Where to Stay in Türkiye: All Seven Bases and What We Paid

We slept in seven different places across eighteen nights in Türkiye, from an A$88 apartment in Istanbul to a cave hotel in Cappadocia that cost twice that and was worth every lira.

This is all of them, what each one cost, and the one I would change if we did it again.

Where Should You Stay in Türkiye? My Quick Answer

Cappadocia is the one to spend money on. It was our most expensive bed at A$170 a night and it is the only one where the hotel itself was part of why the place was so good.

Istanbul and Antalya are where you save. Both cost us A$88 a night for two, and both were walkable to everything.

Every Base, and What It Cost

Eighteen nights, two of us, mid-June to early July 2025. These are totals for the room, not per person.

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A$1,936 across sixteen paid nights, which works out at A$54 each per night over the whole trip.

Four of the seven were Airbnbs. That matters for a practical reason: I can tell you what they cost and what the location was like, but Airbnb listings come and go, so the ones I can send you to by name are the hotels.

Antalya: Stay Central and Walk

We paid A$88 a night for an Airbnb with wonderfully helpful hosts, in a location that let us walk the old town and reach the cove beaches in about ten minutes.

Antalya is a proper city, so staying central genuinely works. The tram costs about A$2.50 if you need it, and we barely did.

If you would rather book a hotel, Oli Hotel and Suites and Audo Local are the two we would compare. We have not stayed at either, but both are central, well reviewed and priced like Antalya rather than like a resort.

The Gulet Cruise: Two Nights With No Bed Bill

Two of our eighteen nights were on a traditional wooden gulet on the Turkish Riviera with Far Out Cruises, sleeping out on the deck.

This was a collaboration, so we did not pay for it. That means I cannot tell you whether it was good value, and I am not going to guess. What I can say is that it was our favourite two nights in the country, and the change we would make is taking the three night option instead of the two.

Fethiye: A$140, and Honestly Not Enough Evidence

We stayed in an Airbnb in a great spot and paid A$140 a night, which makes it the third most expensive base of the trip.

I got ill in Fethiye and we barely saw it, so I am not going to recommend a hotel here. We did not experience enough of the town to compare properly, and a made-up recommendation is worse than none.

Bodrum: A$160, and the Main Town Beats the Resorts

Costa Maya Bodrum, three nights, A$479 total. It was called Maya Otel when we booked it.

This is a first-hand recommendation. It gave us a more affordable base in the most expensive part of Türkiye, and the pool was exactly what we wanted on the afternoons between beach clubs and dinners.

The bigger point about Bodrum: stay in the main city rather than out at the resorts. It puts places like Zakka within walking distance, where dinner was A$21, in a town where dinner can easily be A$250. Where you sleep in Bodrum decides what Bodrum costs you, which I go into properly in is Bodrum expensive.

Çeşme and Alaçatı: The One I Would Change

We paid A$104 a night for a lovely casual homestay in Çeşme, with the kindest owners, parking every day and home-cooked meals. Nothing wrong with it at all.

But we were twenty minutes out of Alaçatı, and Alaçatı is where you want to be. We had a car so it worked, and if we did this again we would stay in or near Alaçatı itself and skip the drive.

If you are booking ahead, GAIA ALAÇATI is the option we would compare. We have not stayed there, but it is central, boutique, and fits exactly what we loved about the town.

And if you are not hiring a car, this becomes a much bigger deal. Compare car rental prices before you book somewhere out of town, because a small car runs about €38 to €48 a day and it changes what is reachable.

Cappadocia: Spend the Money Here

Cappadocia Cave Lodge, two nights, A$339, so A$170 a night. The most expensive bed of our trip and the only one where I would not think twice about paying it again.

A cave hotel in Cappadocia is not a novelty, it is the point. Ours had a rooftop, and at 4am we walked up there with nobody else on it and watched hundreds of balloons come up over the valley. Then we had breakfast, still on the roof.

We did not go up in a balloon, because the hotel gave us the view for nothing. If you are choosing where to spend in Türkiye, a rooftop in Cappadocia is a better buy than almost anything else on this list.

Istanbul: A$88, and Walkability Beats Everything

Our Istanbul Airbnb was A$88 a night for the two of us, tied with Antalya as the cheapest of the trip, and it let us walk almost everywhere.

That was the thing that mattered most. Istanbul is a walking city and it is hot in summer, so shaving twenty minutes off every journey is worth more than a nicer room.

If you would rather have a hotel, The Westist Hotel & Spa is the one we would compare. We have not stayed there, but the Pera location puts you near the Galata side, which is where the shopping is and where I would want to be. There is more on how we would split the days in how many days in Istanbul.

The Properties We Can Actually Send You To

Every property we can name, one per base. Two we slept in and three we researched, and each card says which. The four Airbnbs are on the stays page with what each of them cost.

Cappadocia, and the one to splurge on

Cappadocia Cave Lodge

Cappadocia. The most expensive bed of our trip at A$170 a night, and the rooftop is where we watched the balloons go up.

Check current Cappadocia Cave Lodge prices

Bodrum, where we stayed

Costa Maya Bodrum

Bodrum. Where we actually stayed, A$160 a night for the two of us in June, with a pool we used every day.

Check current Costa Maya Bodrum prices

Antalya, the researched option

Oli Hotel and Suites

Antalya. Walkable to the old town and the cove beaches, which is the whole reason to stay central here.

Check current Oli Hotel and Suites prices

Alaçatı, where we would stay instead

GAIA ALAÇATI

Alaçatı. Central and boutique, and where we would stay instead of 20 minutes out in Çeşme.

Check current GAIA ALAÇATI prices

Istanbul, on the Galata side

The Westist Hotel & Spa

Istanbul. Pera, on the Galata side, which puts you next to the vintage shopping and walking distance from most of what you came for.

Check current The Westist Hotel & Spa prices

Every place we slept in Türkiye, including the four Airbnbs, is listed on our Türkiye stays page.

What We Would Do Differently

Three things, and only one of them is about money.

1. Stay in or near Alaçatı, not twenty minutes out in Çeşme.
2. Give Cappadocia three nights, not two. It was the best hotel of the trip and we had the least time in it.
3. Take the three night gulet option. The one bed we did not pay for is the one we wanted more of.

Still planning? Here is the full cost of 18 nights and the route these beds sit on.

FAQs About Where to Stay in Türkiye

How much is accommodation in Türkiye?

We averaged A$108 a night for two, or A$54 each, across sixteen paid nights in June and July. The range was A$88 in Istanbul and Antalya up to A$170 in Cappadocia.

Is it better to stay in Çeşme or Alaçatı?

Alaçatı, unless you have a car. We stayed in Çeşme twenty minutes out and it only worked because we were driving.

Are cave hotels in Cappadocia worth it?

Yes, and it is the one place in Türkiye I would tell you to spend more. Ours was A$170 a night and the rooftop view of the balloons was better than most paid experiences on the trip.

Should you stay in Bodrum town or at a resort?

The main town. It keeps normal-priced restaurants within walking distance in a place where the expensive option is always the easiest one.

Is Airbnb or Booking better in Türkiye?

We used both. Four of our seven were Airbnbs and three were hotels. Hotels are easier to recommend because the listing does not disappear, which is why the properties we name here are all hotels.