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Orty Airport Hotel, Izmir:
We stayed here for 1 night in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is very convenient if you have a late night/early morning flight.
- 2) There is ample parking in front of the hotel and it is free.
- 3) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 4) The tariff is reasonable.
- 5) The rooms and bathrooms were spacious and clean.
- 6) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was good.
- 7) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) There was no hot water in the shower.
- 2) There are no good restaurants nearby.
- Ibis Izmir Alsancak:
We stayed here for one night in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. The Kulturpark is within walking distance.
- 2) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 3) The tariff is reasonable.
- 4) The rooms and bathrooms were spacious and clean.
- 5) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was good.
- 6) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel does not have parking. There is paid parking nearby.
- 2) There is a lot of construction and road work going on around the hotel and the traffic is chaotic.
- Magic Tulip Hotel, Fethiye:
We stayed here for one night in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. The Blue Lagoon is within walking distance.
- 2) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 3) The tariff is reasonable.
- 4) The rooms and bathrooms were spacious and clean.
- 5) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel does not have parking. There is street parking which is hardly ever available. There is paid parking nearby.
- 2) The place is quite noisy and we could not get good sleep.
- Hotel Blue Marina, Antalya:
We stayed here for one night in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. Beach, Yivli Mosque and Hadrian's Gate are all within walking distance.
- 2) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 3) The tariff is reasonable.
- 4) The rooms and bathrooms were clean.
- 5) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was good.
- 6) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) The hotel does not have parking. There is paid parking nearby.
- 2) The rooms and bathrooms are tiny. There is not much space to move around.
- 3) The road right in front of the hotel is narrow and the traffic is chaotic.
- Grand Keskin Otel Denizli:
We stayed here for one night in September 2026. It was easily the best hotel we stayed at during our entire trip.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is very convenient if you are driving in. It is within a short distance from the main highway and is easy to get in and out.
- 2) There is a dedicated parking place right next to the hotel and the parking is free.
- 3) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 4) The tariff is reasonable.
- 5) The rooms and bathrooms were very spacious and very clean.
- 6) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was great.
- 7) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) There aren't a lot of restaurants nearby.
- Ibis Konya:
We stayed here for one night in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) There are reasonable number of eating choices close to the hotel (not too many).
- 2) There is a dedicated underground parking place and the parking is free.
- 3) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 4) The tariff is reasonable.
- 5) The rooms and bathrooms were spacious and clean.
- 6) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was great.
- 7) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- Cons:
- 1) The location is far from the city centre. You need a taxi to get to and from the city.
- Ibis Ankara Airport:
We stayed here for two nights in September 2026.
- Pros:
- 1) The food at the restaurant is good with good vegetarian choices.
- 2) There is ample parking space and the parking is free.
- 3) The front desk staff is courteous and speak good English. The front desk is operational round the clock.
- 4) The tariff is reasonable.
- 5) The rooms and bathrooms were spacious and clean.
- 6) The place is very quiet at night and the sleep quality was great.
- 7) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- 8) Hotel offers same day laundry facility. But it is quite expensive.
- Cons:
- 1) The location is not very practical. It is sufficiently far away from the airport to need a taxi. The hotel does not have a shuttle service. There is no access to the hotel when driving in from the city. One has to go to the airport to make a U turn.
- 2) There are no restaurants next to the hotel. You have to rely on the hotel restaurant.
We hired a car for a week at the Enterprise Car Rental. We picked up the car at Izmir and dropped it off at Ankara. The pick-up/drop-off process was smooth. The car was in excellent condition. There were no hidden chargers. The staff was very courteous and helpful and they spoke very good English. The tolls were automatically charged to my credit card.
English is very widely spoken. We had absolutely no problem in communicating in English even in small and less visited towns.
It was quite easy to find vegetarian food in Austria. All the places we visited had a dedicated vegetarian/vegan choices. The dishes that you should try are: Gozleme, Menemen, Lahmacun, Borek, Mercimek Soup and Kofte among the savory items; Lokum, Izmir bomba, Leblebi, Sutlac and Helva among the desserts.
- Izmir: The museums in Kulturpark are quite nice. You should visit the Clock Tower at sunset.
- Antalya: The Lower Duden Falls is spectacular. The city centre is a must-see (that includes Hadrian's Gate and all the main mosques).
- Konya: Must-sees are the Mevlana Museum, the Tile Museum and Alaedin Mosque.
- Ankara: Must-sees are the Museum of Anatolian Civilisation, the Citadel, Anitkabir and the Republic Museums.
- Pamukkale: The brochure shot of cascading pools of water no longer exists. The place is still worth a visit for its unique scenery and Hierapolis ruins.
- Historic Sites: Must-sees are Pergamon, Ephesus, Didyma, Patara, Myra, Aspendos, Sagalassos, Afrodisias, Catalhoyuk and Hierapolis. Do not miss the site museums at Ephesus and Afrodisias. Should-sees are Sardis, Miletus, Perge, Antiphellos and Laodicea. You can probably skip Letoon, Xanthos, Priene, Side, and Gordion.
TRIP ITINERARY