From Mediterranean beaches to craggy mountains, with over 8,000 kilometers of coastline and landscapes, Turkey is a geographically diverse country that forms part of Europe and the Middle East.
This is my personalized 24-day Turkey itinerary, which aims to guide you through some of the main tourist attractions it offers. The travel guide starts and ends in Istanbul – Contact us.
All details mentioned in the Travel Guide to Turkey – 24 Days Itinerary were current as of the date of writing in May 2024.
Arrival at Istanbul International Airport. The hotel was located in Taksim Square, a very popular tourist area close to the famous street Istiklal Caddesi.
In the morning, I enjoyed a cup of tea with honey and walked around Istiklal Caddesi.
Walk and eat around Istiklal Caddesi and Taksim Square. Visit the Eyüp–Piyerloti Aerial Cable Car to enjoy scenic views of Istanbul. Then, visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque in the same area. Travel back to Taksim Square to visit the St. Anthony of Padua Church, Galata Tower (under renovation at the time of visit), and the Arasta Bazaar. At the end of the day, you can enjoy an Adana kebab dish.
Enjoy a Turkish breakfast in the morning. Visit Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. I reserved a skip-the-line visit, but it is not worth it since you can easily buy a ticket at the place and wait less time in the line. It consists of the ground floor, which only Muslims can enter because it is the prayer hall, and the top floor, where you will find classical Ottoman architecture. The ground floor is free entry, while for the top floor, you must pay a ticket with different prices for locals and tourists. Then, I visited the Basilica Cistern, for which it was worth it to book tickets in advance because it allowed me to skip a long line. Visit The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) – free entry. Then, go to the Walled Obelisk or Masonry Obelisk (Örme Dikilitaş) around the area. This is a Roman monument close to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. At night, I ate in one of the restaurants under the Galata Bridge.
After a Turkish breakfast, I walked around the Tophane Fountain Historical Place and Galataport Promenade, ate fresh fish in Karaköy, and walked again around Taksim Square. This time, I ate a döner for dinner.
I went to another place to try a different Turkish breakfast. I reserved a Bosphorus Sunset Cruise on Luxury Yacht with snacks included, which allowed me to see different tourist places from the Bosphorus Strait. At the end of the day, I walked around Karaköy again.
For breakfast, I enjoyed a coffee with a croissant at a local restaurant near the hotel. Today, I walked around Taksim Square, visited the Şehzade Mosque, and enjoyed a hamburger in the area.
On this day, I took a flight to the historical region in Central Anatolia, Cappadocia, from the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport to stay there for two days. The airport where I arrived was the Kayseri Erkilet Airport. Today’s activities were the Göreme Open Air Museum, visiting a ceramic store, lunch in a cave-style restaurant, the Fairy Chimneys, and the Imagination Valley. At night, I stayed at a cave hotel around Ürgüp.
This is the second and last day in Cappadocia. The activities for today included visiting the Derviş Şarlak Parkı, Kaymakli Underground City, the Pigeon Valley, Uchisar Castle, Göreme, walking around the Çavuşin Valley to get panoramic views of Cappadocia and also to visit a forgotten ancient roman cemetery at the top of a hill.
At night, I started the trip by car on the way back to Istanbul. In a rental car, I traveled first to Konya, where I stayed there overnight.
After breakfast in Konya, I traveled to Antalya. On the way, I visited Beyşehir municipality and the beautiful cave of Balatini Mağarası. I stayed at an Airbnb apartment in Antalya.
I spent a full day in Antalya. After breakfast, I went to the Tünektepe Teleferik Tesisleri, but at the time of writing this post, the Antalya Cable Car had been closed indefinitely. At lunch, I tried the fried anchovies, which are highly recommended; they are very delicious. Then, I visited the Duden Waterfalls to get scenic views of the beautiful waterfall connected to the sea. After that, I went to Hadrian’s Gate and walked around the area. Antalya has excellent sunset views of the Mediterranean Sea.
Leaving Antalya on my way to stay overnight at Ölüdeniz. First, I had a Turkish breakfast in Antalya. On the way to Ölüdeniz, I went first to visit the Ancient City of Telmessos in Fethiye, and later, we had lunch in a restaurant in Kayaköy located in front of the ghost town Kayaköy hayalet köyü.
On this day, I traveled to Marmaris. Upon arrival, I enjoyed walking around its amazing coastline, full of restaurants, stores, and tour boats. You can also swim on the beach if you like.
Pirate boat tour in Marmaris. Around the coastlines, there are various boat tours that go to different areas, and some of them include drinks and lunch. I took one of them, which included visiting three different beaches where swimming was optional, visiting the Turunç municipality to do shopping, and a pirate show. In that pirate boat, you could relax while observing the stunning views or go to the middle floor to party. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were available.
After leaving Marmaris, I had a Turkish breakfast in a restaurant at İçmeler. I started the trip to Denizli. Along the way, I stopped at the Sakar Gateway Landscape. Then, I traveled all the way to the Salda Gölü Plajı, which offers scenic views of Salda Gölü, a beautiful salt lake, where tickets are required. You cannot touch the water on Salda Gölü Plajı because the lake is closed to the people, but I wanted to put my feet inside the lake, so I went to the Salda Lake Nature Park, where I could enjoy the salt lake without paying a ticket. I arrived at night at Denizli.
After breakfast at the hotel in Denizli, we went to the famous area of Pamukkale, where I visited the amazing Travertines of Pamukkale: mineral thermal waters flowing through the travertine terraces, the Cleopatra Antique Pools, and the Hierapolis Archaeological Museum which includes many ancient archeological ruins such as the Hierapolis Ancient Theater, the Ancient Temple of Apollon, the Frontinus Gate, and the Necropole of Hieropolis. At night, I stayed at a hotel back in Denizli.
After breakfast in Denizli, I traveled to İzmir, but before that, I did a stop to visit the famous Ephesus Archaeological Site, where you can observe many different ancient ruins such as the Hercules Gate, the Library of Celsus, the Ancient Greek Agora, the Efes Deneyim Müzesi, and the Ephesus Ancient Greek Theatre. At night, stay at a hotel in İzmir. You can book a hotel that includes free access to the pool, a sauna, and to take a Turkish bath if desired.
Most of this day was spent on the road, with one stop at the amazing Suuçtu Falls. Arrival at Bursa at night.
After breakfast in Bursa, I traveled back to Istanbul. Today, I finalized the car trip in Turkey. After arriving in Istanbul, I visited the Çamlıca Tower, which gives stunning panoramic views of the city in all directions. I also walked into a new area in Taksim Square, and I had dinner at a local restaurant in front of the Gümüşsuyu Palas Apt building.
I spent all day at the Grand Bazaar, the oldest and largest historical bazaar in the world. There are many stores and restaurants inside and outside the Grand Bazaar, which is a great place to buy unique souvenirs. The Yeni Cami Mosque is nearby, too.
Visited Miniaturk, a miniature park showing the most famous places in all of Turkey.
This day was spent walking the neighborhoods of Çukurcuma, Ayaspaşa, and Beşiktaş, the last one famous for the Besiktas JK Stadium.
Visit the Dolmabahçe Palace, which consists of the Dolmabahçe Clock Tower, the Dolmabahçe Sarayı Bahçesi (garden), and the Dolmabahçe Palace: Harem, as the main attractions.
On my last day in Turkey, after having breakfast and walking around the hotel, I went to the Istanbul International Airport to take my flight home to New Jersey.
In this travel guide to Turkey – 24 Days Itinerary, I combined walking, bus, car, and flight transportation to go to many of the most iconic places in Turkey. Remember to consider that the travel conditions change constantly and there are many activities you might not be able to do due to the weather, transportation, or any other variable out of your control.
The places most visited in Turkey are Istanbul, Cappadocia, the Mediterranean Coast, Pamukkale, Troy, and Mt. Nemrut. This travel guide covered most of the must-visit places for which you can consider in your first or next travel to Turkey.
I hope this 24-day itinerary in Turkey can help you plan your own once-in-a-lifetime Turkey adventure.
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