Hotels
Cappadocia's cave hotels are the essential stay: rooms carved into the rock in Göreme and Uçhisar, many with terraces facing the sunrise balloons. Book months ahead for spring and autumn.
Istanbul's grand old hotels (Pera Palace, Çırağan Kempinski, Four Seasons Sultanahmet) are worth a stay for the buildings alone. In Sultanahmet you walk to the sights; in Beyoğlu you live the nightlife.
The Mediterranean and Aegean coasts run on resorts: book the beach towns (Antalya, Bodrum, Fethiye) early for July and August.
Alternatives
Pensions (pansiyon) are the family-run guesthouses of the coasts and Cappadocia: cheap, personal, often with home cooking.
Apart hotels suit longer stays in Istanbul and Izmir. Hostels cover the main backpacker stops well.