Magical Turkey: Self-Launched

Land at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) and take the Havaist airport bus to Sultanahmet (around £4-5, roughly 60-90 min) or the M11 metro plus tram for even less. Check into a hostel or small guesthouse in Sultanahmet or Karaköy. Spend the late afternoon walking the Hippodrome square, the Blue Mosque exterior and the little streets of the old town, then hunt down an evening meal of iskender kebab or lahmacun in a neighbourhood lokanta (£6-9). Buy an Istanbulkart transit card at a kiosk (£1 card fee plus top-up) — you'll use it for trams, ferries and buses all stay.

🚌Havaist airport bus ~£4-5; Istanbulkart ~£6 loaded

🛏Hostel dorm or simple guesthouse double in Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£16-22 pp)

• →Self-guided walk of the Hippodrome and Blue Mosque square
• →Evening wander through Sultanahmet lanes

Start early at Hagia Sophia (free to enter as a mosque; expect queues — go at opening). Then the Basilica Cistern (around £10-12 entry, book a timed slot on Klook or GetYourGuide to skip the ticket queue) and the Blue Mosque. Skip the paid 'guided Hippodrome tour' — the square is free to walk and plaques explain the obelisks. In the afternoon ride the public Bosphorus ferry from Eminönü (around £1-2 with Istanbulkart, versus £25+ for a tourist cruise) up towards Anadolu Kavağı and back for the same views. Dinner near the Galata Bridge with grilled balık ekmek (fish sandwich) for about £4.

🚌Tram, public ferry and walking — ~£3 total

🛏Hostel dorm or simple guesthouse double in Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£16-22 pp)

• →Hagia Sophia (free entry)
• →Basilica Cistern ~£11
• →Blue Mosque (free)
• →Public Bosphorus ferry ride ~£2

Take the Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) high-speed train from Istanbul's Pendik or Söğütlüçeşme station to Ankara — roughly 4.5 hours, tickets around £10-15 booked on the TCDD website or app. Overnight buses are cheaper but this is a comfortable, scenic day ride. Drop bags at a hostel near Kızılay or Ulus, then visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (entry around £5-7) — one of the best archaeological museums in the world and the key to understanding everything you'll see later on this trip. Evening stroll through the restored Ottoman houses of Hamamönü and dinner at a local pide salonu.

🚌YHT high-speed train Istanbul–Ankara ~£12

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kızılay (~£15-20 pp)

• →Museum of Anatolian Civilizations ~£6
• →Hamamönü old quarter walk (free)

Visit Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum (free entry, allow 1.5 hours). Take the Ankara metro/bus back, then board an afternoon bus to Nevşehir or Göreme — around 4.5-5 hours, £13-18. On arrival, check into a cave or stone guesthouse in Göreme (lovely ones from about £20-25 pp). For the Avanos pottery workshop, book a short workshop directly with one of the family ateliers on Instagram, or simply turn up — expect about £15-20 including your own piece. Alternatively, hire a local guide via GetYourGuide for a Red Valley small-group afternoon.

🚌Ankara–Göreme coach ~£15

🛏Cave/stone guesthouse in Göreme (~£20-25 pp)

• →Anıtkabir (free)
• →Avanos pottery workshop ~£18

The optional sunrise hot-air balloon is Cappadocia's signature and worth the money — book ahead via GetYourGuide or direct with a licensed operator such as Royal or Butterfly, roughly £130-160 for a standard 60-minute flight (cheaper booked locally in low season, but weather-dependent). If not ballooning, start with the Göreme Open-Air Museum (around £8 entry) and its painted cave churches. In the afternoon hike the Rose and Red Valleys to Çavuşin (free, 3-4 hours, bring water) or join a small-group Green Line tour. Replace the coach's carpet-weaving stop with a check of the Göreme co-op, and in the evening catch a whirling dervish ceremony in a caravanserai (about £12-18 booked online).

🚌Local dolmuş minibuses ~£2

🛏Cave/stone guesthouse in Göreme (~£20-25 pp)

• →Hot-air balloon flight ~£145 (optional, weather-dependent)
• →Göreme Open-Air Museum ~£8
• →Rose/Red Valley self-guided hike (free)
• →Whirling dervish ceremony ~£15

Take a morning dolmuş to Kaymaklı and explore the underground city on your own (entry around £6) — the self-guided route through the tunnels is well signed, so no tour needed. Alternatively join a half-day Green Tour (Ihlara Valley plus Kaymaklı, about £35) that ends back in Göreme. In the early evening catch a bus or the regional train to Konya, about 3.5-4 hours, £8-12. Stay in a guesthouse near the Mevlana Museum and try Konya's famous etli ekmek flatbread for dinner.

🚌Dolmuş to Kaymaklı ~£2; bus Göreme–Konya ~£10

🛏Guesthouse near Mevlana Museum, Konya (~£16-22 pp)

• →Kaymaklı Underground City ~£6

Spend the morning at the Mevlana Museum and Mausoleum (free entry) — quiet, beautiful and the spiritual heart of the city — plus the Karatay Madrasa tile museum (about £2). Book the overnight or afternoon bus to Antalya (about 5-6 hours, £11-15) or take the slower scenic route. Arrive in Antalya's Kaleiçi old town and check into a family-run pension among the Ottoman houses. Have dinner at a meyhane or a cheap ocakbaşı, and eat lunch the way locals do at a Konya esnaf lokantası (esnaf restaurant) for £4-6 instead of the itinerary's coach-stop restaurant.

🚌Konya–Antalya coach ~£13

🛏Pension in Kaleiçi, Antalya (~£18-24 pp)

• →Mevlana Museum and Mausoleum (free)
• →Karatay Madrasa ~£2
• →Kaleiçi old town evening walk (free)

Take the Antray tram or a public bus to Aksu and connect to the Perge turnoff (about £1-2 total, versus a £50 private transfer), then walk or catch a dolmuş between the sites. Perge's colonnaded main street and stadium are excellent with a Museum Pass or on a single ticket (around £5-7). Continue to Aspendos to see the astonishingly intact Roman theatre (around £8). Return to Antalya for a swim at Konyaaltı beach and dinner in Kaleiçi. If you'd rather have someone drive you between the two ruins, a GetYourGuide half-day tour costs roughly £35-45.

🚌Public tram/bus and dolmuş ~£4

🛏Pension in Kaleiçi, Antalya (~£18-24 pp)

• →Perge ancient city ~£6
• →Aspendos Theatre ~£8
• →Konyaaltı beach (free)

Travel from Antalya to Denizli by bus (about 3.5-4 hours, £9-13) and take the local dolmuş up to Pamukkale village (about £1). Walk the white travertine terraces barefoot (entry around £10-12, includes Hierapolis) and explore the Greco-Roman city above, including its theatre and the Antique Pool if you fancy a swim among sunken columns (extra ~£8). Go late afternoon to catch golden light and fewer crowds. Sleep in a small family pension in Pamukkale village, where dinner is usually cheap and home-cooked.

🚌Antalya–Denizli bus ~£11; dolmuş ~£1

🛏Family pension in Pamukkale village (~£15-20 pp)

• →Pamukkale travertines and Hierapolis ~£11
• →Antique Pool swim ~£8 (optional)

Take an early dolmuş or bus to Denizli, then a train or bus to Selçuk (about £4-6, 2.5-3 hours). From Selçuk it's a 10-minute dolmuş to Ephesus (about £1). Enter Ephesus at opening (around £15-18, or buy the combined Aegean Museum Pass if you're visiting several sites) and walk the Curetes Street to the Library of Celsus — a self-guided audio guide on your phone works brilliantly here. Meryem Ana (House of the Virgin Mary) is a short taxi or dolmuş ride uphill (entry ~£5). Skip the coach's countryside gözleme stop and try one in Selçuk town instead, then catch an evening bus or low-cost domestic flight (Pegasus/AJet, book ahead for £25-40) from İzmir to Istanbul. If you return before 6pm, the Grand Bazaar is open Monday-Saturday — otherwise save it for tomorrow.

🚌Pamukkale–Selçuk bus/train ~£5; Ephesus dolmuş ~£2; İzmir–Istanbul flight or overnight bus ~£30

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Sultanahmet/Karaköy (~£16-22 pp)

• →Ephesus ancient city ~£16
• →House of the Virgin Mary ~£5

Spend the morning haggling gently in the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, sip Turkish coffee in a courtyard café, and — if timings allow — take a final walk along the Galata Bridge or up to the Galata Tower viewpoint. Buy a last simit and some lokum for the flight home, then take the Havaist bus or metro to the airport. If your flight is late, a Turkish bath at a historic hamam (around £20-30) is a great send-off.

🚌Havaist airport bus ~£4-5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Grand and Spice Bazaars (free)
• →Galata area walk (free)
• →Optional historic hamam ~£25