Turkey Itinerary 10 days

Turkey is one of those places that is probably not on your bucket list, probably you have never thought of traveling there, or at least, this was our case. However, we are sure that you will never meet someone that has been in Turkey and does not highly recommend going there. .

Turkey has so much to visit and discover, it is full of history and since it is half in Europe and half in Asia it has a quite exciting mixture of cultures going on there. In addition, it was the end of the silk pas, so a lot of ancient civilizations have settled down in Turkey. We did not expect at all to find so much history on the road but let me tell you, it is one of the most complete countries we have ever been to.

In 10 days we were able to see the most important things in Turkey. We did a bus tour that, even though being quite hard for the long horse on the road, was interesting to see countryside villages, gas stations and all the animals from the window. We did a round trip all around the country which was very nice because we got to enjoy all the different parts of Turkey. from south to north.

Our ten days Turkey itinerary can help you to design the best trip. Remember, Turkey is a big country, but if you just have 10 days there, you’ll still have plenty of time to see many of the most well-known sights.. You’ll have time to visit multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites, experience Turkey’s most modern cities, awe at its ancient archaeological sites, unwind on its beaches, shop at its traditional bazaars, and take in its beautiful scenery. Some of Turkey’s most well-known and iconic locations are included in this itinerary, along with some lesser-known locations.

What is this Turkey 10 days itinerary about?

In today’s post, we’ll outline a 10-day plan for visiting Turkey, not only Istanbul but also all around the country including Ankara, the capital; Capadocia, Efeso and Esmirna.

We are confident that this 10 days Turkey itinerary will help you in planning your trip.

Short list of the itinerary

Day 1: Arrive at Istanbul
Day 2: Istanbul
Day 3: Istanbul
Day 4: Ankara
Day 5: Capadocia
Day 6: Capadocia
Day 7: Capadocia
Day 8: Efeso
Day 9: Esmirna
Day 10: Back home

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 1

We flew from Barcelona to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines and it was an amazing experience. The airplane is very comfortable in economy and the food was the best we’ve ever had on a plane.

Once we arrived at the airport we had our guide waiting for us outside so we just needed to go to the 8th door and look for our names. This was so relaxing, not having to take a bus or taxi. However, we will make a post for you in case you prefer to go on your own.

We chose to sleep in the old part of the city, which is the southern one. Maybe you will read that the northern part is better because it is more modern. We really believe that the northern part is better for living, but for travelers the south is where you need to be. All the tourist locations and ancient parts of Istanbul are here so you will be everywhere on a walking distance.

We used this first day as a relaxing day. We went to a Hammam, as you can read in our post which was amazing. And then we just walked through random streets until the time to have dinner came, we ate kebab with pistachio, a good Turkish ice cream and we went to bed. We were so tired!!

Çemberlitas Hamami

Our first stop after going to the hotel could not be other than a Turkish Bath, also called Hamam. We have a friend living in Istanbul and she recommended this one, in addition it was just a 15 minutes walk from our hotel so it was perfect.

The Çemberlitaş Hamamı is a historic Turkish bath that is going to be built on the coast of Divan Yolu, a processional road that dates back to the Byzantine era that led to Rome, in the Çemberlitaş neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. Usually attributed to Mimar Sinan, it was built in 1584.

We have made a post about our experience because the man and woman experience in this types of locales are quite different so maybe you want to read it before deciding if you want to go or not.

Çemberlitas Neighborhood

After this hammam experience, we walked a little bit around the neighborhood and we enjoyed it a lot, we could see the blue mosque at night which is very interesting actually.

After the walk, we took the tram and went to the upper part of the city where our friend was waiting for us to have an amazing dinner. We had dinner at this very special restaurant called Hamdi restaurant eminonü where we tasted an amazing variety of kebab, one with tomato, one with yogurt and our favorite, one with pistachios. The views from the upper floor are amazing and at night especially with all the lights it is quite romantic. We highly recommend coming here.

We were staying at the PYRA SPORT HOTEL which we recommend a lot. Here we really want you to understand that a 5 star hotel in Turkey is like a 3 star in Europe or America, so imagine what a 3 star hotel looks like here. We have written this post “where to sleep in turkey” to help you choose between the options.

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 2

Our second day started very early, we had a very pleasant breakfast at the hotel and we started our day.

Balat neighborhood

Our first stop was at the Balat Neighborhood which is a very colorful set of streets full of cafes and colored houses from the Ottoman Empire. We highly recommend you to walk around a little bit, each street has its own magic. In addition to the colorful houses, at the top of the hill you will find a school that kind of looks like Hogwarts. It was for the catholic kids at the ottoman empire but now is a boarding school.

Species Bazar

Entering the Spice Bazaar or Egyptian Bazaar to browse its many and varied stalls selling spices, typical sweets, and nuts, is another of the best things to do in Istanbul

Located very close to the Galata Bridge and shaped like an L, this old covered market is perfect for testing your senses thanks to the diversity of colors, smells and flavors that are concentrated in this small space.

In addition to buying spices of all kinds and trying the sweets, before buying them, it is a good place to buy herbal teas and Turkish coffee, as well as perfumes and oils. We bought Turkish Delish here and they are amazing, we still have some left.

Bosforo Cruise

One of the best experiences you can have in Istanbul is to enjoy a romantic cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, which separates Europe from Asia.

These boats that usually leave from the Kabatas pier, located in the port, allow you to enjoy privileged views of both sides of the strait, where monuments such as the Maiden’s Tower, the Dolmabahce Palace and the Mosque of Ortaköy, while the sky is dyed orange if you choose the sunset option.

We decided to choose one at midday and to get off the cruise in the Asian part and spend the rest of the day visiting this area of Istanbul. We highly recommend doing so because this cruise lasts 2 hours and once you get to the Asian part you still have to get back to the European part and it can get a little bit hard on yourself. However, going down on the Asian part and doing some tourist visits, leave you a lot of time to be able to enjoy the trip again once you jump on another boat to get back to the European time.

Beylerbeyi Palace

Once we got off of the ship, we went directly to the Beylerbeyi Palace. The entrance is just 6€ and it includes an audio guide which helps you a lot to go through the palace. It is a must, the garden is so pretty and it has sea views which makes it even better. It is from the Ottoman Empire and everything is very well conserved, even the ropes and rugs.

As soon as we stepped out of the building, we took a bus to the upper part of the hill. There, we will later find the SUltan SUleiman Mosque but first we wanted to eat something. The thing was that we couldn’t find any restaurant in the surroundings of the mosque so we decided to go a little bit deeper into the local streets and we found the jewel of Istanbul! We found a local restaurant that was more like a mixture between a butcher shop and a bar, where we got to choose the meat we wanted and even though the owner didn’t speak any English we managed to understand each other very well. It was the best drum we have ever tasted and it was just 6€ the two of us with 3 Orange Fanta. If we could come back to Istanbul, this will be for sure our first place to visit.

Sultan Suleiman Mosque

After eating something, we went back to this mosque. Usually tourists do not visit it because it is quite far from everything else. However it is very special for so many reasons: the architect was a woman and the most curious thing is that she wanted this mosque to have 6 minarets but that was not allowed because the mecca had 6 and any other mosque could. She did not find this to be a problem and she build the mosque with minarets, one for each islam pillar, and another one as a gift for the mecca, which now has 7 minarets.

Inside we had a great time, since it is not very touristic, you can really experience it as a local. The peace you feel inside it is out of this world.

Later, we just walked around the Asian part a little bit and then we took a boat to get to the European part again.

Basilica cistern

Once we arrived again to the old part of European Istanbul, we went directly to the Basilica Cistern, another must visit when you visit Istanbul.

If you are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and have a bit of tranquility, there is nothing better than going down to the Basilica Cistern, built by Emperor Justinian the Great in 532 BC. and another of the essential things to do in Istanbul.

This submerged palace, supported by 335 imposing 9-meter-high columns, was used to supply the Topkapi Palace and other important buildings, in case of water shortage or siege. Among its curiosities, its two columns stand out, which are based on a Medusa head and which serves as a stage for music concerts, thanks to its fantastic acoustics.

We rested a little bit at the hotel and then we went out to eat something at a restaurant near the Hammam we visited the day before. It was a little bit expensive but so yummy!!!

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 3

We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel. Today we had a lot of things to do, and some of them were very exciting.

Santa Sofia

Santa Sophia of Constantinople (Greek: Άγια Σοφία, Agia Sofia; Turkish: Ayasofya) is an Orthodox Christian church located in Istanbul that was converted into a mosque until 2022 when it was reconverted to church again. During a period of time it was neither a church or a mosque, but it was a museum. It is considered the greatest exponent of Eastern Roman architecture and a turning point in the history of architecture.

It is incredibly beautiful and a must visit, but in our opinion, it is too full of tourists. The outside however, is full of locals and it is quite a good place to spend some time eating corn or drinking tea.

Topkapi Palace

Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı in Turkish, literally the Palace of the Cannon Gate — because it is located near a gate of that name), located in Istanbul, was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1465 to 1853. The construction The palace was ordered by Sultan Mehmed II in 1459 and completed in 1465. The palace is located on the Sarayburnu, between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, from where you have a splendid view of the Bosphorus. It is made up of many small buildings built together and surrounded by four courtyards.

We spend 3 hours there, but if you want, you can spend the whole morning and you will have to leave things without looking anyway. It is amazing.

The palace is built following the rules of Turkish secular architecture, being its maximum example. It is a complex network of buildings, linked by patios or gardens, the total area of the complex being 700,000 m², surrounded by a Byzantine wall.

In 1853, Sultan Abdulmecid decided to move his residence to the newly built and modern Dolmabahçe Palace. Currently, the Topkapi is a museum of the imperial era, being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Istanbul.

After visiting the Topkapi Palace, we went to the Sultanahmet area to eat something. We tried the yogurt kebab, it is quite nice but mostly curious. We recommend giving it a try!

Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It also attracts a large number of tourists and is one of the most iconic and popular monuments of Ottoman architecture.

If you can, visit it also at night, the lights make it even more magical than during the day. Its location is perfect to go before dinner since the neighborhood is full of restaurants and nice parks.

The mosque has a classical Ottoman layout with a central dome surrounded by four semi-domes over the prayer hall. It is fronted by a large courtyard and flanked by six minarets. On the inside, it is decorated with thousands of Iznik tiles and painted floral motifs in predominantly blue colors, which give the mosque its popular name. The mosque’s külliye (religious complex) includes Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasa, and several other buildings in various states of preservation.

The mosque was built next to the former Hippodrome and stands across from the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist site. The Blue Mosque was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1985 under the name of “Historic Areas of Istanbul”.

Hippodrome

The Hippodrome of Constantinople (Greek: Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, romanized: Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; Latin: Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; Turkish: Hipodrom), was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (Turkish: Sultanahmet Meydanı).

The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (ἵππος), horse, and dromos (δρόμος), path or way. For this reason, it is sometimes also called Atmeydanı (“Horse Square”) in Turkish. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.

It is a nice place to walk, you can see a lot of things nearby, but it is nothing out of this world, for us, it is just worth visiting for its location. If it was far from other tourist attractions we would not bother going there.

The big bazar

Any self-respecting traveler cannot leave the city without haggling like there was no tomorrow for a rug, a lantern, a piece of jewelry, a tea set or a wooden box of Turkish delight in one of the more than 4,000 shops from the Grand Bazaar, one of the most emblematic places to see in Istanbul.

Considered one of the largest and oldest in the world, this 80-street market is the perfect place to test your haggling skills and pick up loads of souvenirs for friends and family.

Let yourself discover every street, lose yourself in there, but be careful! because you might get actually lost and it can be hard to find the exit!

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 4

Today was a hard day, we had a lot of hours ahead of us in a bus full of people. It is quite exhausting but it is worth it after all.

Bolu

Bolu is located on the old highway between Istanbul and Ankara, which goes up Mount Bolu, while the new highway passes through the tunnel on the same mountain, under the city.

We saw it through the bus’s windows and it is very beautiful, everything is green and you can see a lot of horses and cows. It is a refreshment halfway to Ankara.

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country’s second largest city after Istanbul. It was known as Angora or Engürü until 1930, during the classical and Hellenistic period as Ancira (Latin ANCЎRA, Greek Άγκυρα). In Europe it was known as Angora and famous for the local sheep that produced the Angora wool (tiftik in Turkish). Another peculiar thing were the local long-haired cats (Angora cats).

If you are a Messi fan or a Tiktok user you have heard the Ankara Messi video. Well in reality it has nothing to do with the city of Ankara, discover the meaning in this article we made.

Ataturk’s mausoleum

Here, we visited Ataturk’s Mausoleum, it is very big and quite amazing. However, if you can, avoid coming to Ankara and go directly to Cappadocia, it is not worth it coming here just for this visit.

Citadelle

Ankara Castle is an historic fortification constructed in or after the 7th century. The earliest fortification on the site was constructed in the 8th century BC by the Phrygians and rebuilt in 278 BC by the Galatians. The castle was rebuilt or renovated under the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman empires.

It has impressive views and it is pretty well conserved. The castle is quite nice but the most amazing area is the citadelle. You can walk through the streets and everything is pretty much as it was centuries ago. There are some shops with quite cheap souvenirs, so do not miss this part of Ankara!

Ankara city center

We ended up spending the afternoon walking around Ankara. It is quite similar to Istanbul but more chaotic. If you plan to go to Ankara, it is a must, but do not come just for this, because there is nothing you have not seen in Istanbul.

We slept at the NEW PARK HOTEL. It is very well located and the food was interesting. Nothing out of this world.

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 5

Today we also had breakfast really early and started the second part of the road trip. We were headed to Cappadocia but we stopped at Salt Lake to take some photos.

Tuz Gölü

Turkey has one of the biggest salt lakes in the world. If you are traveling in Summer it is very impressive because all the water has evaporated and all you can see is an infinity salt white landscape.

Lake Tuz (Turkish: Tuz Gölü meaning ‘Salt Lake’) is the second largest lake in Turkey with its 1,665 km2 (643 sq mi) surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, 105 km (65 mi) northeast of Konya, 150 km (93 mi) south-southeast of Ankara and 57 km (35 mi) northwest of Aksaray. In recent years, Lake Tuz has become a hotspot for tourists. In October 2021, Lake Tuz dries up completely in summer.

Goreme

We spent most of the day on the road and, once we got to the hotel at 6pm, we decided to take a taxi to Goreme center and walk a little bit. If you have the time, this is one of the most pretty cities we stayed on during this road trip in Turkey.

Here we experienced a typical Turkish haircut, it was definitely an experience!!! These are the types of things that, when you have the opportunity, you should definitely do while traveling.

The city is full of little brown houses and from each street you can see the mountain landscape,

We took again a taxi and eat something at the hotel before going directly to sleep. Our hotel was the RAMADA BY WYNDHAM, we highly recommend this hotel if you want to relax yourself and not be at the center of Goreme but at the same time, be near it.

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 6

We woke up at 4am to do one of the most famous and exciting activities you can do in Turkey, taking a hot air balloon in Cappadocia. Here we attach our post about why you should definitely do it.

Göreme

After sleeping one hour after the balloon and having breakfast, we went to Göreme to discover the monasteries that were built on the volcanic mountains by catholics while they were running away from the Romans and Greks who were trying to eliminate Catholicism. They are a must visit.

After the eruption of Mount Erciyes about 2.6 million years ago, ash and lava formed soft rocks in the Cappadocia region, covering a region of about 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 sq mi). The softer rock was eroded by wind and water, leaving the hard cap rock on top of pillars, forming the present-day fairy chimneys. People of Göreme, at the heart of the Cappadocia region, realized that these soft rocks could be easily carved out to form houses, churches, and monasteries. These Christian sanctuaries contain many examples of Byzantine art from the post-iconoclastic period. These frescos are a unique artistic achievement from this period.

Most of them are free, you just have to pay the entrance to the area and then you walk through them. There is one monastery, the Saint Jorge Monastery, that you can only visit if you pay the equivalent of 3€, definitely a must. The frescos here are so well preserved that you will be astonished.

Güvercinlik valley

One thing we were not expecting to like this much is the Güvercinlik valley. Guvercinlik Vadisi as it is locally known, derives its name from the thousands of pigeon houses that have been meticulously carved into the rocky cliffs over centuries. Once crucial to the region’s agricultural fertility, these houses today stand as a proud testament to the ingenious harmony between man and nature that this region epitomizes.

It is not only a valley full of history but also an amazing landscape and sunset point. It is true, it is full of pigeons but they are not going to come to you if you don’t give them food which is nice for those of you who are scared.

Artisan jewelry store

Before going to the subterranean city, we stopped at an artisan jewelry store where we could learn all about all the precious stones that can be found in Turkey. They really have amazing pieces there!

Here we learned about the Zultanite. This unique gem already shows its noble origin from the name, bringing to mind the Sultans, sovereigns of the Ottoman Empire. The etymology could not be more appropriate to describe a wonder of nature like Zultanite. The gemological name of this gem is “Diasporus” which derives from the Greek word “diaspora” or “dispersion”.

Zultanite is one of the rarest and most transparent gems of the Diaspore family. Their colorations range from yellow, cognac, red to pink. The more intense red tones must be attributed to the high concentration of manganese. Like Alexandrite, Zultanite has an impressive ability to change color, depending on the light under which it is observed.

The best quality Zultanite is extracted from a single location in the world: in the imposing highlands of Anatolia, 1,200 meters above sea level. The deposit is located near the Turkish town of Selimiye and its extraction began in the mid-80s of the 20th century.

Subterranean city

Definitely an amazing experience if you love conspiracy theories, it is a must but you have to have a lot of imagination down there. Here we attach our post about this subterranean city where you can learn more about it before going.

Turkish party

After having dinner we went to a Turkish party. It was mostly a tourist thing but it was really funny. We could enjoy some of the typical dances and enjoyed the company of other tourists which was, again, very funny.

Here we tasted Raki, you can learn everything about it in our post.

We slept at the same hotel as the day before, it is a quite cute hotel in the middle of nowhere but at the same time not so far from Goreme.

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 7

We woke up and started a long road trip again. This time we would be stopping two times at gas stations, again incredible compared with the ones we are used to seeing in Spain.

Pamukkale

Our first stop was Pamukkale, which with permission from Cappadocia, is the main tourist attraction in the Anatolia region. A true fantasy, the work of geology and part of the hand of man, which attracts millions of visitors every year.

It is a geological formation of natural pools with immaculate white salt structures and with waters of an intense emerald green color that pour, like an immense stone waterfall, towards the valley below. It really looks like a cotton castle.

They are located under the city of Hierapolis, which during classical antiquity experienced great splendor thanks to the thermal waters that come directly from the earth, at temperatures between 35ºC and 100ºC.

Here you can visit the Cleopatra pool, a natural pool where ancient temple column where drowned. Here, you can not only observe and swim with column marble from the ancient city of Hierapolis, but you can also swim at the same place that Cleopatra swam years ago.

Hierapolis

Located above the geological complex of Pamukkale is the ancient city of Hierapolis. Both places are closely linked by History. In fact, if the classical Greeks founded this population center here it was to take advantage of the medicinal benefits of the thermal waters.

Thus, King Eumenes II of Pergamon signed the foundation of this city at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. It was named Hierapolis as a tribute to Hiera, queen of the Amazons, according to Hellenistic mythology.

Hierapolis underwent a refoundation with the arrival of the Romans, who exploited it during the imperial era as one of the most desired places for vacations of their notables. And so it continued, until in the year 1354 it was destroyed by a great earthquake.

Fortunately, despite the oblivion that covered it for several centuries, successive excavations have discovered a good part of the structure of the city and its most notable buildings.

In summer, the complex opens between 6 and 8am, depending on the entrance chosen (south, north or central) and closes at 9pm.

In winter, the ticket offices close at 7:30pm, although depending on the natural light the visit can be extended a little longer.

This day we sleep at a hotel in Pamukkale to not drive directly to Efeso because it would had been too much. Our hotel was COLOSSAE SPA HOTEL, a very cute hotel, we just have enough time to eat something and sleep and it did its job.

Turkey Itinerary 10 days - DAY 8

Breakfast and again.. on the road!! Today we went to Efeso, a MUST visit, trust us, you cannot miss it.

Ephesus

Ephesus was a town in ancient Asia Minor, in modern-day Turkey. It was one of the twelve Ionian cities on the shores of the Aegean Sea, located between the northern end of Panayr Dağ (the ancient Mount Pion) and the mouth of the Caístro River and had a port called Panormo. To the east were the hill of Ayasoluk, with the valley at its foot, and the current city of Selçuk, near the sea, Mount Pion and Mount Coreso (present-day Bulbul Dagh), in the lower part of which the ancient city was located. It has been registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 2015.

Here you can see the whole city, the streets, parts of temples, fountains, statues, even a two-floor library (Celso’s Library), the ágora and two big coliseums. It really feels like you have traveled in time.

Virgin Mary’s house

The House of the Virgin Mary is a religious site near Ephesus, seven kilometers from Selçuk, where, according to local tradition, the apostle Saint John, fleeing persecution in Jerusalem, carried the Virgin Mary after the crucifixion of Christ until her blessed Assumption, according to Catholics.

The German nun Anne Catherine Emmerick would have had a vision of Mary, in her house, without having visited the place, whose description was later published by the writer Clemens Brentano. Since its discovery at the end of the 19th century, the place has been a destination for Christian and Muslim pilgrims.

It is quite interesting even if you are not religious. If you have time enough, we do recommend going.

Beach

We drove a little bit more to Izmirna and once we got to the hotel we went to the beach. It is not an amazing beach nor does it have cristal water, but it does the job if you are tired as we were.

We stayed at the HAMPTON BY HILTON hotel. It is not a bad hotel, but neither is it luxurious. We do not recommend staying here if you have other options.