Planning a trip to Türkiye? From historical attractions to hot air balloons, museums to mouthwatering food, bustling cobblestoned streets to beaches — this country has everything!

This Turkey itinerary can help you plan your trip, save money, and have the best vacation possible. And I’m going to warn you right away — this itinerary is going to prioritize walking and public transport. Sometimes, we’d walk even 1 hour to get to an attraction. Despite the time involved we explored several different types of places and this itinerary is going to be super detailed.

12 day Turkey itinerary: A quick overview

Here’s a quick look at what this Turkey itinerary entails. Days 1, 5, 9, and 14 are mostly travel days and the only kind of sightseeing I reserve for such days involve walking around my hotel’s neighbourhood and trying out nearby restaurants. I’ve still marked some things to do on these transit days but remember that they will be much lighter than the other days.

Days	Details
Day 1	Land in Istanbul
Days 2 to 4	Visit Istanbul attractions
Day 5	Fly to Nevşehir
Days 6 to 8	Visit Cappadocia attractions
Day 9	Take a bus from Nevşehir to Antalya
Days 10 to 13	Visit Antalya attractions
Day 14	Fly back home

How to get around in Türkiye

One of my favourite things about Istanbul especially is how easy it is to get around with public transport. Istanbul has trains, trams, buses, and ferries and every attraction is easily accessible via public transport. And if your vacation personality is anything like mine, you can just walk. I found all of Türkiye to be immensely walkable. Coming from India where the streets are chaotic and not walkable at all, it’s no wonder I enjoy walking so much on vacation.

Cappadocia is a relatively smaller area in Türkiye and not as developed as Istanbul. But it still has the dolmuş — minibuses through which you can get around. A lot of people tend to rent cars and scooters to cover the two main tours in Cappadocia, though. My partner and I used a scooter for one day and hiked another day.

If you’re wondering how to get around in Antalya, buses and trams are your friend. They also have a really cool taxi system where you press a button on a pole and a taxi appears. Of course I didn’t use taxis there but I found this quite interesting!

Now let’s get to the Turkey itinerary

Istanbul itinerary (4 days)

The capital of both the Ottoman and the Byzantine empires, this huge city straddles Europe and Asia and thrums with so much energy. Be it historical landmarks, rich culture, or delectable food, Istanbul has it all. It took me by surprise and I still maintain to this day that it was the highlight of my Turkey vacation. Yes, even above the hot air balloons in Cappadocia!

Plus, the city has the friendliest cats. What’s not to love?

Where to stay in Istanbul

Everyone recommends staying near either Taksim Square or Sultanahment Square. My personal recommendation is to mark every place you really want to visit in Istanbul on a map and figure out which of these two fit you best to search for accommodation in. As you can see from my map, Taksim Square was the best base to cover all my must-visit places in Istanbul. And I ended up walking around the neighbourhood almost every day of my stay in Istanbul.

How to get to Istanbul

Or rather, which airport should you fly into in Istanbul?

Istanbul has two airports: One is Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side and the other is Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW) on the Asian side. While both are far from the city center, IST is more common and popular. And since our accommodation was on the European side, we chose IST.

How to get to the Istanbul city center

You have four options:

1. Take the subway: If you stay near Taksim, you can easily take two trains to your accommodation. At the time I went, the metro was not crowded and I had to walk only 10 minutes or so to get to our AirBnB once I got off the train. We had to take M11 from the airport to Gayrettepe and switch to M2 to get to our stay near Taksim Square.
   
   Get an Istanbulkart at the station — it’s super cost-effective and can be used on the metro, trams, buses, and the ferries. Remember that every time you recharge your Istanbulkart, there’s a service fee. So try to do a bulk amount the first time around and recharge only when necessary.
   
2. Take a bus: The Havaist bus from the airport has 11 different routes to the city center.
   
3. Bitaksi app: Download the Bitaksi app and try booking it from Departures instead of Arrivals.
   
4. Taxi line outside the airport: There’s also a taxi line outside the airport with different ranks ranging from orange for budget-friendly to black for luxury vehicles.

Overall, I only have experience with option 1 here and if you’re traveling light and aren’t too tired or unable to walk, I’d highly recommend it. You get on at the first station on the metro so you’ll have a place to sit plus the signs are all in English too, making the subway easy to navigate. Or so my husband says. I do all the planning for trips and become a passenger princess the second we land in a new country. I’m not going to figure out logistics when I could turn my brain off for a few days and be pretty. Oops.

What to do in Istanbul

3 to 4 days are perfect for an Istanbul Itinerary. You will have enough time to cover all the historical landmarks and attractions, with spare time to spend on the great restaurants in the city.

I flew in at 8pm on my first day and only had enough time to eat dinner and hang out at Taksim Square. The official day one that I mention here is from my second day in Istanbul.

Day one: Palaces, towers, and cheesecakes with a view

I walked everywhere on this day but you can choose to take a taxi as well.

Dolmabahçe Palace

Located in Beşiktaş, this palace was Sultan Abdulmejid I and his family’s place of residence and also the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for several years. With 258 rooms and 46 halls, this is the largest palace in Turkey and well worth spending half a day in.

The entry fee is 1350 liras per person and includes access to the main palace, the harem, and the painting museum. Audioguides are also included as part of the ticket, but you’ll need to drop off an ID as a deposit.

We went right around the opening time so there was no line to enter. The palace got crowded as the day progressed, though.

Is Dolmabahçe Palace worth visiting? Absolutely! Especially if you are a history nerd like me. It’s a grand palace with lavish furnishings imported from all around the world. My mouth was perpetually hanging open inside the palace — that’s how impressed I was.

Don’t miss the National Palaces Painting Museum within the palace premises. Even an art noob like me thoroughly enjoyed it!

Istiklal Caddesi

You can now start heading back towards Taksim to cover some more attractions. Istiklal Caddesi is a long street lined with shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants. I would go as far as to compare it to Times Square or for my Chennai dreamboats, Ranganathan Street. 😀

Walk down Istiklal Caddesi to explore all the shops and iconic passages in it. We were able to find shops for everything imaginable, from purchasing my Turkcell e-SIM to a kiosk for the most delectable chocolates. Speaking of, do stop by Tarihi Meşhur Beyoğlu Çikolatacısı. I personally loved their pistachio-laden chocolate bars.

Istiklal Caddesi is also where you can ride the nostalgic red tram, the T2 Taksim-Tünel line. If you’re looking for Instagrammable photo opps in Istanbul, here’s your chance!

This avenue also has several side streets and passages to explore. I’m sure you’ll spend a good one hour in Istiklal Caddesi alone.

Galata Tower

Walk down Istiklal Caddesi towards Galata Tower. This jail and watch tower from the Ottoman Period is now an observatory that gives you beautiful panoramic views of Istanbul. If you go near closing time (6:30pm), you might even catch a beautiful sunset from the tower.

I, however, skipped going up the tower and instead, walked straight towards Galata Bridge for sunset views. It has pedestrian walkways from where you can relax until the sun sets. You’ll see a lot of fishermen on the bridge as well as several newly married couples with wedding photographers in tow for the perfect sunset photo on the walkways underneath the bridge.

Side note: I’m pretty sure I photobombed someone’s wedding photo accidentally and I am going to be beating myself up about it for the rest of my life.

Try the San Sebastian Cheesecake

All of Instagram is raving about it so why not try it? Once you catch the sunset, walk back up towards Galata Tower and join the waitlist for a table at Viyana Kahvesi. Even though it gets very crowded, the patrons move fast and it’s easy to get a seat.

I unfortunately detest cheese in dessert (hot take alert?) and had just one bite of the cheesecake. I loved their Lotus Biscoff Cookie, though!

While Viyana Kahvesi has the perfect view of the Galata Tower, several cafes on the road leading to the tower have outdoor seating with this cheesecake on their menu if you want to grab that perfect Instagram shot.

Day two: Mosques and bazaars

Sultanahmet Square

Sultanahment Square is where you’ll see the city’s Byzantine, Ottoman, and Roman influences all around. You’ll find all of Day Two’s attractions in and around Sultanahment Square. We had to take a bus and then a tram to get here from Taksim Square.

Hagia Sofia

This mosque and a former church is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site every Istanbul visitor flocks to. Prepare to wait though because it has really long lines both to buy tickets and then for entry into the mosque. You’ll also see guides offering to help you skip the line if you use their services, but the mosque has free audioguides inside and you may not need a guide.

We also purchased tickets to the Hagia Sofia Experience Museum and it was perhaps the highlight of Day 2. You move from room to room where they showcase videos and interactive exhibits detailing the entire history of Hagia Sofia.

Remember to follow the Hagia Sofia dress code: Your outfit needs to cover your shoulders and knees and women need to cover their heads with a scarf. Take your own scarf there so you don’t have to overpay to buy one at the mosque.

Blue Mosque

This majestic mosque is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and entry is free. You cannot, however, enter the mosque during prayer times.

Arasta Bazaar

While originally outside of my plan for Day Two, I stumbled across this bazaar on my way to a restaurant for lunch. It’s a relatively calmer market street lined with shops selling carpets, the prettiest ceramics, and other knick knacks. Get ready to splurge here!

Basilica Cistern

After lunch, head to this cistern underneath the city and marvel at its engineering and majestic insides. It is apparently Istanbul’s largest covered cistern — it’s almost 10,000 square meters!

Check out the Medusa Head, placed there to protect the cistern and keep the water clean. There are also other theories as to why there are Medusa statues in the cistern, including it being a symbol of Christianity and also that it was for decorative reasons.

Grand Bazaar

We aren’t done shopping yet! Walk towards the Grand Bazaar and check out its myriad of shops. You can haggle here and the vendors apparently expect you to as well. It can get really crowded and it’s also an overwhelming market so plan in advance on what you want to buy before you go in so you don’t get distracted and overspend.

As this was just a couple of days into our trip and we didn’t want to collect heavy knick-knacks that would affect our baggage limitations on other domestic flights within Turkey, we didn’t end up buying anything beyond smaller souvenirs.

Also, if you need to exchange cash, the best place do it is here. We got the best rates to convert our Euros into Liras in Grand Bazaar.

Day three: A royal day trip

Princes’ Islands

I know everyone recommends a Bosphorous Cruise in Istanbul but what if you could be on the sea while also heading to an absolutely mesmerising island on the Sea of Marmara?

The Princes’ Islands are a collection of small islands out of which 4 are accessible to the public. In the Byzantine period, these islands are where princes and other royalty were exiled to. Now, they are a popular tourist destination. Interestingly, these islands have banned motorized vehicles. I saw a grand total of 2 buggies on the island — that’s all!

The ferry is a good 1 hour from Eminonu so go prepared with entertainment of your choice. At one point, a passenger on the ferry started throwing bread out to the seagulls and that was the only eventful part of the ferry aside from being lost to the stunning views of the Sea of Marmara.

We chose to disembark at Büyükada and spent half a day browsing through the local shops, walking around the town, and hiking to view points.

Getting around Büyükada: Rent a bicycle or get on one of the buggies for a tour of the island! You could cover a lot of the island by walking as well if the weather is kind.

Maiden’s Tower

Once you come back from your day trip, get on a ferry to this relatively small tower located on the Bosphorous Strait. Maiden’s Tower was an Ottoman Lighthouse and has some really interesting stories surrounding it. My personal favourite is that of the emperor and his cursed daughter. When an Oracle predicts that the Emperor’s daughter would die by snakebite on her 18th birthday, the Emperor built this tower to hide her in. On her 18th birthday, he sends her a fruit basket to celebrate having thwarted fate. However, a snake hiding in the basket bites the daughter and she passes away.

I really wanted to go here after my day trip but I missed the ferry around closing time and unfortunately couldn’t visit.

Day four: Breakfasts and flights

Transit time! But first, brekkie.

A traditional Turkish breakfast was high on my to-do list and I saved it for my last day in Istanbul to do it the right way: Spend a good few hours working my way through the spread and finishing it off with some excellent tea.

I even did a lot of research into where to try the breakfast and Van Kahvalti Evi featured on several lists so of course I went there for my first (of many) Turkish breakfast. The hype was real and the breakfast did not disappoint!

We also walked around the neighborhood and picked up small souvenirs like a tote bag and a bookmark. And then it was time to find our way to Nevsehir for Cappadocia and the balloons! Our flight was from SAW and we took the Havaist bus to the airport. While there was some traffic, we still got to the airport on time for our flight.

What to eat in Istanbul as a vegetarian

Istanbul has a lot of vegetarian options if you look hard enough! Even my budget meals in lokantasis had a couple of vegetarian options everywhere and I did not struggle at all.

But be prepared to eat lots of eggplant on this trip because it’s usually the only vegetarian option you’ll find in menus. Here were some of my favourite foods I was able to enjoy as a vegetarian in Turkey:

• Simit
• Pide
• Testi kebab/pottery kebab
• Traditional breakfast

One of my favourite restaurants to eat at was Dubb Ethnic and I loved how they made an entire performance out of their testi kebab!

Cappadocia Itinerary: 4 days

This region in central Turkey is known for its hot air balloons and its cone-shaped rock formations called fairy chimneys. While the balloons are a major draw for tourists, I actually loved Cappadocia even more for all the valleys you can hike through.

How to get to Cappadocia from Istanbul

Flying is probably the best option to get to Cappadocia from Istanbul. The two nearest airports to Cappadocia are Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) and Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR). I flew into NAV and then booked a shuttle through my hotel to Göreme.

You could also take a bus from Istanbul to Cappadocia. While I didn’t choose this option, I did take a bus from Cappadocia to Antalya and found the journey really comfortable while also being easy on the wallet.

Where to stay in Cappadocia

Göreme is a great option if you want to stay close to the major attractions. I had my heart set on staying at a cave hotel and found a great stay at a reasonable price. I’ve also had friends stay at Uçhisar instead in Cappadocia for quieter vacations.

What to do in Cappadocia

Well, you’re definitely doing the hot air balloon but don’t forget that Cappadocia has so much more to offer! From visiting open air museums and fortresses to hiking through surreal valleys, there’s so much to do in Cappadocia.

3-4 days are perfect to see almost all the important sights in Cappadocia. This would be a good time in the vacation to hire a car or a scooter as public transportation in and around the Cappadocia region is not as developed as in Istanbul. Instead, you could also book both the red and green tours with an agency to be chauffeured to all the stops on the tours. More on this down below.

Day one: Balloons, valleys, and surprise unplanned quad bike rides

Sunrise flight on a hot air balloon

Book your hot air balloon for your first full day in Cappadocia as sunrise flights might sometimes get cancelled due to poor weather. This way, if it’s cancelled on your first day, you still have a couple more chances left before you fly out to your next destination.

We booked our hot air balloon with Voyager Balloons through our hotel. It was the most expensive thing we did on this trip but honestly, it was SO worth it. One budgeting tip I’ve heard is to book a balloon flight in person for cheaper options but honestly, this was a bucket list activity for me and I didn’t want to leave the flight to chance.

I’ve heard that there are two ways a hot air balloon can go — one option is to get altitude while another is to fly through the valleys. Our flight was through the valleys and I was mesmerised throughout. I wished we could go higher (Butterfly Balloons were all the way up in the clouds!) but this was stunning nonetheless.

Voyager Balloons also offered us breakfast before the flight but at 5am in the morning, you just don’t want to eat. 😀

Head back to the hotel after your flight for some breakfast and to catch some zzz’s again for you have a long day ahead of you.

Paşabağ (Monk’s valley)

There are two main tours in Cappadocia — the Red Tour and Green Tour. Most Red Tour stops are located in and around Göreme, making it easy for you to navigate by yourself if you rent a vehicle. If you’d rather have the comfort of an air-conditioned bus with a guide, book the Red Tour through an agency instead.

We rented a scooter to do the Red Tour by ourselves and it easily was the best day we had (until we got scammed/fleeced by the scooter rental company, but that’s a story for another day).

Start the tour with Paşabağ. This day is going to be mostly outdoors and if you go at a time like we did, it’s going to be hotter than Satan’s behind. Stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and carry a hat!

This is your first chance to get up close and personal with fairy chimneys. These are rock formations caused by volcanic tuff eroding over the years. The more mythical reason is that fairies built and lived inside these chimneys.

Now, I don’t know about the fairies, but the chimneys in Paşabağ had monks living in them, which is why the valley got named Monk’s Valley.

The entrance to the Paşabağ archaeological site has a lot of souvenir shops and juice kiosks. The ticket you purchase here is for both this site and the next stop on your tour — Zelve Open Air Museum.

Zelve Open Air Museum

There are two popular open air museums in Cappadocia — Göreme Open Air Museum and Zelve Open Air Museum. While people recommend both equally, the former is apparently a little more crowded than the latter. We chose to head just to Zelve Open Air Museum.

Zelve is a settlement from the Byzantine era, and remained a Turkish village until 1960. There is a well maintained trail looping through the entire valley. It’s not fully flat though and you definitely need comfortable shoes with a grip to walk the full trail.

There are 3 main valleys at Zelve Open Air Museum where you can see old caverns that were houses, churches, and more. We spent a good 2 hours walking the trail and exploring the various cavernous spaces and rock formations. The views are absolutely stunning as well.

Head to Avanos for a quick lunch break once you’re done here.

Devrent valley (Imagination valley)

Listen, my favourite valley in Cappadocia will be whatever I’m talking about in the moment. Because I just cannot choose which one I loved the most!

Devrent Valley also has unique rock formations, but instead of fairy chimneys, it’s rocks that resemble animals. How cool is that?!

It’s called Imagination Valley because you can let your imagination run free while gazing up at rocks, trying to guess which animal they resemble.

This is where I was so glad we didn’t book the Red Tour. There were multiple tour buses that came and went while we were there, where passengers just got 5-10 minutes here to click pictures and bounce. We spent a good half an hour here just trying to spot as many animals as possible.

Yes, we saw the most popular one — the camel. But we also climbed all the way up and saw seals, crocodiles, monkeys, and snakes.

Sunset ATV ride through Rose Valley

Once you’re done here, head towards Rose Valley. We’d initially planned to ride our scooter straight to the sunset point within the valley but abandoned the idea the second we spotted the huge line of ATVs snaking through it.

I absolutely failed at making our ATV move and let my parter do all the riding while I collected dust as the pillion, but what an experience it was! We rode the quad bike for at least 30 minutes before reaching the sunset point. Here, you’ll see 100s of quad bikes parked and their riders milling around the view point to catch the prettiest sunset in Cappadocia.

Head back to your hotel to wash up and head out for dinner.

Day two: The Green Tour

We booked the Green Tour in person at an agency near our hotel and even got a good discount on it Booking the tour gave us access to an air-conditioned minibus, a guide who knew his way around the tour, and the chance to catch some sleep while being shuttled between locations, especially after the early start and length of the previous day. Regardless of whether you book a tour or drive by yourself, here’s a green tour itinerary for Cappadocia.

Göreme Panoramic View Point

Start the tour at Göreme Panoramic View Point. Our guide gave us a quick history of Cappadocia here and left us to our own devices for photo opps. This place gets crowded fast thanks to the splendid views it offers, but if you’re looking for Instagrammable spots in Cappadocia, you need to get here.

Pigeon Valley

Make a quick stop at Pigeon Valley to see the dovecotes (that’s how the valley earned its name!) If you aren’t bound to a tour like we were, this is yet another hiking opportunity. You can hike through the Pigeon valley and also see Uçhisar castle for more splendid panoramic views. More on Uçhisar castle later down in this blog post.

Ihlara Valley

This was my first shot of greenery in Cappadocia with the walking trail also running alongside a river. It’s a very peaceful trail to walk along despite the multiple tour groups that you’ll see here.

Ihlara Valley is also the perfect spot to break for lunch with multiple restaurants alongside the river. I even had a solid vegetarian lunch here that met all my dietary restrictions.

Nar Gölü 

After lunch, make a quick pitstop at Lake Nar, a crater lake. Nar is also the Turkish word for pomegranate, and the lake is named as such due to its appearance.

Derinkuyu Underground City

And now comes the highlight of the day (ya know, if you aren’t claustrophobic, oops) — the largest excavated underground city in the world. Now, I’m not exactly claustrophobic but I detest enclosed spaces and small passages. I was a bit anxious about doing this one but I had a lot of fun geeking out over the history once I got in. But definitely heed the claustrophobia warnings here. There are several narrow passages and some where you also have to crouch to walk through.

Derinkuyu is a multi-level underground city of which only a small percentage is still accessible to tourists. Inside, you’ll find caves for stables, kitchens, chapels, and even wineries. This is definitely a site where you need a guide, especially if you’re a history nut like I am. 10/10 will recommend.

Day three: Hiking to and through valleys

Strap on — this is the most amount of hiking you will do in a day! If you aren’t the weirdo who would hike this much on a vacation, this can be your relatively chill day where you drive to different valleys and maybe do Göreme Open Air Museum instead.

My husband and I love walking everywhere while on vacation and have a strict ‘no taxis’ rule especially in countries with walkable streets and decent public transportation. While the Cappadocia region doesn’t have great public transportation, we made do with what they do have and just walked everywhere else regardless of the time it would take.

So, here’s how day three in Cappadocia went.

Sunrise at Göreme Lover’s Hill

Wake up before sunrise to walk to Lover’s Hill (it’s named “Sunset/Sunrise/Balloons Highest View point in Göreme” on Google Maps). There’s a small entrance fee to get to the viewpoint. Head early to get a good spot.

From here, you can see the hot air balloons taking off at sunrise and some even come very close to the hill.

Head back to your hotel or Airbnb for a quick breakfast before you start the rest of your day.

Uçhisar castle

Take a dolmuş from the Göreme bus station to head to Uçhisar castle. It was the first bus stop from Göreme and with a pocket-friendly fee to boot!

Uçhisar castle used to be the main point of defence in Cappadocia, as this was a region that was invaded a lot. While the interiors are not exactly castle-like, the top of the fortress gives you amazing panoramic views, making this castle definitely worth a visit.

Hike to Love Valley

Yep, you read that right. You’re not just going to hike through Love Valley but also hike to get there. The hike is a little over 4 km and there is a brief stretch where you have to walk on the highway but there were other hikers here and it didn’t feel unsafe to walk on the highway sidewalk.

Hike down the valley to see the fairy chimneys up close. You will need really good shoes here as the path down the valley is steep and slippery at times. I was pretty sure I was going to fall into the valley a couple of times but we soldiered on and it was so, so worth it.

Come out the other side of the trail towards Göreme and head back to your hotel to freshen up. This whole hike was a little over 10 km starting from Uchisar Castle through Love Valley, back to Göreme.

Day 4: Leave for Antalya

If you’re taking a bus to Antalya like we did, make sure to buy lots of snacks and pack entertainment for the long ride.

We reached Antalya right around dinner time and had some of the best pizzas at Rotto Pizza.

What to eat in Cappadocia as a vegetarian

I found a lot of good restaurants in Cappadocia offering a few vegetarian options. Here were some of my favourites:

• Göreme Restaurant: We loved the vibe and the options here so much, we went back twice!
• Gönül Sofrası: This little restaurant in Avanos is so charming and they even whipped up a quick vegetarian meal for me in minutes. The women running the place were absolutely kind and courteous — I loved them!
• Peking Chinese restaurant: Loved their noodles and egg fried rice.

Antalya, Turkey itinerary: 4 days

Antalya is a Turkish city that has everything — beaches, resorts, historical attractions, waterfalls… you name it, the city has it. We wanted to to end our vacation with beach days filled with sun, water, and reading, and that’s how we found ourselves in Antalya.

How to get to Antalya from Cappadocia

• Flight: Fly from NAV or ASR to Antalya airport.
• Bus: Bus rides from Cappadocia are the cheaper option and take about 6:30 hours. You can either book tickets online from a website like Flixbus or get tickets in person at the bus station.
• Drive: Rent a care and drive down the scenic roads at your own pace.

We chose option 2 and took a Metro bus from Cappadocia. We still got to see the scenic route while not spending too much money on the trip.

What to do in Antalya

Antalya has a lot to offer as a city and you need to book your accommodations based on what your preferences are. An all-inclusive resort would be your best bet for the perfect beach vacation. Or if you’re more into the history side of things, stay in the Old Town (Kaleiçi) for its culture and charm. We wanted a mix of both and chose Kaleiçi as our base location.

Antalya is the perfect sedate finish to an energy-fuelled vacation. I’m usually a total Duracell bunny the first 8-10 days of any vacation and then take the last few days to just relax before I have to head back home. So if this part of the Turkey itinerary looks very sparse, it’s intentional.

Day one: Some history, some sand

Hadrian’s gate

Check out this memorial gate at the entrance of Kaleiçi. This gateway was built to commemorate Emperor Hadrian’s visit to the city. You can actually still see chariot tracks under this gate. So cool!

Karaalioglu Park and Hidirlik Kulesi

Head to Karaalioglu Park for a calm and quiet stroll amidst towering palm trees with some great views over the Mediterranean. You’ll also have a nice view of Hidirlik Tower from the park — a tower whose history has never been confirmed. There are several theories about it having been a church, a tomb, or a lighthouse, but historians haven’t been able to accurately pinpoint its exact use.

While great in the morning, do return to this park in the evening again to catch a sunset. This is a great sunset viewpoint in Antalya. We spent our last evening in Turkey just chilling at this park and waiting for the sun to set. It was lovely!

Lower Duden waterfall

Catch a bus and head to the Lower Duden waterfall. It’s a free park from where you can see the waterfall open straight into the Mediterranean Sea. I’m not usually a waterfall person but this one was mesmerising — I think it’s the only waterfall I’ve seen opening straight into an ocean! There are a lot of little shops and cafes around this park.

Lara beach

Head to Lara beach next to spend the remainder of your day relaxing at the beach. This public beach is one of the longest sand beaches in Türkiye and is a must-visit along with Konyaalti beach.

Day two: Mermerli beach

Located within the Kaleiçi, Mermerli beach is one of the oldest beaches in Antalya. The water here is calm and clear, and you can even see the bottom while swimming! It’s also a private beach, which means you need to pay an entrance fee of €5 — totally worth it to spend an entire day at the beach.

The beach has sun loungers, umbrellas, and changing rooms, and toilets upstairs in the restaurant. You can also leave and come back as many times as you want in a day but you do have to give up your lounger if you leave.

We went early to the beach and got prime spots. It ended up being a fun day of soaking in the water and reading alternatively. I finished an entire book and got tanned by several more shades. It ended up becoming my favourite day in Antalya!

Day three: Day trip time!

We booked a day trip to the ancient cities of Perge, Aspendos, and Side to feed the history buffs in us.

Perge

This ancient Lycian settlement dates as far back as the Bronze Age! You can now visit the excavated ruins of the city and see a stadium where gladiators used to fight, hamams, an Artemis temple, the marketplace, and so much more.

While you can drive yourself to Perge — it’s around 20 km from Old Town — I’d still highly recommend getting a guide to take you through the ancient city, if only to understand the history better.

Aspendos

After Perge, head to the Roman Theatre of Aspendos, one of the best preserved Roman theatres where performances happen to this day. When we visited, we were told Swan Lake was going to be performed the next evening and it was the only time I regretted not renting a car in Antalya so we could go see it by ourselves. I can only imagine how breathtaking the performance would have been in this antic theatre.

Just like the Maiden’s Tower in Istanbul, the Aspendos Antic Theatre too has a myth around its origins and here’s how it goes. According to the legend that our guide indulged my questions on, the King of Aspendos hosted a competition to get his daughter Belkis married. The competition was on who could do the most beneficial thing to the city of Aspendos. Ya know… two birds, one stone, and all that jazz.

On hearing this, two architect brothers decided to throw their hats in the ring. One brother built an aqueduct to bring water to the city while the other built a theatre.

The King was initially impressed by the first brother. However, the acoustics of the theatre are so good that when the King visited, the second brother asked to be married to Belkis in a whisper from the upper seats which the King could still hear, seated as he was far from the man. Torn between the two brothers, he cuts his daughter in half to give them each a piece. In another version, the second brother puts his foot down about cutting Belkis in half, proving that his love is true, and he ends up marrying her.

Did anyone ask Belkis who she wanted, b-t-dubs?

Anyway, this was an interesting story to hear.

Side

Side is an ancient port city that was abandoned in the 12th century after repeated attacks by various invaders. There are quite a few attractions within Side and I definitely regretted not being on my own clock here as we only stopped at a few of these attractions that our guide chose. There are temples for Apollo, Athena, and Dionysus here and I’m glad I got to see all 3, if only for a few minutes each.

Manavgat waterfall

You will find this waterfall on the Manavgat river, quite close to Side. While it’s not a very tall waterfall, it’s wide — perhaps the widest I’ve seen! While the waterfall is stunning, the place is crowded with tourists and can get overwhelming pretty fast.

The tour ends here and you can head back to Kaleiçi for dinner and turn in for the night.

Day 4: Shopping in Kaleiçi

It’s your last full day in Turkey before you have to head back home so this is your time to shop for knick-knacks and souvenirs. I got a couple of evil eyes for me and my mom — it’s my only superstition, leave me alone — and bought enough baklava to feed a few armies and some.

The Old Town has a lot of small shops selling charming knick-knacks to take back home. The Old Bazaar is also within walking distance and has several stalls to shop souvenirs from.

Day 5: Fly back home

Grab breakfast and check out to head to the airport. We took the tram to Antalya airport and it was super efficient despite the heavy bags we were lugging around.

Aaand, that’s all!

Phew, this took ages to write.

Türkiye is a fantastic travel destination and I really want to go back to explore more of it. I did my usual “we should live here” schtick here as well but I think I meant it way more here than in other countries I’ve been to.

I hope this Turkey itinerary helped you build yours as well and that you have a fantastic time in this lovely country.

Thanks for reading!