Turkey is a country that is so rich in history and culture. From the Ancient Greeks, to the Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans, numerous civilizations and religions have called this place home. It also has immense natural beauty as dramatic mountains meet the tranquil and blue Mediterranean. The food is also world class. Anyone that’s a fan of meats grilling on a stick, fresh seafood, and meze will love Turkey.
I had just under two weeks in this country which I thought gave me a good amount of time to see the country. I think one to two weeks is enough to do the country some justice, with a preference to two weeks of course. There’s a lot more to Turkey than just Istanbul.
In total, our trip was 13 days and included the following highlights. This itinerary would work for someone with even 10 days to spare. You’ll just need to condense accordingly.
- Istanbul
- Cappadocia
- Izmir/Kusadasi & Ephesus
- Pammukale
- Fethiye
- Olu Deniz
If you’re curious about the safety situation in Turkey, make sure to read my Is Turkey Safe to visit guide!
Full Itinerary for Turkey
Below is my map laying out exactly how I traveled around Turkey during my two weeks. I used a combination of flights, buses, and day tours to get around from place to place. Of course there are numerous methods to organize a trip around fabulous Turkey and this is just merely how I did mine.
If you’re not looking to plan anything yourself, there are numerous travel agents that can take care of this for you. I would recommend One Nation travel that specializes in Turkey vacation packages. They organize day trips, multi-day trips, and entire trips around Turkey that made my trip easier to navigate. Click here to book on www.onenationtravel.com
Detailed Posts
Concerned about the safety in Turkey? You’re probably not the only person either. No worries, read my detailed post about whether Turkey is safe to travel or not.
Day 1 to 4: Exploring Istanbul
After landing in Ataturk International Airport, we took a cab to our Airbnb in the Taksim Square area of Istanbul. We spent the first three nights exploring this wonderful city that straddles Europe and Asia. An alternative option is to fly straight to another Turkish destination like Cappadocia and save Istanbul for the end. Either option will suffice but I’m a fan of saving the relaxing part of the trip for the end (Olu Deniz).
Istanbul is a big city with so much to see. The area between Taksim Square to Sultanahmet is the main tourist grid. Here you’ll find attractions like Taksim Square, The Blue Mosque, Basilica, Hagia Sofia, The Grand Bazaar and more. I wouldn’t have minded an extra day here as there is just too much to see and eat. I didn’t even make it to the Asian side of the city!
Much of the city is organized in a disorderly angular grid making it very difficult to figure out directions. We only managed to find the restaurants and bars we wanted to see because of Google Maps (thank god).
Sultanmahet District
Sultanmahet is the main historical area of Istanbul; the old part of the city. All the famous mosques and churches are congregated in this area and all walking distance from one another. The main points of interest here are the Blue Mosque, Ayasofya, Topkapi Palace, and the Basilica Cistern. The Ayasofia is closed on Sundays, and Topkapi Palace is closed Tuesdays. When visiting the inside of any mosque in Istanbul, it is required to take off your shoes and women must cover their heads (any scarf will suffice).
Blue Mosque
Built in 1616, the Blue Mosque’s name comes from the blue tiles in its interior and is one of the most visited and photographed sights of Istanbul. The Blue Mosque is an active mosque and closes 30 minutes before and after the five daily prayer sessions. Safe to say the Blue Mosque was my favorite attraction in Istanbul as the view from outside its gates are just spectacular and allows for some quality selfies to be taken. It does draw massive crowds of tourists however so it’s best to get there early in the morning.
Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia)
Once a Basilica during the Byzantine era, it was converted into an imperial Mosque during Ottoman Rule and has been a museum since 1935. This is the most visited tourist site in Istanbul and is right across the way from the Blue Mosque. Unlike the Blue mosque, this museum has an entrance fee of 25L but is a no brainer, must pay, fee to see this place. The inside is nothing short of incredible.
This spacious Byzantine era masterpiece turned Mosque turned museum is something words can’t describe. While the outside looks similar to its Blue Mosque neighbor, the inside is completely different. The architecture still feels somewhat Basilica-like but there are Arabic inscriptions everywhere making it likely the only building in the world with so much Christian and Islamic influences.
Basilica Cistern
Built in the Byzantine times, this underground basilica, yes underground, is one of several of its kind in Istanbul. I wasn’t sure that this was at first but was instructed that we had to go. The entrance is unassuming as it is just a small house but as you descend the steps to the basilica, wow what an amazing sight.
The columns and overall structure of the basilica are still very intact. The basilica was used as a water filtration system in the old days and provided water to the Topkapi palace and even into modern times. The entire sight is covered in water with fish swimming in it but there are plenty of walking paths. Lights have been added in modern times to beautifully illuminate this place allowing for some amazing pictures and views. Entrance is 15L.
Day 4-6: Cappadocia
Cappadocia is one of the most popular places in Turkey. It’s famous for its aerial views of the rock chimneys from the hundreds of hot air balloons. There is an overnight bus option from Istanbul that drops you off near Goreme (the main town within Cappadocia). We elected for the flights to the nearby city of Kayseri as they were very cheap (100 TRY 1 day).
Cappadocia is also famous for its cave hotels. We booked a 2 night stay at the Erenby Cave Hotel. Would highly recommend staying in one of these hotels! In olden times, the people of this region fashioned houses into the rocks here to hide from Roman soldiers. Nowadays, they’ve since been turned into hotels and Airbnbs.
Hot air ballooning
The highlight of this area is the hot air balloon tour. Not doing a hot air balloon tour here is like not visiting the pyramids in Cairo. It was as amazing as the pictures looked and I probably should have gone a second time because why not? There are hundreds of agencies selling tours in town and almost all of them will try to rip you off by charging obscene rates like 150 euros per person. Make sure to ask around for the best rates as it should be no more than $100 per person.
There are a handful of other tours that go to the surrounding areas of Goreme. I would also highly recommend doing at least one of these tours. They are color coded; red, blue, and green tours. I opted for the Green tour but if time permits, do the others ones as well!
Two nights in Cappadocia is sufficient to see some of the highlights of the town, especially if you’re leaving late on the last day. Ideally, I would have liked to have at least 2 full days here, or three nights. The cave hotels alone are worth it!
Day 6-8: Ephesus and Pamukkale
From Cappadocia, we took a direct flight from Kayseri to Izmir via Pegasus Air. From Izmir, we took a taxi to the port town of Kusadasi, which would be the base of operations for us to explore the nearby highlights of Ephesus and Pamukkale. We stayed at an amazing hotel at Charisma De Luxe with great views of the Aegean
Ephesus is one of the largest and most well preserved ancient Roman cities in the world. Archaeologists are still discovering new ruins so expect the ruins to be more grandiose every time you visit. We took a day tour to Ephesus which can be booked just about anywhere. The Turkish take their tourism seriously and you will always have a hundred different operators giving you a thousand different options. We also stopped at the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. There isn’t much of it left sadly as it was destroyed long ago.
Pamukkale
We went to Pamukkale the second day to observe its beautiful salt pools. The surreal, brilliant white travertine terraces are filled with warm soothing mineral water making this a popular destination for all tourists. Pamukkale is also home to the ancient Roman city of Hierapolis, an attraction in its own right. While not as impressive as Ephesus, there is still plenty to see.
I wasn’t quite as impressed with this part of my trip. The pictures I saw outclassed the actual salt pools. There were also thousands of people here but that could have just been the time of year we came. Also, given the current geopolitical landscape in Turkey, tourism numbers are likely down.
Day 9-13: Fethiye and Olu Deniz
The last leg of the trip was spent in the Lycian peninsula in southern Turkey. This area is highlighted by it’s beautiful jagged mountains, and impossibly turquoise seas. The most famous attraction in Olu Deniz is by far the paragliding from the top of Babadag mountain. This is one of the highest paragliding destinations in the world at over 2km high. The ride lasted a good 5 minutes in the air. The views of the ocean and surrounding scenery was unforgettable. There are also some absolutely stunning hotels in Olu Deniz with great views of the Bay.
In addition, there are a number of tours we took here as well. The 12 islands tour visits a number of the nearby islands (12 in total) and is well worth the trip. We also took a tour of the famous Blue Lagoon. There are also ferries that run daily to the Greek island of Rhodes. This is a perfect day trip from Olu Deniz. Sadly, those boats only run after Easter, which was after our stay.
If this is all too much, the beach is quite nice here as well!
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Land in Istanbul, explore town
Day 2: More Istanbul Exploration
Day 3: Istanbul continued
Day 4: Istanbul in the morning, flight to Cappadocia in the afternoon
Day 5: Early morning hot air balloon tour, Green tour in the afternoon
Day 6: Cappadocia blue tour in morning, Fly to Izmir at night
Day 7: Day tour around Ephesus
Day 8: Day tour to Pamukkale
Day 9: Take bus to Fethiye, check out Fethiye in the afternoon
Day 10: Olu Deniz
Day 11: Olu Deniz
Day 12: Olu Deniz
Day 13: Fly back to Istanbul via Dalaman
If I had another day or two , it would have been perfect. I would have done the following:
- One more night in Cappadocia
- one more night in Kusadasi
On the other hand, I think this itinerary can also be done in 10-11 days by doing the following
- One less night in Istanbul or 1 less night in Cappadocia
- Immediately after the Pamukkale tour, take a bus to Fethiye as it’s much closer than from Izmir
Continue Reading:
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- A Perfect Travel Guide For Ephesus and Pamukkale, Turkey
- Is Turkey Safe To Travel?
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Hi,Jonny how are you? Please help me to organise a itinerary for8-10days in Turkey travel. I would like to travel Istanbul,Cappadocia,pamukkhee and Ephesus. Please suggest me the type of transportation also for different places.Thanks in advance.
Just follow the itinerary on this page mate.
Hi! I am planning a two-week trip to Turkey and I was thinking how could I possibly visit all the must-see places. I think I will use your guide! Thanks!
Hi – for families with kids and grandparents, would you recommend Antalya or Olu Deniz? We can only do one of these, so I’m curious what you’d recommend? Thanks,
Hi siddharth, would Def recommend olu deniz for kids! Lots of things suitable for adults and kids in that town!
Hi Johnny, I had another query – When you took the balloon ride in Cappadocia, where did you take it from? Do you recollect the company’s name?
You mentioned that it shouldn’t cost more than $100, and that the other travel companies overcharge.
Hi Cyrus, I went on my trip 4 years ago and it seems like prices have adjusted since then. I dont see anything under 130 euros now so that is perhaps the best rate out there. Last resort, I would book a guesthouse in Cappadocia and see if the owners have some preferential rate they can give you. They will usually have some sort of connection for these type of things. Worst case, at least you pay everything else in Lira which is at all time lows right now 🙂
Hi johnny, I wanted to ask you which hotel you stayed in at Kusadasi? Any top recommendations?
Hi Cyrus! We stayed st the charisma deluxe in kusadasi. Highly recommended!
Hi Johnny, very helpful writeup and was just what I was looking for! I’m curious but did you feel unsafe at any point in Turkey? I would imagine it is just like any other country in the world but wanted to get your first hand view of it. Cheers!
Hi Martin, I did indeed feel safe the entire time I was in Turkey. Like pretty much any other city in the world, as soon as I got out of Istanbul, I felt liek the people were much friendlier as well. But in no capacity did I feel unsafe at any point. When we arrived in Oludeniz via the bus from Fethiye, it was completely deserted as their tourism season doesn’t start up until after Easter. We had no idea how to get to our hotel and someone ended up walking us 20 minutes to our hotel! People went out of their way to help us when we were lost.