8-10 Days in Turkey in February

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. My wife and I are planning to make trip to Turkey in February and we know it is not the best time to visit turkey but we fancy places with little cooler weather as compared to tropical places and turkey seemed like an interesting place to visit during that time.

From what I have read so far on and off this forum is that Istanbul and Cappadocia should be a must go places during that time of the year. We are thinking to reach Istanbul around mid February and 8-10 days in hand, will that be more than enough days for these two places ? or is there any other place which you guys can recommend that we should be able to accommodate ?

Few other generic questions,

1. As it is off season time, do you guys recommend to make reservations for hotels in advance?
2. I read at some places that Cappadocia weather could unpredictable during that time of the year and may cause delays/cancellations of flights from Istanbul. So is it advisable to make the booking arrangement early for the flight or just play by the weather once we are there?
3. Are there any recommendations for the order in which we should visit these places?

Thank you in advance.

Welcome to the forum Hrdk!February,as you know is deepest winter here,but whilst this may limit you for certain things it also brings you some pluses too,like plenty of accomodation choices and very low room rates and short or non existent queues at attractions.
You can expect weather in most area's of Turkey to be similar to that in north America in February,so you'll know how to dress for those type of conditions and provided you dress the same here then you can still have a great time.Warm waterproof coat and footwear,that's the key :)
Last winter was the most severe for 50 years and really was bad but we don't expect to have such bad one this time(we hope!).However,even in a moderate winter 2 full days in Cappadocia will likely be enough for you.One of the greatest pleasures there is walking in the many beautiful valleys but in February a great number will be closed due to snow.Thus what you'll be able to do will likely make 2 days enough.Hopefully you'll be lucky enough to be able to take a hot air balloon ride when there.They do run even during winter if weather conditions allow.

I have a suggestion for you;upon arrival in Turkey connect to a domestic flight and head directly to Cappadocia and save Istanbul to the end.This of course depends on your ETA and flight availability.
The reasons are that you'll be tired and jet lagged when you get here and if you can just hang on for another couple of hours then Cappadocia would provide you with a far more restful place to recover than huge frenetic Istanbul.In addition being back there means being close to the airport for departure rather than worrying about getting back from a more distant place,especially given winter weather.
If flight times don't work for this then consider splitting your Istanbul time to a day or two at the start to rest up and visit Cappadocia in the middle and then return.

If you have 10 days then you could also comfortably add another short destination too without being rushed.So I'd like to suggest Selçuk Ephesus near Izmir on the Aegean coast.This too would be a nice 2 days stop off.So if there are no good connections to Cappadocia then perhaps there may be one to Izmir instead.There are direct flights from Izmir airport to Kayseri airport for Cappadocia but as these are not daily you need to see how they would fit your timetable.The route is covered by Pegasus and Sunexpress so check out both airlines.
BTW,the central western coast area is one of the mildest places here and seldom see's snow so that would be some relief for you :)
So with say,10 days ,covering 2 days Selçuk Ephesus,2 days Cappadocia and 6 days for Istanbul this would give you a nice balanced introduction to Turkey covering some quite different aspects.
Don't feel that 6 days would be too much for Istanbul btw,in truth you could eaily use all 10 days there and not cover everything!It's that kind of place ....

Now you have some homework to do;checking flight schedules.For Cappadocia you can fly from both Istanbul Ataturk and from SAW airports BUT,if you elect to transfer on arrival only look for flights from Ataturk(where I assume you'll arrive)as these two airports are 4 hours apart!You can fly into Kayseri airport or Nevşehir airport,both serve Cappadocia.Turkish Airlines,Anadolujet,Pegaus and Onurair cover the routes.
For Istanbul to Izmir all the airlines listed above cover the route plus Atlasjet too.

At any time of the year it is possible to rock up in any town and find respectable beds but certainly for your first hotel it is wise to have a reservation,you'll be tired and won't want to shlep around with luggage!Indeed given the weather won't be great I'd even extend this to all the places you'll visit in February and most certainly in Istanbul as it is just so huge.

Your first job will be to book your international flights I guess and once that is done and you know your arrival time etc.then you can see what domestic flights are like and see how you can work them in.Enjoyment-wise it makes no difference which order you see places so you can go clockwise or counterclock wise-Cappadocia first or another place first.
Go and start your homework,see what you come up with and the bring next set of questions back to the forum.Also ,once you have your intl,flight dates let me know those and I'll check flights for you too.

I think Ephesus is a good idea. During that time, you could also see The Virgin Mary's house, and Saint Johns Basilica

You should always make advance reservations for accommodation in Istanbul.

Presuming you're coming from the USA, be certain to check Turkish Airlines for flights. They offer the only non-stop flights between North America and Istanbul with daily flights from a number of U.S. cities. I've always found their fares highly competitive and often the lowest available. Food on their flights is actually good and even alcohol is complimentary in coach on their international flights. They have a very generous baggage allowance for North America - Istanbul flights. If you have to take a domestic flight within the USA for connection that ALL U.S. carriers have stopped the "most significant flight" courtesy with regards to baggage allowances. They say that for the baggage allowance to carry over the flights must be booked together. It is however impossible to book them together even with United (Turkish Airlines and United are both "Star Alliance" members) because the only way to book tickets to Turkey with United is indirectly with the first leg (usually to London or Frankfurt) on a United flight. Nor can you book connecting flights within North America using Turkish Airlines.

Thank you everyone for detailed responses. I am working on getting the rough itinerary ready and will keep you guys posted.

I have one question which can really impact the way we plan our itinerary. My wife and I will be visiting turkey on our way to the US from India (Mumbai), so we will have like enough amount of luggage with us. So I was wondering if the hotels in Istanbul would allow to keep our additional luggage with them while we travel to other parts of turkey (i.e. Cappadocia, Izmir, etc, .) so that we don't need to keep carrying so much luggage during our domestic travel . If this is a viable option then I was thinking to stay first night in Istanbul, keep our additional luggage in the hotel and visit Cappadocia and Izmir for 2 days each and then stay for 4-5 days again in Istanbul before we head to the US. Also, if the hotels allow us to keep our extra baggage with then is it safe?

Please let me know what do you guys think. Thanks again in advance.

I have left luggage many times with hotels of wildly different classes and in numerous locations in Turkey. No problem ever no matter how formal or informal the process.

I haven't done this but I know plenty who have and there have been reviews on here from those who have and I have not heard of anyone having a problem.Hotels are usually super helpful here.

Just a couple of points.
#1 - some places are now making a small charge for storing baggage. It is, however, less than you would pay for leaving it at the airport, for example.
#2. If you're coming from India in February you are going to feel very cold in Turkey. I met a group of people from Singapore in December (less cold than February) a couple of years ago. They were enjoying their visit but said it was 'like living in a fridge'. Make sure you keep ready a lightweight but warm jacket, plus maybe hat and certainly gloves.

Hello again,

So I have booked my international flight now and with that said I will be in turkey from 17th of Feb to 26th Feb '16 and here is what I have thought of as a rough itinerary for my trip. I would like to know what do you guys think about it and provide any suggestions or feedback. Thank you all in advance.

1. Arrive at Istanbul on 17th Feb around 10.30 am and since we will have quite a bit of luggage, I am thinking to stay a night in Istanbul and keep additional luggage at the hotel and then do rest of the travel light.

2. 18th Feb
   breakfast in Istanbul and then take a flight to Izmir around 9-10 am (there seems to be a direct flight almost every hour from Istanbul to Izmir). Apart from following few places in Izmir which we found interesting(haven't looked into them that much as we are not sure what all places would be accessible in winter), are there any recommendation for places to visit in nearby area ?
   i. buca golet
   ii. Izmir clock tower
   iii. karatas
   Visit couple of places during the day and stay over night in Izmir.

3. 19th Feb
   Full day in izmir to visit any places in nearby area and then take a direct flight to Kayseri in the evening (I think sunexpress has 8 pm flight or so on 19th feb) and reach Cappadocia 19th night.

4. 20th - 21st Feb
   We are thinking to stay 2 nights and 2 days in Cappadocia and thinking of booking a hot air balloon ride for this morning so that we have one more chance of hot air balloon ride in case weather issues. I read there are many places worth visiting in Cappadocia but do you guys have any recommendation for the places which would be accessible and worth visiting that time of the year?

5. 22nd-26th Feb
   Fly back to Istanbul on 21st night and stay there till 26th morning as our flight from Istanbul to the USA departs around 1pm.

So this way we will have 5 days in Istanbul, 2 days Izmir and 2 days Cappadocia. Does this look like a do-able plan? Also, while we are in Izmir and Cappadocia what is the recommended mode of transportation when visiting places in those areas? Is it better to book hot air balloon ride through the hotel we are going to stay in or should we book it directly with the company ? Any pros or cons there?

Well....this all looks okay except the first bit in Izmir IMHO.No visit to Ephesus?Really?Buca Gölet will be as miserable as sin at that time of year and isn't a wildly exciting spot at any time.If you insist on staying in Izmir then visit the huge Mevlana statue in Buca instead.It is one of the largest statues in the world and stands on top of the highest hill in Izmir,so great views.There is a nice cafe underneath and the gardens are lovely-maybe not so lovely in February :)
Konak Clock tower is right on the sea front so that's a nice place to stroll if the weather is kind to you.Nearby there is Kızlarağası Han,a restored Ottoman trading han which has some lovely craft shops to browse.Much of your time you can walk okay but to go out to Buca you need to take the bus from nearby Konak tower.

2 days and nights in Cappadocia is a good idea to give you 2 chances at the balloon ride.Ask your hotel for a quote for this but then also contact a few companies direct so you can compare prices.What will be comofrtably accessible depends so much on how good or bad winter we have.100% for sure there will be snow there but as to how much.....crystal ball needed :) But you should be able to visit Göreme Open Air Museum ,probably Zelve Open Air Museum or at least part of it,one of the underground cities,probably Kaymaklı would be okay and the road there open as it is quite a main connector road.Pigeon Valley 'may/should'be open so you can walk to Uçhisar but if not then the bus or even a taxi would do.And you should be able to reach Urgup and Avanos okay too as both of these are on main connector roads which tend to be kept open as much as possible.Draw up a wish list and you'll have to wait until you are there to learn which will be possible.Some place syou can walk to(hopefully)provided you are dressed correctly but others you'll need to use the local bus service.Your hotel should know the winter timetable for it.

In Istanbul you'll probably walk a fair amount ,especially your time spent in Sultanahmet area.But then to commute between the historic peninsula and the more modern north of the city then the tram is the best bet.It will be too cold to make a full Bosphorus cruise pleasant but do try at least to jump on a couple of ferries just for the pleasure of seeing the city skyline from the water-it's amazing.One of the best ferry routes for this is Eminönü to Kadıköy on the Asian side.4TL for a 20 minute sail offering stunning views!Go there have a cup of coffee and then return.

Thank you again all of you for your such valuable feedbacks. I really appreciate it. I have a few questions regarding hotel reservations in Istanbul and other places where I am planning to visit.

I will definitely make advance reservation for first night in Istanbul but since it is going to be an off season in February, I have a some questions as below,

1. Is it possible to get a better deal(bargain) for hotel stay if we don't make reservation in advance but we reach the hotel in person and make reservation?

2. Is it true that some hotel would give a better discount if payment is made in cash ? (I read something like this somewhere so just want to confirm if anyone happens to know or had any such experience)

I know @swampeastmike advised to make advance reservation for accommodation in Istanbul but does it hold true as well for Cappadocia and Izmir as well ?(again all this just because of off season )

Thank you all again in advance.

It is a bit swings and roundabouts.In February you could just rock up in any city,including Istanbul,and find clean comfortable beds.However Istanbul is HUGE,you'll arrive tired,possibly snowing,cold wet weather...do you really want to schlep the streets of a massive unknown city with your luggage?Going from one to another and back again comparing prices?Much nicer to have a place waiting for you and go there direct.
And I would say that this is pretty good advice for everywhere you'll go.Contact hotels in advance,let them know you'll be paying cash(as yes,that often improves the discount given)and see what their best price is.If you don't like it then e mail them and say it is too much but you are prepared to pay XYZ T.L. they can only say no.Provided your price isn't stupid they are unlikely to say no in mid winter.

Sarikinarya said it--even though you're unlikely to have much problem finding some accommodation at that time of the year, Istanbul just showing up in that mega city for your first time with no planned accommodation is almost certain to be a terrible experience!

There is only one hotel at Atatürk Airport. (Well actually two but they are sort of the same--it's just that it has a separate air side--within security and accessed only from the international terminal--and unsecured tarmac side.) Anyhow it is rather expensive but certainly comfortable and convenient when you are essentially transiting. At least the food is reasonably priced and excellent with a particularly good (included) breakfast. Check the internet for pricing and if you feel the cost is justified I suggest NOT making a reservation. Both times that I've stayed there we've been able to negotiate a price somewhat below what is published.

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