Turkey

Trip Plan of A Plan For Our Friends Who Wants Come To Our Wedding :)

August 2016 – Western Turkey

Arrive at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB) (what is your estimated arrival time /

date? Did you already book your flights to IST or ADB?)

Rent a car or arrange airport transfer. Drivers in the region are usually more

considerate than rest of the country and you will be driving mostly on highways.

However, be cautious, you will be driving in a third world country. If you arrive in an

evening, we can arrange a city hotel in Izmir.

If arriving in the morning, you can spend the day at Ephesus (1-1.5 hour drive) 3-4

hours on site, Selcuk, Virgin Mary’s house, Isabey Mosque and other historical sites in

the region. There are a lot of guided tours offering these itineraries with shuttles from

Izmir hotels or airport as well. You can spend the evening in a small old Greek town

Sirince, and the fantastic Bed&Breakfast owned by a Turkish/Armenian author called

Nisanyan Guest House: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g815366-

d312093-Reviews-Nisanyan_Evleri_Hotel-

Sirince_Izmir_Province_Turkish_Aegean_Coast.html

This is one my favorite towns in Turkey and definitely a great place to relax. You can

spend the next day/half a day visiting some of the wineries, or small eateries operated

by the villagers.

From Sirince, you have multiple options to consider:

1. If you want to remain in Izmir area, and want to enjoy some of the best/hip beaches

of the country, you can consider Alacati/Cesme area. This is one of the highly popular

summer towns of Turkey, with hotels requiring reservations well in advance and

demanding higher prices than usual. Alacati is one of the top windsurfing centers in

the world if you are interested. The old town center of Alacati is packed with great

cafes, bars and restaurants through small but crowded medieval style narrow alleys.

This area is pretty much alive 24/7. Note that Cesme area is dominated by domestic

tourists and language may be a concern.

2. You can consider driving down south to the ancient Lycian region. I did a road trip

to that area a few years ago with my parents, and it was definitely fantastic and

relaxing. We can build an itinerary that includes Dalyan (ancient Lycian tombs in the

rocks), Cleopatra island and then down south west to Fethiye/Oludeniz. Oludeniz (Blue

Lagoon) is one of the best lagoons/beaches in Turkey in my opinion. Fethiye area is

mostly dominated by British tourists, English is pretty much an official language.

3. You can continue driving down to south to Antalya region for the most luxurious

resorts of Turkey and great beaches. This area is mostly dominated by Russian tourists

in the summer, but due to Turkish-Russian conflict this year, a lot of the hotels are

already in financial crisis. Besides, August temperatures in Antalya region average

100+ Fahrenheit degrees with high humidity. Belek area in Antalya is home to Turkey’s

best golfing resorts.

4. Smaller coastal towns off the beaten path, Seferihisar/Urla (dream retirement

towns for most Turks) near Izmir, with average beaches and mid-level hotels. If you’d

like to get a feel of authentic Aegean village towns, spend time away from crowds and

away from younger crowds, we can consider resorts, hotels or other options in one or

more of these towns.

5. Another top touristic destination for both foreign and domestic tourists: Bodrum in

Mugla vicinity. You can find fantastic beaches, younger party crowds and corporate

workers of Istanbul dying for their weekend escape to Bodrum, but also Turkey’s latest

top luxury villa style hotels like Mandarin Oriental Bodrum or Amanruya, which are

both in AmEx Fine Hotels program if your are a Platinum member.

6. Depending on how much time you have, we can get in touch with small yachting

companies or small cruise companies that operate tours along the western Turkish

coast and/or Greek islands in the area.

7. We may arrange a flight from Izmir and 1.5-2 days tour in Capadoccia and a

balloon tour. Note that Capadoccia will be very hot in August.

On the day of our wedding, you may drive/fly back to Izmir, and consider staying at

one of the following: Hilton Izmir, Swissotel Grand Ephesus Izmir, Movenpick Hotel or

KEY hotel. We will most likely have a group rate at Movenpick for €80 for two per

night, including tax and breakfast for two. A taxi from the hotel to our wedding venue

should cost around ₺50 (Turkish lira that is).