the turquoise trail

Turquoise trail represents the path taken; stars represent towns where we stayed.  {budget} I purchased this trip as a bus tour on teambuy.ca for $2298.  This included the flight, all breakfasts, all dinners, and all of the mentioned attractions with the exception of the turkish bath.  It also included the tour bus and all our hotels.  In my opinion it was an extremely fair price for what we received and I don't believe that I could have done it for less myself.  The tour company recommended tipping our guide a couple dollars more /day than google seemed to suggest was standard; so I would suggest doing your own research to find what you are comfortable with; plan at least $7/day total.  If you are interested in a hot air balloon ride, you can plan to spend approximately $200.  If you are hoping to find a rug while in turkey, you should budget accordingly.  There is a huge range in prices depending on where you buy it, size of rug, quality, ...

{Saturday November 2} I got up around 7 this morning, had a shower and then we went to the dining room for breakfast. I was quite excited to see French toast this morning. After breakfast we went for a little walk out to the back of the hotel, where there is a really nice pool area.  We met our group at 8:15 to get our day started. We will have a very full day today so hopefully we can keep on schedule.  Fairy Chimneys of Goreme Our first stop this morning will be at the fairy chimneys of Goreme. The chimneys were formed by a volcano (2005m high) that erupted basalt stones and volcanic ash thousands of years ago.  The elements consumed the ash, but basalt is very hard so it remained.  The Christians carved out the rocks, forming churches and living in the rocks between the 4th and 14th century.  It is extremely unique landscape and really quite stunning. I feel like we barely had enough time to take it in, but most of the stops have been a whirl...