Is 10 days enough for Turkey?
For this route, yes. For Turkey, no.
10 days in Turkey gives you just enough time to visit Istanbul, Cappadocia and the Aegean coast, at a pace where you’re not checking out of a hotel every single morning. What it doesn’t buy you is the Mediterranean coast, the Lycian Way, Mardin, Lake Van, or any of the eastern half of the country. Accept that early and the planning gets much easier.
The temptation, and I’ve watched people do this, is to squeeze Antalya or Fethiye in as well. Don’t. Adding a sixth base to a ten-day trip means two of your days become nothing but transit, and you’ll arrive at each destination way too tired.
If you only have seven days, cut Bergama and Pamukkale and do Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus. If you have fourteen, keep this route and add the coast between Selçuk and Bergama, or a couple of extra nights in Cappadocia to hike the valleys properly.
We spent 16 days travelling in Turkey and followed the same itinerary except that we did a longer road trip to-and-fro from Istanbul along the Aegean Coast and stayed in Alaçatı and Bursa before heading back to Istanbul and added an extra night in Cappadocia. The Turkey travel itinerary in this post is much more streamlined (I learn from my mistakes, after all) to save you a lot of travel time.
Best time to visit Turkey
April to May and September to October. These are the best months for Turkey. Warm enough for the coast, cool enough to walk an exposed hilltop like Pergamon or an unshaded marble site like Ephesus without giving up by 11 AM. Balloon flights in Cappadocia also have their lowest cancellation rates in these windows.
June to August is peak season and it is hot inland and on the Aegean. Ephesus has almost no shade, and the marble reflects the sun back at you. Cappadocia’s balloons fly most reliably in summer, but you’ll be sharing every viewpoint. If this is when your leave falls, it’s still doable – just start every single day at opening time and rest in the afternoon.
November to March is quiet and cheap. Cappadocia under snow is a unique treat, and the ancient sites close around 5 PM with hardly anyone in them. The trade-off is balloon cancellations, and greyer skies.
Turkey itinerary – 10-days at a glance
| Days | Base | What you see | How you get there |
| 1-3 | Istanbul | Hagia Sophia, Topkapı, Bosphorus, Grand Bazaar, Kadıköy | Fly in |
| 4-6 | Cappadocia | Balloon sunrise, Göreme Open Air Museum, valley hikes, underground cities | 1.5 hr flight from Istanbul |
| 7 | Bergama | Pergamon acropolis, Asklepion, Red Basilica | 1.5 hr flight from Kayseri to İzmir. 1.5 hr drive from İzmir airport. |
| 8 | Selçuk / Kuşadası | Ephesus, Terrace Houses, Temple of Artemis, Şirince | 2 hr drive from Bergama |
| 9 | Pamukkale | Travertine terraces, Hierapolis, Cleopatra’s Pool, Aphrodisias | 2 hr drive from Selçuk |
| 10 | Istanbul | One last Istanbul day | 2.5 hr drive from Pamukkale to İzmir airport. 1 hr flight to Istanbul. |
The itinerary doesn’t take into consideration the travel days in and out of Turkey and assumes you are ready to go from Day 1.
Days 1-3: Istanbul
Considering that you are probably jetlagged on Day 1, Istanbul is the best place in the itinerary to start with since it allows you to slow down and visit places at your own pace.
We have split the 3 days in Istanbul into the historic side, the Galata side and the Asian side. Day one is Sultanahmet, where Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace and the Basilica Cistern all sit within a fifteen-minute walk of each other. Day two crosses the Galata Bridge for the tower, İstiklal Street, and a Bosphorus ferry or sunset cruise. Day three is the bazaars in the morning and the Asian side in the afternoon.
Where to base yourself: Sultanahmet if you’re here purely to sightsee and want to walk to everything, Karaköy if you’d rather have better food and cafés and don’t mind hauling a suitcase up a hill, and Kadıköy on the Asian side if you’re staying longer than three nights.
Get an Istanbulkart to travel around in Istanbul. You can also use Uber to grab a taxi. I would not recommend renting a car here as the traffic is ridiculous and the public transport is great.
The full breakdown, including the food worth planning your day around, is in the 3-day Istanbul itinerary.
Days 4-6: Cappadocia
From Istanbul, fly to Cappadocia on the morning of day four. Flights take an hour and a half and will land at either Kayseri (ASR), about an hour from Göreme, or Nevşehir (NAV), about forty minutes. You can either take a shuttle to your hotel or if you are renting a car, pick one up at the airport.
I’d highly recommend having your own car if you want to DIY the whole Cappadocia route and not rely on tours and guides. A minimum of two days is recommended but three days is the sweet spot. Check out our complete guide to Cappadocia with things to do, where to eat, and how to do the three tours (Red, Blue and Green) on your own.
You would be spending the three days doing the three popular tours in the area – albeit on your own. After checking into your hotel on day four, visit the open air museums – Göreme Open Air Museum and Zelve, then watch the sunset from Ortahisar or Uçhisar Castle. Wake up early on day five for the balloon ride, and use the rest of the day for a hike through Rose Valley, Red Valley or Pigeon Valley. The last day will be for watching the hot air balloons rise over Love Valley followed by Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu underground city, and a walk through the Ihlara Valley.
The costs, the operators, and the honest verdict about Hot Air Balloons of Cappadocia are all in the Cappadocia balloon guide.
Day 7: Bergama
You can use the morning to get one last look at the balloons over Love Valley or use this as a backup in case your balloon got cancelled. Then, drop your rental and catch a flight (1.5 hours non-stop) to İzmir. İzmir is the best base for this part of the itinerary as it’s a central point to all of the 3 sites we’ll cover next. I would highly recommend renting a car at the airport for the next three days – it makes the entire journey much easier. It also gives you the freedom to stay in the town and visit the sites whenever you want. Other options if you can’t rent a car are given further below.
Treat Day 7 as a travel day and drive to Bergama. It takes around 1.5 hour and you can then drop the car at your hotel and walk around to some of the sights like Red Hall and Bergama Museum. The main sites – Pergamon acropolis and Asklepion, we will be visiting first thing in the morning the next day. If you are here in Bergama early, you can cover them all on the same day before they close. Stay in Bergama for the night.
Everything on getting to Bergama and what to see is in the Pergamon (Bergama) guide.
Day 8: Ephesus
Head to the Pergamon acropolis at 8:30 AM, walk around, stand atop the steepest theatre before heading towards Ephesus. It’s 2 hours to Selçuk, the base for today, which gives us the best access to the ancient site.
Ephesus is an entire city of ruins – marble streets, a huge theatre, the famous Library of Celsus and the Terrace Houses – all included in the Turkey Museum Pass which I’d highly recommend getting if you are following this itinerary. It saves you a ton of money and time that you’d otherwise waste waiting in line for the tickets.
I’d also recommend visiting other sites in the region like the Ephesus Museum, Temple of Artemis and Basilica of St John the Baptist before hitting the Ephesus ruins the first thing in the morning tomorrow.
Did you know there are two gates to Ephesus? Upper Gate is the most popular one, but if you want to see Library of Celsus with no crowds, you’d need to start at the other one. Tickets, gates and what to prioritise inside are covered in the Ephesus guide.
Day 9: Pamukkale
Hit the ruins first thing in the morning, finish up Ephesus, and then drive another 2 hours to Pamukkale. This is one of my favourite destinations in Turkey. The crystal clear waters at the travertines, the Theatre, the surprising hot air balloon sighting in the morning and some of the best food we have eaten in the whole of Turkey – all pushed it ahead of or on-par with my other favourite destination – Cappadocia.
My full thoughts on Pamukkale and how we saw it with almost no crowds is captured in my Pamukkale Guide.
If you have the time in the afternoon, I would highly recommend popping in at Aphrodisias for a more peaceful, relaxing walk amongst the ruins. The Tetrapylon is not to be missed. Don’t forget to grab a bite at our favourite restaurant in Turkey – Hiera Coffee and Tea House – while you are in Pamukkale!
Day 10: Back to Istanbul
If you follow my Pamukkale Guide, you will know that we arrived at the south entrance at 6:30 AM, had the travertines to ourselves, spent the whole morning at the Hierapolis. You can do the same. Finish up by 10, then drive back to İzmir where you will drop your rental car back and catch a flight to Istanbul. From İzmir it’s an hour’s flight back to Istanbul, and domestic arrivals connect to international departures in the same terminal at IST.
You have two ways to play this day. Either fly out of Istanbul directly or if you have the day to spare, spend the day in Istanbul and catch up on things you missed – shop, eat some baklavas and rest. You can fly out with a good night’s sleep the next day.
Getting around Turkey: flights, buses and cars
Domestic flights are needed if you are doing a 10 day Turkey itinerary. Turkish Airlines, AJet and Pegasus all fly the popular routes and fares are low if you book a few weeks out. Tip: Book the Istanbul-Cappadocia leg early since it sells out during peak seasons.
Intercity buses are also a great option. They are comfortable with reclining seats, onboard service, and run everywhere at all hours. The only catch – time. The distances you are covering are big, especially the ones mentioned in this itinerary, and though a route might look like a short hop on a map, it is usually a seven to eleven hour ride. If you are relying on public transport i.e., bus for the entire Aegean journey, you will be spending a lot of time on the bus and waiting for the bus. I would recommend skipping a city or adding a few more days to compensate.
Renting a car makes sense specifically for the Aegean stretch. Pamukkale, Selçuk, Bergama and the sites around them are spread out, they’re poorly connected to each other by public transport, and many of the good stops on that leg (Aphrodisias, Şirince, the Asklepion) are inconvenient without your own car. It makes far less sense in Istanbul, where parking is hell, the traffic is ridiculous and the tram and ferry network is excellent.
Tours / Cabs: If you are booking tours or hiring a private cab for the Aegean stretch, you can use İzmir as a base and go for day trips on all three days. You will be doing quite a bit of up-and-down between cities, but hey, at least you are not the one driving. You can also book cabs and tours for the popular sites in Cappadocia if you are not renting a car here.
Within cities, get an Istanbulkart the moment you land in Istanbul. It covers trams, buses, the metro and the ferries. The ferry across the Bosphorus is the best-value sightseeing you can get in the city.
Where to stay in Turkey (by city)
Istanbul. Stay in Sultanahmet if you want to be within walking distance to the historic sites, Karaköy or Galata for food and shopping, Kadıköy or Moda on the Asian side if you’re staying longer.
We stayed in a tiny hotel in Galata called Masterpiece Galata in the beginning of the trip and then in Karaköy at the end.
Cappadocia. If you are looking for the ultimate Cappadocia experience, choose a cave hotel with a terrace, in Göreme or Uçhisar. If cave hotels are out of your budget and if you are okay to catch the balloons elsewhere (like we were) you can choose a nice hotel in Göreme which will be much cheaper and comfortable.
Bergama or İzmir. Bergama has a handful of good guesthouses and boutique hotels near the old town, and mostly everything’s walking distance to the Red Hall and the museum. İzmir is a proper city which comes with far more options for food and accommodation.
We stayed in Akropolis Guest House, Bergama in order to reach acropolis first thing in the morning.
Selçuk or Kuşadası. Selçuk is small, walkable and a five-minute drive from Ephesus. Kuşadası has beaches, more hotels and more restaurants (and more crowd) and around 20-30 mins from Ephesus.
We stayed in Urkmez Hotel in Selçuk, walked to most of the places and then drove to Ephesus within 5 mins the next day.
Pamukkale. Stay in Pamukkale town rather than Denizli. You have plenty of options – from budget-friendly to luxury accommodations. We stayed in Bellamaritimo Hotel which was a 5 min drive from the South Entrance.
Renting a car in Turkey – our experience
Renting a car in Turkey was much easier than I expected it to be. We like to travel independently and not rely on tours or cabs, so renting a vehicle is usually our go-to while planning any itinerary. We have rented mopeds in Bali and Cambodia, tried to rent a car in South Korea and we are always apprehensive about the rules and permits in a different country. But, Turkey, was surprisingly easy. The rental companies easily accepted our Indian driving licenses (no IDP was required), and handed over the cars. The rental prices were also decent. The cars also come pre-equipped with HGS (equivalent to FastTag) and the toll costs are tracked and later collected when you drop off the car.
Our first experience renting was in Cappadocia, where we went with Avec car rentals. It took some time getting used to driving on the other side of the road, but the roads in Cappadocia are great. The traffic is nowhere near to what it is in India, so it was pretty easy to drive everywhere.
Next for the Aegean stretch, we did an on-the-spot rental at the Istanbul International Airport (IST), again with Avec. No cars were available in most of the car rental companies, and we had to choose the only one that had a spare car. Don’t be like us and leave this up to fate – book in advance.
Driving out of Istanbul was an experience (would not recommend), but once outside of Istanbul city limits, it was smooth-sailing. The roads are amazing, people follow lane discipline and it’s such a joy to drive. Our path was Istanbul – Bergama – Selçuk – Pamukkale – Aphrodisias – Alaçatı – Bursa – Istanbul. We had the days to spare and we thought we would be tired driving the long stretch between Pamukkale and Istanbul and planned for two additional days in Alaçatı and Bursa. This was our second mistake. Alaçatı is a resort town near Çeşme and while the town itself was charming, the people were unfriendly, the roads were narrow and everything was super expensive. Vegetarian options in the town are very limited. We mostly ended up relaxing in our hotel the whole while – totally a skippable town. Bursa was another mistake – it was a nightmare to drive in (I would say it’s worse than Istanbul) and there’s nothing to do in the town. We were also here on the eve of Eid so everything was super crowded.
That’s why I’ve modified this Turkey itinerary to forego the long unnecessary roadtrip from Istanbul, especially when you have a direct flight to İzmir from Cappadocia. Just fly to İzmir and do a shorter roadtrip from İzmir to the three places of interest and fly out. You will save time, money and a lot of headache.
