travel

If you are going to Turkey there is an excellent bus system. I dont think there is any need for a tour, but it all depends where you are going. I traveled along the Mediterranean coast and it was all very simple, the same seems to be true for most of Turkey although some archaeological sites may be difficult to reach by public transport.

There are many different bus companies, and at least in bigger cities like Izmir, they have offices in town where you can buy the tickets. The bus stations are outside the center, but there are minibuses connecting (called servis and run by the different companies) to the city center, taxis are cheap too. We never bought tickets beforehand but I did check out the frequency of the buses beforehand. There is a good site called Turkeytravelplanner that has all information you need.

There are also trains for some routes, thought that was not a option for us.

The buses were modern and our only complaint is that they tended to stop everywhere (even the express bus) so time tables aren't to be trusted.

It was overall a very good experience and I am planning a longer trip next year.
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I have been looking into something similar. I don't think it is too difficult, though Cappadocia is far away. You could go Istanbul to Ankara (train or bus), Ankara to Cappadocia is something like 4-5 hours by bus. Cappadocia to Pamukkale is a long bus trip, and you may want to make a stopover somewhere along the way, check out Konya. Pamukkale to Ephesus (Selcuk is the name of the town, a lovely place, great for a layover) is again a few hours (3-4). If you are going back to Istanbul I believe you have to go to Bandirma and then take a ferry, but I haven't looked into this in detail.
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Arnel Smith - what kind of help do you need regarding traveling to Israel? be more specific with your questions, and I might be able to help.
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