Turkey With Kids – The Ultimate Road Trip
Is Turkey worth visiting?
This country is without a doubt one of our firm favourites we’ve travelled to, and we honestly couldn’t get over the number of incredible experiences on offer when we visited. Imagine fascinating landscapes, ancient cities, turquoise coasts, delicious cuisine and the kindest most hospitable people, eager to show you their country. Every place we visited in Turkey offered something unique and this made the entire trip so exciting, we’ve vowed to return without a doubt.
Initially, our eyes were only on the central region of Cappadocia, after seeing intriguing pictures of its houses built into rocks and masses of colourful hot air balloons filling the sky. We soon realised, however, that there was tons more to see, with magnificent mountain regions in the North of the country, beautiful beaches to the south and the alluring city of Istanbul, which was recommended not to be missed. We, therefore, had to carefully plan a route around Turkey that would not only allow us the opportunity to experience as much as we could in our time there, but also be appropriate for travelling with young children, so it was enjoyable and suitable for them.
Best time to visit Turkey
The best time to visit Turkey with kids really depends on your preferences and the activities you want to do. We chose to visit in spring, (April to June) during the UK easter holidays, due to it being significantly cooler and better suited to exploring with kids, yet still warm enough at around 19°C in most regions to enjoy warm daytime temperatures.
Autumn (September to October) months are also a good bet, with mild temps and fewer tourists, so prices tend to be cheaper, compared to the peak summer season.
If sightseeing with kids is what you’re after, the summer heat (July and August), where temperatures reach 30°C may make this difficult, but if you want beach time on the Turkish Riviera, this may be the best season to choose. Just be prepared for larger crowds and higher prices.
Winter in Turkey, sees an average of 6°C, with many mountainous regions like Kayseri and Bursa getting plenty of snow, making for the perfect ski destinations, if winter sports are your thing.
Is Turkey safe for tourists?
At no point on our trip did we feel unsafe, both on the roads during our self-drive and walking around on stop-offs. Obviously, we had to exercise basic caution when out and about, just like we would do anywhere, but in all the places we visited both during the day and at night, we felt safe, welcomed by the locals and at ease.
Before visiting, we’d heard rumours of how kind and welcoming the Turkish people are, but we didn’t realise just how kind until we experienced it for ourselves. They were always eager to converse with us, show us around, and give us advice on the country, being so humble and polite. The Turks clearly love children, and ours were doted on by locals wherever we went, with everyone going above and beyond to cater to them. In restaurants, the waiters entertained them, making them laugh, the chefs were very accommodating in adapting dishes to suit their taste and the accommodations/ hotels always welcomed us with food gifts on arrival or made an effort to cook the kids’ favourite items, pancakes for breakfast each morning.
We were also really impressed with the number of play areas there, being at many service stations, and in all the villages, towns and cities we visited. The play area, Şehit Fethi Bey Parkı in Fethiye, is without a doubt, the best children’s play area we’ve ever visited, it was a huge hit with the kids.
Before any trip, Turkey being no exception, you should check with your travel embassy to get the most up-to-date travel advice.
How to travel around Turkey
Turkey has extensive transport options, to suit different preferences, budgets and time scales. This will make it easy for you to see the country as a family and tailor your trip to take into account the needs of your children. We found it initially quite daunting to start planning our trip around Turkey, due to the immense size of the country and discovered the areas we were interested in visiting were widely spread out over hundreds of kilometres. With this in mind, we decided to opt for our favourite form of transport when travelling with kids – car hire, and embarked on an exciting self-drive trip, with one internal flight thrown in, due to us being short on time to make the drive from Cappadocia to Istanbul.
Self-drive Turkey road trip
The option to do a self-drive around Turkey is a brilliant way to see the country, with the freedom to move from place to place at your leisure, without having to follow transport timetables. It also allows you to get off the beaten path and explore more non-touristy places, for a more authentic trip. We found most of the roads in Turkey to be great to drive on, smooth, well-signposted, and Google Maps responsive. We found a lot of service stations had play areas, which were well-received by the kids and helped break up the few longer travel days. The only area we didn’t enjoy driving in was Istanbul, which had an insane amount of traffic, lengthy traffic jams, and a lack of decent parking. Public transport would be a much better bet in hindsight.
Bus travel in Turkey
We loved travelling by bus prior to having kids, however, with our children still being quite young, we try and keep bus travel to a minimum, due to it being quite draining having to keep them on their best behaviour throughout journeys, so they don’t annoy other travellers. We feel much more relaxed and comfortable in a car and can allow our kids to just be kids, sing songs as loud as they want, sleep without being disturbed and stop off whenever needed.
Train travel in Turkey
Turkey has a well-developed train network, which connects its major cities and towns. Once you’re on the train, you can sit back and take in the views of the countryside and see a varied perspective of Turkey in comparison to the busy roads there. Travelling by train is a good bet with kids as they will have the freedom to stretch their legs and walk through the carriages and you won’t have to spend the entire journey trying to keep them in their seat, which can make travel days testing.
Internal flights in Turkey
We’d recommend taking internal flights if you’re short on time or want to cover long distances quickly. It’s not as cheap as taking the bus, but it does make it possible to hop from one region to another in just a matter of hours on a domestic flight. As previously mentioned, we chose to fly from Cappadocia to Istanbul, with flight time being just over an hour, as opposed to completing the 7-hour drive, which our time scale didn’t allow for.
Taxis in Turkey
If driving isn’t your thing, and you’re keen to keep your budget down, then travelling by bus may be just the answer. Turkey’s bus system connects major cities and towns and long-distance buses offer comfortable seats, air con and allow you to sit back and take in the scenery. There are even plenty of options to take night buses, which will help you save on accommodation costs and use your days to sightsee as opposed to travel.
For shorter journeys within cities or towns, taxis are a good choice and are readily available. Uber is available in the three major cities of Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara, where the fare is pre-agreed, but aside from that it’s a good idea to haggle for your fair to get a good price.
Turkish food
We found the Turkish food incredibly delicious and when I say we didn’t go hungry on our road trip, this was the truth! We loved experimenting and finding new flavours and dishes, yet loved the Turkish take on familiar dishes to what we eat back home, but with their unique spin on them. The food we ate wasn’t spicy, but really flavoursome and packed full of fresh ingredients, with lots of vegetable dishes and salads. Meat dishes were very common, but being vegetarian, we also found lots of vegetarian dishes to suit.
The Mezze starters were delicious, a collection of small plates served together, our favourite ones being; Humus, Haydari (Garlic yogurt dip), Deniz börülcesi (Samphire salad) and Mercimek köftesi (patties made from red lentils), served with crusty fresh bread, pitas and olives. The kids loved Pide, which is Turkish Pizza, Kofte (meatballs), and Kumpir, which is like a buttery, cheesy loaded baked potato, topped with ingredients of your choice.
We’ve only got to start thinking about the Turkish deserts and we start dribbling! First off, the kids couldn’t get enough of the Turkish ice cream (Dondurma) which came in every flavour under the sun and it was particularly entertaining getting it from traditional vendors, who only handed over the cones once they finished teasing the kids with their ice cream tricks. There was also Baklava, Turkish delights, Firinda Sutlac (Turkish rice pudding), Kazandibi (caramelised custard), Gozleme (Turkish pancakes) and Kunefe (thin layers of phyllo dough, packed with cheese and drizzled with honey and syrup).
There was also a decent amount of typical Western food available ie, pasta, chips, nuggets, pizza and burgers. The coffee was also top-notch.
Turkish accommodation
Take your pick from hotels, guest houses, Air Bnb’s, homestays and even camping, there’s a wide range of accommodation choices in Turkey. Along the Turkish Riviera, you’ll find beachfront 5-star all-inclusive hotels, with huge pool complexes, which we have experienced on a previous trip to Turkey, and they are fantastic. On our road trip, however, we chose to stay in mainly small independently owned hotels and Air BnB’s and family-run pensions, to help keep travel costs down, connect with local people and see more of the traditional side of Turkey.
Language in Turkey
Turkish is the main language spoken by the majority of the population, however Kurdish and Arabic are also spoken by a small minority.
Best places to visit in Turkey
Cappadocia
This is our favourite place we visited in Turkey and we’ve all agreed we’d love to return in the future to continue exploring there. The land is covered in unusual rock formations, which have got the name ‘fairy chimneys, due to their cone-like shape. The towns are built into the rock which makes for a memorable stay as hotels are literally located inside the caves. The area is also famous for the hot air balloons which take off on mornings and offer flights to tourists who wish to see the landscape from an aerial view. There are also huge underground cities whose warren of tunnels are so exciting to explore with children.
Pamukkale
Pamukkale located in Denizli province in the West of Turkey, is an incredible place to explore with kids. People travel worldwide to visit the cascading white terraces, which are not only beautiful to see, but also perfect to bathe in, as they are filled with lovely warm thermal water. It goes by the nickname of ‘Cotton Castle’, as the bright white structure, made of calcium carbonate deposits, clings to the side of the hill and looks like a castle made from cotton.
On the same site, you can also visit Hierapolis, an ancient city, which ruins are fantastic to explore. The ancient theatre located there is probably the most impressive one we’ve seen to date. There is also Cleopatra’s Antique Pool, which was once a Roman temple surrounded by thermal waters but is now the remains of the ruins submerged in the water, making baths that look like something out of Tomb Raider.
Istanbul
The only city in the world to straddle two continents, with part of Istanbul falling in Europe and also in Asia, helping to create a huge melting pot with differing vibrant cultures. There’s tons of history, jaw-dropping landmarks, like the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace and so much to keep little ones entertained. The Grande Bazaar alone is worth getting lost in for a few hours with the kids, where you’ll be able to marvel at all the colourful stalls, and they’ll be able to spend their pocket money buying a souvenir or two, or some Turkish sweets. A boat cruise along the Bosphorus River is a good choice, where you’ll be able to see the impressive city skyline and take in the views. Following this you can take your pick from the mammoth amount of delicious eateries throughout the city, delving into the delights of Turkish cuisine.
Turkish Riviera
Also known as the turquoise coast, due to the vivid shades of the sea, this area found in the Southwest of Turkey stretches from Bodrum to Antalya and not only has stunning beaches backed by mountains but also beautiful towns and villages. Our favourite places were Fethiye for its blue water and interesting rock tombs and the Şehit Fethi Bey Parkı, literally the best children’s play area we’ve ever come across! We liked Oludeniz for its blue lagoon, which looks like something straight off a postcard and we really loved the stunning town of Kas, with its cobbled streets, colourful shop fronts, quirky coffee shops and ice cream parlours. Also in the area is Turkey’s longest beach, Patara, which is the only beach in the country to have sand, which is super soft and fine, and resembles something of the Sahara desert meets the sea, it’s amazing!
Lake Egirdir
Can you believe Turkey has a lake district? It’s not the most popular place for tourists to visit, however, it’s situated perfectly between the Turkish Riviera and Cappadocia, making it a great stop-off spot between the two locations. We only stayed here 1 night to break up the drive, but we were impressed with the stunning views from Egirdir town with its peninsula jutting out into the lake, and wished we’d had more time to explore.
Uludag, Bursa
Turkey’s most popular winter sports destination, which from December to March, transforms into the top ski destination. It’s only a 2-hour drive from Istanbul, so is handy being quite close to the country’s main international airport.
Our Turkey road trip itinerary
Night 1: Bursa – Flight arrived in Istanbul, we left straight away in our hire car and drove down to Bursa (2.5-hour drive) This stop-off was to break up the length 7-hour drive from Istanbul to Pamukkale. Other options here would be to stay in Istanbul on arrival (even for a couple of nights) and then complete the 7-hour drive in one day, directly to Pamukkale.
Night 2: Pamukalle
Night 3: Pamukkale
Night 4: Kalkan – Left Pamukkale at 10 am, drove 3.5 hours to Kalkan, stopping at Fethiye to visit Şehit Fethi Bey Parkı for a 2-hour stop off. You could choose to stay anywhere on the south coast to explore the Turkish Riviera as opposed to Kalkan like we did.
Night 5: Kalkan
Night 6: Kalkan
Night 7: Kalkan
Night 8: Lake Eğirdir – Left Kalkan at 10 am, and drove 4.5 hours to Lake Eğirdir.
Night 9: Cappadocia
Night 10: Cappadocia
Night 11: Cappadocia
Night 12: Cappadocia
Night 13: Istanbul – Left Cappadocia in the morning and flew directly to Istanbul (1.5 hour flight).
Night 14: Istanbul
Night 15: Istanbul
