Touring in Turkey

Posted on 14 April 2012 by Thea Stainsby

Hire a car – no, not a good idea, we were told. Fuel is expensive and distances long.

Fortunately, unlike Egypt and Jordan, travel agents are not in short supply. Our dilemma was about what they would sell us, would we get value for our tourist dollar?

Six days into a 20 day jaunt through Turkey we are now confident with what we were sold.

Travel Agents here tend to book an individual program where you join tours for a day or two, have a few free days, use some of the public buses to go long distances. A kind of hybrid journey of discovery.

And as we meet other travellers we find they have been sold the same concept but individualised for their time and budget.

For us it wasn’t the glitzy holiday destinations with the jet skis and massive swimming pools. Nor was it rushing from one magnificent site to another. Time is on our side.

So here we are on a tour bus for a day. Most others will return tonight or fly on. We will stop a night in Pummakale then journey on a public bus tomorrow to be met by another tour operator and another group.

And we had enough free time to return to Ephesus in sunshine to make up for the wet and windy conditions on our first day.

I like touring in Turkey!

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5 Responses to Touring in Turkey

  1. Mary Daley says:
    17 April 2012 at 12:34

    That your travel arrangements include taking buses with locals is marvellous. I have special memories of being provided with fresh water on a long bus trip, courtesy of the nephew, under the instructions of the driver. Your itinerary seems modest and yet also remarkable. Mary

  2. Alex Mifsud says:
    18 April 2012 at 15:54

    Thea, your FIT ( Flexible Independent Touring) for Turkey sounds perfect for your journey (as you said, time is on your side). I absolutely love the panaorma photos for your header – I’m investigating the app you described.
    Hope you continue to have happy FITs.
    Cheers, Alex.

    • thea says:
      19 April 2012 at 19:27

      I like the term FIT!
      We have found you the perfect tour guide for Turkey, articulate in English, reads Shakespeare, massive knowledge, a dark sense of humour and looks like a squashed George Clooney – better add Turkey to your list of destinations! He was most interested in taking a tour group of Australians.

  3. Mike Wilson says:
    20 April 2012 at 22:41

    I have great memories of travelling through Turkey. Your blog and pictures brought me back to those fun times. Looks like you’re having a blast!

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