1 International return flight, 4 Domestic flights, 7 hours drive to and from one famous landmark, 6 Accommodations, All in 10 days. Here is our Turkey Itinerary!!
Day 1 – En-route Dalaman
We set off on a 4-hour flight to Istanbul where we caught a connected flight to Dalaman. From Dalaman we picked up a hire car and headed to Kabak, the west of the Turkish Mediterranean coast. After arriving at our beautiful Airbnb villa in the Kabak mountains, we grabbed a bite to eat and watched the sunset from our balcony.
Day 2 – Saklikent National Park
We kick-started our day early with breakfast at the Olive Gardens and spectacular views.
50km through the Muğla Province was the Saklikent Canyon, not only were we there out of season but we had the whole place to ourselves at one point and it was magnificent. A few Kilometers down the road from the canyon we ended up at Gizlikent Şelalesi waterfalls, they offer a range of activities from ziplining to airsoft.
After being chased by a dog considering we were in a car we hit the roads back to Kabak to soak in the sunset from our balcony with a hot cup of Turkish tea.
Day 3 – Pamukkale
Another very early start and a 3-hour 45-minute drive to the famous cotton castle with striking landscapes, that’s not all this place has to offer. Swimming in the 7th-century hot springs was a one-of-a-kind experience and the pretties hot spring we had ever visited. Some may know it as the Cleopatra pools. It’s honestly worth a visit. It cost around 120₺ (£6.22pp) to enter Pammukale and to swim in the pool is an additional 100₺ (£5.19pp)
We then headed back down to Kabak and checked into our second Airbnb.
Day 4 – Paragliding in Oludeniz & Ghost Villiage of Kayakoy
First thing first was to find some breakfast and after randomly spotting one of the things on our to-do list right from our breakfast spot was the Ghost Villiage of Kayakoy.
This has got to be the most extreme sport we have done and boy was it FUN!!! Our hearts were racing the whole drive up the mountain as we got higher and higher. The take-off site for paragliding over Oludeniz Beach starts at a height of about 6,500 feet (1,960 meters).
After that adrenaline rush, we headed to the Lycian Rock Tombs to do some exploring costing us as little as 12₺ pp (0.62p) then back to the Ghost Villiage of Kayakoy to explore the history of this place. There was an entrance fee but there was no one there and once again we had the whole place to ourselves.
All of these activities are around a 10-15minute drive from each other.
Day 5 – Travel day
After receiving an email to say that our flight leaving Cappadocia was canceled and we were unable to make any adjustment online to our booking we decided to go to the airport way earlier than planned that day. We were flying with Turkish airline and they have a help desk to hand at every airport. They managed to find us another flight leaving Cappadocia so all plans were back on and we could catch our connect fright to Istanbul then onwards to Cappadocia known for its distinctive “fairy chimney,” rock formations.
We arrived very late and picked up our hired car and headed to Goreme.
Day 6 – ATV Cappadocia
Waking up in the beautiful snowy Goreme looking out of our cave hotel window was magical.
So the plan was to hop on an air balloon but unfortunately that had to be canceled because of the snow. So on to the next activity which was meant to be a sunset ATV drive which ended up being pushed forward due to bad weather. Nevertheless, this was a lot of fun and was meant to be a group booking but turns out that we had the tour all to ourselves and got to explore all the famous valleys with our own guide for 231₺ (£12pp)
We then had lunch at Urizip Korean Restaurant and before you knew it, it was getting dark and we headed back to Turquaz Cave Hotel.
Day 6 – Exploring Cappadocia Carpet Shop
We then stumble into a lovely man who gave us some tea and a tour of his carpet shop Kervan Carpet & Kilim. Cappadocia is also famous for its carpets. After purchasing a small rug and this being his first sale of the day he allowed us to use his photo studio free of charge with traditional outfit changes.
We had hope that we could get on an air balloon but the snow was too heavy and the hope was gone, we decided to just explore the town and try to eat at as many places as possible before knowing our flight was yet again canceled.
Day 7 – Moving hotel & Avanos
After breakfast, we moved over to the Old Town Stone House where we received some very exciting news that the Hot Air balloon tour was back on. It did cost us a lot more than what we originally paid 2000₺ (£100pp) but I guess at such short notice we couldn’t miss this opportunity. It was fate!!
We settled in and drove 20munites to another town called Avanos, it was a lot less touristy and quieter than Goreme. It had the coolest old school McDonald’s and of course, we had to try it. We stumbled across some handmade pottery shops where we were given some history and demonstration of how it is made.
At this point, it was -11c° so we went for a short walk to grab a takeaway and got cozy in our new hotel suite.
Day 8 – Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia & Sunset View Point
We were picked up at the crack of dawn at 5:50 am and taken to the point of the air balloon. We were served breakfast which quickly turned into ice because it was -14c° at this point. But never the less before we knew it we were over 2,200 meters high with a 360-degree view of the entire valley of Cappadocia and more. It was like being in a fairytale, the sunrise was so magical.
Like this day could not get any better we enjoyed breakfast back at our hotel and watched the rest of the balloons come down from the sky.
Later that evening we drove up to Sunset View Point and boy the view from this spot was amazing, watching the sun go down with very few crowds was the peaceful last evening in Cappadocia we needed.
We headed over to our new hotel Sato Cave.
Day 9 – Travel Day En-Route Istanbul
Finally, the weather had cleared up and we were all good to catch our 1-hour flight to Istanbul. Can I just say how nice Turkish Airlines Domestic flights are, you get food and an entertainment tv with movies and games all for a 1 hour flight. Better than their flight from the UK.
We arrived at the Radisson Blue Aisa Istanbul late in the evening.
Day 10 – Explore Istanbul Food & Markets
Early morning start as usual and we hopped in a trusty Uber taxi crossing over to the European side of the city. We started at the Spice Market and made our way through to the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is huge and you could easily get lost. I must say Istanbul is much more pricey compared to the other parts of turkey we visited.
The food you must try:
- Turkish Pizza
- Fresh Pommoganat Juice
- Künefe
- Traditional Soup
- Islak Burger
- Sushi
Unfortunately, the snow had started and the floor was mucky, the temperatures dropped and it was not pleasant walking around the busy streets. So we went to a nearby shopping mall on the Asian Side and did a bit of shopping in a supermarket for some food that we are able to bring back to the UK.
Day 11 – Home Time
This was it, back to the UK we go. This has been a trip to remember. Half of our trip was unplanned due to the weather and we did not get to explore much of Istanbul but we are not city people and love all the other provinces we visited. We would like to come back and explore Kas, Marmaris, and Antalya. Till next time Turkey…
