Türkiye & Dubai in 3 weeks

Once upon a time, a friend asked if I want to tag his trip to Istanbul but as things happened, neither of us ended up stepping into Türkiye. That was a good 10 years ago. Not that I didn't try to plan a trip to Türkiye prior to this but at one point it wasn't too safe among other things, so I've never been to this transcontinental country.  

Majority of my 3 weeks leave was in Türkiye, but I decided to extend my layover in Dubai by a couple of days, making the most of flying with Emirates. It cost the same taking a return flight from Melbourne to Istanbul or adding Dubai as a destination at the time of my booking. 

By the time of my travel, there is no additional requirements due to covid-19 needed to both Türkiye or Dubai. I initially wanted to also make a day trip to Abu Dhabi but a negative PCR test within 14 days was still required to enter any attractions, including the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which was the main reason I wanted to go. As I was looking up information to blog, looks like this requirement has been lifted as of 7 Nov 2022. Next time, I guess. 

I took a domestic flight out of Istanbul the day I landed to navigate the hassle of commuting in out of Istanbul Airport. It was a very long commuting day with a total 20+ hours flight and 7 hours transit from Melbourne to Kayseri but there was an empty seat next to me in the longest leg of the flight. 

Here is my itinerary for 3 weeks (or to be exact 22 days) in Türkiye and Dubai (instead of UAE as I was pretty much only in Dubai, except the desert that I went was located in Sharjah). 

M: morning, A: afternoon, E: evening, N: night

30/09, Day 00 - On flight, arrived Istanbul in the evening, flight to Cappadocia* (Kayra Caves Suites)

01/10, Day 01 - Cappadocia*

02/10, Day 02 - Cappadocia*

03/10, Day 03 - Cappadocia, overnight bus to Pamukkale* (Paradise Hotel)

04/10, Day 04 - Bus to Bodrum* (Pasha Motel)

05/10, Day 05 - Bodrum*, day trip to Kos

06/10, Day 06 - Bus to Selcuk* (Hotel Ave Maria)

07/10, Day 07 - Selcuk*

08/10, Day 08 - Bus to Ayvalik* (Lunaria Guest House)

09/10, Day 09 - Bus to Canakkale* (Sera Palas Pansiyon)

10/10, Day 10 - Canakkale*, day trip to Troy and Gallipoli Peninsula

11/10, Day 11 - Bus to Bandirma, then ferry to Istanbul* (Happy Suite Boutique Hotel)

12/10, Day 12 - Istanbul*

13/10, Day 13 - Istanbul*

14/10, Day 14 - Istanbul*

15/10, Day 15 - Istanbul*

16/10, Day 16 - Istanbul*

17/10, Day 17 - Flight to Dubai* (Excelsior Downtown Hotel)

18/10, Day 18 - Dubai*

19/10, Day 19 - Dubai*

20/10, Day 20 - Dubai* (Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek)

21/10, Day 21 - Dubai*

22/10, Day 22 - Flight to Melbourne

23/10, Day 23 - Arrive Melbourne in the morning

*referring to overnight stay

Side note: I'll go with Türkiye, since this is the country's Turkish name.