Flying Carpet Turkey — Self-Launched Version

Fly into IST or SAW and take the Havaist airport bus or M11 metro + Marmaray (about £1.50-3) to Sultanahmet. Check into a hostel in Sultanahmet or Karaköy. Spend the late afternoon walking the Hippodrome square, Gülhane Park and the waterfront, then eat a cheap balık ekmek (fish sandwich) at Eminönü. Buy an Istanbulkart from a kiosk for tram/metro/ferry fares (about £1.50 a ride).

🚌Airport bus/metro from IST or SAW (~£2-4)

🛏Hostel dorm in Sultanahmet (£12-16/night)

• →Hippodrome square walk
• →Gülhane Park
• →Eminönü ferry pier and fish sandwich

Do the classic Old City on foot: Hagia Sophia (free to enter as a mosque, ~£0; museum areas ticketed), Blue Mosque (free, dress modestly, avoid prayer times), then Topkapi Palace with the Harem (roughly £40 for the full combo — or skip the Harem to save). In the afternoon take a public Bosphorus ferry from Eminönü (short hop ~£1, or the full 6-hour Anadolu Kavağı run for ~£4) rather than a tour boat. Consider the Museum Pass Türkiye if you're doing many sites, but run the maths — it's ~£60 and only pays off at 5+ major sites.

🚌Tram T1 + public ferry (~£5)

🛏Hostel dorm in Sultanahmet

• →Hagia Sophia
• →Blue Mosque
• →Topkapi Palace & Harem
• →Public Bosphorus ferry

Take an early bus from Istanbul's Esenler or Alibeyköy otogar to Eceabat on the Gallipoli peninsula (about 5 hours, ~£12-15 with Pamukkale or Metro Turizm). Book a small-group Gallipoli day tour from Eceabat/Çanakkale on GetYourGuide (roughly £40-55, includes lunch) covering ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, The Nek, Johnston's Jolly and the trenches — the sites are spread out and genuinely hard without a vehicle. Overnight in Çanakkale, a lively student town with cheap hostels.

🚌Intercity coach Istanbul–Eceabat (~£13)

🛏Hostel in Çanakkale (£12-18/night)

• →Gallipoli small-group day tour: ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, The Nek, Johnston's Jolly

Morning dolmuş from Çanakkale to Troy (~30 min, ~£1.50), plus the short shuttle to the site. Entry to Troy is about £8; the Troy Museum next door is included/cheap and genuinely excellent — see the gold and the reconstruction before or after the ruins. Then bus south to Bergama (Pergamon, ~3 hours, ~£6). Overnight in Bergama village, which is cheaper and more atmospheric than the resort coast.

🚌Dolmuş + intercity bus (~£8)

🛏Pension in Bergama (£14-20/night)

• →Ancient Troy
• →Troy Museum
• →Walk up to the Acropolis of Pergamon (cable car ~£1)

Morning at the Pergamon Acropolis: temples of Trajan and Athena, the steep theatre, the library ruins; then the Asclepion sanctuary below town (each ~£6-8). Afternoon bus to Selçuk via Izmir (about 3-4 hours, ~£8-10). Selçuk is a relaxed, walkable base — check into a guesthouse, see the basilica of St John and the Isa Bey Mosque at sunset (free/cheap).

🚌Bus Bergama–Izmir–Selçuk (~£9)

🛏Guesthouse in Selçuk (£15-22/night)

• →Pergamon Acropolis
• →Asclepion
• →Basilica of St John

Walk or take the short dolmuş to Ephesus (entry ~£13, more with the Terrace Houses — worth it). Go early to beat the cruise crowds and the heat; bring water, there's little shade. Afterwards visit the Ephesus Archaeology Museum in Selçuk and the single remaining column of the Temple of Artemis. In the late afternoon take a dolmuş up to Şirince (~£1), a pretty hillside village of old Greek houses famous for fruit wine — tastings are cheap, and the carpet-weaving demo the tour includes is easy to find in Selçuk itself but skip the hard sell.

🚌Dolmuş (~£3)

🛏Guesthouse in Selçuk

• →Ephesus ancient city and Terrace Houses
• →Ephesus Archaeology Museum
• →Temple of Artemis site
• →Şirince village and fruit wine tasting

Bus from Selçuk to Denizli (~3 hours, ~£7), then dolmuş up to Pamukkale village (~£1). Spend the afternoon on the white travertines (entry ~£12, includes Hierapolis) — walk barefoot on the terraces, then explore the Roman city of Hierapolis, its theatre and the Antique Pool (extra ~£8 to swim among sunken columns; the free Cleopatra's pool area is fine too). Stay in Pamukkale village for sunset and sunrise on the terraces, which is far better than a day trip.

🚌Bus + dolmuş (~£8)

🛏Pension in Pamukkale village (£14-20/night)

• →Pamukkale travertines
• →Hierapolis ancient city and theatre
• →Optional swim in the Antique Pool
• →Optional Whirling Dervish ceremony in Pamukkale (~£15)

Hire a shared taxi or join a cheap local excursion to Salda Lake (~45 min, a startling turquoise crater lake with white sand), or simply relax in Pamukkale and take a mid-morning bus. Then bus Denizli to Fethiye (~4-5 hours, ~£10). Fethiye's old town and harbour are lovely at night; hostels cluster around the marina and the bazaar area.

🚌Bus Denizli–Fethiye (~£10)

🛏Hostel in Fethiye (£14-20/night)

• →Salda Lake
• →Fethiye old town and harbour

One of your free days. The classic 12-island boat trip runs ~£25-30 including lunch and is bookable at the harbour or via GetYourGuide — worth it. Alternatively take a dolmuş to Saklıkent Gorge (~40 min) for the canyon walk and river tubing (~£8), or do the Lycian Way section from Ölüdeniz to Faralya if you want a proper hike. Paragliding off Babadağ (~£70-90) is the big splurge option the original tour offers.

🚌Dolmuş (~£4)

🛏Hostel in Fethiye

• →12-island boat trip (~£27) OR Saklıkent Gorge
• →Optional paragliding from Babadağ
• →Ölüdeniz lagoon

Take a dolmuş from Fethiye to Kayaköy (~20 min) and wander the abandoned 1920s Greek village of stone houses and churches (entry a couple of pounds) — quiet, eerie and beautiful. Continue by bus to Antalya (~3.5 hours, ~£7) via the coast road. Settle into the Kaleiçi old town — hostels are tucked inside the Roman walls, so it's atmospheric but you'll need to carry bags down cobbled lanes.

🚌Dolmuş + bus (~£9)

🛏Hostel in Antalya Kaleiçi (£14-20/night)

• →Kayaköy abandoned village
• →Kaleiçi old town wander
• →Antalya Necropol Museum (Antalya Museum, ~£8)

The two best Roman sites near Antalya are awkward by public transport but doable. Take a dolmuş toward Aksu for Perge (~£1.50, 30 min), explore the colonnaded main street, baths and stadium (entry ~£8). Then a dolmuş or shared taxi to Aspendos (~£2) for the astonishingly intact 2nd-century amphitheatre (entry ~£7). Return to Antalya in the late afternoon. A half-day car with driver (~£45 split between 2-3 people) is the smoother option if you can find others in the hostel.

🚌Dolmuş/shared taxi (~£6)

🛏Hostel in Antalya Kaleiçi

• →Perge ancient city
• →Aspendos amphitheatre

Bus Antalya to Konya (~5-6 hours, ~£10) — or the Konya high-speed YHT line if you route via the coast road. Konya is conservative; dress modestly and skip alcohol. Visit the Mevlana Museum and the green-tiled mausoleum of Rumi (free/very cheap), the Selimiye mosque opposite, and if time allows the Çatalhöyük site and museum outside town (an hour's dolmuş plus walking). Overnight near the bazaar — plenty of cheap pensions and student cafes.

🚌Intercity bus (~£10)

🛏Pension in Konya (£14-18/night)

• →Mevlana Museum and mausoleum
• →Selimiye Mosque
• →Çatalhöyük (optional)

Bus Konya to Aksaray (~2.5 hours, ~£6), with a stop at the 13th-century Sultanhanı caravanserai on the highway — a quick look at the monumental Seljuk gate is free or a couple of pounds. Continue to Göreme or Ürgüp (~£4). Check into a cave hostel or pension in Göreme village (dorms from ~£14). In the evening, eat testi kebab (pottery kebab) and take a valley sunset walk from Göreme's Sunset Point — this replaces the tour's home-cooking evening; cooking classes can be booked directly through many Göreme guesthouses for ~£30.

🚌Bus + dolmuş (~£10)

🛏Cave dorm/pension in Göreme (£14-22/night)

• →Sultanhanı caravanserai
• →Göreme sunset point walk
• →Optional Turkish home cooking class (~£30)

If the hot air balloon is on your list, book direct with a licensed operator (Butterfly, Voyager, Royal) for roughly £140-180 — book weeks ahead and know that wind cancels flights. Non-flyers can watch from the hills above Göreme at dawn (free). Then take the Red or Green tour self-guided with dolmuşes: Göreme Open Air Museum (~£7, extra for the Dark Church), the fairy chimneys of Paşabağ and Devrent, Pigeon Valley, Uçhisar castle, Çavuşin's rock-cut churches, and Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu underground city (~£5). Avanos is the pottery town — a workshop is far cheaper bought directly than on a tour. A Red/Green small-group day tour on GetYourGuide is ~£30-40 if you'd rather not navigate dolmuşes.

🚌Dolmuş hops (~£6)

🛏Cave dorm/pension in Göreme

• →Optional hot air balloon flight at sunrise
• →Göreme Open Air Museum
• →Paşabağ and Devrent valleys
• →Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu underground city
• →Avanos pottery workshop

Optional detour: bus or train to Ankara (~4.5 hours) to see Anitkabir, Atatürk's monumental mausoleum (free, best at the changing of the guard), and the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations — then a cheap flight Ankara–Istanbul (~£25-35 booked ahead) or the high-speed train (~£12, 4.5 hours). If you'd rather keep it simple, fly or take the overnight bus straight from Nevşehir/Kayseri to Istanbul. Finish with a last evening in Istanbul and a night bus or flight home the following day.

🚌Bus/flight Nevşehir or Ankara–Istanbul (~£15-35)

🛏Hostel in Istanbul (£12-18/night) — or align with your flight home

• →Anitkabir mausoleum (free)
• →Museum of Anatolian Civilisations (~£7)
• →Last night in Istanbul