Turkey's Gold Triangle Tour: Pamukkale, Ephesus, Cappadocia

This was a 5 day trip broken into two very unequal parts. The first part was a 2 day trip in Kusadasi/Parmukkale and Ephesis with guide Ata. Ata was not good. He complained of being tired and yelled at me for asking to skip shopping to add another site--which was right next door to a site we were already visiting. We were upgraded to a private tour, without asking for it. In hindsight, this was a mistake, as Ata, or so the tour operator hypothesized, might have resented not having many people (fewer tips?). The Tour operator said he got good reviews from other clients; my search of travel sites don't show this. All in all--if you get Ata, make sure you stay on his good side, if you can find it. Specifics: the hieropolis buggies were "too expensive"; the Cleopatra Pool--waste of money; The far half of Hieropolis "a long walk" (ironically, not true on a buggy). All in all, he said--it is at our pace, suggested really short amounts of time and rushed us to the next place to sell us crafts. He even told us background information in the car for one attraction to save time, supposedly. He should seek employment in another field--9 years doing it with the last 4 a bit light (covid and some other reason unclear). In the middle of our 5 days, we had a free day. This was due to a flight change. We filled that on our own. This also changed our hotels from 2 days at the Illada Avantguard to one and Hotel Cappadocia from 2 to 3. This change could not have made us happier! The Illada was a nice hotel, but the city view when we could have had a sea view was vexing. We heard from the tour operator that their clients usually do not get even a city view--it was a nice view, but certainly not a city view--which we would have paid extra for if the tour operator had given the option--we booked MONTHS in advance and easily did so before the hotel filled. Hotel Cappadocia was a bit hot and had no pool. However, they provided a fan and the views and experience more than made up for the lack of pool. The three people who run the place and their staff were so friendly and helpful. The Turkish Breakfasts each morning were very similar each day but different enough to get us through 3 mornings without a feeling of monotony. THE VIEW!! WOW! The tours were led by Ozman. Very nice. Very helpful. Took photos. Had a dry and a bit warped sense of humor. It was clear that he knew he was going to try to get us to buy things in the arts and crafts places, but he did not insist on our participation and made sure we were hydrated from these places and brought water into the van (contrast this with ATA). We enjoyed the balloon ride. The tour operator upped the price 90 dollars each or demanded we cancel and rebook (at a new price). He claimed it was the operators refusing to honor the agreed price. This would not work in US contracts. However, the economic hardship and inflation in Turkey made us suck it up and pay. It is expensive anyway. Worth it? maybe. If you have the opportunity, why not. One last word on the arts and crafts places. While I am there for the history and sites, they do serve a purpose for the tourists in summer who need a break from the heat. The AC in the vans was meager. If anything, think of them as a safety precaution. DON'T BUY ANYTHING--way overpriced. We bought on ETSY for much less.

So, first off, let me say that one of our days was spent entirely on moving from Cappadocia to Kusadasi. So, keep in mind that it is actually 4 days, not 5. Cappadocia is also a little boring and we had way too many car rides dropping off people we weren't with. However, for the price, I'd say it's pretty good. You can definitely do better if you get a private tour (not very pricey if contacting turkish travel agency directly), but for something available from Viator, it's not bad. Not going to bore you with the details, just the highlights: Cappadocia - a lot of landscapes and 4-hour per day tours or so. You will be dragged to many local stores, don't buy anything, it's horribly overpriced. Get the hot air balloon flight, it's the best. Underground city is also worth a visit, if you get the choice of underground city, ask for the biggest. Kusadasi - no tours happen here, but you will be in a hotel in the city. It's a resort city and it's absolutely charming. Plenty of good food and good drink. There's a number of relaxed shisha bars nearby. I am huge fan of the Leila cafe a couple blocks away for shisha and sunset views. And across, there is a shopping mall, check out the brand Avva for men there, absolutely the best. Ephesus - Wow! Just wow. If you're a history buff, especially. Blows Rome out of the water. Not even going to say more, just the best day. Pamukkale - Wow! Again, it's an amazing site. Our tour guide was kind enough to arrange an optional parachute ride, which flies right over the ruins and the flats. The best part of the trip for me. Tour guides change between destinations, but if you meet a Kusadasi native named Mehmet, please treat him well. He's the best!

We had a blast on this 5 day tour and found the extra day in Cappadocia worth paying for. Three days out of 5 had early pick up times (Day 1 airport transfer 4:20, Day 3 airport transfer 03:00, Day 4 Hot Air Balloon, 04:20). Hassan was our tour guide for the first two days in Pamukkale and Ephesus and was very hands on, walking with us throughout the tour whilst giving us interesting information on the sites we passed through. Usman took us around for the last two days and he gave us plenty of free time to explore the sites in Cappadocia by ourselves. There were 6 of us in the tour group and 4 stayed in Ilayda Avantgarde whilst we stayed in Hotel Derici in Kusadasi. Our Hotel (Derici) was super old and definitely not the same value as Ilayda Avantgarde which was right next door. The sound proofing was also extremely poor and we couldn't sleep on the 2nd night until 12am as there was a live outdoor concert right outside the hotel (wakeup call set at 2:30am for airport transfer). Also, both hotels do not provide duvets and only a small blanket (towel like material) was provided on the bed. We found a wool blanket in the cupboard but it looked like it hadn't been laundered so we left it. Lunches at the restaurants were average, and always remember to check the prices of the drinks before ordering as the price list isn't always readily available at the table. Remember to ask the tour guides where the free toilets are as some of the historical sites will charge 2-3TL for entry per person.

Poor Trip Planning by Tour Operator - Last minute changes to itinerary; long layovers for connecting domestic flights; we wasted one whole day just flying from Izmir to Cappadocia because they waited till the last minute to book flights and direct flights were not available or tired to cut cost. We were expected to begin tours straight from the airport at 9am after being up since 3am to catch the 7am flight from Istanbul to Cardak airport to go Pammukale and Hierapolis and then straight to Kusadasi where we stayed one night. I would rate the hotel in Kusadasi a three start hotel at best. Next morning we drove to Ephesus and at the end of the full day tour, we were driven to the airport at Izmir for our connecting flight to Cappadocia which was about 10hours and we were dropped off at midnight at the wrong hotel. We finally arrived at the correct hotel, a two start hotel, at 1:30am in the morning and got to bed at 2am. And we had to do all this with two kids. Free day - We were provided a free day on the first day at Cappadocia, a place we had just arrived and did not know anything about. No tour options or suggestions were provided by the tour company on what we should do that day. We were completely left unattended. Tour buses - It was a small group tour for us with only 8 people but the cars had little or no air-conditioning and the trip was hot and uncomfortable. No cold water bottles were provided during our tour. Included Lunch - These were the worst. Large buffets with poor quality food to feed the masses and flies buzzing around. Little to no air-conditioning in the restaurants and no drinks, not even water was included with the meal. We hardly ate anything. Free breakfast at the hotels/room service - Again, very poor quality. The two star hotel in Cappadocia where we stayed three nights did not provide any room service (taking out trash, changing linens, providing fresh towels, etc,) during our stay. The rooms/bathrooms were dilapidated. Airport transfers - Skeezy cars with poor air-conditioning infested with moths. We got back to our hotel in Istanbul around 2am. Just bad planning overall. Private tour and guide - After complaining to the tour company about the above, they were not able to change our accommodation but did provide us with an excellent private tour guide and properly air-conditioned car for the next two days.

The tour guides… they were fantastic. Guide Furkan in Kusadasi and Al in Cappadocia made our trip very memorable. Disappointed with our tour operator in Cappadocia as they were not able to get a spot for the balloon ride the next day when it was cancelled the previous day due to bad weather. Luckily for us our hotel arranged for the same and had a fantastic ride.