LOCAL TRAVEL AGENTS

Local travel agents can sell you bus tickets, air tickets both for international and domestic travel, gulet "blue Voyages" as well as local tours.

Istanbul
METROPOL EXCURSION TOURS

Address: Adirga Liman Caddesi No:91/2 34400 Kadirga, Istanbul

Phone: 90-212-516-2213 90-212-516-2912

Fax: 90-212-516-2212 E-mail: info@metropoltours.com

Planning to travel between Greece and Turkey? Metropol can arrange your ferry, hotel reservations and tours of all the Greek islands. You can design a tailor-made tour to fit your time and budget. Metropol has a wide range of tour programs inside Turkey from the Black Sea program to the Aegean coast to Cappadocia and Pamukkale. While in Istanbul let them guide you through this historic city: St. Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and more. Rent-a-car or hire your own chauffeur. Programs in Francais and Deutsch.

Tur-ISTA
Address: Divanyolu Cad. No. 16A
Sultanahmet, Istanbul
Phone: 90-212-527-7085 90-212-513-7119
Fax: 90-212-519-3792
Web: www.tur-ista.com, www.travelturk.com
E-Mail: tur-ista@tur-ista.com, info@travelturk.com

Tur-ISTA services include train tickets, international and domestic bus tickets, hotel & pension reservations, student & youth flights, charter flights, car rentals, and Anatolian tours including Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus. Also for the independent traveler: hire your own car with English-speaking driver (without tour guide) for the same price as 4 people taking the bus or travel independently, but be met at your destination, hotel transfers and local tour. They also assist independent travelers who want to design their own personal itinerary with or without a tour guide.

Bodrum
BODEX Travel & Yachting
Address: Ataturk Cad. 76/1
Phone: 90-252-313-2843 90-252-313-6550 90-252-313-6551
Fax: 90-252-313-6549
E-mail: bodextravel@hotmail.com

BODEX is a traditional full-service travel agency that also offers unique trekking, biblical, and yachting excursions. They are part of a country-wide network of travel agencies and can assist you with reservations and travel plans throughout Turkey.

Pilaci II
Address: In the bay by the Halikarnus Disco
Mobile Phone: 90-0532-261-7221
E-Mail: info@valide.com The Pilaci II is a 12-meter gulet that offers a magical sea voyage along the Mediterranean coast.
Every day aboard your wooden boat is a journey through emerald bays and time. The Pilaci II is perfectly suited for honeymooners or small families.
It can easily sleep 4, but can manage up to 6.

Canakkale
Down Under Travel (TJ’s Tours)
Address: Otel Saros Eceabat, Turkey
Phone: 90-286-814-2431 Fax: 90-286-814-2430
E-mail: enquiries@anzacgallipolitours.com
Run by a Turkish/Australian couple, Down Under Travel in Eceabat town on the peninsula is The Gallipoli specialist. Take the longest running tour with T.J. (Ilhami Gezici)--the most experienced group tour guide in the area. It is also the only agency with access on premises to the war grave records to help you find relatives. Down Under offers diving (explore W.W.I shipwrecks!), snorkeling, plus pension/hotel reservations. They are a full service agency here to help you experience all that Gallipoli is and was. Recommended by Lonely Planet and Let's Go.

Cappadocia
Bedir Tourism Phone: 90-384-341-5819
Fax: 90-532-336-1348
E-mail: Bedir_travel@hotmail.com
Experience Turkey and its famous hospitality with the help of a local family run travel agncy. See the local villages and the beauty of Cappadocia while balooning at sunrise or mopeding around the valley and surrounding area. To continue the adventure they can also arrange trekking and horsback tours. An extensive selection of daily tours will introduce you to 2,000 years of local hisotory from the underground cities to the churches built into its famous rock formations.

Rock Valley Tourism & Travel Agency
Address: Gulluce Cad. Terminal Karsisi Urgup, Turkey 50400
Phone: 90-384-341-8813
Fax: 90-384-341-5820
E-Mail: info@rockvalleytravel.com
Let Rock Valley Travel help you discover some of Turkey's most wondrous sites with special tailor-made tours. Experience the beauty of the Ilhara Valley, the sun rising on the faces of Mt. Nemrut, and the lands of Abrahim near the Syrian border on 1 or 2 day tours. In Cappadocia, they can also help you with daily tours--including trekking and skiing, hotel bookings, air flights, airport transfers, and moped and car rentals.

Fethiye
Aya nicola yachting & Tourism Travel
Address: Fevzi Cakmak (Opposite the Marina) Fethiye
Phone: 90-252-612-6712 90-252-612-5156
Fax: 90-252-612-7674
E-mail: ayanicola@ayanicolayachting.com
This full service agency can book any size of gulet or ketch voyages including its own beautiful air-conditioned 24 meter (8 cabin) Aya Nicola I. Fethiye is one of the main centers for the famous Blue Cruise and Aya Nicole Yachting and Travel is a yachting specialist. They have a lot of programs to chose from or they can make a tailor-made program for you. E-mail for boat specifications and prices. Let them arrange your accommodations including holiday villages, airport transfers rom all major airports or a daily excursions to one of the nearby destinations including Dalyan/Caunos, Tlos-Saklikent (the famous gorge) and Ephesus/Pamukkale. They also offer water sports, scuba diving and jeep safaris. Ferry tickets to Rhodes, international and domestic air tickets, bus tickets, and car rentals are all of part of their personal service.

Kusadasi
CROSSROADS TRAVEL AGENCY
Address: Adnan Menedres Bulv. No. 14 Kusadasi, Turkey
Phone: 90-256-614-3712 Fax: 90-256-614-3746
E-mail: info@crossroadstravel.com
Crossroads Travel's 15 years of experience takes you to where East meets West. Take the Grand Tour or an 8-10 day tour, including the Classical, Mystical, Religious and Coastline. Mini-tours to Istanbul, Izmir, Cappadocia, Antalya, Turkish Riveria. Rafting, too. Private tours with professional guides for all Turkey are also available. They can arrange ferry tickets to Greece, international/domestic air flights, hotel reservations, house rentals, diving, car rentals, plus daily excursions from Ephesus and Pamukkale. Private or group gulet sailing. E-mail for more information or to receive a free tour catalogue.

Marmaris
TUM-TOUR YACHT CHARTER LIMITED
Address: Yat Limani, 101/B Marmaris, Turkey
Phone: 90-252-412-9485 90-252-413-0777 90-252-412-4714
Fax: 90-252-412-5064
Tum-Tour can make your sailing dreams come true. Board a Turkish gulet for an unforgettable Mediterranean Sea voyage. Charter a yacht for 8 people from $300-$500/daily, and for up to 20 people from $700-$1,000/daily. Food and drinks are extra. If you're looking for a regular cabin cruise, prices range from $300-$400 per person for one week with full board; drinks are extra. Programs include: Marmaris-Fethiye-Marmaris, Bodrum-Gokova-Bodrum, and Antalya-Kas-Antalya. Fax today for a free color brochure. Your dream voyage can come true with Tum-Tour. Hikmet Tumer, owner.

Selcuk
7 WONDERS TOURS TRAVEL AGENCY
Address: Sedir Sokak No 12Balcova, IzmirTurkey
Phone: 90-232-892-7364 90-232-892-7365 Fax: 90-232-891-4755
E-mail: info@go-turkey.com
Since 1986, 7 Wonders Tours has specialized in worry free travel. They are the Selcuk\Ephesus experts. They arrange hotels and transportation such as ferry tickets and domestic\ international air flights, plus transfers to\from hotels, bus stations and the Izmir Airport. Also, guaranteed daily tours with English speaking guide to Priene\ Miletus\ Didyma, Ephesus, Pergamon and Pamukkale. Also tours to Sardis and Aphrodisias. Tours from $35-$45\pp. Need hotel reservations for other parts of Turkey? 7 Wonders can arrange it. They also offer a four-day program to the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation. You pick the tour start date. Price is determined by the number of people in the group. Fax or e-mail for details.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

Turkey is a wonderful country for independent travelers. It offers breathtaking sites, affordable travel and a user-friendly transportation system.

Travel Turkey is designed to provide you with the on-line and off-line information you need to plan your trip. We encourage you to read guide books and do some basic research so you can best decide where you want to go. Our pages are not designed to provide this basic research -- that really depends on what interests you.

Web Resources

There are some excellent web sites and articles about Turkey that can be of use as you determine what you must see and do!
1000travletips.org is a great page for independent travelers. Here you can find informative personal stories about the wonderful places to see in Turkey without the first person narrative of how I spent my summer vacation. They also have information on travel in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

If you need an overview, try a CNN story, Destinations: Turkey.

SkyLife is Turkish Airlines in-flight magazine on the web. It's great. Lots of interesting articles that can help you find places not found in the guide books as well as different things to see in even the most popular towns. It's easy to navigate and you can even find past months articles. It's well worth visiting.
If you have time do a search of the New York Times travel sections it seems like they run something about Turkey every other week. You can find them at http://www.nytimes.com.

Istanbul
All roads lead to this historic city and there's lot to see and do! The Turkish Ministry of Tourism's pages includes listings and photos of the key sites including Palaces, Mosques and Musuems to visit. Time Out Istanbul is also another interesting site to visit.

OTHER LINKS:
Architecture of Istanbul
The City's Walls
The International Istanbul Festival
Istanbul Mosiac Museum
Istanbul Travel Tips
Museums
Topkapi Palace Museum

Bodrum
Bodrum is well known for its Medieval Castle as well as the place to lay on the beach all day and party until dawn. The Turkish Ministry of Tourism pages not only give a good overview on Bodrum town, but also on all the surrounding villages. Bodrum is also the home of the Blue Voyage: charter a wooden gulet for a slow relaxing journey along the shores of the Mediterranean.

GETTING THERE: Flights from Istanbul daily, but sell out early in summer so its best to book ahead. Overnight bus trips are popular. Express buses from Istanbul take 12 hours. Buses from Cappadocia take a little longer. Selcuk (Ephesus) is just 3 hours away. Izmir is 4 hours. Ferries usually run daily from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos.


OTHER LINKS:
A Heraldic Tour of the Castle of Saint Peter
Institute of Nautical Archeology
The Museum of Underwater Archeology

Canakkale/Eceabat
Theses two little towns are separated by the straight that joins the Sea of Marmara and the Agean. More importantly, they are the gateway to two famous battlefields in history: Troy and Gallipolli.
GETTING THERE: Overnight express bus from Istanbul

OTHER LINKS:
ANZAC Day
Excavating Troy
Military History: Gallipolli
The Tale of Ancient Troy
The Iliad by Homer
Trojan War-History, Myth & Homer
Wreck of the AE2 Submarine

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a region in central Turkey. They are many towns in the area inlcuding Avanos (famous for its pottery), Goreme, Nevsehir, and Urgup. It is the home of some of the most unique geology on the planet. Perhaps, you caught a glimpse of it in the Star Wars movie. The early Christians also called it home and left entire areas of small churches as well a series of underground cities where they hid for safety. It also offers a welcome relief when the rest of Turkey is so hot!

GETTING THERE: Flights from Istanbul. Overnight bus trip from Istanbul takes about 10 hours. From Selcuk more than 12 hours. From Ankara around 3 hours.

OTHER LINKS:
Cappadocia Travel Tips
Underground Cities
Early Christian Churches in Cappadocia
Kappadoyka Balloon Rides

Dalyan
This is a great town for children of all ages. It is quiet and easy to get around. A beautiful boat ride down the river takes you to three remarkable sites: the precious sea turtles called Caretta-Caretta, the mud baths (wear a bathing suit!), and the ancient Lycian rock tombs.
GETTING THERE: By air flying into Dalaman airport. By bus and dolmus from Bodrum, Datca and Fethiye. By day boat from Fethiye and by ferry and hydrofoil from Bodrum.

OTHER LINKS:
Lycia: A Forgotten Civilization

Datca
If you're looking for a nice uncrowded beach town to spend a week in then Datca is it. The night life is quiet and the usual breeze (sometimes wind!) keeps it cooler than other seaside resorts. Hire a boat and visit other beaches and enjoy a day at sea! Visit the ancient city of Knidos.
GETTING THERE: By air flying into the Bodrum aiport. From Bodrum by ferry. By bus or dolmus from Marmaris.

Fetiye
People come to Fethiye for two reasons. the foremost one being Oludeniz, the most beautiful beach in Turkey, immortilized on posters as the Turquoise Riveria. Oludenz is a 15-minute dolmus ride from the city center. The second reason for a visit is making day trips to some famous anicent cities like Telmessus, Tlos, Pinara, the Letoum and Xanthus. This is also a place for departures of the Blue Voyages.
GETTING THERE: By air flyng into Dalaman Airport. By bus from Marmaris and Antalya. By ferry from Rhodes.

Izmir
Izmir is the perfect place for those who are interested in less crowded archeology sites as it makes an interesting jump off point for day trips to Sardis and Pergamum. It is possible to day a day trip to Aphrodesias, but you must catch one of the early buses. Cesme, a small beach town with its own castle, is about an hour away by bus.
GETTING THERE: Domestic and international airport. By bus from all ponts across Turkey. By ferry from Istanbul, from the Greek island of Chios via Cesme and from Italy.