Upgraded Discover Turkey — Self-Launched (Antalya to Istanbul)

Fly into Antalya (AYT); the airport tram/bus plus a short walk gets you into Kaleici for a few lira, or a Havaş shuttle runs about £3. Check into a budget hotel or hostel in or beside the old quarter. Spend the late afternoon wandering the cobbled lanes of Kaleici down to the Roman harbour and walking through Hadrian's Gate. Cheap dinner of pide or a balik ekmek by the water.

🚌Antalya airport bus/tram to Kaleici, approx £1-3

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kaleici (private room approx £22, dorm approx £12)

• →Walk Kaleici old quarter and ancient Roman port
• →Hadrian's Gate
• →Sunset at the harbour

Skip the coach tour and take the local bus from Antalya's otogar towards Serik/Manavgat and get off at Aspendos — the Roman theatre there is among the best preserved anywhere. Hop a dolmus onward to Perge to see the colonnaded street, theatre, baths and Hellenistic gates. Buy the Antalya Museum + site tickets separately or grab a Museum Pass if you're doing many sites. Back to Antalya for the evening.

🚌Local buses Dolmus Antalya-Aspendos-Perge, approx £6-8 total

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kaleici

• →Aspendos Roman theatre and aqueduct
• →Perge ancient city (theatre, baths, gates)
• →Optional: Antalya Museum (excellent Roman collections)

Take a morning bus west to Kas (change at Fethiye or go via Kemer/Finike; roughly 4-5 hours, ~£8-10). En route, if you time it, stop at Phaselis near Kemer — an ancient harbour town with three bays and swimming off the ruins, and a short, easy stretch of the Lycian Way above it. In the evening, join a small-group sunset trip up to the Chimaera (Yanartaş) eternal flames near Çıralı (book via GetYourGuide or locally). Overnight in Kas.

🚌Intercity bus Antalya-Kas, approx £8-10; shared minibus to Chimaera

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Kas (approx £20-28)

• →Phaselis ancient harbour town
• →Short Lycian Way walk
• →Chimaera eternal flame sunset trip

The highlight of the coast: book a day gulet cruise from Kas harbour (via GetYourGuide, Klook or through your guesthouse — around £30-40 with lunch). You sail over the sunken city of Kekova, see the submerged streets, Lycian sarcophagi and the hilltop Simena castle at Kalekoy, with swimming stops in turquoise bays. Lunch on board is usually grilled fish or chicken. Back to Kas for the evening.

🚌Walk to Kas harbour; gulet cruise included in activity price

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Kas

• →Kekova sunken city by gulet
• →Simena castle and Kalekoy village
• →Swimming stops and onboard lunch
• →Optional: peach ice cream in Kalekoy

Bus or dolmus up the coast via Fethiye to Dalyan (approx 4 hours, ~£9). Check in, then take the little river boat across to the Caunos ruins — rock-cut Lycian tombs in the cliff face, a Roman theatre and bath complex — and continue downriver to Iztuzu (Turtle) Beach, a protected loggerhead nesting beach you can swim from. Sunset boat back is lovely. Cheap canal-side dinner in Dalyan.

🚌Intercity bus Kas-Dalyan via Fethiye approx £9; local river boat approx £8-10

🛏Pension or budget hotel in Dalyan (approx £20-30)

• →Caunos ancient ruins and Lycian rock tombs
• →Boat to Iztuzu/Turtle Beach
• →Swimming and optional mud baths

Travel by bus to Pamukkale (via Mugla/Denizli, approx 4-5 hours, ~£10). If you're routing through Nazilli/Aydin you can break the journey at Aphrodisias — a superb, far quieter Greco-Roman city with the Tetrapylon, Temple of Aphrodite and a huge stadium — though it's easiest as a taxi/tour add-on from Pamukkale. Arrive Pamukkale late afternoon, check into a budget pension in the village right under the travertines.

🚌Bus Dalyan-Pamukkale via Denizli approx £10; optional taxi to Aphrodisias (shared approx £15)

🛏Pension or budget hotel in Pamukkale village (approx £18-25)

• →Aphrodisias Greco-Roman site and museum (optional stop)
• →Evening walk below the travertines

Get to the Pamukkale/Hierapolis site early (opens ~08:00) to beat the crowds and the heat. Wade in the white travertine pools, then explore the Hierapolis ancient spa town: the theatre, Temple of Apollo, Frontinus Gate, the necropolis and the archaeology museum housed in former Roman baths. Afternoon bus onward to Selcuk (via Denizli, approx 3.5-4 hours, ~£9). Overnight Selcuk.

🚌Bus Pamukkale-Selcuk via Denizli approx £9

🛏Pension or guesthouse in Selcuk (approx £18-25)

• →Pamukkale travertine terraces
• →Hierapolis theatre, Temple of Apollo, Frontinus Gate
• →Hierapolis archaeology museum

Selcuk is walkable and Ephesus is an easy 15-minute dolmus or a 30-minute walk away. Arrive at Ephesus at opening (08:00) for cooler air and fewer crowds — the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, Temple of Hadrian, Baths of Constantine, Odeon and Arcadian Way. Consider the extra ticket for the Terrace Houses. In the afternoon, see the single remaining column of the Temple of Artemis, the Isa Bey Mosque, St John's Basilica and the Ephesus Museum back in Selcuk.

🚌Local dolmus Selcuk-Ephesus approx £1-2 return

🛏Pension or guesthouse in Selcuk

• →Ephesus ancient city (Library of Celsus, Great Theatre, Temple of Hadrian)
• →Terrace Houses (extra ticket)
• →Temple of Artemis, Isa Bey Mosque, Ephesus Museum
• →Optional: Turkish bath in Selcuk

Long travel day north: bus from Selcuk/Izmir to Bergama (Pergamon), approx 3 hours. Spend a few hours at the Pergamon Acropolis — the steepest theatre in the ancient world, the Altar of Zeus site and the library — reachable by cable car. Then continue by bus to Canakkale (approx 3 hours, ~£10). Overnight by the Dardanelles waterfront.

🚌Bus Selcuk-Bergama approx £7; bus Bergama-Canakkale approx £10

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in Canakkale (approx £18-28)

• →Pergamon Acropolis and steepest ancient theatre
• →Pergamon cable car
• →Evening waterfront walk and Canakkale's Trojan Horse replica

Take a shared minibus day tour of the Gallipoli battlefields from Canakkale (book locally or via GetYourGuide, ~£35-45 with guide and lunch) covering Anzac Cove, Ari Burnu Cemetery, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. Afterwards, cross the Dardanelles by ferry at Eceabat and pick up the bus onward to Istanbul from Çanakkale/Eceabat (about 5-6 hours). Overnight Istanbul, ideally around Sultanahmet or Sirkeci.

🚌Gallipoli shared minibus tour; Dardanelles ferry approx £1-2; bus Eceabat-Canakkale-Istanbul approx £15-20

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Sultanahmet/Sirkeci, Istanbul (approx £22-35)

• →Anzac Cove and Ari Burnu Cemetery
• →Lone Pine Australian Memorial
• →Chunuk Bair
• →Dardanelles ferry crossing

Do your own walking loop of the old city: Sultanahmet Square and the Hippodrome obelisks, the Blue Mosque (free, dress modestly), and the atmospheric Basilica Cistern. Use an Istanbulkart for trams and ferries. In the afternoon, buy a ticket for Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace with its harem and gardens, then drift to the Spice Bazaar for lunch and Galata Tower at sunset across the Golden Horn. End with street food in Eminönü or Beyoğlu.

🚌Istanbul tram/metro/funicular with Istanbulkart, approx £3-5 for the day

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Sultanahmet/Sirkeci

• →Blue Mosque and Sultanahmet Square
• →Basilica Cistern
• →Hagia Sophia
• →Topkapi Palace
• →Spice Bazaar lunch
• →Galata Tower sunset

Last morning for anything you missed — the Grand Bazaar, a Bosphorus commuter ferry (the cheapest sightseeing on the water, ~£1 each way), or a Turkish breakfast of menemen and simit. Head to Istanbul Airport by metro (M11) or Havaist bus (~£4-6), or Sabiha Gökçen by bus/taxi. Trip ends.

🚌Metro/Havaist bus to IST approx £4-6, or bus to SAW similar

🛏—

• →Optional: Grand Bazaar
• →Bosphorus ferry ride
• →Turkish breakfast