CITY: Istanbul

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

I went to Turkey with Jake, a friend from the US, who came to visit over Thanksgiving. Turkey Day in Turkey!!!

Logistical notes:

• Make sure to apply for your visa ahead of time!
• To get to the city center in Istanbul, you can take a bus from the airport called Havaist or the new metro line (M11). We ended up taking the bus.
• Unless you plan on getting around exclusively by taxi, you will need to buy an Istanbulkart (a contactless, prepaid transportation card) to be able to use the metro and other public transportation services (tram, bus, Metrobus and ferry) in Istanbul. (Highly recommend taking a ferry at some point!). We got confused by the machines, but you need to find one that sells the actual card, not just a machine that tops up an existing card. I found that using google translate app was quite helpful in figuring this out.
• Here’s a great guide of how to get to/from the airport.
• It’s helpful to get cash out as many vendors/taxis only took cash (if you are American, make sure to get a Charles Schwab debit card to get any ATM fees reimbursed)

ACCOMMODATION:

We splurged on hotels in the other two spots in Turkey so we stayed in a private room at the Cheers hostel in Istanbul. We thought it would cool to have views (see two photos below) of the Hagia Sofia, which was indeed true until the Call to Prayer woke us up twice throughout the night every single night. Night ideal when Jake was trying to adjust to an 11 hour time zone change.

The hostel room was very old and basic, but it did the job. However, the room was quite warm & the AC was turned off for the winter. Normally wouldn’t be a problem to just use the windows to cool the room off at night, but we couldn’t leave the windows open because the city was so dang loud. Between the garbage getting collected at all hours of the night, construction starting at 6am (it felt like), and the Call to Prayer, we couldn’t get any sleep if the windows were open. The free breakfast was pretty great and there was a hostel bar, so overall seemed like a decent hostel.

WHERE TO EAT:

Incili Mozaik – We ate here our first night after a long day of travel (8 hrs for me, 30hrs + for Jake) so we ended up in the touristy area close to our hostel. We honestly expected subpar, yet expensive food as such, but we ended up loving the food. We might even say it was out favorite meal in Istanbul (although it could be just that we were so tired & hungry that anything tasted good haha). My Turkish meatballs were so moist & tasty. Jake loved the assortment of meats he got. Honestly, a great spot that is very close to the Hagia Sofia.

Yigit – Cute, local breakfast spot

Zapata Burger– Because we couldn’t find a restaurant that served a Thanksgiving meal, we decided to just go out for a classic American meal – Cheeseburger + fries This burger was fabulous and the fries weren’t half bad. Although we would’ve rather had some turkey and mashed potatoes, this was a great alternative.

What to do:

There is so much to do in Istanbul – it’s a huge city! Here are a few highlights:

• Hagia Sofia – you can’t not visit it (you also won’t miss it, as you can hear the call to prayer 5-6 times a day and it’s LOUD)
• Blue Mosque – I actually this one was more beautiful
• Balat – cool colorful neighborhood, cute cafes, bohemian/hippie vibes
• Kadikoy- our favorite neighborhood. Just make sure to map to the center of this area as google maps took us to a very weird part of the neighborhood where nothing was going on lol. You can use Zapata Burger to map yourself to & then you’ll be in the mix of the neighborhood.
• Do a Hammam – Here’s a summary of what it is & some of the best places to do one. It’s a must do while in Turkey if you like spa experiences.
• We loved taking the ferry across from the European part of the city (we stayed in Sultanahmet since it was close to a lot of the mosques) to the Asian part of the city (if I came back, I’d stay in Kadikoy).

Overall Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about Istanbul. On the one hand, it’s huge & loud & overwhelming & busy (fun fact: Istanbul topped the list for the number of international arrivals in 2023, followed by London & Dubai). On the other hand, there were some cool pockets & neighborhoods with fun cafes, nice large sidewalks for strolling, & beautiful architecture. Given I spent 5 days here, I don’t feel like I missed much that I would’ve wanted to do, but if I had only done 2-3 days, I might’ve felt like I needed to return.

CITY: Cappadocia

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I can’t say enough good things about Kelebek Cave Hotels. The room itself was spectacular and just so unique. It was huge and the bed was so comfy. The free breakfast buffet was extensive and the views from everywhere in the property were stunning. The thing that really took it over the top was the staff were all incredibly helpful and bent over backwards to make sure our stay was excellent. They booked everything for us (airport transfers, hot air ballon ride, sunset ATV ride, and even mailed some postcards on my behalf). Can’t recommend this hotel enough!

WHERE TO EAT:

Inci Cave Restaurant – We met some other travelers at lunch at chatted with them so we invited them for dinner that night. The restaurant put us in a private room that was basically a carved out cave. Very cool! Food was pretty good, but the room was the standout element. It was fun to have some new people to chat to as well!

Turkish ravioli restaurant – we’d heard about the Turkish so when we came across this restaurant we knew we had to eat here! Jake said it was one of his favorite meals in Turkey. Nice ambiance and excellent service. 

What to do:

There were quite a few activities to choose from in Cappadocia, although it’s really known for their incredible Hot Air Ballon rides.

• Sunrise Hot Air Balloon rides – this is why most people come to this region, and it did not disappoint! The scenery from up above is unreal- it felt like a mixture of Sedona, Bryce Canyon, & Mars. It was so peaceful, serene and magical the entire ride. It was truly incredible to see the scenery and once you add 100 other balloons also along the horizon – it’s just indescribable. At the peak, we were 950m above the ground! FYI they can often get cancelled due to weather, and it was cancelled both mornings we were there… luckily we were able to change our flights to later on the day on our last morning there and the balloons were good to go! Well worth the stress of changing last minute flights. We paid 180 euros per person, which isn’t cheap, but it’s a no brainer to do. Our hotel arranged it all for us, so it was a breeze. I would recommend booking the balloon flight for your first morning you are there so if it gets cancelled, you still have other mornings to go. It’s for this reason too that I would say you should spend a few days here in case your first go at it is cancelled. Also it was quite cold in November when we went, so bring layers if you are going in winter.

• Sunset ATV ride – This started out not that fun as it was freezing cold (we were here in November) and it was raining… not a recipe for success. They gave us rain jackets, but the weather literally put a damper on the experience. However, the weather turned a little clearer by the end and we did get to explore a few awesome views/sites in the end, including Rose Valley, Love Valley, & Red Valley. Unfortunately the clouds ruined any chance of a sunset, but we still enjoyed the experience. Maybe just check the weather before you book! Here’s an example of a tour (although we just booked ours through our hotel the night before).

• Take the Red or Green day tours – We did the Green one, as this is what other folks had recommended. We got to see one of the underground cities (pretty impressive), Pigeon Valley, an Onyx factory, Selime Monastery, a nice hike along a river (although ours was shortened due to weather) & Goreme Panorama. This is a nice way to see a ton of sites in an efficient manner.

• We loved grabbing a drink or snack at one of the many cool restaurants that have views of the city.
• There are a few walks/hikes you can do, but when we tried to do one, we experienced the craziest/strongest wind either of us had ever seen so we didn’t last long before seeking refuge in a cafe for some lunch.

Overall Thoughts:

Cappadocia is definitely worth a visit! It’s so unique and I enjoyed it for more than just the hot air ballon ride (although this was undoubtably the highlight). This was my favorite stop in Turkey!

CITY: Antalya

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Perge Hotel in Antalya, which was almost amazing. The room itself was awesome! We really splurged and got a room with an amazing private deck & hot tub, knowing that the pool would be closed for the season. The room was huge and literally had two bathrooms, basically a dream. The location was great – right on the Mediterranean, but still walking distance to the Old Town. However, the hotel was a bit of ghost town (to be fair we were there in off season in Nov, but still it was odd). The front desk staff were very strange, awkward and not very helpful. They charged us 70 euros for laundry and didn’t tell this upfront (obscenely expensive for laundry). If they had had the customer service level of the Kelebek hotel, this stay would’ve been perfect!

WHERE TO EAT:

Mono Terrace – This was the only standout restaurant in Antalya that we ate at. The food was great, but even better was the rooftop vibe & views. Definitely go at sunset! Cocktails were fun & reasonably priced, which was a bonus.

What to do:

There is definitely way more to do here in the summertime, as this is the most popular beach destination in all of Turkey. People scuba, snorkel, go on a boat cruises and just lay in the sun on the beach. Given it was in the 60’s most days, we did not have those options. In fact, it was quite slow and quiet when we were there. 

It poured rain one day so we headed to the mall and went to a movie (3 hr movie in Turkish ). Honestly going to movies while traveling is one of my favorite ways to escape a bad weather day! (But normally I prefer English movies with local subtitles ) 

When the sun popped up, we meandered the streets of Old Town. It was actually quite nice to explore without the throngs of tourists that I’m sure are here in the summer. 

I went on some runs (Jake tried to join me but couldn’t keep up ) through Old Town and along the water front. 

We meant to go on a hike to see some waterfalls but ended up just enjoying the gorgeous deck and tiny private pool on the hottest day we had. After a fairly packed week of activities, we were happy to have a chill day, mostly playing cards (I won – don’t worry).

Overall Thoughts:

Antalya would’ve been awesome if we’d been here during the summer. However, despite being here in the offseason, we still enjoyed it. I’d happily return to check it out when it’s more happening.

BUDGET FOR 14 days in Turkey:

Accommodation: $1,433 ($102 per night): Jake and I decided to splurge and stay at cool/fancy hotels since it was overall pretty good bang for your buck.

Food: $238

Groceries: $0

Activities: $442 (I treated Jake to the hot air balloon ride since he didn’t really want to go in the first place (weirdo), which accounts for $180 of this)

Local Transportation: $271 (includes 3 flights within Turkey)

Total: $343 (Daily average: $170)

Transportation to next destination: $51 (Flight to London)