Istanbul has long been a city I dreamed of visiting one day. When EgyptAir posted an error fare to several countries in the Middle East, I immediately booked a flight to Turkey. It didn’t matter that the flight left from Toronto instead of Montreal. At $380 round-trip, I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.
Since I would have almost two weeks in Turkey, I decided to get a taste of what the country offered, starting with Cappadocia, going clockwise with stops in Antalya, Pammukale, Selçuk, and finishing in Istanbul. Part 1 will cover Cappadocia to Pammukale and Part 2 will cover Selçuk and Istanbul.
How To Get Around in Turkey
As I traveled through several cities in Turkey, I used various modes of transportation, from domestic flights, to buses, trams, and dolmuş. Follow the itinerary for more details. You can read my how-to guide to plan your trip.
Where To Stay in Turkey
I stayed at six different hotels throughout my trip. For the first half, I stayed at Koza Cave Hotel in Göreme, Hotel Twenty in Antalya, Bellamaritimo Hotel in Pamukkale, and Saint John Hotel in Selçuk. For the second half, I upgraded my lodging, staying at Hilton DoubleTree near Izmir Airport, and Hilton DoubleTree in Istanbul – Sirkeci. All had breakfast included (in case of Hilton, my Gold status gave me free breakfast so I didn’t need to pay extra).
All hotels were centrally located, at walking distance to most sights and metro/tram/train/bus stations.
Communication
I relied on Wifi during my trip. No SIM cards this time around. But they are easy to find in Istanbul’s Fatih district where the old center is located.
Itinerary
Day 0: Montreal – Toronto – Cairo – Istanbul – Cappadocia
E-Visa for Entry into Turkey: $60 USD = $86 CAD
Train from Montreal to Toronto: $46 CAD
UP Expresss from downtown Toronto to Pearson Airport: $12 CAD
Breakfast, Lunch, and Shower at YYZ Premium Plaza Lounge: FREE with Priority Pass
Flight from Toronto to Istanbul with EgyptAir: $380 CAD
Flight from Istanbul to Nevşehir with Turkish Airlines: ₺161.99 = $42 CAD
Shuttle from Nevşehir to Göreme: €10 but I was able to pay the driver ₺70 which is $15 CAD
Koza Cave Hotel: $545 CAD for two nights (breakfast included)
One of the drawbacks of cheap flights is often the amount of hours spent in transit before reaching the final destination. For the outbound leg of this trip, I must have spent over 24 hours total sitting at airports, on trains, and planes.
First, my flight to Turkey departed from Toronto, not Montreal which is my home airport. So I had to get from Montreal to Toronto for the lowest amount of money possible. Megabus was the cheapest option but I didn’t want to be cramped in a bus for seven hours. Flying – although fast and the most direct way to the airport – was too expensive. So I settled for the train, cheaper than flying but comfier than the bus.
I took the last train out of Montreal which arrived in downtown Toronto a bit before midnight. Then, I took the Union Pearson Express to go straight to the airport. My flight wasn’t until noon so I did what I said I would never do again which is sleeping at an airport.
Thankfully, unlike Gatwick Airport, Pearson airport has a designated rest area at the very end of Terminal 1 (landside). All the good benches were taken when I arrived but I managed to find a pair of seats and sleep for a few hours.
My original plan was to go Airside and rest in a lounge as soon as security opened (usually around 4-5am) but for some inexplicable reason, EgyptAir required a physical check-in at the airport for the YYZ-CAI leg even though I was able to get my boarding pass online for the CAI-IST leg. Since my flight was at noon, I had to wait until 8:30am for the check-in counter to open. It was a real bummer.
Boarding pass in hand, I breezed through security and made my way to the Plaza Premium Lounge for International Departures in Terminal 1. There, I ate subpar breakfast (cold scrambled eggs, cold French toast, and a bowl of Cheerios), took a shower, and waited for my flight while terrible muzak played in the background. Before leaving, I ate lunch (chicken with garlic rice) and made my way to the gate.
The flight to Cairo went fairly well. I had flown EgyptAir within Egypt back in February and was pleased with the service. This time was no different. The man sitting behind me required medical assistance at some point, causing a small commotion around our rows, but he turned out okay.
I had a 4-hour layover in Cairo so I went to the First Class Lounge in Terminal 3 to wait for my next flight. This was by far the worst lounge I’ve visited since joining the Priority Pass program. Limited food choices. Very limited amount of power outlets. Only two bathrooms (one for each gender). I was glad that I wasn’t going to stay long but then I don’t know what’s worse: a terrible lounge or having no lounge at all (which was the case when I landed at Istanbul’s new airport)?
The only lounge available for economy travelers at IST is the IGA Lounge which costs €59 to access. I wasn’t going to spend more money on lounge access than I did for my flight to Cappadocia so I went directly to my gate and took a nap on the chairs.
My flight to Nevşehir was delayed twice. I arrived in Cappadoccia after sunset on a rainy evening two days after leaving Montreal. I had pre-arranged a shuttle with my Airbnb host and the driver mercifully let me wait in the van while waiting for the other passengers instead of standing in the cold. I was the last one to be dropped off so I went straight to bed after checking in. It had been a long trip and I was starting early the next day with a hot air balloon ride.
Day 1: Cappadocia
Hot Air Balloon Ride: €190 = $293.5 CAD (breakfast included)
Green Tour: $64.5 CAD (lunch included)
Dinner at Nazar Börek & Cafe: ₺30 = $7 CAD
After my amazing experience earlier this year in Luxor, the one thing I wanted to do in Turkey was the sunrise hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia. When planning my trip, I read countless reviews across blogs and Trip Advisor and finally settled on three balloon companies: Butterfly Balloons, Air Kapadokya, and Voyager Balloons. Air Kapadokya’s website didn’t look very enticing so I submitted quote requests to both Butterfly and Voyager. Although they were both the same price, I ended up picking Voyager Balloons after finding a promo code that gave me a free upgrade to the 16-passenger balloon (standard flights have 20-24 passengers).
The shuttle picked me up from my hotel at 3:45am sharp. From there, we picked up a few more passengers in Göreme and then went to some sort of holding area/building where we paid our bill and had breakfast. Several shuttles joined ours at this building and then everyone was re-assigned to specific shuttles that would take us to the take-off area and drive us back to our hotel when it was all over.
The weather was surprisingly chilly at the takeoff area. We had to wait in the cold for our balloon to open and get filled up with air. But we all forgot about the temperature when balloons slowly started taking off around us. We were pretty amped once we got the green light to board.
Our flight lasted about an hour and a half as we flew over the Rose Valley, watched the sunrise, climbed up to 1900m, dropped back down to the valley floor where we witnessed several wedding photoshoots, climbed up again before finally landing on a nice patch of grass.
After we disembarked, we were treated to a nice bottle of champagne (or cherry juice for those who didn’t drink) and then driven back to our hotels. Since I didn’t have a great breakfast prior to the balloon ride, I stopped by the hotel’s restaurant to have a second breakfast then went to take a nap before my next activity.
There are two major circuits that let tourists explore the highlights of Cappadocia, the Red Tour and the Green Tour (the less popular Blue Tour is also an option if you have more time but half of its itinerary has stops that are also on the Red and Green Tours). I booked the Green Tour via Viator for Day 1 and Red Tour (booked via Get Your Guide) for Day 2.
Once again, I was picked up at my hotel and joined other travelers for this tour. We had a pretty good group featuring a Japanese couple, teachers from Thailand, an American couple traveling the world (#goals right there), a family from Toronto, and myself.
Our first stop was at Göreme National Park where we took pictures of the fairy chimneys that are all over Cappadocia. Then, we went to the Ilhara Valley where we hiked for an hour and concluded the unexpected exercise with lunch (included in the tour’s price). Although the hike was fairly mundane, it was a good opportunity to get to know everyone in the group and talk about our travels. It was definitely one of the friendliest day tours I’ve joined as a solo traveler.
Everyone fell asleep in the bus on the way to the next stop, the Selime Monastery. The Selime Monastery is one of the largest religious buildings in Cappadocia and was completely carved into the rock. It features a church, a large kitchen, and various other rooms. Good sneakers or hiking shoes are recommended since you’ll be walking on rocky uneven surfaces while exploring the monastery. With its numerous rooms and dark corridors branching off in seemingly random directions, the monastery felt like a giant playground. It was definitely the best stop of the itinerary.
Next, we went to the Derinkuyu underground city, the largest excavated underground city in Turkey. It goes down seven levels and the tunnels between each level are narrow. Claustrophobes should not visit this place.
Honestly, Derinkuyu was boring. After spending the day learning about how people lived in the fairy chimneys and the Selime monastery, Derinkuyu felt like a rehash of it all with the only difference being that it was underground. Our guide kept repeating how happy he was that it wasn’t crowded even though there were other tour groups in there with us and we had to wait every time we needed to go through a tunnel because they’re only wide enough to walk through one way. I can’t imagine how people can visit this cramped place at peak season.
Finally, we stopped at Pigeon Valley for more fairy chimneys (and lots of pigeons). Across the street from the viewpoint, there was a dried fruit and nuts store where they sold various Turkish snacks/desserts. I bought a bag of dried apricots and was swarmed by local kids who wanted to take pictures with me.
All in all, I was disappointed by the Green Tour. The group’s friendliness made up for it but it’s not a tour that I would strongly recommend. It would be better to rent a car to go to all these places.
Day 2: Cappadocia
Red Tour: $60 CAD (lunch included)
Dinner at Coffedocia: ₺102 = $24 CAD
Kamil Koç bus to Antalya: ₺85 = $20 CAD
The next morning, I was picked up at my hotel for the second tour of my trip. This time I was doing the Red Tour which covered Uçhisar Castle, the Göreme Open-Air Museum, Love Valley, Imagination Valley (Devrent), and Monks’ Valley (Paşabağ).
Our first stop was Uçhisar Castle where we stayed for about 20 minutes. Like the Selime Monastery, Uçhisar’s fortress was cut into the rock. It is essentially a castle mountain. It is possible to hike to the top but I didn’t have time.
The one thing that left a bad impression was the treatment of the camels present at the site for tourists’ photo ops. Ever since my trip to Egypt, I wondered if the camels we rode were subjected to cruelty. They weren’t tied up and didn’t look malnourished but there was always that gnawing thought at the back of my head. Well, that thought completely disappeared when I saw the state of the camels at Uçhisar. They looked nowhere near as good as our camels in Egypt. Their legs were tied up and chained to the concrete ground. They had bags tied at their back to catch their poop. And they were extremely smelly. I don’t know why anyone would think it’d be a good idea to ride them but I saw a few people do it.
Our second stop was the Göreme Open Air Museum. You’d think it’d be relatively empty on a rainy Sunday but we learned the hard way that Turkish schools do field trips on weekends as well. We visited four churches there but not the Dark Church because it was being refurbished (a theme that will come back through most of my time in Istanbul as you will see in Part 2).
A quick stop at the Love Valley (we didn’t even go in the valley) was followed by a pottery demonstration and pottery shopping at Avanos. I didn’t buy anything since I was travelling light and would be moving around Turkey for the next week but there was good stuff there.
We ended the day with quick stops at Imagination Valley and Monks’ Valley. The second half of the tour was pretty rushed because a group of ladies needed to be back at their hotel in time to catch their flight in the evening. We also wasted a lot of time at the Open Air Museum. If the guide had cut our free time there in half, we would not have complained and would have more time at the other sights.
Back at the hotel, I had five hours to kill before my bus to Antalya. I had deliberately booked the second to last bus of the day to save on accommodations. The bus would leave at 10:05pm and arrive at Antalya at 7:30am. I spent two hours and half at Coffeedocia, taking my time with dinner (and eating from almost every course in the menu). Then I went to the bus station which was right next door.
The bus was late. Since Göreme is a small town, the bus station is literally a big parking lot with small kiosks for the bus companies, meaning there’s no sign or gate telling you where the bus will pull up. So every time we saw a giant bus, everyone stood up, hopeful it was theirs (there were three different bus companies whose buses were late). My bus ended up arriving a bit after 10:30pm and I left Göreme the same way I arrived, under the rain.
Day 3: Antalya
Antalyakart: ₺5 = $1 CAD
Hotel Twenty: $50 CAD for two nights (breakfast included)
Upper Düden Waterfalls Park Entrance Fee: ₺5 = $1 CAD
Dinner at Hasanağa Restaurant: ₺80 = $18.5 CAD
Apart from one stressful moment at a police checkpoint where I was the only passenger whose passport was closely scrutinized and had my picture taken, the bus ride was fine. Someone had puked early in the journey but the attendant quickly cleaned it up with a mop and sprayed the floor to remove the smell. I slept okay. It wasn’t the best sleep due to the numerous stops where the lights would turn on to help passengers would get on and off, but it was more comfortable than a plane. We arrived in Antalya a bit after 8am.
My Airbnb/hotel host had sent me comprehensive directions to get to the Old City. I knew I had to take tram but Google Maps did not have the tram in its transit options. Thankfully, there were signs for it right at the exit of the bus station and I just followed the signs until I got there. The machine selling tickets for the tram was only in Turkish so I just selected “Antalyakart,” kept pressing on the green button (which I correctly assumed was the Continue button) until it asked for money, fed it cash, and got my card. The rest was pretty straightforward. There are only two tram lines and I knew what stop I needed to get off so it was like riding the metro in Montreal.
I spent most of the morning at my hotel’s lovely rooftop terrace, waiting for my room to be ready for check-in.
In the afternoon, I took the bus to the Upper Düden Waterfalls located at the northern edges of the city. The waterfalls were formed by the recycle station water coming from a nearby hydroeletric plant. They are located in a peaceful park where one can easily relax or have a picnic. On the way back, my card didn’t have enough credits to ride the bus but the driver let me on anyway. Make sure to load more than 5 Liras on the card if you’re going to use the bus.
Day 4: Antalya
Perge, Side, Aspendos, & Manavgat Waterfall Day Tour: ₺365 = $85 CAD (lunch included)
For my one and only full day in the Antalya region, I booked a day tour to Perge, Aspendos, and Manavgat Waterfall. Unlike Göreme which is a small-ish town and thus has all the hotels close together, Antalya is a huge city with all-inclusive beach hotels, city hotels, and Old Town hotels. We spent a lot of time picking up people in the morning and dropping people off in the evening, including having to come back to one of the big hotels to pick up a couple who weren’t ready at their pick-up. They were lucky they weren’t the last on the list or we would have left without them.
Our first stop, Perge (or Perga) was an ancient city which existed through the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires. Today, it is a large site of ancient ruins. It has a stadium, a Roman theatre, an agora, and Roman baths. Our guide walked us through the site, spending the most time at the Roman baths and the agora where marbled storefronts still remain. Then, we had free time to roam around the site and take pictures.
We then made a quick stop at the aqueduct of Aspendos, an impressive structure ruined a bit by the presence of souvenir sellers. There are a few orange trees at the foot of the southern tower, and for ₺5, you can have a bag of freshly picked oranges.
The Aspendos theatre was the second highlight of the day after Perge. Built in 155, it is the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. It is still in use today, hosting the annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival which takes place in June and July.
Resort town Side was the next stop in our itinerary. Other than the ruins of Apollo’s temple and ancient mosaic floors exposed haphazardly beneath transparent tiles in the shopping district, there’s not much appeal for budget-minded travelers. Designer stores and overpriced restaurants line the main street leading to the marina and everything is in Euros. It’s also quite crowded so not a good spot for photo ops unless you get there early.
We left history behind and turned to nature at our final stop of the tour, Manavgat waterfall. It was a disappointing sight. Since the river was high, the waterfall looked more like rapids than a cascade. I was more impressed by the Düden waterfalls but from Google pictures, it looks like your experience will vary depending on which season you go visit Manavgat.
Day 5: Antalya – Pamukkale
Antalya Museum: ₺30 = $7 CAD
Bus to Denizli: ₺52 = $12 CAD
Dolmuş to Pamukkale: ₺4.5 = $1 CAD
Bellamaritimo Hotel: ₺152 = $34 for one night (breakfast included)
I woke up early on Day 5 to go take pictures of Hadrian’s Gate without the tourist crowds, returned to my hotel for breakfast, checked out, left my bag in storage, and made my way to the Antalya Museum on foot.
The 30-min walk was very relaxing. I could have taken the tram instead since it stops right in front of the museum but it would have prevented me from seeing the Cat Village, a little area with small houses and larger “villas” designed exclusively for stray cats. I didn’t stay long due to my allergies but it was absolutely adorable. I strongly recommend checking it out.
The museum was pretty empty when I arrived. I don’t think I saw more than 10 other visitors for the duration of my time there. It was nice to have the whole place to myself but also pretty sad since the museum hosts some pretty spectacular statues, notably from Perge and the Aspendos theatre. The Sarcophagus Hall and Mosaic Hall are also worth the visit. I really liked being able to see the restoration process for the mosaics. There was a lady slowly and meticulously brushing the dirt off a mosaic. I found it really fascinating and admired her patience.
Museum done, it was time to buy a bus ticket to Pamukkale. From my research, there were two companies that went to Denizli, Kamil Koç and Pamukkale Turizm. Since Pamukkale Turizm had hourly departures, I decided to book with them. They had two offices near the museum. The man at the first office did not speak English. The woman at the second office claimed that she did not speak English either but once I typed in what I wanted in Google Translate, we could manage the rest of the conversation just fine.
The bus ride to Denizli was uneventful except for the fact that I got off at the wrong stop!!! I’m still not sure if it was due to exhaustion or if I was just distracted but I didn’t know there would be several stops in Denizli. I thought the bus would go straight to the bus station so when the attendant yelled out “DENIZLI,” I got off along with a few locals. It’s only when I checked the map that I realized that I was a long way from the station. Thankfully, there was a taxi stand nearby to take me there. But my lack of attention cost me an extra ₺30.
Next, I had to find gate 76 where the minibus to Pamukkale was located. Fun fact, the gates at the Denizli station are not ordered numerically so it took me a while to find gate 76. If you find yourself looking for it, it’s at the lower level of the station, near the outdoor escalator.
My research told me that the trip would cost ₺5 but the driver gave me back change without me asking for it, so expect to pay 4.5 to 5 Liras. Now, I have never ridden this type of transportation before. Not the tap-taps in Haiti, not the colectivos in Mexico, and not the microbuses in Egypt. I’ll be honest. I was nervous. Doubly so when the driver took a detour to another town instead of going straight to Pamukkale. The man sitting next to me sensed my nervousness and, after I told him I didn’t speak Turkish, pulled out his phone to talk via Google Translate. He reassured me by confirming that we were going in the right direction.
At Pamukkale, a trio of travelers and myself were dropped off on the main road. They were a bit lost but their host’s house was nearby. I pointed them in the right direction by using Google Maps and then set off for my hotel all alone with the sun rapidly setting. Walking the streets at dusk was an eerie experience. There was absolutely no one outside, no cars passing through. I could hear dogs barking as I passed in front of residential houses. I made it to my hotel right as darkness was setting in, relieved, tired, but also proud of myself. Despite things going slightly wrong, I didn’t lose my cool, and made it to my destination safe and sound.
Day 6: Pamukkale – Selçuk
Hierapolis Archeological Site: ₺50 = $11 CAD
Dolmuş to Denizli: ₺4.5 = $1 CAD
Train to Selçuk: ₺16 = $4 CAD
Saint John Hotel: $71 CAD for one night (breakfast included)
Dinner at Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House: ₺43 = $10 CAD
I woke up early the next morning to the sight of hot air balloons flying outside my bedroom window. Speaking with the hotel manager during breakfast, he told me hot air balloon flights in Pamukkale have been happening for a while now and they’re much cheaper than Cappadocia flights. Of course, the landscape isn’t the same but it’s something that I’ll keep in mind if I ever return.
After breakfast, I set out for the main attraction of Pamukkale, the travertine terraces at the Hierapolis Archeological site. You’ve probably seen gorgeous pictures of pools filled with clear blue water on Google nd Instagram. Well, it’s not quite the same in real life. Only six pools were open to the public and only one of them had hot water. That one pool got pretty crowded once the tour buses rolled in. Needless to say, I didn’t stay very long. I had originally planned to go the Heriapolis theatre but didn’t feel like trekking all the way there and then walk back all the way to my hotel. Besides, I had already seen two theatres in this trip, with one more to come in Selçuk so I didn’t consider it a huge loss.
Back in town, I had to figure out where to get on the dolmuş that would take me back to Denizli. The hotel manager told me the stop was in front of the supermarket but that was rather vague since there are no actual designated stops. Thankfully, the old man who worked in the market came out and flagged down the minibus for me. A true gentleman. After reading that buses from Denizli to Selçuk don’t depart until they’re full on the Will Fly for Food blog, I decided to take the train. I was happy with my choice since it was much cheaper than the bus rides I’d paid so far.
The hotel that I booked in Selçuk wasn’t my first choice but it ended up being pretty convenient as it was located only at a 10-minute walking distance from the train station and on a quiet street. The room had probably the most flimsiest door lock I’ve ever seen (the kind of lock that you push from the inside before closing the door when leaving with no secondary lock, no chain or security guard) but I was only there for one night so it didn’t bother me much.
Read about my short stay in Selçuk and the second half of my trip in Istanbul in Part 2.
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