🌍 Travel: The 2026 Turkey Pivot: Beach, Mountains, Lakes, and a 10-Day Blitz
February 19, 2026
I’ve officially scratched Kazakhstan off the list for now. Why? Because I’m choosing "Dog Speed" over "Cargo Ship Speed." Midnight (our 85lb tripawd) is quite the cargo himself, and Turkey offers a world of beauty we can explore by road without the stress of the Caspian Sea crossing. Plus, the ship crossing is a cargo ship.
Not exactly an experience in my list.
I didn’t think Turkey would be a good place to take off on a flight back to South Korea as far as flight duration for Midnight, but it turns out it is. Midnight’s longest flight so far was the one coming here for a total of 15 1/2 hours with one layover. San Francisco —> Amsterdam —> Athens. He did really well as the service dog that he is.
Here is the 2026 game plan:
🧠 The Method: How I Plan (and why I’m skipping Istanbul)
My planning method is "Vibe over Volume." We have 2.5 months in Turkey, and while most people head to the big city, we are heading for the coast and the spine of the mountains.
The "No-Istanbul" Rule: We are skipping the crowds and the stray cat chaos of Istanbul. It’s not fair to Midnight, and honestly, we’re looking for a place where we would digital nomad, not a tourist trap.
The Scouting Mission: We’re taking a rental SUV from the south to the northern peaks. We’re looking for the "Real Turkey"—places like the Lake District (Eğirdir) and the Green North (Bolu and Artvin).
The Goal: If possible and it’s not too much detour, I want to meet builders and possibly look at properties. We're talking mountain chalets or lakeside stone houses with enough room for a giant dog and a digital nomad office. This won’t be while Josiah is with us. It would be after.
Greece Exit: Right now, I’m thinking of ferries from Athens to Rhodes (overnight), from Rhodes to Kasterollizo and then a 15-minute ferry to Kas, Turkey. That’s when we go through customs.
I don’t even know if I’ll like Turkey. Woman plans, Goddess laughs. I remain malleable.
👨👦👦 The 10-Day "Guest Star"
My second child, Josiah, is joining us from California for a 14-day blitz! (It takes him 24 hours each way, so really 12 days).
The Mission: Get him from San Francisco to Istanbul and from Istanbul to one of the spots we plan to visit. We’ll be in Turkey a week when he arrives. Stay tuned.
The Exit: He’ll fly home from one of the airports we haven’t chosen yet, while my youngest, Jovan, and I continue our slow-travel or go back to the coast.
The Deadline: I’m booking his flights tomorrow (Feb 20th). It’s the "Point of No Return" for this leg of the trip!
🐾 The Midnight Factor (The 85lb Reality)
The SUV Odyssey: To make it to the mountains on our own terms, I’m renting a rugged SUV. I’m looking for "Unlimited Mileage" deals because we’re planning to put thousands of kilometers on the clock, from the Mediterranean coast to possibly the Georgian border.
Base Camps: I have been reading about "Müstakil Ev" (Detached Houses) with yards. No stairs, no high-rise elevators—just grass and fresh mountain air for our boy. We’ll see how we like it.
📍 What’s Next?
Jovan is not able to renew his passport in the US Embassy in Athens. He does need his birth certificate that is getting apostilled as we speak. The plan changed for him to do it at the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. I, too, might be applying for the South Korea digital nomad visa from Ankara as well.
Why?
Because I was warned about the lack of understanding of entrepreneur digital nomads in South Korea making it more difficult to be approved (people get denied just because the people working there do not understand the visa themselves). I already experienced this during my three visits to the immigration office. Looks like I’ll also have to hire legal help. More on that later.
For now, I book the flights, our stay in the first two places, scout for an SUV, and start the countdown to the ferry.
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