Ephesus or Cappadocia?

[mam677]

We have 6-day trip booked to Istanbul for the end of October. My husband wants to go to Ephesus for a day trip but I'm kind of leaning toward Cappadocia.

For those of you who have been, which day trip would you choose, and why?

[gtkim]

I can only speak to Ephesus as I have not been to Cappadocia.

We went to Ephesus as part of a cruise and absolutely loved it. We took a tour with Meander Tours and toured the old ruins as well as the Terrace Houses. It lasted about half a day and it was fantastic. The Terrace Houses were amazing!

[scout8]

I have been to both and I loved both, but if you only have time for one, I would go to Cappadocia. It was so unlike any other place I have been. I don't really see how you would do either place as a day trip though.

[fernane]

We also did a day in Ephesus as part of a cruise and had a wonderful time. I would recommend it, although I haven't been to Cappadocia, so can't compare.

[babygirlpriest]

Jun 25, 2012 7:07:29 GMT -5 scout8 said:

I have been to both and I loved both, but if you only have time for one, I would go to Cappadocia. It was so unlike any other place I have been. I don't really see how you would do either place as a day trip though.

THIS.

[dana2006]

Cappadocia. We enjoyed Ephesus, but we absolutely loved Cappadocia. Hiking through Rose Valley and visiting the Underground city were two highlights.

[GilliC]

I haven't been to Ephesus, because when I had to choose, I picked Cappadocia. I had very high expectations, and even then I wasn't disappointed.

However, like the others, even if you managed to find a way, I would not do it as a daytrip. Staying in a cave hotel and doing the balloon trip at the crack of dawn were definitely some of the coolest experiences! And we easily filled two full days just seeing the sights without doing any hiking on our own.

[Deleted]

Cappadocia for sure.

[sillygoosegirl]

Aren't they each like 8+ hours from Istanbul? That doesn't sound like a day trip to me.

I really liked Ephesus. Rick Steves says Ephesus has the best Mediterranean frescos outside Pompeii, and I would mostly agree (actually, I'm not convinced Pompeii's were better... But some of the best stuff at Pompeii was closed when we were there). However, if I'd had the choice between Cappadocia and Ephesus, I'd have chosen Cappadocia simply because it's more different than anything else I've ever seen. I've already been to Pompeii. We were supposed to go to Cappadocia as well, but our overnight bus was cancelled and our schedule was too tight to reschedule. (Turkish buses are supposed to be very good, we just got unlucky.)

[mam677]

Thanks ladies. I did find a few tour companies that would fly us to the Cappadocia area for the day (same for Ephesus) and then back to Istanbul. I just really want to go and am afraid that if we don't go on this trip, we may not make it back to Turkey any time soon.

[GilliC]

Even if you fly, it's about an hour in from the airport, and the sights are fairly spread out. If you absolutely have to do it as a daytrip, I might say Ephesus, just because I think you'd be really missing out trying to do Cappadocia in a single day.

Even if staying in a cave hotel or doing the balloon ride isn't of interest, the landscape is beautiful at sunrise (especially with all the balloons in the sky), and it's a generally relaxed place. You'll be in a rush to an early flight, then spending an hour to get anywhere, spending the day seeing some of the centralized sights (would you even have time to make it out to one of the underground cities like Derinkuyu?). There's not much to do after dark (which would be around 5pm at the end of October), so maybe dinner and then an hour back to the airport to fly back?

[CloudBee]

I have only been to Ephesus. The ruins and history are amazing.

[mam677]

We're now in the process of looking at two days in Cappadocia and three in Istanbul due to my husband reading all of your comments. You all finally swayed him! Hopefully we can take a cruise and hit Ephesus that way.

[GilliC]

Jun 26, 2012 8:26:36 GMT -5 mam677 said:

We're now in the process of looking at two days in Cappadocia and three in Istanbul due to my husband reading all of your comments. You all finally swayed him! Hopefully we can take a cruise and hit Ephesus that way.

:Y: I don't think either of you would regret that decision!

(FWIW, if you're willing to venture back to TN, here's the write-up of my Turkey trip back in the day)