Turkey's Highlights - Pamukkale, Ephesus, Cappadocia Trip & Balloon Ride Option

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.