Holiday in Turkey: Structured Tour or Freeball it?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am planning on a trip to Turkey in the Spring, for about 6 days; probably Istanbul but especially Cappodocia, but I can’t figure out whether to do the “checklist” vacation where you pay a tour company and they take you to Istanbul day tour #1, #2, then transfer you, etc., as you see a lot but there is sort of time pressure and not as relaxed.

or, I also thought of just choosing a top hotel in Cappadocia for the entire trip and maybe taking an excursion every other day. Maybe though this backfires and quickly becomes “this is nice but what do we do?”

Do most people like the “tour package” checklist tour? Or the kick back in a resort tour? I can’t figure it out how to balance the excitement-without-undue-stress part of the trip.

2

You could mix it up, go to Istanbul and poke around the city and then do a tour of Cappodocia. There are a bunch of tour groups running to Capp from Istanbul, they’ll put you on a bus and bring you back. If you like history, you might consider Context Travel, they do small walking tours in Istanbul, their guides are mostly writers and academics, they give much better tours than the typical guides you find.

3

The problem with your question is that you’re not most people. What I like you might not & vice versa. Personally, if I book one of those ‘checklist’ vacations, just take my boarding pass away & see if you can trade the trip in on a nice field, because it’s past time to put me out to pasture. Pretty much all of my most memorable experiences were from doing something on my own. For example, you need to eat; they’ll probably take you to someplace decent with a nice multi-languaged menu; however, I’ve gotten some great stories to go along with authentic local cuisine from finding a ‘Point-&-Pray’ (where there’s no common language &, at most, you know it’s a beef, or chicken dish, but that’s about it).

That being said, I’ve gotten a guide for a day to ensure I got thru some can’t miss location without any issues. Viator does stuff worldwide & I’ve had success with them in the past.
Also, Cappadocia is world famous for hot-air ballooning. If you have any desire to do this, book it for your first day there. Because ballooning is weather dependent, you might not be able to go on your first scheduled day.

4

There is political violence in parts of Turkey. Anyone know the situation where the OP is going?

5

We’ve been to Turkey several times in the past four years and have enjoyed each visit tremendously.

We’re not “package tour persons”. Too little freedom and too much pressure. As a matter of fact, the first time we went, we got there in the middle of the night with just our plane tickets and the hotel voucher. We didn’t speak a single word of Turkish. We got a taxi, settled on what was a very reasonable price for a 30km ride and were on our way.

In our later travels, we’ve always used travel agencies, however. Not because we’d had a bad experience the first time (far from it) but because it was just more convenient. But no package tour or “checklist” vacation for us. Just the plane tickets, transfer and hotel reservation.

Our plan has always been more or less the same: enjoy the hotel facilities but include a couple of sightseeing trips. Don’t book these through the hotel, just walk out and you’ll find several boutiques offering the same programs for a much lower price. Or even better if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, pick up a dolmuş: they’re everywhere, fun and cheap.

On the whole: it’s a wonderful country and there’s something for everyone: spectacular landscapes, fascinating historical places (including lots of Greek ruins), vibrant nightlife, lots of trendy stuff and the weather is fabulous, too. It’s modern, very clean and safe*. Healthcare was excellent (we had to see a doctor once for our youngest daughter). However, bear in mind that this may only apply to the more touristy parts.

My advice would be do this:

However, make sure that you stay at a very good hotel (tripadvisor is your friend). They’re absolutely great. I probably wouldn’t go to a three-star place or lower.

In order to avoid the “what do we do?” problem, just read about the region you want to visit beforehand and plan accordingly. I’ve never been to Cappadocia but I doubt there’s a shortage of things to see.

*I must admit that we’ve decided to go somewhere else this time. Last year, we arrived a week after the failed coup and we spent those 7 days wondering whether we should go. We finally said “Let’s do it” and, amazingly, didn’t see anything that might have suggested that major political turmoil had just happened. Everything was fine and safe. But this year, we’ve decided to cut on our travel expenses and, well, there are cheaper options in Europe plus my wife isn’t feeling too confident about safety anymore (much to her chagrin: she loves the country).

6

Update: Spending the whole time in Cappadokia, in 5-star hotel, saving Istanbul for some other trip. No fixed tour itinerary.

FYI on Safety, only Istanbul, Ankara, and border regions are considered truly dangerous.

http://smartraveller.gov.au/Countries/europe/southern/Pages/turkey.aspx

7

Have a great time!
I actually did stay in a 3 (or possibly 2) star hotel there. It was lovely. If you need to, you can book day tours in town (or at your hotel) and there’s public transportation to the major touristy sites in the area.
Also, as I remember, there were a few longer walks that you can do to fill your day.

8

FYI, be prepared to be hosted by the most gracious and welcoming people.

I remember when I arrived in Istanbul. Standing in the airport subway station, looking at a subway map (in Turkish obviously). A well-dressed gentleman approached me, asked me the location of my hotel, and said with a smile “follow me.” I expected this to be the “my cousin has a taxi” semi-scam, but he boarded a subway with me, took me to my stop, walked me to the front door of my hotel, smiling all the way. When I asked if I could repay him for his time, he said basically “no thanks, I’m getting back on the train to head home to my family. Have a good trip!”

Later, in front of the blue mosque, a guy picked my mom and I out of the crowd and struck up a chat. Over the course of a week, he and his friend drove us to Şile, fed us regularly, introduced us to their families, guided a couple of fun days for us, then dropped us off at the airport when our time was up. After I left Turkey, I lamented in passing that I left a prized hat at a restaurant during one of my last days in Istanbul. A few weeks later another example of the hat arrived in the mail addressed to me. This was a Ferrari hat celebrating Michael Schumacher’s latest driver’s championship. I’ve always wondered what lengths my friend went to to find a replacement hat.

I still keep in touch with them to this day. My aunt went to Turkey a couple of years ago, met up with my friend on my recommendation, and formed the same bonds.

9

It isn’t quite as large as Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, but Keyseri’s was more enjoyable for us. Not quite as overrun with tourist stuff, we found some great kitchen utensils, linens, and most importantly teas, spices, and sweets there. So a day in Kayseri is highly recommended as is simply driving around the area is awesome. Backroads to Kaymakli and Kayseri lead to some fascinating little towns and fruit storage caves.

10

I’d suggest that, at least for now, you don’t go Dutch.
:stuck_out_tongue:

11

I tend to do a lot of sightseeing on foot in my travels so freeballing it is definitely out of the question unless I want my nether regions to be one big red chafe by the end of the day.:smiley:

12

Update, at the Turkish airlines ticket counter, the agent (and ‘older’ East Indian woman) was impatient looking, and asked me “are you ok to travel” which I was and I have never been asked that before. Then she asked me when I was returning, which should be in her computer, so I had to answer that strange redundant question. When she gave me my tickets, she held back and asked “where is Kaysheri” , I said I didn’t understand why she was asking, she said where is Kaysheri, in Europe, France, where? I said in Turkey of course and finally got out.

So do they try to “gaslight” everyone? Was this a rogue agent? I don’t look suspicious more than normal, I would hope.never had this happen before, this is at a us airport with a us passport. The questioning seemed weird and not something would stump an actual “bad guy”

13

I wonder if this is somehow related to the people who now use Turkey as the jumping off point for joining the war in Syria or Iraq. That’s really weird that the airlines would use the ticket agent as a screener, but I suppose that’s their only face-to-face with the customer.

Your experience reminded me of a minor incident I had with a US customs officer who noticed my visa stamp from Turkey and decided to ask questions about why someone would go there. :confused:

14

Personally, I’ve only been on a small handful of day-tours, and I found evey one of them to be sorely defective in all respects. But you have no doube been on a number of them yourself, and you can judge their adequacy and desirability for your self. There is no reason to think that a destination in Turkey would be any different from anywhere else in the world, in that respect.

All the information you can learn about a place while visiting is readily available before you go. If you have an interest in Cappadocia, read all you can about it before you go, and then just go there on your own and seek out the things that fascinate you. If it’s an overnight trip, you can arrange much cheaper lodgings and meals and usually transportation on your own.

Case in point, I went on a day-tour of Lauca National Park in Chile. If you don[t have a private car, there is no way to get there except on the tourbus. I had only a half hour of free time, in the parking lot of the lodge-restaurant. I’m a birder, I saw no birds at all, and no opportunity to look for any. All I got was a bus ride, with big conspicuous animals pointed out through the window. So when I got back to Arica, I bought the tour again the next day, and arranged to just be dropped off at the park, and I hitchhiked back at the end of the day.

But in the end, whether it is Turkey or anywhere else, it all depends on your own sense of independence and depth of interest in the features offered. Turkey is a civilized country, populated by generous and hospitable people, so there is nothing to fear in being out on your own.