TURKEY

The best Two week tour of Turkey

On our two week trip to Turkey, we decided to visit the areas around Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Fethiye. If you want to reach all of these places by tour, we’d recommend joining this 12 day tour that includes domestic flights, accommodation and transport in each region.

Currency - Turkish Lira

Cash is accepted everywhere in Turkey, and we had no issues withdrawing cash from any ATMs with our Wise card that was loaded with Turkish lira.

There are fees in any international rate exchange, but we always travel with a Wise card. It works like a domestic bank card in every country, and is much cheaper than exchanging money through a traditional bank (depending on the exchange, it can be up to eight times cheaper).

Finding accomodation in Turkey

If you want to be close to the historical centre of Istanbul, we’d recommend staying in the Sultanahmet District of Istanbul. There are many hotels to choose from in Sultanahmet and the easiest way to find them is by filtering by neighbourhood on Agoda. The most incredible views of Istanbul can be found at the Alzer Hotel Istanbul, which is one of the only hotels in the Sultanahmet square. The restaurant has a clear view of the Blue Mosque.

For a view of the Hagia Sophia, we’d recommend checking out the Henna Hotel Istanbul or the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet which both have a rooftop terrace views.

Cappadocia is one of the only places in the world where you can stay inside the landscape itself, as many of the houses were originally built into the mountains. We decided to stay in Koza Cave Hotel, which is a boutique, family-run hotel. It was the highlight of our trip. The view from Koza Cave Hotel is unbeatable because its terrace is one of the highest points to watch the balloons rising above the valley each morning.

Mobile data pland in Turkey

If you are looking for a data plan in Turkey, you can get 5% off Holafly’s Turkey eSim with this link or by using our code ‘LINGANDJACE’.

We use Holafly’s eSIMs on all of our international trips because they can be set up easily with a QR code. Holafly plans come with unlimited data.

Hiring a car in Turkey

We hired a car to reach two places in Turkey: Pamukkale and Fethiye. If you’re not planning to take many tours, it also really helps to have a car in Cappadocia.

We booked our rental car for one week through Rentalcars.com, which lets you compare prices across the major hire companies. Most of the roads around Pamukkale and Fethiye are paved so any type of car is fine.

The best experiences in Turkey

If you were able to take just one hot air balloon flight anywhere in the world, we’d recommend taking it in Cappadocia. This option is one of the most highly-rated hot air balloon tours and has to be one of the most surreal experiences that we’ve ever had.

One of the most beautiful and secluded parts of the the Turquoise Coast is the Butterfly Valley, which is a perfect beach surrounded by steep cliffs. Inside the cove, the water is extremely clear. The Butterfly Valley can only be reached by boat from the town of Ölüdeniz.

If you’re visiting Pamukkale, the travertines are one of the dreamiest places that we’ve ever been, with huge calcium walls that look like clouds. There are also many attractions nearby like Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Laodicea and Ephesus.