Turkey

Our eager anticipation was electric in the fresh morning air. We climbed in and were soon set free. The hot air balloon floated up to the lofty heights of our excitement. Looking out, we saw hundreds of balloons gracing the morning skyline. As the Sun rose over the horizon, golden light soaked the penis shaped rock formations of Love Valley. We were in the clouds as Göreme started to come to life beneath us. The Balloon ride in Cappadocia is just one of the experiences in Turkey which I will never forget.

Recently with the Kurd’s and Isis involved in terror attacks, Russia being Russia and the overhyped western media creating a bit of hysteria to sell headlines. Tourism is roughly 80% down! All of which isn’t great for Turkey. But on the flip side makes the perfect destination for travellers to visit right now!
Turkey is a totally sweet country and with fewer tourists in the area the massive lines are gone, cheaper accommodation can be found, traders are more willing to haggle lower for the sale.

Bianca and I felt incredibly safe, surrounded by genuinely helpful, polite and friendly Turkish people, which is the norm here. Forget the media Turkey is a great place to Travel!

*This blog was written in 2016, please note some things may have changed*

Transport

Tip: Hitch hiking is totally viable way of transport over the shorter distance legs of your journey in Turkey. We met loads of travellers doing it and managed to catch a few handy rides ourselves (We hitched some stops along the coast from Antalya to Fethiye). As usual, all the people we met were very friendly, often wanting to converse in English as practise. We felt entirely safe the whole time.

Istanbul

From the airport: We flew into Ataturk International airport, once we went through arrivals we headed to a newspaper kiosk and bought two travel cards and loaded money onto it (the cards are 8 Lira which you can also claim back when you return the card). Here we took the subway at the airport until Zeytinburnu station and transferred onto the tram to Sultan Ahmet stop (touristic centre). The journey takes approximately 1 hour.

Cappadocia

To reach Cappadocia we flew from Istanbul to Kayseri with Pegasus air. It took 1 hour and a half. From Kayseri you can organise with your hotel or hostel an airport transfer direct to your accommodation, this takes another hour and half.

Alternatively other travellers we met took an overnight 12hr bus from Istanbul straight to the town Göreme.

Olympos

From Cappadocia to Olympos catch the Metro Bus.

We took the 10pm bus arriving at 8am in Antalya main bus terminal. From here you need to take a minibus to Olympos. These busses leave every hour. 2hrs later you will be dropped off at a panoramic café. Here one final minibus ride will drop you at the doorstep of your accommodation.

The Journey to Olympos from the likes of Fethiye, Pammukale or Kas you would catch a minibus to the panoramic café.

Fethiye

From Olympos you again hop on a minibus to the panoramic café at the top of the hill. From here a mini bus will take you around the coast to Fethiye.

Or hitchhike from the main road along the coast.

Tip:  If you have time, make the stop in at Kas a beautiful coastal town with a Greek island in view.

Pamukkale

You will likely arrive at the Bus Terminal of the larger town Denizili, just south of Pamukkale. From this station a mini bus takes you 15 minutes to Pammukale town. If you see the minibus driving past your hotel let the minibus driver know and he will pull over, otherwise make your own way from Pamukkale’s Dolmus Bus Stop.

Bodrum

Pamukkale to Bodrum, Firstly find the bus terminal in Pamukkale or hale a mini bus as it passes. This will return you to Denizili bus terminal where you can bus to Bodrum. This takes 4hrs approx. Nobody was able to share an exact bus schedule although we know there is one that leaves at 9, 10 and 11 which leads me to assume one bus per hour.

Accommodation

Istanbul

Avrasya hostel – We choose to stay in the touristic centre – Sultan Ahmet, as we had a tour arranged with a meeting point outside Hagia Sophia. Being so central it was only a short walk to all the major tourist attractions and the expat strip of bars. The hostel itself is clean, cheap and the staff are super relaxed, helpful and friendly. Breakfast was also included and that always keeps us happy. Just round the corner is a rug and ceramic store owned by Raphael– make sure you pop in and say ‘Hi’ as Turkish shop owners are really friendly and will offer you a typical Turkish tea while sharing a few stories with you. This is the norm and sure they will try to entice you to buy a rug after but they are not pushy.

Cappadocia

Shoestring cave hotel – After a lot of research in order to find the best accommodation that suited us, we choose Shoestring Cave hotel. Within a short walk to Cappadocia regions main tourist centre Göreme. Making all the valley walks, balloon rides and many more excursions very accessible.
We stayed in the dormitory room which is a cave making the experience an authentic feel of Cappadocia. A delicious buffet breakfast is also included, it is clean and offers all facilities. All the staff at shoestring are warm, friendly and eager to share any helpful information and advice or they will point you in the right direction on a the map. They are always around and happy to help.

Olympos

Deep Green Bungalows – The upgrade we received on arrival to a private suite made a nice first impression for us. They give out passes to the beach if any spare tickets are available, thus saving us a few extra Lira. Our bungalow was comfortable and full of character. Breakfast and Dinner is an additional extra of 30Lira and because Olympos has no real restaurant’s in the area its worth adding on. Chickens, Cats and Hedgehogs run around your feet under a shaded eating area and there is a bonfire almost every night.

Tip – Deep Green accepts volunteer workers that must complete a minimum of 5hrs work per day in exchange for free board and food. If you are short of funds this is a great option to extend your trip. Available through workaway.com

Fethiye

Ideal hostel pension – This is a very basic hotel, kind of no frills. The view however is totally outstanding. Set back and up a hill slightly behind the marina in a very handy location the view spreads over the marina and harbour and across the mountain ranges in the distance. Stunning! The room was basic and comfortable. Breakfast was the standard Turkish platter of an egg, bread, cheeses, fruits and some delicious “nearly organic” (whatever that means) tomatoes. Ideal Hostel offer a very cheap dinner for 15Lira that comes with three courses, the Fish was particularly good.

Pamukkale

Anatolia hotel – We thankfully stayed only one night. The room smelt like an old mans ashtray and the bathroom was certainly clean, I could tell by the head spinning chemical fumes. We both had headaches throughout the day, could be coincidence? Otherwise bed was comfortable enough and breakfast was standard. I wouldn’t recommend.

Cappadocia

Again, plenty to get through here but all is worthwhile.

• Hot air ballooning – One of the best places in the world to ride in a hot air balloon. The experience is a once in a lifetime and well worth the price. Our hotel organized our ride with Universal balloons. The excursion cost 120 euro per person and included a buffet breakfast, one hour in a hot air balloon and celebratory glass of champagne after landing, plus a totally awesome certificate of participation. It is one of those surreal pinch yourself experiences, watching the sunrise overlooking the town beneath and the floating balloons in the horizon. I highly recommend this excursion. 
  Other trusted companies to book it through are Urgup balloons and butterfly balloons.

• Explore the hiking trails – If we weren’t catching the sunrise with the balloons in the morning then we spent our days hiking around the Cappadocia region.

• White, honey and love valleys (3 hours) – This is Bianca’s favourite track. You weave along one path making it easy to explore alone without getting lost. You go through the white and honey valleys before reaching love valley near the end. You’ll know you have arrived as all the rock formations take the shape of giant male appendages, hence the name love valley. 

• Red valley, rose valley and sunset point (5hours – included exploring and getting lost) – this is Brett’s favourite hike as there is so many pathways to choose to hike up both valleys. There are many different churches and caves on the way that makes exploring off the beaten track part of the fun. We got lost a few times but hey… that’s all part of the adventure.

• Pigeon valley – The easiest of all the hikes, named after the pigeons as the people created caves for them to use their eggs for paint and guano as fertilizer. 
  
• Green tour (one full day) – we arranged to do this tour with the hotel as you can only get to some of the sites by car/bus. We are not usually ones for tours as we like to take our time and not be rushed. This tour we thought was good but not great. Our highlights were visiting the largest underground city – Derinkuyu and the Selime monastery. You can do this by yourself but you would need a car. Other places you visit are the look out point at pigeon valley, a walk through Ihlara canyon (which you can’t veer off along any of the hidden tracks because of the tour) and a jewellery shop. It is a good tour to see a lot of places in one day.

• Open air museum – 20 minute walk from Göreme town, this museum offers the regions best preserved collection of painted cave churches. The museum is open 8.30 – 7pm during the summer months.

• Other excursions available in the area are horseback riding, ATV and mountain biking.