August in Istanbul

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions!

In regards to the overnight bus, where can I purchase tickets? Also, is there an overnight bus to Ephesus?

Does anyone have any particular cities in Turkey they would recommend me visiting? Thanks!

Considering that most of Turkey lies between the latitude of Chicago (same as Istanbul) and Memphis, Tennessee (Hatay--the southernmost city of Turkey) there is a great variety of weather.

Since it looks like you're from the U.S., I'll try to make comparisons to the USA.

Istanbul in August will be very similar to Boston -- warm and humid but rare to be much above 90F. Rain isn't too common and if it happens it will probably be a thunderstorm. (Violent thunderstorms are rare with tornadoes exceptionally so.)

Cappadocia will be similar to the Great Plains--think Kansas, western Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, Nebraska, etc. It's at a fairly high elevation and gets barely enough precipitation during the year to keep it from becoming a desert. The sky will be clear to lightly cloudy with extremely little chance of rain with a quick thunderstorm about the only possible type of precipitation.

You didn't mention, but the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts are extremely hot and humid in August. Similar to the Gulf Coast in the USA. Clear, blue sky is nearly a 100% guarantee. The central Aegean coast (near Izmir) isn't quite as hot or humid as the southern Mediterranean coast.

Yes, Istanbul and Cappadocia will be very busy but Istanbul in particular is always busy. I was just there this January and was surprised at the number of tourists. It's the coasts that are typically the busiest--mainly with tourists from England, northern Europe, and Russia (at least until the Ruble collapsed a couple years ago). While there is some overlap, any suitable coastal place not filled with foreign tourists will be filled with Turkish tourists.

In my opinion there is absolutely no reason to change your plans based on either weather or crowds.

And yes, book any domestic flights very soon as the prices will definitely increase!

You can ask your hotel if the ywould kindly call and reserve your bus seat for you.I have never known any hotel refuse this request.Then you just go to the main otogar at Esenler and pick up your ticket.
From Istanbul to Selçuk (where Ephesus is)Pamukkale Turizm have a bus at 22.00 arriving in Selçuk at 08.00.Kamil Koç Turizm have a bus at 22.30 arriving Selçuk 08.30.Cost is 80TL.
From Selçuk you can take a bus directly to Cappadocia if you want.Nevşehirliler Seyahat have a bus at 20.00 arriving in Göreme at 08.00,cost 60TL.

These are places which you have already picked out so before suggesting more can I ask the following;how many days will you have here in total?What interests you most?History,shopping?nature?culture?beach?buzzy places or quiet spots?Knowing these details will help to narrow down a thousand+ options to just a few :)

Hi,
Me and my girlfriend are travelling in Turkey and here is our itinerary as follows.
3/8/2015 - take an overnight bus to Seluck
4/8/2015 - Visit Ephesus, stay in selcuk
5/8/2015 - Take train or bus to Denizli and visit Pamukkale. Take overnight bus to Goreme
6/8/2015 - Do Cappadocia green tour, stay in Goreme
6/8/2015 - Do Cappadocia red tour, overnight bus to Istanbul

Right now wwe have budgeted 571usd for this trip for 2. Its a bit more that half of the cost of joining a tour provider. If anyone else wants to join us, would be fun.

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