Indecisive traveler finalizing plan

Hi all,
My husband and I are going to Turkey next week. First time for both of us, and yes, we're in want-to-see-them-all mood. We are leaving tomorrow evening so we have about 33 hours to finalize everything.

First of all, the routs.
Istanbul (night bus) - Cappadocia (stay 1 night and leave the next day by night bus) - Antalya - Kas (1) - Kekova - Fethiye (1) - Pamukkale (night bus) - Istanbul (2)

We only have one week in Turkey. Getting in on May 13 and out in the morning of May 21.
We are not too crazy about resort and water park man-made tourist place. So, thinking we'll pass through Antalya and not spend a night there. Pamukkale seem very interesting, but we'd kayak around sunken city than swim in a pool, so we'll spend some time during the day and catch a night bus to Istanbul.
Is this plan realistic???
And between Antalya, Fethiye, and Pamukkale in which place should I stay overnight? Or should we just stay in Kas two nights and pass the rest of the place? -I'm indecisive-

Secondly, we are thinking of renting a scooter in Cappadocia. Do I need a international drivers license? Or will a Canadian drivers license do? -someone told me English-written license should be okay-

Also, is the water temperature in Kas/Kekova/Fethiye warm enough to swim now?

If you have any other suggestions or tips or news, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!!

In my opinion, you are trying to cover too much territory. One night in Cappadocia? You've just spent, like, 12 hours getting there. This is a crazy plan. You should cut an entire geographical segment out. Skip Cappadocia or skip the coast. Even taking night buses from one place to another doesn't leave you much time to enjoy wherever it is you end up. I don't envy your choice - all of Turkey is wonderful and one week is absolutely not enough time. But if that's all you have, make it easy and enjoyable - not an endurance trek.

You might want to add Ephesus to this plan. You forgat that one. Just kidding. This is really a crazy plan. Trying to do it all in one week.

Last week my friends were in Fethiye and they told me that weather was really hot and swimming was great.

You may want to leave the coast behind you in Antalya and go inland to Cappadocia, from there overnight bus to Pamukkale. Or can you fly direct between the two places? You must see Ephesus and then maybe more beaches in and around Kusadasi...with one week, you will have to factor in some flights to see more or hire a car and do the lot, sharing the driving along the way. Ýts certainly not impossible. Have a great time and help support the Pensions along the way listed in the L.P.

As 1 and 2 correctly said, you need to cut, not ad. Your itinerary is impossible unless you want to sleep straight through the entire holiday.

I agree. Tone it down. To travel somewhere just to see the sights but not actually enjoy the experience seems pointless.
Slow down and if you enjoy it, go again and visit the places you were unable to see this time.

Take 2 extra weeks in Turkey and your tour makes sense...

Okay, I guess this is really tough schedule, but after coming back from our trip in Europe last year (from Toronto - Paris - Milan - Cinque Terre - La Spazia - Pisa - Firenze - Rome - Barcelona - Paris - and back to Toronto in 13 days) I thought we are taking it easy this time. :)

Cutting out places will be as tough as making that crazy plan happen...... but, thank you everyone for sharing your opinion!

I think that the problem is that Turkey doen't seem as big as it really is. So you think you can do a whole lot more mileage than is really sensible. We spent 3 weeks in Turkey and did basically your route, and it still wasn't anywhere near enough time. Of course we were driving - during the day - but even so, it was ridiculously ambitious. I'm glad we saw what we saw, but in one week? No way. There's something about that darn square-looking country that makes people think it's not as big as it is.

I also agree that you are trying to cover way too much ground. Think about what you relly would like to see in Turkey, and stick to that. You can always come back to see the rest

This itinerary is so insane that it will represent natural selection at work if you ignore all of the advice you've gotten here, and attempt it anyway. Aside from the ludicrous logistics, picking Kekova and Fethiye as the major highlights of Turkey is suspect in itself. You aren't going to "see it all", you're going to suffer through a strung-out unrepresentative fraction of it.
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If you want to overdo it in a week, fly to Izmir, bus to Selcuk, bus to Pamukkale, bus to Kas, bus to Bodrum, and fly back to Istanbul.

Sleee27 - please post how your trip went after you get back tomorrow. I for one am curious. Cheers.

Hello again, everyone.

Thank you for your advice and interest. Here's the updates. Ha-ha.
We came back to Toronto the day before yesterday finishing our trip in London, England.

Our initial plan was like this...
Istanbul (night bus) - Cappadocia (stay 1 night and leave the next day by night bus) - Antalya - Kas (1) - Kekova - Fethiye (1) - Pamukkale (night bus) - Istanbul (2)

How we ended up was..... (drum please... dododododoooong......)
We left Toronto on May 11, arrived in London on May 12.
We stayed at easyHotel and flu to Istanbul at 6:50 am.
We arrived Istanbul around noon on May 13. We walked around the city and took a night bus to Cappadocia.
We arrived in Cappadocia around 8:30 on May 14 and started a day tour @ 9:30 finished by 6. We stayed one night at the Traveller's cave pension and rented a scooter and went around the region on the next day. At around 9 pm we left Cappadocia by night bus heading to Antalya.
We arrived in Antalya on May 16, dropped by at 700 years old hamam in Antalya had lunch and took a bus to Kas.
We arrived in Kas around 5 pm, checked in at Ani Motel for two nights.
Next day, on May 17, we took a day tour to Kekova island.
Early in the morning on May 18, we took a bus to Fethiye to go to Pamukkale. We arrived in Pamukkale around 4. Walked around travertines and Hierapolis came down and had dinner. Then we took a night bus to Denizli then to Istanbul.
On May 19, at around 9 am, we arrived in Istanbul, checked in at Mavi Guesthouse for two nights.
We went Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, walked over Galata bridge, went up Galata tower, went to the fish market, and lucky us, that day Aya Sofya and the archaeological museum was free.
The next day, we went to Topkapi Palace, took a Bosphorus ferry, went to Beyoglu, Taksim area, came back to our motel, had few drinks with other travellers.
The next morning, we left to London, stayed two nights and came back to Toronto.
Voila!

I don't like being misunderstood. Everyone is different and everyone's situation is different.
I didn't think Turkey was small so I can go around quickly, or I'm young therefore I can see them all or there are not enough to see.
I think I am still young but unfortunately I don't have the luxury of time and money. This travel might be as crazy as it may sound, but it was a good one for us. We enjoyed a lot. We met really good people and loved Turkish people. I wish we had more time and money to enjoy it more, but it was the most we can spare. I can't just sit around and complain traveling cost too much or I have other commitments, I can't afford to travel, or I just want to relax in the resort in south America. I am not a student in her summer break. I don't get a 30 days of vacation entitlements -I only have 16 this year-. I am just a graphic designer, not an MBA. So, please, don't accuse me for having a little more crowed plan than some other people.

Thank you everyone for reading this. Actually, this posting was quite enjoyable as well. ;)

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. No one is going to criticize you for following your own plan. You asked advice, you got some, you made your decisions. Good for you - that's exactly how things should be done. Obviously your plan wouldn't necessarily appeal to someone else but who cares? I've often asked advice on this forum, read all the suggestions and then made up my own mind. There's usually something really valuable to learn, even if it's that you just want to do what you want to do. Turkey is such a fabulous country - how can you not have a great time?