvisor.)

 

I would like to see Ephesus, but I've read that it is 100 miles from Bodrum and a 2.5 hour bus ride each way, so I think we'll save it for another trip. I've read that the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum in St. Peter's Castle is worth visiting, and I'm hoping that in at least one of these ports that we might be able to do a snorkelling trip, although I'm not sure what the water temps are like at that time of year.

 

In Fethiye, we will follow Mike's suggestion to do a combination of Kaya Koyu and Olu Deniz and hopefully do part of it as a hike.

 

Susan,

Thanks for starting this thread. It will be so helpful as there doesn't seem to be much information for these ports.

 

And thanks everyone for posting suggestions and tips!

 

Carol

[harveyb]

Susan,

We booked a the day trip from Cannakale to Galippoli & Troy through FEZ Travel. http://www.feztravel.com. There seems to be very little to see in Troy to spend too much time there. We are going to the cemeteries at Gallipoli then to Troy and if time allows see some of Cannakale. We have a private tour arranged through them for 4 people. They came to us from the internet so I don't have any previous comments about them but since this is what they do, I'll assume they do a good job.

As for Ephesus, I know it's far away but who knows when I'll be back again so I don't want to miss it.

Harvey

[rubinstein2r]

Good morning Harvey,

 

Thanks for the heads-up on Fez Travel. I'm interested in their trip from Antalya to the ancient city of Myra from Antalya. What are you planning for Alexandria and Istanbul? I think we'll do Fethiye on our own. I was going to do the ship tour to Troy but the postings here make it sound a little too hokey... not sure got to think on it.

 

--Myra in AZ

[Californiajack]

Hi Harvey,

You have some great ideas for our June cruise! I would also love to see Ephesus from Bodrum! I got a map of Turkey and saw that it might be possible, but would not want to arrange it entirely on my own. Perhaps we can work something out for a small group! (have you already made arrangements?) Your ideas on Cannakale also sound good! We have a lot to think about and the time is getting close! Also want to see the pyramids - this is going to be a great trip!

Jack

[Susan-M]

Susan,

We booked a the day trip from Cannakale to Galippoli & Troy through FEZ Travel. http://www.feztravel.com.

 

Hi Harvey,

Do you mind if I ask what the cost is for 4 people on a private tour? I would like to do both on our Oct. cruise, but am still undecided.

 

As an alternative, I've checked into doing just Troy ... on a bus tour with:

http://www.anzachouse.com/daily_tours/troytour.html (I've read recommendations for them on Tripadvisor)

 

They have a daily tour that departs at 8:45 and they've advised me that they will stop at the port to pick us up at 9 a.m. as it is on the way to Troy from their starting point in Canakkale. Cost is 45 T.Lira (~$36.)pp, which includes: transportation, tour guide and entry fees. It's a bus tour, with as many as 45 people, so not a private tour. Those interested can make their own reservations directly with them, i.e. it's not necessary to organize it as a group.

[KaptainJJ]

Susan,

We booked a the day trip from Cannakale to Galippoli & Troy through FEZ Travel. www.feztravel.com. There seems to be very little to see in Troy to spend too much time there. We are going to the cemeteries at Gallipoli then to Troy and if time allows see some of Cannakale. We have a private tour arranged through them for 4 people. They came to us from the internet so I don't have any previous comments about them but since this is what they do, I'll assume they do a good job.

As for Ephesus, I know it's far away but who knows when I'll be back again so I don't want to miss it.

Harvey

 

Hi Harvey,

We are on the October Ancient Empire cruise and like you we really want to do Ephesus since who knows if we will ever be back in that area again! I would really appreciate getting your feed back when you return. Thanks

 

Jim J

[Marie-Claude]

Hi everyone...

 

I'm reviving this post as most of you have now completed these cruises and visited these ports!!

 

Any information on what worked and didn't work would be appreciated for us future cruisers!!

 

Kusadasi replaced Canakkale, but Bodrum, Fethiye and Antalya are still on!!

 

Thanks in advance for your tips!

MC

[Susan-M]

Hi everyone...

 

I'm reviving this post as most of you have now completed these cruises and visited these ports!!

 

Any information on what worked and didn't work would be appreciated for us future cruisers!!

 

Kusadasi replaced Canakkale, but Bodrum, Fethiye and Antalya are still on!!

 

Thanks in advance for your tips!

MC

 

Hi Marie-Claude,

 

In Bodrum we walked to St. Peter's Castle which houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology ... we arrived early and enjoyed a very peaceful and interesting couple of hours there. It turned out to be quite a highlight and more enjoyable than I had anticipated, both for the castle itself and the artifacts. It's a good walk from the ship (1/2 hour) but there might be a shuttle that you can take, or taxi, if you don't want to walk there and back. It's quite visible from the ship, so no problem finding it if you do walk. Afterwards we just wandered and explored along the waterfront and up to the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (didn't go in, but should have as someone told us later that they went in and it was quite interesting.) (You can probably take a ship's tour to St. Peter's Castle as we noticed a few groups arriving after we had been there for about an hour.)

 

In Fethiye we caught a taxi just outside of the port and went to KayaKoy (a deserted town up in the mountains, which had been inhabited by Greeks before the government mandated population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the 1920's.) It was quite a sight to see this 'ghost town' of 3000+ houses. Our plan was to hike the trail from the top of the village of Kayakoy to Turkey's famous Oludeniz beach, but after about an hour of hiking we realized we had taken a wrong turn, so backtracked and caught the 'minibus' ( Dolmus) from Kayakoy to Oludeniz ...and enjoyed a wonderful swim there, before taking the Dolmus back to Fethiye.

 

In Antalya we wanted to go to Perge and the theatre at Aspendos on our own (with another couple), but couldn't find a driver in advance to do it at a reasonable rate ... so we opted for the ship's tour there. It was a half day tour...both sites are very interesting, and we were really pleased with the tour.

 

The marinas in Bodrum and Antalya have an abundance of very expensive yachts (they are like the Monte Carlo's of Turkey) and we enjoyed going into the marinas and 'gawking'.

 

The scenery along this coast is spectacular .... you are in for a treat!:)

[lisiamc]

Antalya is easy to do on your own if you like history. The ship's shuttle let us out in the middle of town, not far from a tram stop, and we took the tram to the Archaeological Museum. You can buy a tram ticket from the driver, and the Museum is the last stop on the line, so it's really easy. The tram and the Museum need to be paid in Turkish Lira, but there are ATMs all over.

 

We caught the tram back and walked to Hadrian's gate, which is beautiful, with the chariot tracks still showing in the stone.

 

In the old town there are lots of cafes if you feel like lunch, and in the modern section there are loads of shops selling umpteen varieties of Turkish Delight - all delicious.

 

Lisa

[Marie-Claude]

Thank you both... that's exactly what I wanted!!

 

A few questions:

 

In Bodrum, we were hoping to see St-Peter's Castle and the museum, and then make our way to the Mausoleum... I travel with my 80 yo mom, and I'm not sure walking all of this would be an option for her. Are there buses or cabs that could take us there? If transportation is not easily accessible we may opt for a tour, but I'd like to avoid ship tour as much as I can...

 

As for Fethiye, the beach and a swim sounds nice, but we'll be there in November, so I don't think that'll be an option. We've been to the area before and have seen Dalyan and Caunos... is this a town we can stroll through and just enjoy the day by the marina, a bit of shopping, strolling or would we miss too much?

 

In Antalya, I'd like to do the Perge and Aspendos tour in the morning and then meet my Mom for lunch on the ship and then spend the pm in the old part of Antalya... would that give us enough time to see the old town, from 2 to 5 ??

 

Thanks again for all your help!

MC

[Susan-M]

Hi MC,

In Bodrum, there were taxis just outside of the port building. It's a short walk from the ship to the building, and the taxis should be just outside the port bldg. I would recommend not walking to St. Peters with your mom...better to save your energy for walking inside the castle. (You might want to ask if the ship's shuttle gets you close to St. Peters ... I'll dig through my notes to see if I have any details on the shuttle.)

 

From St. Peter's to the Mausoleum is an uphill climb ... I don't remember how far though as we tend to wander a lot and we did a lot of walking during our day in Bodrum. It might be best to get a taxi there and back as well.

 

In Fethiye you might be able to wander and find enough to keep busy with ... the walk along the marina is fairly long, with restaurants, and a shopping district/market close by. We were only there for a brief time at the end of our day, but one of the highlights was seeing the tombs in the cliff. They are right in town, but again, an uphill climb (a short taxi ride though).

 

If you are tempted to do a ship's tour and haven't been to Kayakoy, it's worth it both for the drive up and to see the deserted town. You don't have to walk far once there to view it as the town was built on the side of a hill, so quite visible from the bottom of the town. However, if you feel like walking a ways up, there are walkways through the town. Of you could go by taxi as we did, but ask him to stay with you and bring you back to Fethiye. We paid 28 euros to go one way (a 20-25 minute drive) and since he has to come back anyways without the prospect of picking up a fare up there, you could probably negotiate a fare of 40 euros or less to go both ways.

 

Re Antalya, I'm not sure how the timing will be for going back into town in the afternoon ... our bus was late getting back from the morning tour (I think it was around 1:30 when we returned.) It's then about 20 minutes back in the same direction to get to the centre of town. We decided to forego going back and just wandered around the marina area ... and had a lazy afternoon onboard ( tired from all of our walking in Bodrum and Fethiye. )

 

Hope you and your mom have a wonderful time ... I was in Maui & Oahu with my mom and sister earlier this month, celebrating our mother's 80th!:)

[Marie-Claude]

Hi Susan!

Thank you so much for all this information!

 

It looks like we need a tour or taxis for Bodrum! I hadn't paid to much attention to Kayakoy, but I will definitely look into it! As for Antalya, we may be pretty tired by then, so we'll play it by ear... as much as I'd want to go to Perge and Aspendos, I ear Antalya old city is wonderful to walk around!

 

Again, thank you for all your help!

 

Your trip to Hawaii for your Mom's Bday sounds wonderful! We did the same for my Mom 77th - and it was my brother's 50th!! Great fun!!

 

MC

[acruisergirl]

We returned last month from our Azamara Journey cruise and one of our ports was Canakkale (Kepez) Turkey. I can highly recommend Mustafa Askin, a well know professional tour guide who has written books on Troy. He was extremely knowledgeable and loves guiding visitors through the ruins. Our trip included Troy and the Archeological Museum. I believe he also can provide tours to Gallipoli. More information can be found at his website www.thetroyguide.com or e-mail him at thetroyguide@yahoo.com. You won't be disappointed.

[two4theroad]

It looks like the cruise ship dock is a ways from town in Anyalya. Does anyone have an idea about taxi availability or is there a tram or other form of transport from that area into the old town area???

Thanks,

Lori

Azamara Quest-Athens to Rome- Oct 31 2009

[Susan-M]

It looks like the cruise ship dock is a ways from town in Anyalya. Does anyone have an idea about taxi availability or is there a tram or other form of transport from that area into the old town area???

Thanks,

Lori

Azamara Quest-Athens to Rome- Oct 31 2009

 

Hi Lori,

The port is quite a ways (~25 minute ride) from the old town, so the cruise ship shuttle is probably your best bet in this port. This is the one port where we did a ship's tour on our Ancient Empires cruise with Azamara, since finding info on local transportation and/or arranging a private tour were too challenging for this port. (We went to Aspendos & Perge).

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

[maryann ns]

I have arranged a private tour for November in Antalya with Travel Ephesus. i will report on it when we return. The Azamara shuttle is $4 each way into the city, but does not run often.