Turkey is large: Istanbul to Cappadocia is about 750 kilometres, Cappadocia to the Aegean another 600. A good itinerary is mostly about choosing what to leave out and using domestic flights where the road is long. These three plans are the routes we build most often for first-time visitors, with realistic travel times.
7 days: Istanbul and Cappadocia
Day 1: arrive in Istanbul.
Day 2: Sultanahmet: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern.
Day 3: the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, a Bosphorus cruise, Galata in the evening.
Day 4: fly to Cappadocia (about 1 hour 15 minutes to Kayseri or Nevşehir); Uçhisar and Red Valley at sunset.
Day 5: optional dawn balloon flight; Göreme Open-Air Museum, Paşabağ, Avanos.
Day 6: an underground city and a valley walk; fly back to Istanbul in the evening.
Day 7: Balat, Kadıköy or a hammam before your flight home.
The essentials, at a comfortable pace. Our Istanbul guide and Cappadocia guide cover both stops in detail.
10 days: add Pamukkale and Ephesus
Days 1–3: Istanbul, as above.
Days 4–5: Cappadocia, two nights.
Day 6: drive west via the Sultanhanı caravanserai and Konya, home of the Mevlâna Museum, to Pamukkale. It is a long day of eight hours or more on the road, broken by the stops.
Day 7: Pamukkale: the travertines and Hierapolis in the morning, then on to İzmir or Selçuk.
Day 8: Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the hill village of Şirince.
Day 9: fly from İzmir to Istanbul (about an hour); a free afternoon.
Day 10: departure.
This is the classic “Turkey in ten days” loop. If the long drive does not appeal, fly from Kayseri to İzmir via Istanbul instead and visit Pamukkale as a day trip.
14 days: add the coast or Ankara and the Aegean
Two weeks lets you either slow down or add a chapter. Two versions work well:
With the Turquoise Coast
Follow the 10-day plan to Ephesus, then drive south to Fethiye and Ölüdeniz for two or three nights of boat trips and swimming, and continue along the coast to Kekova and Antalya, flying back to Istanbul from Antalya. Best from May to October.
With Ankara, Pergamon and Troy
Drive from Istanbul to Ankara for the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, then Cappadocia, Konya, Antalya’s ancient sites (Perge and Aspendos), Pamukkale, Ephesus, Pergamon and Troy, returning to Istanbul by road. A history-rich loop that works in every season, including winter.
Tips for planning your route
Give Istanbul at least three full days and Cappadocia at least two nights; both are the most common regrets of rushed trips.
Use domestic flights for long legs: Istanbul–Cappadocia, İzmir–Istanbul, Antalya–Istanbul.
Match the route to the season: the coast in summer, Istanbul and Cappadocia all year. See our guide to the best time to visit Turkey.
Eastern Turkey deserves its own trip; see our Eastern Turkey itinerary.
Ready-made versions of these routes
Our escorted journeys follow these logics, with hotels, domestic flights, entries and an English- or French-speaking guide arranged: Six Days in the Heart of Istanbul for a city week, Turkey: Off the Beaten Path (12 days, Istanbul, Safranbolu, Cappadocia, Konya, Sagalassos and Fethiye), Highlights of Turkey in winter (14 days, the Ankara and Aegean loop) and Highlights of Turkey + Antalya (15 days with four nights all-inclusive by the sea). Every route can also run privately on your own dates.
