Self-Launched Complete Turkey: Istanbul to Kars

Arrive at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) and take the Havaist airport bus or the Metro + Marmaray line into Sultanahmet (roughly £2-4). Check into a hostel or small pension in Sultanahmet or the more backpacker-friendly Beyoğlu/Karaköy area. In the evening walk through Hippodrome Square and Sultanahmet Park to see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia floodlit — free and one of the best introductions to the city.

🚌Airport bus (Havaist) or metro ~£2-4; on foot in the old city

🛏Hostel dorm or family-run pension, Sultanahmet/Beyoğlu (~£15-22)

• →Self-guided evening walk of Hippodrome Square, Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia exteriors
• →Free time to recover from travel

Book a Gallipoli day tour departing Istanbul (Crowded House Tours and Hassle Free Tours run daily small-group trips from Sultanahmet, £45-65 including lunch — bookable direct or via GetYourGuide). You'll cover ANZAC Cove, Beach Cemetery, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the war museums with a licensed Turkish guide. Many operators let you end the tour in Çanakkale instead of returning to Istanbul — take that option and stay the night there. Otherwise take the evening bus back or onward.

🚌Tour minibus from Istanbul to the peninsula and on to Çanakkale; road ~4-5h total

🛏Guesthouse in Çanakkale centre (~£18-25)

• →Guided Gallipoli battlefields tour: ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, war cemeteries

Take a local dolmuş or bus from Çanakkale to Troy (Truva) — about 30-40 minutes to the site turnoff, then a short walk or shuttle in. Entry is roughly £12; the walk around the ruins and the wooden Trojan horse takes 2-3 hours. Continue by bus down the coast to Ayvalık (1.5-2h, ~£7) and pop into the Çöp(m)adam (Cöp Madam) handicraft cooperative — an initiative turning waste into products and employing local women; it's free to visit and buy from. Then take a bus from Ayvalık or nearby İzmir to Selçuk (2.5-3h, ~£9) for the night.

🚌Local dolmuş to Troy ~£1.50; intercity coach Çanakkale→Ayvalık→Selçuk ~£16 total

🛏Pension in Selçuk, walkable to Ephesus (~£18-25)

• →Troy archaeological site and Trojan horse (entry ~£12)
• →Çöp(m)adam women's handicraft cooperative, Ayvalık (free)

Get to Ephesus at opening time (08:00) to beat the tour buses — walk or take a 10-minute dolmuş from Selçuk. Entry is about £18; the Library of Celsus, Great Theatre and Harbour Street are the highlights, and you can add the Terraced Houses for a bit extra. On the way back stop at the single remaining column of the Temple of Artemis — free. Have a pide (Turkish flatbread) lunch at a local fırın in Selçuk for £3-4 as your DIY version of the pide demonstration. In the afternoon take a train or bus to İzmir (about an hour), wander the Kemeraltı bazaar on an orientation walk, and catch the overnight train toward Konya/Cappadocia (book the Toros Express or a comparable service on TCDD well in advance — couchette roughly £15-25).

🚌Selçuk→İzmir train ~£2; overnight TCDD train to Konya ~£15-25

🛏Overnight train (couchette)

• →Ephesus archaeological site (entry ~£18)
• →Temple of Artemis
• →Pide lunch in Selçuk
• →Kemeraltı bazaar orientation walk, İzmir

Disembark in Konya, have breakfast near the station, then visit the Mevlana Museum — the mausoleum of Rumi and the spiritual home of the Whirling Dervishes (entry about £3). If timing allows, catch a whirling dervish sema ceremony. Continue by coach to Nevşehir/Göreme (about 4-5 hours, £10-14) and check into a cave pension or hostel in Göreme. Walk up to a viewpoint above town for sunset over the fairy chimneys with a çay in hand.

🚌Konya→Nevşehir/Göreme intercity coach ~£12; local dolmuş into Göreme ~£1

🛏Cave hostel or small cave pension, Göreme (~£20-28)

• →Mevlana Museum, Konya (entry ~£3)
• →Sunset viewpoint over Göreme

Optional but unmissable: a sunrise hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia (£130-180 depending on basket size and season — book direct with operators like Royal or Butterfly, or via GetYourGuide). Later, self-launch the valley hike: walk the Rose and Red Valleys from Göreme to Çavuşin (3-4 hours, waymarked, free) past fairy chimneys and cave churches. In the afternoon take a dolmuş to Kaymaklı underground city (entry ~£7) and explore the multi-level tunnels. In the evening, book a home-cooked dinner with a local family in Çavuşin through Airbnb Experiences, a Göreme guesthouse, or a local cooking-class host (£15-25) — the independent version of the Local Living Moment.

🚌On foot in the valleys; dolmuş to Kaymaklı ~£1.50

🛏Cave hostel or small cave pension, Göreme (~£20-28)

• →Hot air balloon flight at sunrise (optional, ~£130-180)
• →Rose/Red Valley hike, Göreme to Çavuşin (free)
• →Kaymaklı underground city (entry ~£7)
• →Home-cooked dinner with a local family (~£20)

Take an early dolmuş to Kayseri or Nevşehir airport and fly to Istanbul (Turkish Airlines/Pegasus, book 4-6 weeks ahead for £25-45). Check back into a hostel in Beyoğlu or Sultanahmet. Spend the afternoon as you like: wander the Grand Bazaar, cross the Galata Bridge to watch the fishermen, or take a Bosphorus ferry ride on the public İDO/Şehir Hatları line (£1-2 — the cheap equivalent of the £70 cruise). Street food dinner: balık ekmek by the water for £3-4.

🚌Dolmuş to Kayseri airport ~£4; domestic flight Kayseri→Istanbul ~£25-45; Istanbul public transport ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm or pension, Istanbul (~£15-22)

• →Grand Bazaar self-guided wander
• →Public Bosphorus ferry (~£2)
• →Galata Bridge and Karaköy walk

Self-guided big-hitters day. Hagia Sophia (entry around £22 for foreign visitors), the Blue Mosque (free), Basilica Cistern (~£18), Topkapı Palace (~£30) and the Galata Tower (£10) are all within walking/tram reach. Consider a Museum Pass or just pick three to keep costs sensible. In the evening eat meze in Beyoğlu or Kadıköy (ferry across, £1) — Kadıköy's market streets are the best value food in the city.

🚌Tram, ferry and walking ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm or pension, Istanbul (~£15-22)

• →Hagia Sophia (entry ~£22)
• →Basilica Cistern (~£18)
• →Blue Mosque (free)
• →Ferry to Kadıköy for dinner (~£1)

Fly Istanbul to Adıyaman (Turkish Airlines via Istanbul–Adıyaman, roughly £40-60 booked ahead; alternatively fly to Şanlıurfa/Gaziantep and bus). Hire a local driver-guide in Adıyaman or Kahta for the Nemrut loop — shared tours run £30-45 per person including Karakuş Tumulus, the Cendere Roman bridge and the summit at sunset. The colossal statues on Mt Nemrut at golden hour are the whole point. Overnight in Adıyaman or Kahta.

🚌Domestic flight Istanbul→Adıyaman ~£50; shared local tour vehicle for the Nemrut loop

🛏Simple hotel or guesthouse in Adıyaman or Kahta (~£20-28)

• →Karakuş Tumulus monument
• →Cendere Bridge
• →Mt Nemrut summit at sunset (entry ~£8)
• →Shared local tour (~£35)

Get an early start — either on a shared tour or by dolmuş/coach. Stop at the Atatürk Dam viewpoint, then reach Göbekli Tepe, the 11,000-year-old temple site that rewrote the history of civilisation (entry ~£8; the visitor centre is excellent). Continue to Şanlıurfa (Urfa), check in near the old town and spend the late afternoon at Balıklıgöl (the sacred fish pools) and the surrounding bazaar — free. Eat Urfa kebab or çiğ köfte for dinner.

🚌Shared tour or coach Adıyaman→Şanlıurfa via Göbekli Tepe ~£12-20

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Urfa old town (~£20-28)

• →Atatürk Dam viewpoint
• →Göbekli Tepe (entry ~£8)
• →Balıklıgöl sacred pools and Urfa bazaar (free)

Take a morning coach or dolmuş from Urfa to Mardin (2-2.5 hours, £4-6). Mardin's honey-coloured limestone old town is UNESCO-listed and genuinely gorgeous — walk the main street down to the Ulu Cami, the Latifiye Mosque, the Zinciriye Medresesi with its views over the Mesopotamian plain, and the Tellallar (copper workers') bazaar. Kirklar Kilisesi (Forty Martyrs Church) is worth a look too. Sunset from the terrace cafés is excellent; stay in a restored courtyard guesthouse.

🚌Coach Urfa→Mardin ~£5; on foot in the old town

🛏Restored courtyard guesthouse in Mardin old town (~£25-35)

• →Mardin old town self-guided walking tour
• →Zinciriye Medresesi viewpoint
• →Tellallar bazaar
• →Latifiye Mosque and Kırklar Kilisesi

Long travel day: coach from Mardin toward Van (roughly 6-7 hours via Midyat/Siirt, £12-16), or break it with a stop in Hasankeyf. On arrival near Gevaş, hop a local boat out to Akdamar Island (roughly £5-8 return including entry) to see the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross and its carved reliefs — the DIY version of the CEO-led island walk. Continue into Van city and visit the Van Castle / Van Fortress and the old Urartian ruins, or save it for tomorrow morning. Dinner at a Van breakfast house or a local kebab spot.

🚌Coach Mardin→Van ~£14; boat to Akdamar Island ~£6

🛏Budget hotel in Van (~£20-28)

• →Boat to Akdamar Island and Church of the Holy Cross (~£6)
• →Van Castle / Urartian fortress (entry ~£3)

Take a bus from Van to Doğubayazıt (3-4 hours, £5-8), near the Iranian border. In the afternoon visit İshak Paşa Palace, the spectacular Ottoman palace perched above the valley with Mt Ararat looming behind — entrance about £5 and one of the most photogenic spots in Turkey. Also see the nearby Urartian rock tombs and the "Ahmed-i Hani" viewpoint. Note the region is conservative — dress modestly.

🚌Bus Van→Doğubayazıt ~£7; local taxi to palace ~£5

🛏Simple hotel or guesthouse in Doğubayazıt (~£18-25)

• →İshak Paşa Palace (entry ~£5)
• →Urartian rock tombs and Ararat viewpoint

Bus from Doğubayazıt to Kars (4-5 hours via Iğdır, £8-10). Drop bags at a guesthouse, then take a dolmuş or shared taxi out to Ani (about 45 minutes, £4-6 each way) — the ruined medieval Armenian capital on the closed Armenian border, with the Church of the Redeemer, the Cathedral, and the frescoed Church of Tigran Honents. Entry around £6. Back in Kars, walk the Ottoman-era grid streets and see the Kars Castle and the Baltic-style stone buildings.

🚌Bus Doğubayazıt→Kars ~£9; shared taxi to Ani ~£5 each way

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Kars (~£18-25)

• →Ani archaeological site (entry ~£6)
• →Kars Castle and old town walk

Morning visit to the Ari Complex (Ani's lesser-visited neighbouring ruins) or the Kars Museum, then a final breakfast of Kars gravyer cheese and honey. Fly out from Kars Harakani Airport to Istanbul (Pegasus/AJet, £30-50 booked ahead) or take the Doğu Express train back toward Ankara/Istanbul if you have time — one of Turkey's most scenic rail journeys. Trip ends.

🚌Local taxi ~£4; flight Kars→Istanbul ~£40

🛏None (departure day)

• →Ari Complex ruins or Kars Museum
• →Final Kars breakfast