According to the country’s recent TV promotion, “Turkey has it all” – and I have to agree. Our family’s Turkey itinerary introduced us to a country that is colourful, welcoming, surprising, bursting with history and full of beautiful contrasts.

Our two week itinerary covered some of the most visited places in Turkey. It takes us from Istanbul to Capadoccia, and along the West coast down to Pamukkale, and finally Kalkan.

Our Turkey Itinerary

We had just over two weeks for our Turkey trip, and A LOT to pack in. While this is a busy itinerary, we tried to strike a careful balance between culture, history and relaxation. For the first few days we travelled via public transport, the rest we drove ourselves with a hired car.

Here is an overview of our Turkey itinerary, over 2.5 weeks:

Istanbul Göreme

We started off in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, literally bridging Europe and Asia across the Bosporus Strait. The city is packed with cultural and historical highlights, hustling and bustling, and interspersed with pockets of peaceful serenity.

Our hotel, Romantic Hotel, lacked somewhat in amenities but more than made up for it on location. Surrounded by restaurants, shops and bars, it is only a few minutes walk from the monumental sight that is the Hagia Sofia and its no less magnificent neighbour, the Blue Mosque.

Day 1: Orienting ourselves with a Walking Tour

We joined a local walking tour on the first day, which took us to various iconic sites around the old town, including a rooftop lunch. The Blue Mosque was closed during our stay in Istanbul, so our guide took us around the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque instead. Our guide was entertaining and informative, and also shared his fascinating personal perspective on life in Turkey in the wake of the devastating 2023 earthquake.

Time in Istanbul passes easily when wondering the busy streets, marvelling at the city’s unrivalled historical significance and soaking up the local atmosphere.

Day 2: Exploring Istanbul

The second day we visited the Topkapı Palace Museum, followed by a gentle stroll across the adjacent, beautiful Gülhane Park and a Bosporus Boat Tour. The former administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire and home to generations of sultans and their harem is certainly worth a visit. It can be testing for little kids’ legs though, so best to plan in a few rest and snack stops.

Turkey Museum Pass

If you plan on visiting many places, like on our Turkey itinerary, I recommend purchasing a Turkey Museum Pass. Offering either free or reduced entry to many sights across Turkey, this pass can same your family serious money.

While the TÜRKİYE pass is valid across the country, there are various regional versions, too, which might be handy if you are only visiting parts of Turkey. We bought the TÜRKİYE pass at Topkapi Palace, and have found it to be cheaper there than elsewhere, although I’m not sure whether this was due to a temporary promotion. Overall we estimated to have saved around £250 with the Museum Pass during our two week trip.

Cappadoccia (Itinerary Stop 2)

To reach Cappadoccia, the next stop on our Turkey itinerary, we took a short flight from Istanbul to Kayseri, the historical capital of Cappadoccia located at the foot of Mount Erciyes. Travelling by car, it takes around an hour from the airport to Göreme. Allow a little longer for hotel organised transport as they drop off guests at various hotels, which can take quite some time.

It was unusually cold during our visit in March, and on arrival in Göreme we were greeted by snow! While beautiful nonetheless, we missed out on the famous vista of dozens of hot air balloons flying over the Cappadoccian rock formations.

Göreme Open Air Museum

Göreme’s main attraction is the Open Air museum ; this unique UNESCO World Heritage site consists of a cluster of Byzantine chapels, monasteries and churches directly carved into the rocks, many of which still showing pristine frescoes. The museum is easily reached from Göreme town, just a 15 minute walk uphill from the town centre.

Although consumed by tourism Göreme itself is a lovely, little town that manages to retain some its charm, with hotels carved into the rocks (like the Cappadocia Cave Rooms), narrow hillside ally ways and hidden restaurants.

We visited Nazar Börek one evening, a tiny family-run restaurant a little outside of town, based on a recommendation in the Lonely Planet. I thoroughly recommend you check it out, for some stunning views over the valley and delicious, authentic Turkish food at excellent value.

Attractions around Göreme

On our second day, we visited the the Kaymaklı Underground City, one of several underground cities in the region. These astonishing underground networks are thought to have been originally built by Byzantine Christians in the 6th and 7th centuries who hid underground – often for many months – to escape persecution.

On the way back we stopped at Uçhisar Castle – one of the centrepiece sights in the Cappadoccia hills. The climb to the top is rewarded with vast panoramic views over the region.

Both Kaymaklı Underground City and Uçhisar Castle are easily reached by local bus, leaving from Göreme town centre. Best to bring plenty of drinks and snacks for the kids as we’ve found the bus schedule to be somewhat ‘unreliable’.

Canakkale (Itinerary Stop 3)

From Cappadoccia we flew back to Istanbul airport, where we kicked off the second half of our Turkey itinerary. We picked up a hire car for our a road trip along the Western coast.

We chose the northern route to Canakkale, driving around the Sea of Marmara towards the peninsula before crossing over onto the mainland near Bayırköy. At around 4 hours, Istanbul to Canakkale was one of the longer legs of our roadtrip. A lively city with a beautiful promenade, Canakkale is the perfect base for exploring surrounding attractions.

For accommodation, I warmly recommend our host at Kinzi House in Canakkale, where we stayed in a immaculate apartment within the pedestrianised zone in the city centre (public parking was available a few minutes away). After repeatedly being woken by unexplained, loud noises we checked in with our host. He explained to us the old-age tradition of the Ramadan drummers, which is still being kept alive across Turkey. Thousands of drummers, often locally employed people, bang their drums each night during Ramadan to wake residents for the ‘sahur’ meal before sunrise.

The relatively new Troy Museum ( short drive south of Canakkale) is spectacular, offering a detailed and varied insight into the regions rich history. There are several interactive games, engaging displays, quizzes and films to keep the kids engaged.

A car ferry provides easy and quick access to the Gallipolli peninsula. The battlefields of 1915 are now a protected historic site, surrounded by beautiful beaches and idyllic coves. A place of pilgrimage for many, numerous war cemeteries and memorials are dotted around the island, commemorating the countless lives lost here.

Bergama (Itinerary Stop 4)

Continuing our roadtrip, we headed south towards the Aegean sea and Edremit Bay.

To break up the 4 hour car journey we took a short pitstop at the hidden hilltop village of Adatepe, famous for its local produce of ceramics, soap and oils, and the Zeus Altar (which we couldn’t find!).

Ayvalik

Our second spot was the colourful old port of Ayvalik, hiding a beautiful historic town centre just a few streets behind the seafront. Ayvalik is a wonderful place to stretch your legs wandering the maze of allyways, with antique shops, cafes and lovingly decorated houses. We tried the local speciality of Ayvalik Tost, basically a toasted sandwich crammed with various fillings, at Avşar Büfe, one of the stalls at this local, communal eatery.

We reached Bergama in the early evening. The ancient ruins of Pergamon’s temples and theatre tower over the modern city of Bergama, which we felt had a decidedly more conservative feel to it than other places in Turkey – although whether the two are connected is debatable.

A rusty, rocky cable car takes visitors up the mountain to the ancient Pergamon ruins, which I imagine are a stunning place to meander and marvel if visited in favourable weather. The hillside ancient theatre was a sight to behold, despite the relentless downpour we encountered.

We decided to sit out the rain in the small, rather charming archaeological museum in downtown Bergama, before heading towards the Asklepion, one of the most important healing centres during Roman times.

I thoroughly recommend the Akropol restaurant, serving a large selection of delicious local dishes. With the sun finally bursting through the cloud our early dinner on the restaurant’s terrace overlooking the city more than made up for the somewhat miserable start to the day.

Izmir

Leaving Bergama behind, we headed further south to the city of Izmir, where we spent a few hours wandering the promenade and getting lost in the famous Kemeralti Bazaar.

Torbali (Itinerary Stop 5)

From here it was only a short hop towards our accommodation for the night, a tree house in the Topali forest – starting the in land leg of our Turkey itinerary. Carefully following the video directions provided by our host, we reached the cabin just in time to enjoy the stunning sunset views.

Selcuk (Itinerary Stop 6)

Our next stop was less than an hour’s drive away, the lively town of Selcuk, jump off point for millions of tourists visiting the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Despite the crowds, Selcuk has somehow managed to maintain its character and soul – the storks who continue to nest in it’s ancient aqueducts seem to agree.

Wondering the well-trodden streets of ancient Ephesus is simply mind-blowing, the detail of the surviving ruins and the quality of the reconstructions are nothing but spectacular. I’ve visited a few ruins in my time but rarely have I felt so close to Roman history, vividly imaging Roman locals roaming the streets, worshipping at temples or shopping at the markets. My favourite was a visit to an old townhouse, where each room was still intricately decorated with highly detailed wall frescoes. My kids on the other hand particularly enjoyed the ancient communal loos…

Nearby the main area of Ephesus lies the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Around 20 minutes drive from Selcuk, is the national heritage village of Sirince, famous for its agricultural produce (fruit, oil, wine) and now a popular tourist hotspot. While I’d expect Sirince to be unbearably overcrowded during the main season, we enjoyed a wander around this quirky, colourful place – and grabbed a bottle of local wine to enjoy on our hotel terrace in the evening.

We stayed at Villa Dreams, a wonderful little boutique hotel a little walk up the hill not far from the centre of Selcuk. Despite the cold, the kids enjoyed a splash in the pool and the sunset views from our family room were breath taking.

Pamukkale (Itinerary Stop 7)

Heading towards the penultimate stop on our itinerary, we travelled two hours further south-east towards Denizli and the thermal spring waters of Pamukkale. The name means ‘cotton castle’ in Turkish and it’s easy to see why, with white travertines formed by thermal water otherworldly flowing of the hillside. Even in heavy rain (yes, again) it’s a joy for the kids to splash around in the hot waters and crawl through the narrow canals.

The ancient Greek city of Hierapolis sits right on top of the Travertines and, even if you’ve had enough of ruins by now, I urge you to visit Cleopatra’s pool within the site – especially in cold weather. For a small entrance fee you can swim among ancient marble ruins and soak in the mineral-rich, healing waters. It’s bliss for adults and children alike.

Kalkan (Itinerary Stop 8)

If you’ve read a few of my itineraries you know that we tend to finish our road trips with a few days R&R, usually by a beach, allowing us to process and digest everything we have seen and experienced over the past two weeks.

We chose Kalkan as our resting place in Turkey, a hilly but laid back seaside town with plenty of pubs, restaurants, shops and cafes to recharge our batteries.

On our final day we travelled to Dalaman airport for our flight back to London, with a quick stop in Fethiye for lunch and ice cream on the promenade.

So, there is is. Our two week Turkey road trip. One of our most packed itineraries, with 8 different stops. What do you think of this itinerary? What would you do differently?