2 week Turkey road trip from Istanbul
After spending three months living in Istanbul, it was time to hit the road and explore some of Turkey’s iconic landscapes and mediterranean coastline! Turkey has it all, and jumping in a car and self-driving the country is definitely the best way to experience everything the country has in a leisurely and cost-effective way. By roadtripping Turkey you’ll have complete freedom to visit locations like Cappadocia, Antalya, Kas, Marmaris, Izmir and Pamukkale.
This itinerary starts with picking up your car in Istanbul, however you could also fly to Cappadocia and complete this incredible road trip one-way, back to Istanbul.
Contents
Itinerary
Turkey’s O-roads, with a typical speed limit of 120km/h to 140km/h depending on how new the road is.
This itinerary starts in Istanbul, picking up a car from Istanbul’s eastern airport, Sabiha Gokcen International. This is the easiest place to start as there is minimal driving through Europe’s largest city before hitting the highway. Most rental car companies offer pickup and drop-off to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, so to get there, we caught the metro from Kadikoy directly to the airport.
Day 1. Pick up car and drive direct to Cappadocia.
This 700km leg of the journey can be completed in 7 hours along Turkey’s pristine O-roads (aka the Otoyol). You’ll pass the cooler climate black sea region of Western Turkey before heading to Ankara and finally on to Cappadocia. Stay in Goreme or Uchisar for the shortest drive to the balloon sites. We stayed in Ortahisar, a 12-20 minute drive from the balloon sites, which is another option if you prefer something more off the beaten track, but bear in mind that there’s less restaurants out here and the drive times can be rough early in the morning. If you have chosen to fly to Cappadocia, we wouldn’t recommend staying in Ortahisar without a car.
Day 2: Cappadocia.
Book a hot air balloon tour with hotel pickup or drive to Sword Valley, Love Valley or Rose Valley to watch from the ground as hundreds of hot air balloons float up with the sunrise! Spend the rest of the day walking the streets of the village you’re staying and admire the unique cave-dwellings and ancient architecture of the region. For sunset, enjoy from your accommodation balcony after a massive day or head out for a sunset walk, we loved exploring Rose Valley at sunset. You can also take a sunset horse riding tour if that’s more your style!
Day 3: Cappadocia.
Whichever balloon site you skipped yesterday morning, do it today, trust us, all of these experiences are bucket-list toppers! Then visit the Goreme Open Air Museum to learn about the ancient Christian residents of this region. For sunset today, head back to Sword Valley and walk or drive to where the other cars and vans are parked. From here, climb to the top of the hill and perch yourself along the ledge (safely please!) for the most beautiful sunset in Cappadocia.
Day 4: Cappadocia to Pamukkale.
Hit the road early to make an optional stop at Tuz Lake (one we’d highly recommend!), one of the world’s largest salt lakes and home to thousands of flamingos in Spring and Summer. There are some stops along the road that you can be a bit more adventurous and find some stunning deep pink salt. It can be challenging to find space to park along here - instead we just headed to the tourist centre for Tuz Lake and walked away from the tourists to find our own little slice of paradise.
Continue on to Pamukkale. While it is quite a long drive, pay attention to stay on the ‘D’ roads for the journey. These have the highest speed limits and most appropriate conditions for long drives. Exiting to local roads can result in getting stuck behind farm traffic that can add hours on to your trip (as we learnt the hard way!). You’ll arrive to Pamukkale at night, so stop at a roadhouse or restaurant for dinner. Then set an early alarm!
Day 5: Pamukkale to Kas.
Wake up and drive to the Pamukkale South Gate. Enter the archeological park as early as you can (we arrived 15 minutes before opening) to avoid the tour-bus crowds and the strong heat this area gets in the warmer months! The travertine pools are located on the western hillside of the park, with a clearly defined area for walking down the pools. Explore the rest of the artefacts before heading to the mediterranean coast! You don’t want to miss lunch at Cinar Restaurant in Cavdir, along the route. Continue the scenic drive to Kas.
Day 6,7 & 8: Kas.
Give yourself a slow morning (you’ve earned it!). Head for breakfast at a cafe by the water and then grab a sunbed up at one of Kas’ many cliffside beach clubs for a relaxing day in the sea (we loved Medusa Hotel’s club - no beach, but a nice diving / climbing platform into stunning water & great prices). Take a day to drive to some of the public beaches on the peninsula, or make the most of the region and drive to some of the other villages towards Antalya while you’re staying in Kas. The town is also beautiful to wander through with flower lined streets & pretty cafes.
Some of our favourite beaches were: Küçük Çakıl, Büyükçakıl Plajı, İnceboğaz Çınar Beach & Kaş Belediyesi Halk Plajı. Pop these straight into Google Maps and save pins for your trip! We recommend walking to Küçük Çakıl as there isn’t much parking available on the road nearby. The other 3 beaches are best accessed by car and have plenty of parking available.
Day 9: Hit the road for Dalyan.
Make a detour to pass the top of Butterfly Valley. It will take around 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to Butterfly Valley, the road can get fairly windy on the way up the mountain. If you have some spare time, a stay in Oludeniz will let you take a boat around to Butterfly Valley, it’s seriously beautiful! Otherwise, there is also the option to walk / climb to the beach at Butterfly Valley (not pictured). This is about a 30 to 45 minute trip down but can be quite difficult. We arrived at about 11am so it was too hot in the middle of summer to walk down, but if you can pull yourself out of bed and get here early, this is a great option too!
The Caunos Tombs of the Kings in Dalyan are stunning 4th-century BCE Lycian rock-cut tombs carved into cliffs above the Dalyan River, showcasing intricate temple-like façades. A must-visit for history lovers, archaeology enthusiasts, and travelers seeking breathtaking views and ancient wonders. Then head into Dalyan to check into your accommodation. The town centre is pedestrian only and is packed with restaurants and bars.
If history isn’t your thing, but nightlife is, make sure to have started your day a little earlier and aim to drive onwards to Marmaris from Butterly Valley. Marmaris is a popular beach side town with buzzing nightlife and a McDonalds, if the Turkish food isn’t cutting it for you.
You can also combine both, with just a quick stop in at Caunos Tombs of the Kings, before heading onwards for 1.5 hours to Marmaris.
Day 10: Natural Rivers & Beach Towns
Make the most of the day with a sunrise start, heading to a small town called Akyaka. You do not want to miss this! From Dalyan, this drive will take around 1 hour or from Marmaris about 30 minutes. There is a large paid carpark down near the Marina or you can find free street parking until around 10am in Akyaka town (try on Koyuncu Sk). Walk to the river, entering in front of Elif Hanim Hotel & Spa. This beautiful, clear river is popular in the warmer months, and well deserves a stop on the trip. We spent hours here, although the water is not for the feint hearted!
You can pick up some breakfast at one of the local bakeries or supermarkets here. Jump back in the car and head for Cesme, the last stop on this incredible road trip! The drive will take around 4 hours. Stay in Alacati or Cesme village itself for access to the most restaurants, nightlife and amenities like supermarkets.
Day 11: Cesme.
Spend a day beach-hopping the southern coast of the peninsula, visiting Delikli cove (Turkey’s own white cliffed beach similar to Sarakiniko in Milos, Greece!) and Kleopatra cove. Enjoy dinner in Cesme or Alacati depending on where you will stay! Both have tons of restaurant and bar options perfect for one of your final Turkish dinners.
Day 12:
Take a day to relax, stroll down Ataturk Boulevard in Cesme and check out the castle and harbour area. Explore the quaint streets of Alicati. To soak up the last of your beach time, you can also head to Pirlanta and Ilica public beaches.
Day 13: Back to Istanbul.
Head down the Izmir expressway past Bursa back to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport! The drive is around 535km so it will take a good 5 to 6 hours - make sure to leave plenty of time, particularly if you’re flying out of the airport today!
Renting a car
While our experience with renting a car in Turkey was seamless and straightforward, there are a few things to have in order before arriving to grab the keys.
Turkish car rental offices often require an international driving permit (IDP), in addition to your foreign driving license. Despite ours not having a Turkish translation, they still translated the pages of our IDP and compared the information against our physical license.
O-roads and certain bridges/tunnels in Turkey work on a distance-covered toll basis. Ensure that your car has an active toll tag for the electronic toll readers to work correctly. We do not recommend avoiding tolls during this trip as it can add several hours on to already long driving days. Our total toll cost taking mostly toll roads was around $100AUD for the full trip which we paid up at the end when we returned the car to the rental agency.
Only certain car hire offices are on site at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, so be aware that the company you choose will likely pick you up and take you from the airport to their depot, don’t worry, it’ll be even closer to the highway!
Driving in Turkey (Road etiquette, fuel, parking)
We’ve driven all over the world, and driving in Turkey is nothing like driving at home in Australia, the UK, USA, or even parts of Asia like India and Indonesia. While we never felt like we were in danger, expect significant speeding to occur around you, particularly on the already high speed limit O-roads. Overloaded cars, merging and turning without indication and other road users choosing to use lanes optionally are a few other things you’ll often see. Just like our advice for driving anywhere foreign, stay alert and drive defensively. Try not to take risks like uncertain overtakes, do your best to understand upcoming turns and take your time when navigating roundabouts and small streets which can sometimes be one way!
Petrol stations across Turkey (of which their are plenty), are usually staffed by attendants who pump your petrol and will clean your windscreens for no additional charge. Once finished pumping, they will hand you a ticket to take into the store to pay. Keep your receipt, you’ll then need to show this to the pump attendant before leaving.
There is lots of free parking in Turkey, in fact most places we parked were free parks. However take note of time limits and always ensure you give enough space for vehicles to manoeuvre around you if parking in small streets. Always try to contact your accommodation in advance, particularly in places like Kas and Cesme, as almost everyone who visits will self-drive and parks can be extremely limited (read: almost no parks). With notice, your accommodation might be able to reserve a space for you on the street. Very few places have large onsite carparks.
That’s It!
If you’ve made it down here, thank you so much for reading!
That covers our perfect 2 week Turkish road trip itinerary, so your planning can be more seamless knowing you’ve got all the best spots covered.
