Turkey is such a fun country to travel around. There’s ancient history, a sparkling coastline and so much culture. The cities are beautiful and you basically can’t have a bad meal. In fact, Turkey has so much going on that it can feel a bit hard to squeeze it all in.
Here’s how we spent just over two weeks in Turkey. Our route was pretty close to the country’s well-worn tourist trail – the only way to beat the crowds is to head up to Turkey’s NW coastline, which we unfortunately didn’t have time for. But we felt like we spent the right amount of time in each place, and didn’t feel rushed or bored at all.
Tourists in Turkey vary from budget backpackers (like us) all the way up to the most luxe of travellers. While there are great hostels, and the street food is absolutely delicious, travelling Turkey on a budget did mean that we largely had to sacrifice the luxury accommodation, experiences and dining which exist in nearly every city and town. We also made all our intercity connections by bus or train instead of flying.
Our daily budget for Turkey was $115 NZD (422TL/72USD) per day, for two people. With this budget we stayed in private hostel rooms, ate good but largely cheap food including some supermarket meals, and were able to enter all the attractions we wanted to see.
Istanbul – 3 Nights
It’s easy to see why so many expats choose to work in Istanbul. It’s an amazing city. Their famous mosques are really something special, there’s great food on every corner, and the Bosphorus Strait is full of life. We stayed at Jumbo Hostel (200TL/52NZD for a private room, shared bathroom, fan but no a/c, no breakfast, good vibe – though don’t stay in Room 1.) Jumbo is located in Taksim, which was a great base for the city. It’s an easy downhill walk to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, and the streets around the hostel were filled with trendy cafes, art shops and antique stores. Oh, and plenty of stray cats.
The Hagia Sophia is worth the steep price of entry (31NZD/120TLpp). The Blue Mosque is free to visit in between the five daily prayers (hours restricted on Fridays), though we thought Süleymaniye Mosque was even more impressive and less crowded. Sultanahmet Square with the Obelisk of Theodosius is great to walk around. The grand bazaar is largely filled with Chinese-imported Turkish souvenirs, but the Feriköy Antique Market on Sundays was interesting to visit.
In terms of cheap eats, the balik durum (fish wraps) that are widely available along the Bosphorus, on both sides of the bridge, are a steal at 15TL (4NZD/2.6USD) each. Balkan Lokantasi is a great lokanta chain where you can get a mean feed for two for 40TL. Just don’t skimp on brekkie. Van Kahvalti Evi did the best breakfast we’ve ever had, ever. Cheeses, jams, eggs, nuts, dips, honey, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, bread and bottomless tea for 70TL for two.
Goreme (Cappadocia) – 3 Nights
Straight out of a Dr Seuss book, the crazy and beautiful landscape of the Cappadocia region have been made famous by the hundreds of hot air balloons that fill the sky every morning. Goreme is the main tourist town in the area, and is where we based ourselves. We stayed at Nil Story House (50NZD/193TL for a double room, attached bathroom, brekkie included. Lovely family-run guesthouse). There are limited budget accommodations in Goreme. We certainly found that this town catered more to luxury travellers (a balloon ride will set you back 150-250 euros pp).
There are lots of activities to do in this town, all priced in euros. We opted to do a two-hour horse trek for 40€/pp and ‘the green tour’ for 35€/pp (as opposed to ‘the red tour’, both of which you will see advertised everywhere). The green tour is essentially a trip around the attractions in the wider Cappadocia area, and is achievable yourself if you have your own transport, though having a guide was helpful. We also went hiking through the Red and Rose Valleys, which is totally free to do. The trail takes about five hours to complete.
Gozleme (Turkish-style stuffed pancake) is widely available in Goreme for less than 15TL – spinach and cheese is always the best flavour choice. Sultan does a mixed mezze for 25TL, which filled both of us up. For a slightly more expensive dinner, head to Top Deck. The prices are still very reasonable and the food is absolutely delicious.
It’s easy to reach Goreme from Istanbul via a night bus. Metro, Kamil Koc and Pamukkale bus companies are three really good options that have transit links to nearly everywhere in the country. They also provide complimentary shuttles.
Alanya – 2 nights
Alanya was our first stop on the Turkish coastline. We went here on the recommendation of our accommodation in Goreme, but if we were doing the whole trip over again, we would probably skip it and spend more time in other areas. That being said, Kleopatra Beach (the main swimming beach in Alanya) is beautiful and safe, and the area has some excellent food options.
Luxury resorts are the main accommodation choice here, but we managed to get a room at Kleopatra Carina Hotel for 177TL (46NZD/29USD) per night (a/c, attached bathroom, no breakfast but GREAT location). Each day we’d start with a coffee at one of the many cafes that line the waterfront, head down to the beach and rent an umbrella for 20TL and park ourselves under it for the day. We bought lunch from the supermarket (bread, roasted eggplant, cheese, honey and cherries) for under 30TL, with one bag of groceries lasting us two days.
One excellent cheap eat place that we discovered was İkizler Kokoreç Kebap – only 20TL for a fantastic durum, with complimentary pickles, salad and tea. A lovely family-owned place that was worth the little walk out of the centre of town.
There is one direct bus per day from Goreme to Alanya. It’s run by the Pamukkale Bus Company and leaves Goreme at 8pm, arriving in Alanya at 6.30am.
Olympos – 3 nights
Olympos was the only place we visited in Turkey that felt like it catered more to backpackers than tourists. A few hours west by bus along the turquoise cost from Alanya, it was a fantastic place to relax by the water. The beach is more like a lake in appearance – the beach is made up of large colourful pebbles, the water is clear and blue, and there are no waves to speak of. It was amazing to swim in.
Most of the accommodation options in Olympos call themselves ‘treehouses’ though not many of them actually have rooms in the trees. We stayed at Bayrams, which is the largest and most popular in the area. We had a budget double room (which was basically a shack on stilts) for 215TL (56NZD/35USD), shared bathroom, no a/c but good fan. The price also includes an excellent buffet breakfast and dinner, which made it incredibly good value. Bayrams has a great common area too.
Between the strip of shops and accommodation, and the beach, are the ruins of Olympos. This slice of Roman history is (apparently) fantastic to hike around. Unfortunately the 35 degree temperatures meant that we preferred to stick to the water, though the few glimpses we had of the ruins looked very cool. Importantly, you can only reach the beach by walking through the ruins, which are a protected heritage site: aka, you have to pay to enter. A single entry ticket is 30TL, a 10 entry ticket is 60TL. If you are two (or more) people, then you can pass the 10 entry ticket back over the turnstile to let another person through – the guards didn’t mind at all.
Cheap eats are plentiful in Olympos. Breakfast and dinner were included in our board, and there are a handful of shops selling tasty gozleme for less than 15TL for lunch. You can also buy food directly from sellers on the beach. Beach retail is illegal in Olympos (there was a police crack down one day we were there), however these sellers don’t really bother anyone, and you can easily buy sweetcorn, beer, stuffed mussels and gozleme from them as they walk around.
Olympos is fairly simple to reach by bus. From Alanya, we caught a bus to Antalya. At Antalya bus station, we just repeated ‘Olympos?’ Until we found the correct minibus. The minibus takes passengers to the Olympos turn-off on the main highway, dropping passengers at a restaurant/bus stop at the junction. From there, there are more minibuses to take you on the last 10km down the hill to Olympos. Most accommodations (including Bayrams) are at the very end of the road, where the bus stops – though you can ask the driver to let you off earlier. At no point did bus touts try to rip us off on this trip, it was very easy, despite the number of steps.
Pamukkale – 2 Nights
The white calcium terraces at Pamukkale are really quite amazing. Natural pure white calcium deposits have made the most amazing ice-blue natural spa pools, which are warm year-round. At the top of the terraces is the ancient Roman city of Hierapolis, which includes a beautifully preserved amphitheatre. Both the terraces and the ruins can be visited in a half-day.
However, this is the most visited site in Turkey, which is why we chose to stay for two nights. Getting up early and beating the tour buses is the only way to enjoy it properly. The park gates open at 8am (entry is 50TL/pp), but when we arrived at 8, there were already a few people inside – I suspect you can get in from 7.30. Regardless, the place was still fairly deserted, and we could walk around and enjoy the pools. By the time we reached the top of the terraces, at around 10.30, the place had changed completely, and was full of people shuffling shoulder-to-shoulder through the water.
Most day tours only visit the terraces and the amphitheatre, though there is a lot more to the Hierapolis city. You can walk along the old Main Street, through the restored gate, past tombs and buildings and latrines (why are the toilets always in such good condition?) There were very few tourists out here, despite the large numbers elsewhere in the park.
We stayed at Pamukkale Hotel, a fairly nice budget hotel (183TL/47NZD for a double room, attached bathroom, a/c, breakfast) that was a 5min walk to the terraces. There was no backpackers/hostels in the area (that we could find.) Food in Pamukkale town isn’t the best that Turkey has to offer. There’s quite a few shops selling expensive Chinese, Japanese and Korean to cater to the tourists, though we did find Traverten Pide had great pide for a reasonable price.
To reach Pamukkale, you need to catch a bus to the nearby city of Denizli. From there, the downstairs level of the bus station has minibuses bound for Pamukkale. Just keep saying ‘Pamukkale?’ To get on the right minibus. It’s good to know that minibus only drives through Pamukkale and won’t stop unless you ask it to. There’s no big ‘Pamukkale’ sign and the town is fairly small, so let the driver know that you need to get off at Pamukkale before you get on (and keep google maps open on your phone so you know where you are).
Selcuk – 2 Nights
Selcuk might have been my favourite place that we visited in Turkey. The town is the closest point to the ancient city of Ephesus – one of the greatest Roman ruins outside of Rome. But unlike Pamukkale, the town is large enough that it doesn’t feel completely built around tourists. There are lots of eateries to choose from, lovely large trees and green spaces, and an absolutely incredible produce market on Sundays.
Ephesus is definitely worth visiting. It’s 60TL (16NZD/10USD) for a single ticket, and it takes about an hour to walk around the ancient city. Download the Rick Steve’s Audio Europe app before you go (I know Turkey isn’t in Europe, but whatever). The app is completely free and includes a guided walking tour of the city. To get from Selcuk to Ephesus, simply walk for 20 minutes down the main road heading out of town, taking the ‘Ephesus’ turn off on the left. We didn’t want to walk, so we stuck out our thumb and managed to stop the second car that was going past – locals are happy to give you a ride.
Back in Selcuk, we stayed at Boomerang Guesthouse (196TL/51NZD for a double room, a/c, breakfast, shared but very clean bathroom, lovely owner.) A notable cheap eat has to be Artemis Köftecisi Ali Usta, who made us a huge mixed mezze for only 25TL. Washed town with lemonata, and followed with homemade baklava and lemon tea, we ate here both nights in Selcuk.
If you make it to town on a Sunday, you must check out the local market behind the bus station. It is the most beautiful food market we’ve ever visited, with spilling produce that was so beautifully presented it could have been a film set. A lovely guy gave us some free Turkish delight and another woman was so amused by us staring at the massive wheels of fresh cheese that she tried to buy some for us to try. We bought grapes, cherries and sweets and spent all of 3TL.
In terms of getting to Selcuk, it’s well serviced by buses in every direction, but we chose to catch the train from Denezeli (after catching the minibus from Pamukkale). The train is cheaper than the bus, and a much more pleasant ride, even if it does take a little longer. We departed Selcuk for Istanbul, which can be done by either night or day bus – we chose day, just so we could get a good sleep when we arrived, but be prepared for a ten-hour ride.
