Trip Itinerary
We flew from Los Angles Saturday morning to Istanbul via New York and the same back to Los Angeles. We arrived in Istanbul Sunday morning. After three days of sightseeing in Istanbul we took a 7:45 am flight to Kayseri (inland Turkey) where we picked up our rental car. From Kayseri airport, we drove to Capadocia for 1 1/2 days of sightseeing, including Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve, Pasabag, and the underground cities. We ended up finishing early the 2nd day and decided to leave one day early and drive to Antalya and chance getting a hotel. The drive to Antalya was by far our longest at 7 hours, including driving through mountains with snow. We spent 2 full days in Antalya. This was a jumping off spot to see the ancient ruins of Side, Perge, and Aspendos. In addition, Antalya's old city/harbor, and their museum. Another early morning departure from Antalya for Aphrodisias and then Hierapolis and Pumakkale. The next morning we left for Kusadasi. On the way to Kusadasi we stopped to see Ephesus for our 1st of 2 visits to Ephesus. We stayed in Kusadasi for three full days. From Kusadasi we drove to see Priene, Miletas, and back to Ephesus for another visit when the crowds were thinned out. After our three days in Kusadasi, we drove to Pergamon to see the Pergamon & Asklepion ruins. In the afternoon after visiting the Pergamon ruins, we drove to Izmir to check into our hotel. The next morning we caught a 8:30am flight back to Istanbul for another two days of sightseeing and shopping in Istanbul.
Detail Itinerary below. Click image for larger view
