BootsnAll Travel Community

Ok, I am in a glorious peaceful haven in Santorini and I am planning my Turkey trip or should I say replanning it as I am changing it all around, but I have some questions.

We were going to RV up to Istanbul, but now i think we will just take a ferry to Rhodes from here and start in Marmasi ( sp)close by.

Does anyone know if I can take a 3 or 4 day (cabin)gulet from there to Olympa ( sp), how much and who to book with ?

We are in our 50's and traveling with a 6yo , I am over weight and have some mobility challenges ( crushed a knee, broke a femur some years ago, lucky I am walking) but that has not stopped me from walking all over Europe or doing an overnight in the Sahara, so hearty, just slow.

I am wondering how my challenges will impact me in Turkey? Also my child really likes the idea of the tree houses, are they doable for families? We will be traveling with just a small back pack each.

How are the bathrooms in Turkey? We have decided to take the buses but I am wondering about the bathroom situation. I bought some of those funnels for women for those horrible holes with two pedal style bathrooms, but they were a disaster in the Sahara as I still ended up with pee all over my pants. Otherwise we have avoided those toilets successfully. What are the chances of me avoiding them in Turkey?

I see that the fez turkish delight is 174 american for one person and I am wondering if it is cheaper to do that or take regular buses as needed?

Our basic plan is to get to the tree houses after Rhodes hopefully by boat for good price, spend a few days there , take bus to Gorem, stay there a few days, then take night bus to Istanbul for a few days, then take bus to selnc ( sp) near Epheus and stay there for a few days, then come back via ferry from Samos to Santorini.

I would love to see the whirling devishes and I think it is on the way to Goreme. Has anyone done that?

I expected to do this earlier, but every place has just been too nice to move any faster than we have, so now I worry a bit about the heat and crowds in late June in Turkey. How hot will it be?

Will there be too much of a wild party atmosphere in tree house area?

Thanks for any help!!

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How are the bathrooms in Turkey? We have decided to take the buses but I am wondering about the bathroom situation. I bought some of those funnels for women for those horrible holes with two pedal style bathrooms, but they were a disaster in the Sahara as I still ended up with pee all over my pants. Otherwise we have avoided those toilets successfully. What are the chances of me avoiding them in Turkey?

I wondered the same thing but had no problems with bathrooms in Turkey. You will find lots of bathrooms with the floor types, but every one I went into also had at least one American/Euro style toilet as well. I only had to crouch once in the toilet on the train, and after I was done, realized there was a more "normal" type right across the hallway.

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I see that the fez turkish delight is 174 american for one person and I am wondering if it is cheaper to do that or take regular buses as needed?

I thought about this just for the convenience factor, but it's definitely not cheaper. In the end, I decided on regular buses because of the cost, and because that way I could control my schedule.

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Our basic plan is to get to the tree houses after Rhodes hopefully by boat for good price, spend a few days there, take bus to Gorem, stay there a few days, then take night bus to Istanbul for a few days, then take bus to selnc ( sp) near Epheus and stay there for a few days, then come back via ferry from Samos to Santorini. I would love to see the whirling devishes and I think it is on the way to Goreme. Has anyone done that?

I saw the whirling dervishes in Istanbul and really enjoyed the experience. I don't know that I enjoyed it enough to warrant going out of my way to Konya to see them.

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I expected to do this earlier, but every place has just been too nice to move any faster than we have, so now I worry a bit about the heat and crowds in late June in Turkey. How hot will it be?

It will be hot and crowded - it was already quite hot by the middle of May and was getting more crowded and I'm sure it's not going to get any cooler. The biggest crowds will probably be around Ephesus and the eastern coast, since that gets a huge influx from cruise ships.

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I am wondering how my challenges will impact me in Turkey? Also my child really likes the idea of the tree houses, are they doable for families? We will be traveling with just a small back pack each.

I never stayed in one of the tree houses so I can't help you there. I am also an overweight older woman (50), although I have no physical disabilities, and I didn't have any problems. You may want to avoid climbing up into some of the hills in Goreme but generally, I don't think you should have any problems.

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We were going to RV up to Istanbul, but now i think we will just take a ferry to Rhodes from here and start in Marmasi ( sp)close by. Does anyone know if I can take a 3 or 4 day (cabin)gulet from there to Olympa ( sp), how much and who to book with ?

Oops, missed this part - I don't think you can get as far as Olympos from Marmaris in 3-4 days. You can take a cruise from Marmarus to Fethiye (a place I loved!) and then take another from Fethiye to Olympus. For me, that would be a lot of time on the water. I would consider spending some time on land, since the area is so beautiful. The scenery is incredible and I really enjoyed the bus ride from Antalya to Fethiye. You might think about taking a cruise from Marmarus to Fetyiye, then traveling by bus to Olympos from there (or vise versa). Here's one site that discusses the various cruises that might be helpful - keep in mind that the author runs a boat company.

Whereforart answered most of these, but I'll pitch in my own knowledge where applicable.

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Originally posted by WT:
We were going to RV up to Istanbul, but now i think we will just take a ferry to Rhodes from here and start in Marmaris close by.

Make sure you find out ferry schedules. The main ferry runs from Greece to Turkey is from Samos. When we tried to take a minor ferry (in our case Ayvalik, Turkey to Mitilini, Lesvos, Greece) we ended up spending a day and a half that we hadn't really planned on waiting for a boat. (Turns out the "twice a day" we were advised of was actually "every two days.")

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Does anyone know if I can take a 3 or 4 day (cabin)gulet from there to Olympos, how much and who to book with?

As WFA said, there's not any that go all the way. I'd suggest either taking a boat to Fethiye (not sure about price) and then busing, or busing to Fethiye and taking a boat the rest of the way. This is the most common boat route...the advertised price when we were there was 99 British Pounds per person (don't ask me why they picked that currency)...about 300 YTL. But they were scrambling for business last June - aparently people weren't travelling, presumably due to the World Cup - and we ended up paying 150 YTL per person. The biggest disadvantage that I see to doing the Fethiye-Olympos boat is that you only get a whistle stop in Kas, a spot I found really interesting, a mix of rich yacht-owning tourists, friendly Turks, good restaurants, and some interesting tombs and such scattered around town.

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I am wondering how my challenges will impact me in Turkey? Also my child really likes the idea of the tree houses, are they doable for families? We will be traveling with just a small back pack each.

Now I didn't visit anything close to all the camps around Olympos, but from what I saw, the really well done treehouses are at Kadir's which I wouldn't recommend for families...a bit of a party place. The place we stayed, I think it was called Sabah Pension, had a more laid back atmosphere, not so many drunk people, but the "treehouses" are just huts on stilts. There's probably 100 different pensions around Olympos, and that's without counting the ones in Cirali at the other end of the beach, so if you look hard enough, you can probably find something that suits.

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How are the bathrooms in Turkey? We have decided to take the buses but I am wondering about the bathroom situation. I bought some of those funnels for women for those horrible holes with two pedal style bathrooms, but they were a disaster in the Sahara as I still ended up with pee all over my pants. Otherwise we have avoided those toilets successfully. What are the chances of me avoiding them in Turkey?

Not hard to avoid, particularly in Western Turkey. There's almost always a mix of toilet styles, and one great thing about Turkey is that people actually take some pride in cleanliness, so disgusting bathrooms aren't as common as in some other nearby countries I could name.

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I see that the fez turkish delight is 174 american for one person and I am wondering if it is cheaper to do that or take regular buses as needed?

WFA covered this - definitely not cheaper. I think the most we ever spent on a bus ride was about 40YTL, and that took us clear accross the country, most were closer to 20YTL. The Turkish bus system is one of the (if not the) greatest in the world.

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I would love to see the whirling devishes and I think it is on the way to Goreme. Has anyone done that?

While Konya is very central to the dervish sect, you can see them in Istanbul, which would be easier. Unless you want to go to Konya for something else.

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I expected to do this earlier, but every place has just been too nice to move any faster than we have, so now I worry a bit about the heat and crowds in late June in Turkey. How hot will it be?

We were there late May to late June, and then stopped in Istanbul in mid July. It'll be fairly hot. We found Antalya, Olympos and Istanbul to be the worst for being damp and muggy. But even in mid-July, Istanbul was only in the high 20s, so it was really just the dampness that made it uncomfortable. Other places we stopped felt drier, so the heat was quite bearable. The only time the heat really got to us was hiking in Cappadocia, which it sounds like you might not be up to with your knee anyway.

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Will there be too much of a wild party atmosphere in tree house area?

Some camps are party places, some are less so. Definitely avoid Turkmen and Kadir's if you don't want a party. You can also try Cirali, which is typically viewed as the more mature-person friendly stop in the area.

Have fun.

We were in Turkey 6 years ago without kids, but now I have 2 young ones and will definitely go back with them. Kids certainly change the way I would travel, but I only think it will be better with them than without. I got the impression that a family is treated very well there.

My addition to the great advice already given:


Gulet Cruise: I had an incredible time on our cruise from Fethiye to Olympos, but this was because we had a great crew and a great group of travelers with us. In reality, the cruise was a bit of a disaster. First of all, the ads for these cruises often show sails but there were no sails used on our cruise. Our boat was nice, but ill equipped and ended up breaking down mid trip. The cabins were so dirty that we all slept on top of the boat every night (under the stars...not a bad compromise!). Our experience is not typical, I have heard mostly wonderful things about gulet cruises, but if you have the opportunity to check out the boat ahead of time, do it (especially if you are bringing a child). That said, I wouldnt change a thing about our experience it was amazing.

Tree Houses: I thought they were a bit overrated. As stated, they are just small huts in stilts. We also stayed at Sabah as mentioned above and loved it. I would go back there with my kids. In fact, there was a family there with a toddler and I recall the owners (brother & sister) treating the family like gold. Olympos is a very neat backpacker hangout, very laid back during the day. There is partying at night but only in certain spots.


Buses: The buses are very efficient and clean. They make regular stops at well equipped rest stops along the way. You are more likely to get a feel of Tukish life by taking independent buses rather than FEZ which is tourist oriented.

Goreme: This is an excellent spot for families and I found the cave rooms much more charming and "fun" than the tree houses.

Dalyan: This is not on your itinerary, but it was a neat town we stopped in along the way. A nice family place. One of the highlights there is a beautiful stretch of sandy beach where sea turtles nest. Family run pesions, restaurants on the water,boat rides through the canals with views of stone carvings, and a rustic but quaint town. Just watch out for the mozzies...

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WFA covered this - definitely not cheaper. I think the most we ever spent on a bus ride was about 40YTL, and that took us clear accross the country, most were closer to 20YTL. The Turkish bus system is one of the (if not the) greatest in the world.

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The buses are very efficient and clean. They make regular stops at well equipped rest stops along the way. You are more likely to get a feel of Tukish life by taking independent buses.

I will wholeheartedly concur with all of the above. Buses were really cheap - the buses I took ranged from 17YTL to 49YTL (and that was for Varan, the super-duper king of buses - I used them for an overnight bus from Izmir to Istanbul and actually slept! I NEVER sleep on buses or airplanes!) I loved the bus system - you get free cakes and snacks with tea, coffee and/or juice (try the cherry juice - yum!), the occasional spritz of scented cologne-water, and reclining comfy seats. A couple of buses showed movies.

You also get the occasional baby. When I was traveling from Goreme to Antalya, seated next to me was a Turkish woman with a small baby about 8 months old. At the first rest stop, she indicated that she had to run in and proceeded to hand the baby over to me. I had no problem watching him - he was adorable with huge dark brown eyes and a little bowl-shaped haircut - but it kind of threw me that she would entrust her child to a total stranger. The Turks venerate children so much that I suppose it never occurred to her that anyone would harm a child.

Thanks all!! That is a VERY big help. I was getting all psyched for Turkey again, and then read a headline that they have entered Iraq ( even tho they were warned not to) and that makes me a little nervous. I worry there could be some more terrorism as payback or ????

It makes my husband not want to go, but I still hope to go and will just watch how things unfold as I continue to plan.Do you think that will affect tourism and or terrorism against tourists?

That is really good news about the buses as we are tentatively thinking about taking 2 over night busses.

Good to know about the boat thing being too far from the Rhodes- Marmis( sp) cross. ( Unless I have my book in front of me, I can not remember all the names perfectly yet as I am doing too many countries at once...by the time I have them down well, I am on to the next).

I guess we would take a bus to Feyeth ( sp) area and then take a gulet. They have one thru the that main tree house place that starts with a K ( on there website). Should I book that one or are they all about the same? Are they easy to book and find once I am there?

We will come back thru samos, but I wanted to see Rhodes ( and will even get a peek at Crete which I had wanted to see) so I was glad that was listed as a popular, quick, cheap route in lonely planet. I only have the shoestring europe one as it is handy for us and saves space, I do the rest on the net as I have time.

It only takes an hour to fly to rhodes from santorini but it takes almost 24 hours to take the ferry. The good news is we love these big ferry's and the price is good even for a cabin for us.

I am glad I can see the whirling dervishes in Istanbul. I have seen before in teh US but my child has not and would be fun there. I also want to stay in one of those rock houses ( like the one static mentioned).


I know of a few but since I will have to book at the last minute does anyone else have any great rock house hotel things to stay at ? I am willing to splurge for this on a special place ( around 100 euros or so) for something very nice and unique.

We mostly scrimp and budget, but will pay more from time to time for something special like we are going to do here for one night for one with a killer view on the crater rim or some of the nice riads in Morocco. We can make up for it on the night bus rides.


NOw how about illness and travelers dysentary? We are unvaxed and with a skinny child these things are a concern once out of Europe or north America. Do people get sick there as much as they do in Morocco, Egypt, Mexico??? We were extremely careful in Morocco and did not get sick and hope to do the same in Turkey.

We of course will only drink bottled water. I know some people are lucky and have no problem anywhere, but I worry about my skinny kid who does not have any fat or cushion should she get very sick ( so far she never has). We did the if you can peel it or it is not hot don't eat it thing and went crazy with antibacterial wipes that really helped in Morocco ( while others got sick).


How safe is the food there? With bad water, it makes me nervous, because if you can not drink the water, sometimes things are hidden , especially in poor countries. ( Ie I know someone who got deathly ill by watermelon which does have a peel ( but the natives shot bad water into it before selling because it is sold by the pound) and some people who got sick from OJ because bad water was added.


Thanks again!

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I am glad I can see the whirling dervishes in Istanbul. I have seen before in teh US but my child has not and would be fun there.

Their performances are held at Sirkeci train station in a special exhibition room. Just ask at your hotel and they can make a reservation for you. Get there early so you can get a front row seat.

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I know of a few but since I will have to book at the last minute does anyone else have any great rock house hotel things to stay at ? I am willing to splurge for this on a special place ( around 100 euros or so) for something very nice and unique.

I've heard good things about the Local Cave House (and actually met the owner when dining at his restaurant) - plus, they have a pool, which is nice. An Australian couple I met stayed at the Elif Star and raved about it.

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NOw how about illness and travelers dysentary? We are unvaxed and with a skinny child these things are a concern once out of Europe or north America. Do people get sick there as much as they do in Morocco, Egypt, Mexico??? We were extremely careful in Morocco and did not get sick and hope to do the same in Turkey.

I think Turkey is as safe as any western European country. Most people drink bottled water but only because the tap water is heavily chlorinated. The only place I've ever heard that you should be careful is in Olympus - Lonely Planet says that during the summer and with so many people there, not as many precautions are taken and you might come down with food poisoning. Generally, however, I wouldn't worry - I didn't have any problems and did not hear of anyone else who did (and I talked to a lot of travelers when I was there).

Cave Room:
If you are willing to spend a little more as you stated, the Kelebek Pension http://www.kelebekhotel.com/classic/hotel.php
in Goreme is really amazing. We started at a cheaper place but ended up there at the end of our stay and loved it, it was worth every extra dollar. When I return to Turkey I will absolutely visit there again. Looks like prices have gone way up (I've seen Kelebek plugged by travelers everywhere, so I cant blame them) but if you want to just show up and try to book a cave room on the spot, they will probably give you a much cheaper price than those offered online (that's true of any place in Turkey). The owners are lovely and great food, with an incredible view.


sickness:
We did get a little sick in Turkey (note we were there for 7 weeks) - but it wasnt the water (we bottled it). I overdid it in the heat one day - stay hydrated! It is very dry in some areas and the sun sucked every ounce of liquid from my body and I didnt notice until I became quite ill. The other time had to do with Raki and the bar at Kadirs.

booking a gulet:
every guesthouse/pension we stayed in had a very good network set up for booking anything you want. In Fethiye, it is probably harder NOT to book a gulet cruise - you will be hounded everywhere by touts. As I mentinoed earlier, if you can check to boat out ahead of time - do it. Shop around.

political unrest:
As a parent I understand your worries! Normally, I'd just go anywhere but bringing a little one really changes the equation. To the best of my knowledge, what is going on now is about the longstanfing unrest with the Kurds and doesnt have much to do with us. Keep reading and do what feels comfortable. Have you met anyone returning from Turkey in Santorini? Maybe you can get some advice from people who were just there.

food for kids:
does your daughter like pizza? Tukish pizza, called Pide is delicious! Another great snack is Gozleme (sp?) it is sort of like a healthy clazone without the cheese. On our gulet, women would row up on boats and you watch them roll out the bread and fill it with whatever you choose (potatoes, etc) and then bake it in a small oven. Fun food for a kid.

a word on touts:
I've been following your trip because I think you are AWESOME! A great inspiration for traveling parents. I see you've spent most of your time in Europe. While I encountered touts in Greece, they are no match for Turkey. You will be bombarded by them. They are actually quite tame compared to other countries but it is sort of unnerving when it is your first experience. They are harmless and more times than not, trying to sell you something pretty good. Although - the carpet sellers do get annoying when you dont want one (an invitation to tea is usually an invitation to a carpet shop).

On Gulet cruises:
Not all are created equal. We went with Olympos Yachting, which has a good reputation, and lived up to it. The food was outstanding, and the staff very friendly. We were warned by a few people against V-go, and from what I saw of their boats, probably with good reason (overcrowded, and they all looked like the typical 18 year old party backpacker types. Our boat was a mixed crowd, which was appealing). There's a few other reputable companies, but names aren't coming to mind. I'd be wary of anything associated with Kadir's. Not because there's any problems with them per se - I went on a scuba diving trip through them, and all went well - but because their target market is the party crowd, it may not stand out as a highlight of a family holiday.

Shop around, maybe stop by the port and take a look at who's getting off what boats. They all have company names advertised, so pick a company that it looks like you'd be comfortable with the crowd they cater to.

On health:
Turkey does not have much in way of health problems. We did drink bottled water, just to be on the safe side, but ate lots of salad and other things which are known to cause stomach bugs. Didn't meet anyone who was having any trouble, either.

Turkey has been working hard for quite some time to bring various standards, including health, up to EU levels, and, while they're not quite there, it's not a country where you need to take excessive precautions.

On cave rooms:
Spending 100 euros shouldn't be necessary to get a decent cave room. But I can't recommend anything, since I stayed at a normal, not-in-a-cave pension in Goreme (2 of us for about 10 euros), though one I would recommend to anyone who's not specifically wanting the cave experience.

Once again, I'm excited for you. I love Turkey, and talking about it always makes my day a little brighter.

Thanks once again!! Big help!

Thanks to both of you now I have a few great cave houses to choose from, so hopefully one will work out.

Glad you have been following the blog and thanks for the complement.We have been really enjoying Europe and may add a year or two here ( of course with fly in's to russia,Egypt and Africa etc too) as there is so much to see. We will eventually make our way to other areas.

Are the touts worse than Morocco? We managed ok there, so hopefully will in Turkey too, but thanks for the warnings. It is always good to know what to look out for. Love the kids dishes.

Thanks for the where on the dervishes in Istanbul too. I am running out of internet time, so I will read more and check back later.


Thanks again!!


I am back to getting excited about Turkey...grin.


Oh how are the hospitals/med care? I always worry a bit about what I would do in an emergency in more "out there" areas if I needed something quick. I suppose I could always fly back to spain as we have docs there.

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Are the touts worse than Morocco? We managed ok there, so hopefully will in Turkey too, but thanks for the warnings. It is always good to know what to look out for.

I haven't been to Morocco, but I've heard other travellers say it's comparable to Egypt. And the Turkish touts are nothing like the ones in Egypt. They are trying to sell things, but we were able to talk with them about topics other than their wares, and they accepted "no" as an answer. The touting and bargaining process seems like more of a friendly game in Turkey, whereas our experience in Egypt was that it was all about maximum cash extraction.

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Oh how are the hospitals/med care? I always worry a bit about what I would do in an emergency in more "out there" areas if I needed something quick.

Haven't a clue about hospitals (our only hospital visit on the trip was in Romania), but I really wouldn't consider Turkey to be that much of an "out there" destination. I actually found most things to be far more modern, efficient, and just generally superior, even compared to Greece, a country which, despite its geographic location, is usually thought of as western European. (And yes, I know that's a poorly constructed sentence with too many commas. Too bad.)

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Once again, I'm excited for you. I love Turkey, and talking about it always makes my day a little brighter

I agree!! That's why I keep looking back on this thread. Whenever I think of Turkey, it warms my heart.

I also agree with everything Neil said including the warning about V-Go. Our gulet was with V-Go and at the end of our trip we all chanted "Dont Go with V-Go!"

Ok, time to get on with life at home, it was nice to reminice for ahwile thanks!

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Oh how are the hospitals/med care? I always worry a bit about what I would do in an emergency in more "out there" areas if I needed something quick. I suppose I could always fly back to spain as we have docs there.

Like Neil, I had no experience with hospitals, but I do remember Lonely Planet mentioning that in general, Turkish medical care is very most and most doctors speak English. Most pharmacists speak English, too, and you can get some assistance from them - I stopped in to talk to one pharmacist about something in Selcuk and he was very helpful. If you need prescriptions, make sure you know the generic name for it, rather than the US brand name.

On a side note, since you mentioned military incursions into Iraq, I thought I'd point out that this appears to be a rumour. Both Turkish and Iraqi authorities are denying it:

"These reports are inaccurate. There hasn't been any Turkish military incursion into Iraqi territory," [Iraqi Foreign Minister] Zebari told The New Anatolian in a telephone interview.

Great thread here about Turkey.
The food in Turkey is simply amazing, from the vegetable markets to the restaurants and street vendors. As you travel with a 6 year old, you may have to be more concerned about the sweet shops. Not because of their quality, but because they offer such a variety, that will make it hard for you to get him out of there.
The medical system is good based on a friend that ended up in hospital few years back with a sprained ankle.

As it has been mentioned a few times already, Turkey is not really that far out there! It is a mixture of traditions and modern westerns lifestyle.
As far as the incursion in Iraq, keep in mind that they have done this for many years and nothing came out of it. There have been occasional bombs going off in Istanbul over the years but as sad as it sounds, it also happened in Madrid, London, Belfast, Athens....
Would you ever question visiting one of those places?

You will love Turkey for the rest of your life!

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As you travel with a 6 year old, you may have to be more concerned about the sweet shops. Not because of their quality, but because they offer such a variety, that will make it hard for you to get him out of there.

Not only 6 year olds! I made my daily foray to either Ozsut or whatever other pastry shop I could find. Turkish desserts are wonderful and will spoil you for life - especially (IMO) “kunefe” (koon'-e-fay). Let me just say four words about this dessert: The. Best. Dessert. Ever. It consists of shredded phyllo dough that is mixed with cheese and honey and then baked in a small round dish. It’s topped with crushed pistachio nuts and is incredible! Ten times better than baklava (although their baklava is pretty darned good, too). Check out an Ozsut while you're there - it's a chain of pastry shops with delectable pastries and desserts. They also serve cappuccinos if you're a coffee-a-holic like me.

And I definitely second the recommendation for pide - since I've eaten pide, I've been turning up my nose at American pizza. It doesn't hold a candle to Turkish pizza.