Highlights of Turkey — Self-Launched

Land at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) and take the Havaist airport bus to Sultanahmet (about £3-4, 60-90 min) or the M11 metro plus Marmaray if you're on a tight budget. Check into a hostel or small guesthouse in Sultanahmet or Sirkeci — the old city is walkable and puts you right next to the day-2 sights. Spend the evening wandering the Hippodrome square and the waterfront at Eminönü, and grab a cheap balık ekmek (fish sandwich) or a kebab dinner.

🚌Havaist airport bus or M11 metro + Marmaray, ~£3-4

🛏Hostel dorm or small guesthouse, Sultanahmet (£15-22)

• →Airport transfer to Sultanahmet
• →Evening walk around Hippodrome and Eminönü waterfront

Take the public ferry from Eminönü to Kadıköy on the Asian side (Istanbulkart, roughly £1 per ride) — the crossing gives you the same Bosphorus views as the operator's optional boat trip for pennies. Explore Kadıköy's market streets and Moda promenade for lunch. In the late afternoon, book a traditional hamam independently — the historic Çemberlitaş Hamamı or the cheaper Şehzade Cağaloğlu area options run about £20-40 for a scrub and wash. Finish with a meze dinner in the Kumkapı restaurant strip.

🚌Public ferries and trams with Istanbulkart, ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm or small guesthouse, Sultanahmet (£15-22)

• →Public ferry to Kadıköy (Asian side)
• →Kadıköy market and Moda walk
• →Traditional Turkish bath (hamam), self-booked

Full day on foot in Sultanahmet. Visit the Blue Mosque (free), walk the Hippodrome, and explore the Grand Bazaar (free to enter — go early before the crowds). Hagia Sophia's upper gallery and the Basilica Cistern are both worth adding at roughly £20 and £12 respectively. In the afternoon walk down to the Spice Market in Eminönü. An Istanbul Museum Pass or a self-guided audio-tour app (GetYourGuide/VoiceMap, ~£8-12) covers the historical context the Exodus guide would give you.

🚌Walking / tram, ~£2

🛏Hostel dorm or small guesthouse, Sultanahmet (£15-22)

• →Blue Mosque
• →Hippodrome
• →Grand Bazaar
• →Spice Market
• →Optional: Basilica Cistern (~£12) and Hagia Sophia (~£20)
• →Self-guided audio tour app (~£10)

Take an early intercity bus from Istanbul's Esenler or Alibeyköy otogar to Çanakkale (roughly 5.5-6 hrs, £15-20). Drop bags at a guesthouse near the ferry pier, then join a half-day Gallipoli battlefield tour — these run daily from Çanakkale for about £30-40 including transport to the peninsula, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the Anzac memorials. A guided tour here is genuinely worth paying for; the sites are spread out and hard to reach independently.

🚌Intercity bus ~£18; Gallipoli tour transport included

🛏Guesthouse/pension near ferry pier, Çanakkale (£15-20)

• →Intercity bus Istanbul–Çanakkale
• →Half-day guided Gallipoli battlefields tour (book via GetYourGuide or locally)

Take the local minibus (dolmuş) from Çanakkale to Troy (Truva) — about 40 minutes, £2-3 — and spend the morning at the archaeological site with the reconstructed wooden horse. Entry is around £12; the site is compact and well signposted so a guidebook or audio guide is enough. Afterwards continue by dolmuş back to the main road and pick up a bus south to Ayvalık (roughly 3 hrs, £10-12). Ayvalık is a lovely Aegean town — walk the Cunda causeway, taste local olive oil, and try an Ayvalık tost for dinner.

🚌Dolmuş to Troy ~£3; bus Çanakkale–Ayvalık ~£11

🛏Small pension/guesthouse, Ayvalık (£18-25)

• →Ancient city of Troy and Trojan horse reconstruction
• →Bus to Ayvalık
• →Cunda island walk and olive oil tasting
• →Ayvalık tost

Bus to Bergama (about 2 hrs, £8-10), then a local dolmuş or taxi up to the Pergamon Acropolis — the cable car (Bergama Teleferik) costs around £2-3 and saves the climb. Allow 2-3 hours for the temples, library and the vertiginous theatre, plus the Asklepion lower down if time allows (entry ~£10-12 each site). In the afternoon take a bus south to Selçuk via İzmir (roughly 3.5 hrs total, £12-15) and settle into a guesthouse near the basilica.

🚌Bus Ayvalık–Bergama ~£9; local dolmuş/cable car ~£4; Bergama–Selçuk ~£13

🛏Guesthouse, Selçuk (£15-22)

• →Pergamon Acropolis and cable car
• →Pergamon theatre, library and temples
• →Optional: Asklepion
• →Bus to Selçuk

Get to Ephesus at opening time (8am) to beat the tour buses — a dolmuş or taxi from Selçuk costs £1-4. Entry is around £20 and the Terrace Houses add roughly £10, which is well worth it. Spend 3-4 hours on the marble streets, the Library of Celsus and the great amphitheatre, then walk back into Selçuk for İsa Bey Mosque (free), St John's Basilica (~£5) and the Ephesus Archaeological Museum (~£6). Evening: dinner in Selçuk's small restaurant streets.

🚌Dolmuş/taxi Selçuk–Ephesus ~£3

🛏Guesthouse, Selçuk (£15-22)

• →Ephesus ancient city, Library of Celsus, amphitheatre
• →Terrace Houses (optional)
• →İsa Bey Mosque
• →St John's Basilica
• →Ephesus Archaeological Museum

Take a morning bus from Selçuk to Denizli (about 3 hrs, £10-13), then the local dolmuş up to Pamukkale village (30 min, ~£2). Check into a family-run pension; many have their own thermal pools and are far better value than the operator's 5-star resort. Spend the late afternoon on the white travertine terraces (entry ~£18, includes Hierapolis) and bathe in the antique Cleopatra's Pool if you like (~£10 extra). Walk the Hierapolis ruins — theatre, necropolis and baths — as the light softens.

🚌Bus Selçuk–Denizli ~£12; dolmuş to Pamukkale ~£2

🛏Family pension with thermal pool, Pamukkale (£18-25)

• →Pamukkale travertine terraces
• →Bathe in thermal pools
• →Hierapolis ancient city ruins

The long transfer day south. Take a bus from Denizli toward Fethiye/Antalya and hop off at the Xanthos turnoff (or take a bus to Kınık) to see the Lycian capital and its famous Harpy Tomb and inscribed obelisk (entry ~£6) — a 1-2 hour stop. Continue by dolmuş and bus to Kaş (total journey 5-6 hrs, £15-20). Kaş is a relaxed harbour town; find a small pension a few minutes from the waterfront and eat at one of the cheap seafood lokantas.

🚌Buses and dolmuşes Denizli–Kaş ~£18

🛏Small pension, Kaş (£18-25)

• →Xanthos ancient Lycian capital
• →Bus journey down the Lycian coast to Kaş

Book a Kekova boat trip locally at the Kaş harbour the day before — shared day boats to the sunken city and Simena castle cost roughly £25-35 per person including lunch, no minimum group size needed since you're joining an existing departure. Alternatively, sea kayak over the sunken ruins with a local operator (~£45). In the late afternoon take the dolmuş toward Kaputaş Beach (~£2) for a swim in the famous turquoise gorge, and walk up to the Hellenistic theatre above Kaş town for sunset.

🚌Dolmuş to Kaputaş ~£2; boat trip from harbour

🛏Small pension, Kaş (£18-25)

• →Shared boat trip to Kekova sunken city and Simena
• →Kaputaş Beach
• →Kaş ancient theatre at sunset
• →Optional: sea kayaking

Bus from Kaş to Antalya (about 4 hrs, £10-14). Stay in a pansiyon inside Kaleiçi, the walled old town, where restored Ottoman houses are surprisingly cheap. Walk the old town: Hadrian's Gate, the old Roman harbour, and the Hidirlik Tower. In the late afternoon visit the Antalya Museum (Roman sculptures, ~£8) or take a short dolmuş out to the ruins of Phaselis (~£12 entry, plus ~£4 transport) if you still have appetite for antiquity. Dinner on the harbour.

🚌Bus Kaş–Antalya ~£12; local dolmuş ~£4

🛏Pansiyon in Kaleiçi, Antalya (£18-25)

• →Kaleiçi old town walking tour (self-guided)
• →Hadrian's Gate and Roman harbour
• →Antalya Museum or Phaselis ruins

Take a dolmuş east from Antalya to Perge (about 45 min, £2-3) — the colonnaded main street, theatre, stadium and Roman baths are excellent and quieter than Ephesus (~£10 entry). Continue a few km to Aspendos, home to one of the best-preserved Roman theatres in the world (~£10 entry), reachable by dolmuş from Serik. Then continue to Konya by bus (3.5-4 hrs from Antalya, £12-15). Stay in a modest hotel near the Mevlana Museum; if a Whirling Dervish sema ceremony is on, the cultural centre performances run about £10-20.

🚌Dolmuş to Perge/Aspendos ~£6; bus to Konya ~£13

🛏Budget hotel, Konya (£18-25)

• →Perge ancient city, stadium and baths
• →Aspendos Roman theatre
• →Bus to Konya
• →Optional: Whirling Dervishes ceremony

Morning at the Mevlana Museum (entry ~£5) — the tomb of Rumi and the dervish lodge. If you can, hire a shared car or join a small local tour for the drive east so you can stop at the Sultanhani Caravanserai (13th-century Silk Road stop, ~£3 entry) and hike the Ihlara Valley (entry ~£4, 3-4 km riverside walk past rock-cut churches). Otherwise take the direct Konya–Nevşehir bus (about 3.5 hrs, £12) and visit Sultanhani/Ilhara on a day tour from Göreme later. Overnight in a cave guesthouse in Göreme.

🚌Bus Konya–Nevşehir ~£12; dolmuş to Göreme ~£2

🛏Cave guesthouse in Göreme (£18-28)

• →Mevlana Museum
• →Sultanhani Caravanserai
• →Ihlara Valley walk and rock-hewn churches
• →Transfer to Göreme

Start before dawn if you've booked a hot-air balloon flight — book direct with a licensed operator such as Butterfly or Royal (roughly £130-170 for the standard 60-minute flight; book a few weeks ahead and pay in lira to avoid card surcharges). Then walk or dolmuş to the Göreme Open-Air Museum (~£12 entry) for the frescoed rock churches, and in the afternoon take a dolmuş south to the underground city of Kaymaklı (~£7 entry) — go early or late as tour groups crowd it midday. Spend the evening watching sunset from the Red Valley viewpoint or Göreme's Sunset Point.

🚌Dolmuşes around Cappadocia ~£5

🛏Cave guesthouse in Göreme (£18-28)

• →Hot-air balloon flight at sunrise (optional, ~£150)
• →Göreme Open-Air Museum and frescoed churches
• →Kaymaklı underground city
• →Red Valley sunset viewpoint

A slow morning for a last valley walk — the Pigeon Valley or Love Valley trails start from Göreme village and cost nothing. Shuttle to Kayseri Erkilet (ASR) or Nevşehir Kapadokya (NAV) airport for onward flights; shared airport shuttles cost about £5-8 per person and take 60-75 min to Kayseri. If you're flying back to Istanbul, a one-way domestic flight on Pegasus or AJet often costs £25-45 when booked ahead.

🚌Shared airport shuttle ~£7; optional domestic flight ~£35

🛏None included (departure day)

• →Morning valley hike (Pigeon or Love Valley)
• →Airport transfer for onward flight