Turkey: Istanbul, Aegean Coast & Cappadocia — Self-Launched

Land at Istanbul Airport (IST) and take the Havaist airport bus to Sultanahmet (about 90-120 min, ~£4) or the M11 metro + tram combo. Check into a hostel or small pension in Sultanahmet or Karaköy. Spend the late afternoon wandering the Hippodrome and getting your bearings, then eat a cheap first dinner of lentil soup, pide and tea in Sultanahmet. Buy an Istanbulkart transit card (~£3 + top-up) — it works on trams, ferries, buses and metros and will save you a fortune all week.

🚌Havaist airport bus ~£4; Istanbulkart ~£3

🛏Hostel or family pension, Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£20-30/night)

• →Hippodrome orientation walk
• →Sultanahmet backstreets food wander
• →Buy Istanbulkart

Get to Topkapı Palace for opening (book a skip-the-line ticket via GetYourGuide, ~£22-28, or buy at the gate ~£22). Allow 3 hours for the courtyards, Harem and Treasury. In the afternoon, skip the private cruise and take the public Bosphorus ferry from Eminönü to Anadolu Kavağı or a short hop to Üsküdar — a public ferry ride is ~£1-2 and gives you the same waterfront palaces and mansions. Cross to the Asian side and eat your way through Kadıköy market: kokoreç, midye dolma, künefe and Turkish coffee, then walk the 15 July Martyrs' Bridge back to Europe for sunset.

🚌Tram + public Bosphorus ferry ~£3-4 total

🛏Hostel or family pension, Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£20-30/night)

• →Topkapı Palace (pre-booked ticket)
• →Public Bosphorus ferry
• →Kadıköy street food crawl
• →Walk across the Bosphorus Bridge

Walk the historic peninsula on foot: Hagia Sophia (free for worshippers, ~£20 for the visitor gallery — check current rules), the Basilica Cistern (~£18-22, or cheaper after 19:00), and the Blue Mosque. Lunch on your own in Sultanahmet. In the afternoon, get lost in the Grand Bazaar's 60 streets and the more local Spice Bazaar. For the evening, book a small-group or self-arranged 'coexistence' meyhane dinner in Beyoğlu or Balat — a multi-course meze spread with Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish plates at a neighbourhood meyhane runs roughly £15-22 per person with drinks, a fraction of the tour's hosted dinner.

🚌Walking + tram ~£2

🛏Hostel or family pension, Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£20-30/night)

• →Hagia Sophia
• →Basilica Cistern
• →Blue Mosque
• →Grand & Spice Bazaars
• →Beyoğlu meyhane dinner

Take an early tram to the airport and fly Istanbul (IST or SAW) to Bodrum-Milas — book 2-6 weeks ahead with Turkish Airlines or Pegasus for ~£25-45 one way (carry-on only). From Milas airport take the Havaş/Mutaş shuttle to Bodrum Otogar (~£4), then a dolmuş to Yalıkavak or Gümbet (~£2). To reach Heraklia, take a dolmuş or local bus toward Bafa (~£5-8); the ruins are free to wander and best in late afternoon light. On the way back, stop at a village market for tomatoes, olives, cheese and honey. Dinner: Adana-style köfte at a neighbourhood lokanta, ~£6-9 with tea.

🚌Airport tram ~£2; domestic flight ~£30-45; airport shuttle ~£4; dolmuş ~£6-10

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Bodrum/Gümbet/Yalıkavak (~£22-32/night)

• →Heraklia ruins at Lake Bafa
• →Aegean village market
• →Köfte dinner

Pick your own version of the tour's 'OMG Day'. Option A: a full-day gullet boat trip around the Bodrum peninsula (book via GetYourGuide or at the harbour, ~£25-35 including lunch) — swimming stops, sunbathing and swimming with the same coastline the tour visits. Option B: cheaper and more local — take a dolmuş to Gümüşlük (~£2) and walk the sunken Myndos ruins path, then lunch on the beach at a fish lokanta. Either way, finish with an evening of mezes and grilled fish on the waterfront; budget ~£15-20 including a glass of Yedi Bilgeler wine.

🚌Dolmuş ~£2-4

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Bodrum/Gümbet/Yalıkavak (~£22-32/night)

• →Gulf of Gökova boat trip (or Gümüşlük hike)
• →Myndos sunken ruins
• →Seaside mezes dinner

Take a dolmuş from Bodrum to Söke (~£5-7, ~1.5 hrs), then onward to the Miletus turn and a short dolmuş ride to the ruins. Miletus (~£4 entry) and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma (~£4) are both cheap and rarely crowded — self-guided audioguide or a printed map is plenty. Lunch at a roadside pide salonu. Then continue to Selçuk via Söke/long-distance bus (~£6-8, ~2.5-3 hrs). Check into a loquat-garden pension or small guesthouse near Selçuk centre. Wine tasting at one of the nearby boutique vineyards (Řsirince, Şirince) is far cheaper than a winery estate stay — a cellar tasting is ~£8-12.

🚌Dolmuş Söke ~£6; dolmuş Söke–Selçuk ~£5

🛏Selçuk hostel/guesthouse (~£20-28/night)

• →Miletus ruins
• →Temple of Apollo at Didyma
• →Şirince village & wine tasting

Beat the tour buses and enter Ephesus at opening (08:00-08:30). Book a slot direct or via GetYourGuide (~£22-30 including entry), or just go self-guided with the free audio tour for the £12-15 ticket. Allow 2.5-3 hours for the Library of Celsus, Terrace Houses (small supplement) and Great Theatre. Return to Selçuk to visit the Basilica of St John, Isabey Mosque and the small Ephesus Museum. In the afternoon, walk up to Şirince or just relax. For a community-credentialled meal, eat at a Selçuk women's co-operative or a garden restaurant (~£10-14).

🚌Dolmuş to Ephesus ~£2 return

🛏Selçuk hostel/guesthouse (~£20-28/night)

• →Ephesus archaeological site
• →Terrace Houses of Ephesus
• →Basilica of St John & Isabey Mosque
• →Selçuk Ephesus Museum

Catch the morning train or bus from Selçuk/Izmir to Istanbul or just fly Izmir–Kayseri with Pegasus or Turkish (~£30-45, 1 hr 15). If you want the Ankara detour, fly into Ankara, take the Gençlik Parkı walk and the Anıtkabir mausoleum (free), then board the high-speed YHT train or overnight bus to Kayseri/Nevşehir (~£12-18, 4-5 hrs). From Kayseri, the Kapadokya shuttle van runs to Göreme and Ürgüp for ~£7-9 booked with your guesthouse. Check into a family cave guesthouse in Göreme (€20-30 a night gets a real carved-rock room). Eat a cheap grilled chicken dinner and go to bed early for sunrise.

🚌Selçuk–Izmir bus ~£5; flight ~£30-45; airport shuttle ~£8

🛏Cave-style guesthouse, Göreme (~£22-30/night)

• →Anıtkabir (optional, Ankara)
• →Arrival sunset over Göreme

Start at sunrise in the Göreme viewpoint — or, if you want the balloon photo without flying, watch from the valley floor. Head to the Göreme Open Air Museum (~£14 entry) for its rock-cut churches and frescoes, then take a minibus to Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı Underground City (~£1-2, entry ~£3). Lunch at a village lokanta — a 'farm-to-table' testi kebab or clay-pot beans runs ~£6-9. In the afternoon, join a small-group ATV/jeep safari in Rose/Red Valley (GetYourGuide, ~£25-35 for 2 hrs incl. sunset stop), or hike the valley trails for free and picnic as the sun drops.

🚌Dolmuş/local minibus ~£4-6 total

🛏Cave-style guesthouse, Göreme (~£22-30/night)

• →Göreme Open Air Museum
• →Derinkuyu Underground City
• →Rose & Red Valley sunset (hike or jeep)

Cycle or take a dolmuş to Avanos (~£2, 25 min) and try a ceramics workshop at a working atelier — a hands-on session at the Avanos pottery co-operatives or Chez Galip is ~£10-18 and beats any packaged tour. Walk the banks of the Kızılırmak (Red River) and hire a bike along the greenway. In the evening, do a Turkish cooking class in Göreme (~£25-35 via GetYourGuide, or ~£15 at a guesthouse kitchen) and finish with a candlelit dinner in a cave restaurant — a set menu with wine runs ~£20-30 — your own farewell feast.

🚌Dolmuş to Avanos ~£2 return

🛏Cave-style guesthouse, Göreme (~£22-30/night)

• →Avanos ceramics workshop
• →Kızılırmak (Red River) bike ride
• →Cave restaurant farewell dinner

Book a return flight Kayseri (ASR) or Nevşehir (NAV) to Istanbul, or use the overnight bus if you're being really careful with the budget. If your international flight leaves from IST in the late afternoon, allow 4 hours for the shuttle to Kayseri + flight + airport transfer. If you want one last look, get up for the 05:30 balloon-inflating show from Göreme's viewpoint before you go.

🚌Airport shuttle ~£8; domestic flight ~£30-45 one way

• →Optional sunrise balloon-viewing walk
• →Departure