What to Know Before Visiting Turkey: Planning Tips & More!
What you should know before visiting Turkey! Turkey is one of the most diverse countries I have been to, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it!
We took a group to Turkey with Intrepid, so my planning wasn’t as extensive as if I were traveling on my own. On the plus side, we saw things I probably wouldn’t have thought to see since a local was helping to plan our activities.
On the flip side, there were were a few things I was either surprised by or just wish I had known before visiting.
After seeing different corners of Turkey, here are a few things you need to know before planning a trip to Turkey including factoring in the size of Turkey, making sure you see the best of what the country has to offer, cultural things to expect while there and more!
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A Summary of What You Should Know Before Visiting Turkey
Before delving deep into the details here is a summary of what is helpful to know before planning a trip to and visiting Turkey!
- Turkey is more than just Istanbul & Cappadocia– though both are great, there is more to see than just these two places (& I’ve got some suggestions!)
- Turkey is GIANT. Pack your patience if you plan to visit some of the other places outside of Istanbul and Cappadocia
- If you are heading to Turkey for the sole purpose of riding in a hot air balloon, there are some things you need to consider to ensure you can actually ride the balloons (we missed out on it!)
- Istanbul straddles both the European and Asian continents; with this comes a cultural mix that is good to be aware of
- Turkey is predominantly Muslim; again, with this comes things that will be good to know to respect the culture and customs
- Finally, I’ll provide a few other tid bits to help you get by while you are visiting Turkey including tipping customs and more
Turkey Is More Than Istanbul & Cappadocia
Most 7-10 day Turkey itineraries you find are going to include a few days in Istanbul with a flight to Cappadocia for the second half of your trip. While these two areas definitely need to be on your itinerary, they shouldn’t be the only things on it!
Being on a major trade route and connecting the Europe and Asia continents, Turkey has a REALLY deep, diverse and interesting history. On top of that, it has an incredibly unique and vast landscape that leads you to want to explore every corner of the country!
Want Some Suggestions?
Ephesus– An ancient city near modern-day Selçuk with ruins that are well intact. It has influence from ancient Greeks, the Roman Empire and more plus was one of the seven churches of Revelation where Paul did extensive preaching and contributed to the spread of Christianity.
It is truly an incredible place, whether you practice Christianity or not!
Selçuk– IF you DO practice Christianity, another reason for stopping by Selçuk is that is the burial site of St John the Apostle. On top of that, it was a very diverse city in its time. From one spot, you can see the ancient ruins of the Temple of Artemis, a mosque and the church where John was buried. Three different religions all housed close by.
Pamukkale– This is a famous town in Turkey known for its thermal waters and baths. The Travertines are the most popular with the white mineral baths full of turquoise waters. However, there are several others baths nearby including Cleopatra’s Antique Pool.
We did not stop here on our trip to Turkey due to time constraints. But, it looks incredible if you can find the time to squeeze it into your itinerary!
An Underground City: Derinkuyu or Kaymakli Underground City– The Cappadocia area of Turkey was home to LARGE underground cities used for sheltering (or hiding) cities and storage of food and livestock.
We visited Kaymakli, which is the smaller of the two cities and it was still incredible! Both of these are within an hour of Ügrüp in Cappadocia and WORTH adding to your itinerary.
Turkish Riviera- Did you know that Turkey has a beautiful riviera? For now, it is a secret little gem where cruise ships do NOT stop. We’ll see how long that lasts though!
The downfall of the riviera is that you could make a whole trip out of just visiting the riviera. Therefore, if you are really wanting to see Istanbul, Cappadocia AND the riviera you are likely going to have to extend your trip to further than 10 days.
I’m sure if you do further digging, there are more incredible places to visit. These don’t even include the eastern portion of Turkey! Just know, when you start to plan your trip it’s really worth seeing more than just Istanbul and Cappadocia!
Turkey is Giant & Travel Time is Extensive
With all that being said, Turkey is also GIANT compared to European countries. It is a little larger than Texas and a little over 3x the size of the UK.
It is not a place you can beep-bop around on a quick little road trip.
For instance, the drive from Istanbul to Selçuk is 5.5 hours.
The drive from Selçuk to the Cappadocia area is almost 9 hours!
Therefore, to see all the really cool places of Turkey, you are going to have to utilize a variety of different transportation options. This makes traveling Turkey a little more complicated.
However, Turkey has great, affordable domestic flights as well as high speed trains, many that run overnight.
While in Turkey we utilized domestic flight, overnight train as well as driving!
When you are planning your itinerary, try not to stretch yourself too thin.
Figure out what you really want to see and then look at ALL the travel options and figure out which will give you the best bang for your buck and time!
A 7 Day Turkey Itinerary Full of History, Culture & Views!
Hot Air Balloons Don’t Fly Every Day
On the note of you needing to visit Cappadocia, be prepared. Everyone goes there expecting to see the famous hot air balloons flying over the unique chimney ferry landscape.
And this happens about 70% of days in Cappadocia. However, there is also 30% of the days that they do NOT fly.
Obviously, if you go in the summer your chances of flying are a lot higher. ALMOST guaranteed.
However, if you go in the winter, there is a 30-40% chance of cancellations and if you go during shoulder season (like us) you just never know how the weather will be.
Unfortunately, we went toward the end of April, had two days in the Cappadocia area and were not able to fly in the hot air balloons (we got snow instead 🙃)
It was sad and depressing and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but it DOES happen.
If you want to increase your chances of flying in the balloon, plan for 3+ days in Cappadocia and try to visit June-August (May is a maybe as well as September.)
Just know, you may be dealing with 100 degree F (30 degree C) weather while there!
istanbul is in Both Europe & Asia
Did you know that Istanbul is one of just a few cities that straddle two different continents? And, you can really see the difference as you cross over the Bosphorus River in Istanbul.
On one side you will find architecture that rivals that of major European cities and on the other you will find some of the most famous mosques in the world.
You will find a WIDE variety of foods as well, influenced both by European and Asian countries.
In Istanbul you can walk through a huge spice bazaar or you can find restaurants with Greek and other European influences.
It is really neat to visit a city with such opposing influences so close in proximity!
Culture & Customs
On that note, the unique geographical location of Istanbul leads to a little different culture than other cities you may have visited. Here are a few things to know!
Dress modest- While Istanbul is less conservative than more rural parts, it is still recommended to dress modestly to respect the culture.
Remember, while in mosques, shoes will be off and ladies need to have their hair and shoulders covered. Many popular mosques provide coverings, but if you are planning to visit some in the smaller Turkish towns, you may want to bring your own covering.
But, outside of mosques, it is not expected for women to keep their hair covered. Especially in places like Istanbul (and really everywhere we personally visited in Turkey.)
Call to Prayer- Turkey is predominantly muslim, so prepare for the 5am call to prayer! If you’ve never been to a muslim country, that first morning of the call to prayer can be alarming (literally 😴.)
Tea & coffee culture- The tea and coffee culture is strong in Turkey! And, really the tea more-so than the coffee. If you go into a store (especially a rug store), there is a good chance they will serve you tea or coffee. It is polite to accept the drink!
Hospitality- Turkish people are very welcoming and friendly! We had the opportunity to have a home-prepped meal with the nicest family. If you can find an experience like this, I recommend it!
Other Tips And Tid-Bits For Getting By
Currency- The national currency of Turkey is the Turkish Lyra. However, in many areas (especially Istanbul and Cappadocia) you can get by with card.
Tipping- It is customary to tip a a small amount (5-10%) for good service in restaurants. It is also customary to tip guides, taxi drivers, etc. Having Turkish Lyra for tips is a good idea; you often can not add a tip to your restaurant bill if you pay by card.
Bargaining- If you plan to visit a bazaar, such as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul (as you should!) the prices are rarely fixed and bargaining is expected. In stores, this is far less common and the labeled price is what you pay.
Did we Feel Safe in Turkey?
Being from a small town in a small state in the United States, we got asked many times if we were nervous to visit Turkey. After all, the only news anyone gets about other countries is the bad news, right?
As a Christian women visiting a predominantly muslim country, I felt very safe the whole time. Though, in all honesty we were in a group most of the time and that always makes you feel safer. But, even still, I don’t think we would have had any problems doing the same trip with our normal, smaller group.
I’ve felt more uncomfortable in Athens, Greece or even some US cities than in Turkey.
Remember, people are generally better than what the world says.
Of course, you need to practice safety standard precautions when you are in high-tourist or crowded areas to prevent petty theft and things you would do in any other larger city.
But, in general, we felt perfectly safe our entire trip!
Final Thoughts On What to Know Before Visiting Turkey
Though it can take a bit more planning and transportation can be a bit more tricky, it is worth planning a trip to Turkey that includes a variety of stops!
I hope you enjoy Turkey as much as I did!
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