Turkish ports, general idea

[perlgirlnj]

We're trying to figure out if we're interested in joining friends on a Turkish/Greek cruise that is coming up soon. My husband wants to know what there is to do in the various ports and short of reading every post, I'd like to just get an idea of what people do in them (beaches, sightseeing, ancient sites, etc.)

 

Can anyone give me a general idea of what people do in:

 

Canakkale:

 

Ephesus:

 

Thanks so much.

[Keith1010]

Ephesus. Actually the port is Kusadasi and Ephesus is one of the tourist attractions for this port of call. It is located about 30 minutes from the port. It is an ancient city which was one a major trade center for this area of the world. They continue to unearth this old city and there is much to see. Kusadasi is also a resort location with beautiful beaches and there is also good shopping.

 

Keith

[cruisemom42]

In Canakkale the main things to do are to either take a tour to the ancient ruins of Troy or alternatively to Gallipoli.

 

In Kusadasi, as the other poster says, the main sight for a first-time visitor would be Ephesus; the ruins there are amazing.

[PH]

We are stopping at Marmatis and Izmir. What to do there?

[cruisemom42]

Izmir is another Turkish port from which the main "must see" is Ephesus. It's little longer ride than from Kusadasi but still doable in a day.

 

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Marmaris.

[6rugrats]

Op - if you don't have a guidebook, have you tried just using goggle to pull up information about these cities? Also, go to tripadvisor.com and go to the forum for each port stop. Lots of information available in one place for easy reading without much effort.

 

For our last cruise, I had our 10 year old daughter go the the cruiseline's webpage and pull up the ship's excurions offered for every port, because that lets you know what some of the major attractions are in the area. Very easy, and doesn't require that you have to do lots of reseach, such as reading every post in this forum.

[kruzseeka]

Marmaris is a beautiful port set in a bowl of surrounding mountains. There is a very up-market Marina adjacent to the port through which you walk to the town. the promenade area is extremely attractive - we went last year and were very impressed. We visited again about six weeks ago and couldn't believe how much has been invested in up-grading the waterfront (looked good to me before!). there are new sculptures, fountains, raised flower beds newly planted with shrubs and bedding plants and two mini lighthouses (don't know whether they are functional of just a feature).

 

The whole of the promenade area has been newly paved along with the cafe frontages where there is colourful, comfy seating where you can relax and enjoy the fabulous vista.

 

There is a good bazaar with 'geniuine fakes!:eek: - advertised as such and whilst the store keepers do try to entice you in it's not too pressured. At the top end of the bazaar - the ground rises there's a good store which says 'No hassle' and is lovely to look around for souvenirs/trinkets as the owner allows you to walk around, pick things up to examine them and doesn't trouble you at all. As a result, he gets a lot more custom.

 

If you have a whole day there and want a good beach, there is a cove which you can just see from the port to the left of Marmaris. It's called Icmeler and a Dolmus caught across the road from Attaturk's statue (the Dolmus with the orange stripe if I remember correctly) will take you there in about 15 minutes for 2TL (do need local currency for that but not in the bazaars/cafes although you get a better deal in TL). Icmeler is the end of the line so you can't go wrong. Icmeler is a hotel resort with a nice beach and very good infrastructure for tourists.

 

Marmaris is one of our favourite places - Cannakale by contrast has little to offer - best go on a trip I'd say. Kusadasi is a pleasant place but the proximity of Ephesus makes it a good port to see this most impressive attraction.

 

In summary: Cannakale - go somewhere - anywhere!

Kusadasi - nice place but do go to Ephesus (we found the half day trip sufficient and still ahd some quality time in Kusadasi)

Marmaris: just enjoy - it's a gem!

[swifs]

Hooray! Someone who has been to Marmaris! We were thinking of trying to find a one-day "blue cruise" along the coast in Mamaris, where we are scheduled to stop for one day with Constellation next September. Normally we are the history and ruins types but we thought one day of landscape and relaxing might be nice. Or do you think we will see enough of the landscape from the deck of the Constellation? We are not sure if it will be beach weather in September and we live near the beach here in Florida anyway but we heard the coves along there are beautiful. Does you know whether we could book such a trip in advance or will we just have to take potluck along the quais?

[swifs]

Definitely go to Ephesus and given a choice, do pick the tour that includes the Terrace Houses. We have seen ruins all over the place, but this is truly unique and you should not miss it-you get a better view of actual living quarters than anywhere, even Pompeii. You do need to be able to climb some metal stairs to see the Terrace Houses.

[marylizcat]

Hooray! Someone who has been to Marmaris! We were thinking of trying to find a one-day "blue cruise" along the coast in Mamaris, where we are scheduled to stop for one day with Constellation next September. Normally we are the history and ruins types but we thought one day of landscape and relaxing might be nice. Or do you think we will see enough of the landscape from the deck of the Constellation? We are not sure if it will be beach weather in September and we live near the beach here in Florida anyway but we heard the coves along there are beautiful. Does you know whether we could book such a trip in advance or will we just have to take potluck along the quais?

Marmaris and that area is indeed beautiful. Although we have not done a day boat trip there, we have in other Turkish resorts. Usually if you walk along the quayside in the morning before say 10 am, the captains will be trying to entice you on board, so you should have no problem finding one. Take your swimsuit and towel. It should be perfect for swimming in September. Usually these gulets make several stops for swimming and also give you lunch. Check what they are including in the price before you board. It should be very cheap, maybe £10-20 per person.

[iancal]

We have stayed in Marmaris-it is very nice. We also spent some time in Dalyan which is not far from Marmaris. It might be worth a visit. It is well known for the tombs of Caunos (etched into the mountainside), the beach where the sea turtles lay their eggs, and the mud baths.

[kruzseeka]

Getting myself a bit mixed up here - the good shop at the top end of the bazaar is in Kusadasi not Marmaris! Sorry! There is a good bazaar in Marmaris too though. All other info correct (I think!!! :confused: )

 

Yes, there are gulets along the waterfront in Marmaris offering lots of cruises - I think many of them are whole day ones but as we weren't interested in doing one, I didn't take much notice of the details.

 

You will get lovely views from the ship - the mountains surround the resort and you overlook the Marina too but I'd recommend at least having a walk into the town as it is very attractive and has a lovely atmosphere. It's very popular with British tourists as we have flights from regional airports serving Marmaris. I would think the weather will still be good in September. We were there at that time last year and it was hot and sunny - better than when we visited in May of this year.

[celyvabeach]

Thanks for all the Marmaris info. Will be there in November but have not found much info of the place. It will be a day stop for us (11 hrs) on X-Constellation. Looking into a Dylan river/ Kaunos boat excursion if available in Nov.

Also our Ephesus private excursion will not include the Terrace Houses which I heard is a must see but we will be back next year. Plan to do Sirince Village and Terrace Houses then...

[texancruzer]

We did a private tour in Kusadasi....... first jeep ride into the mountains, then to Sirince (a small village to wander/shop) then to a picnic style lunch (white tablecloth picnic :)) and a visit to a carpet factory (lots of people don't want to do this but we enjoyed it ALOT !) then to Ephesus for a 2 hour tour including the Terrace Houses. Amazing place ! Back to ship by 6 pm, showered and changed and back ashore for a wonderful dinner along the harborfront (we were there from 8 am to 11 pm).

 

We loved this area, as we loved Turkey ! Wonderful people, friendly but reserved. Clean clean clean country !!!!!!! Prices were good too. Hope this helps !

[celyvabeach]

We did a private tour in Kusadasi....... first jeep ride into the mountains, then to Sirince (a small village to wander/shop) then to a picnic style lunch (white tablecloth picnic :)) and a visit to a carpet factory (lots of people don't want to do this but we enjoyed it ALOT !) then to Ephesus for a 2 hour tour including the Terrace Houses. Amazing place ! Back to ship by 6 pm, showered and changed and back ashore for a wonderful dinner along the harborfront (we were there from 8 am to 11 pm).

 

We loved this area, as we loved Turkey ! Wonderful people, friendly but reserved. Clean clean clean country !!!!!!! Prices were good too. Hope this helps !

 

 

Wow you were docked in Kusadasi for 15 hrs! Will only be there for 10 hrs very limited for all the things we want to do. Our private excursion is already 7 hours. I have read in your other post about how wonderful Sirince is. Looking forward to our visit next year. Tell me about the blackberry wine or is it blueberry?

[Karennella]

Canakkale is the gateway to the Gallipoli peninsular, which is almost a sacred site for Australians and New Zealanders. It is the location of a disasterous campaign in World War 1 which has great historical significance for us. Every year on Anzac Day literally thousands of people go to the commemoration and the area is a must see for us.

But I agree the town is pretty ordinary and I am not sure how interesting Americans would find the historical sites there. It is however, quite a beautiful area.

[kruzseeka]

Canakkale is the gateway to the Gallipoli peninsular, which is almost a sacred site for Australians and New Zealanders. It is the location of a disasterous campaign in World War 1 which has great historical significance for us. Every year on Anzac Day literally thousands of people go to the commemoration and the area is a must see for us.

But I agree the town is pretty ordinary and I am not sure how interesting Americans would find the historical sites there. It is however, quite a beautiful area.

 

 

Our friends did the Gallipoli excursion and found it very moving. There is actually a fortress/castle in Cannakale which is perhpas worth considering if you don't do anything else there. Nothing very big but does have some displays which describes the awful events of WWII which we found quite informative - and disturbing. There is also the replica wooden horse used in the film Troy on the waterfront.

 

Here is a link to some excursions from Marmaris - the kind of thing I think marylizcat was suggesting.

 

http://www.marmarisinfo.com/excursions/index.php

[Robro]

I will be in kusadasi for one day. Was thinking of doing Ephesus on own just hired taxi, for about 45 euro. And then planned on going to beach for a couple of hours before heading into town.

 

I was wondering if this is a mistake and I should hire a guide. I am traveling with my husband and 2 college age sons

Thanks

[texancruzer]

Wow you were docked in Kusadasi for 15 hrs! Will only be there for 10 hrs very limited for all the things we want to do. Our private excursion is already 7 hours. I have read in your other post about how wonderful Sirince is. Looking forward to our visit next year. Tell me about the blackberry wine or is it blueberry?

 

Some will tell you that Sirince has gotten too touristy. I can somewhat agree but if you head back into the maze like area, away from the main road, you can truly get a feel for village life.

 

The one shop we went to the gentlemen there was VERY adament about me trying EVERY flavor (mayb 12 +-) !!!! So watch those steps coming back out :D I purchased blackberry for my brother as a gift as he loves different stuff like that.

 

As a side note: we too are going back this November. I definately will do some more shopping in the jewelry store we visited last time !!!!!! And lots more beautiful lace work items for gifts. November is perfect for traveling to exotic places and shopping for Christmas gifts :) or ME !