Turkey Itinerary for Indians: 8 Days of City, Coast & Cappadocia- Personal Experience

We were a group of 6 friends who put together this Turkey itinerary for Indians, travelling from the 13th to the 20th of August 2022. Eight days and seven nights across three genuinely different landscapes within one country.

Little About Turkey

Turkey is an elliptic country lying mostly in Asia.

• The Bosporus Strait splits Istanbul in two. Everything east lies in Asia, most of the country’s landmass, while a smaller portion west of the strait sits in Europe. Despite being the smaller side, Europe holds most of Istanbul’s major landmarks, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Istiklal Street, and more.
• The Western side also hosts the country’s largest and one of the world’s busiest airports, Istanbul Airport (IST), most likely your entry and exit point.
• Istanbul is Turkey’s biggest and most popular city, but its official capital sits hundreds of km east in Ankara, not a tourist spot at all.
• Despite being a largely Muslim country, Turkish, not Arabic, is the primary language. Turkish uses English-like alphabets, unlike Arabic, so reading signboards and place names comes easier than you’d expect. English proficiency is moderate, better than Southeast Asia, but lower than Dubai or India.

Currency Worth Knowing About

The Lira is used everywhere, though tour operators often quote prices in Euros, payable in Lira regardless. INR to TRY ran around 12:1 back in 2019-2020, still 8:1 by August 2021. In just one year, the Lira halved in value to 4:1. Local prices hadn’t caught up with that devaluation at the same pace, so we found things far more affordable than expected. As of July 2024, TRY has weakened further, to around 2.5:1

What to Expect on This Turkey Itinerary

Turkey’s experience breaks down neatly into 3 Cs, City, Coast, and Cappadocia. Two other famous sites round things out at the end.

City

Istanbul is my favourite city in the entire world. Beautiful architecture, warm people, endless food and sights, history and modern influence colliding everywhere. Even on a short trip, anything under 3 days in Istanbul genuinely doesn’t do it justice.

Beyond Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, there’s the Grand Bazaar, the Basilica Cistern, palaces and towers, a street of colourful houses, a street of colourful umbrellas, and my personal favourite, Istiklal Street, running from Galata Tower to Taksim Square. Base your stay here if you can.

Istiklal Street is a walking street lined with European architecture, apparel brands, restaurants and dessert shops of every kind, hammams, souvenir stalls, an old tram line mostly boarded by tourists, street performers, cafes, bars, nightclubs, and historical monuments all packed together.

Coast

Turkey has two coastlines, a shorter one along the northern Black Sea border, and the longer, more popular Mediterranean stretch.

• Antalya is the most popular coastal city here, with Bodrum and Izmir as other major stops along the same coast.
• Beaches run huge, clean, and genuinely scenic, complete with beach beds, shacks, and a few beach sports options.
• Fair warning: every beach we visited was a pebble beach. Pebbles shift under your weight and hurt bare feet, and I’m just not a pebble-beach person compared to sand. These beaches also get deep fast, not leaving much shallow space to actually play around in.
• Roads are well-maintained throughout, and self-driving with an Indian licence and credit card is genuinely easy, I’d highly recommend it. Plenty of worthwhile drives too, Fethiye, Kas, Olympos, Saklikent Gorge, all reachable this way

Cappadocia

Pronounced “cap-a-dokia,” not “doshia.” A huge arid landmass with rock formations unlike anywhere else on Earth. Base yourself in Goreme (“go” like goat, “re” like rep, “me” like me), connected by two airports, Nevsehir (NAV) and Kayseri (ASR). Nevsehir sits closer to Goreme but has poorer connectivity.

Four things worth doing in Cappadocia:

1. Hot Air Ballooning: Cappadocia is undoubtedly the world’s most popular spot for this, and it’s genuinely worth it. Wake up at 3am, reach the base by 4am, then experience a 40-60 minute ride in a basket holding around 25 people across four sections. Exceptionally beautiful.
2. Sightseeing: Landmarks split into the “Red Tour” and “Green Tour,” both full-day tours covering different routes. There’s also a “Highlights Tour” combining sites from both, ideal for anyone with just one day to spare.
3. Cave Hotels and Dinners: Modern buildings built to mimic old cave architecture, small hotels with contemporary interiors, terraces set up for traditional carpet seating to watch the balloons or just take in the view. A few also host Turkish performance dinners inside cave-style buildings.
4. Activities: Multiple trekking routes, horse-riding (though I wouldn’t personally recommend it), and quad-biking, each running around 30 Euros per person, if I remember correctly.

Others

Pamukkale: “Cotton Castles” formed from mineral deposits, located midway between Izmir and Antalya. A small town home to a genuinely unique white hillside covered in step-pools of thermal water. Exceptionally beautiful, though a sunny day can make things uncomfortably bright. The site’s large enough to hold hundreds of visitors comfortably.

Ephesus: An archaeological site 45 minutes from Izmir, home to the remains of one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, The Temple of Artemis. Must have been massive in its time, but only a single column stands today. The whole site is layered with ancient ruins, still under active excavation, so who knows what turns up next.

Cost of This Turkey Itinerary for Indians

The Visa Process

Indians need a pre-approved visa for Turkey. If you hold an active US, UK, or Schengen visa, you qualify for the Turkish E-Visa. Everyone else, all 6 of us included, applies through “Gateway International.” Fees back then ran around ₹7,000-8,000 per person, now risen sharply to ₹17,000-18,000. Similar to a Schengen visa process, you prepare documents, book a Gateway slot, then submit in person and pay. For our Mumbai and Delhi friends, approval took just 3 days, our Bangalore friends waited 12-15 working days. Gateway seems tied to VFS somehow, the Gateway centre and Bangalore’s VFS centre were the same location.

Our 8D7N Turkey Itinerary-

13^th August 2022- Saturday – Istiklal Street & Around

Took the DEL-IST Indigo flight, landed at IST around 10:30 am.

Picked up SIM cards right at the airport, went with Turkcell, 550 Lira for 20GB over 30 days. Network held up well across the entire country, and they offer eSIM too, with help centres spread pan-Turkey.

Bitaksi and Uber are the two big cab-hailing apps here. Choose Uber, Bitaksi’s genuinely unreliable, or grab an on-the-go taxi instead. We Ubered to our beautiful 3BHK Airbnb, just 2 minutes from Galata Tower on Istiklal Street, 700 Lira for a Mercedes van since we were 6 with luggage. Worth knowing: Uber here shows a fare range (say, 50-70 TRY), and drivers almost always input the highest number at the end of the trip. Some will even quote a flat rate in the Uber chat (say, 150 TRY) and cancel if you decline. Still, genuinely the best option among the local operators.

First Evening on Istiklal Street

Freshened up and walked toward Taksim Square. The stretch between Galata Tower and Taksim, Istiklal Street, is the best street in the entire country. Touristy in the best way, packed with restaurants, cafes, ice-cream parlours, dessert shops, fast-fashion brands, banks, hammams, and more.

Grabbed beer and food at a European-style café, then desserts at Mago (there are hundreds of these across Turkey, and they’re all excellent). Walked up to Taksim Square, and on the way back, popped into a few fast-fashion stores, Koton, H&M, Zara, Defacto.

Beyoglu, Karakoy & a Club Night

From there, Beyoglu, the neighbourhood with streets covered in upturned umbrellas. Rested a while at Karakoy waterfront, overlooking Galata Bridge, plenty of cafes here for a beer, dessert, or full meal.

Before dark, dinner at Seagull Restaurant (nothing special), then Zebra Lounge for hookah and cigars. Being a Saturday, we decided to club, and headed to 360 Degree Club on Istiklal (200 TRY entry, one free beer). Techno music, a young, cosmopolitan, metrosexual crowd, and performers keeping things entertaining throughout. Confession: I’ve adulted into a seldom-party person, and unless I’m properly drunk or the music’s pop, clubs like this don’t fully land for me, and I was genuinely tired by then too. Parties here run till 6 am, but we crashed by midnight.

Day 1 ratings (out of -5 to +5): Istiklal Street: +4 | Mago: +3 | Beyoglu & Karakoy waterfront: +2 | Seagull Restaurant: -3 | Zebra Lounge: 0 | 360 Degree Club: +1

14^th August 2022- Sunday- Galata Tower, Balat & The Asian Side

Started early at Galata Tower before the crowds hit, 170 Lira entry plus 40 Lira for the audio guide, genuinely excellent, and the views both inside and from the top were stunning.

Balat: More Hype Than Substance

From there, an Uber to the Balat region. First stop, a small café for brunch, Turkey has this earthen-pot curry dish, heated with the ingredients sealed inside and broken open at serving, vegan version available too. Good, not great, but genuinely unique to the place. Post-brunch, we wandered Balat’s fancy painted houses and decorated streets for photos. Honestly? Felt like Instagram-hype more than anything, could’ve skipped it.

A Turkish Hammam

Next, a pre-booked Turkish Hammam session. Worth knowing if you’re an impromptu planner: these can sell out or run short-staffed for bigger groups, so book a day or two ahead. All hammams offer similar massages and a foam bath after. Some are male-to-male, but otherwise, only female masseuses serve everyone regardless of the client’s gender. Expect around 40 Euros at a nice hammam, 60+ Euros somewhere fancier or more heritage-focused.

An Afternoon on the Asian Side

Spent the second half of the day exploring Istanbul’s Asian side. Grabbed an Istanbulkart (one card covers up to 6 people) at the Karakoy ferry harbour and crossed over, 8.76 TRY per person per trip. The Asian side felt just as touristy and cosmopolitan as Istiklal, but with narrower roads and noticeably more local shops. We walked from Kadikoy harbour to Moda Coast, eating, shopping, and stopping for photos the entire way, easy to get distracted by how much there is to see.

Headed back to the European side for dinner. Tried Kumpir, a potato-based vegan Turkish dish, genuinely loved it, ate a lot.

Day 2 ratings (-5 to +5): Galata Tower: +3 | Balat region: 0 | Turkish Hammam (basic option): +1 | Asian side: +3.5 | Kumpir: +3

15^th August 2022, Monday – The Landmarks of Istanbul

Raining cats and dogs. Took shelter at a cute breakfast spot, waffles, pancakes, toasts, hot chocolate, coffee, the works.

Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque

Hopped the tram (Istanbulkart, 7.5 TRY per person per trip) to Hagia Sophia. Plenty of guides linger outside, haggling based on group size is normal. Entry’s free, photography allowed, and it’s genuinely beautiful inside, those low-hanging chandeliers are the real charm. Right across sits the Blue Mosque (also free entry), under repairs during our visit. Beautiful in its own right, but doesn’t compare to Hagia Sophia’s interiors.

Grand Bazaar and Basilica Cistern

A 15-minute walk brought us to the Grand Bazaar, hundreds of shops selling sweets, carpets, ceramics, home decor, jewellery. Their exchange rates genuinely live up to the hype, best in the country.

Next, the Basilica Cistern, 190 TRY entry, atmospherically lit with eerie music playing throughout. An old cistern, genuinely worth visiting. A couple of parks nearby for a stroll too, and terrace restaurants overlooking Hagia Sophia, we skipped those, found them too pricey.

A Genuinely Bad Show

Grabbed food on the go, then headed to the Whirling Dervishes Show (30 Euros per person, booked online) at Hodjapasha. Genuinely hated it, one of the most boring things I’ve sat through in my life. Impossible to stay awake.

Back to Istiklal Street for dinner, then an LGBT club at Taksim Square before calling it a night.

Day 3 ratings: Hagia Sophia: +3.5 | Blue Mosque: +1 | Grand Bazaar: 0 | Basilica Cistern: +2 | Whirling Dervishes Show: -5 | LGBT club at Taksim (on a Monday): -1

16^th August 2022, Tuesday- Ephesus & Pammukale

Confession upfront: this day was poorly planned. Don’t repeat our mistake, more on that at the end of this section.

Took an 8 am flight to Izmir (ADB) from Istanbul, meaning an early wake-up since IST airport sits far from Istiklal Street. Short flight.

Ephesus: Not Our Favourite

Picked up a self-drive car at Izmir airport and drove an hour to Ephesus, an ancient Roman-era archaeological city. A guide is essential here, otherwise the ruins mean very little on their own, we’d pre-booked one. Entry ran 200 TRY per person. A genuinely hot day, sun directly overhead, zero shade anywhere. The history itself didn’t grab me either, and with excavation still ongoing, the ruins weren’t particularly striking to look at. My more historically-inclined friends called it “good,” reserving “superb” for Hagia Sophia instead.

A Rushed Pamukkale

Ephesus wrapped earlier than expected, noon already, with an 8 pm flight from Izmir to Antalya (AYT) and a 7 pm airport deadline. Seven hours to kill with a self-drive car still in hand, so we decided on Pamukkale.

Pamukkale is a massive white mineral hillside covered in step-pools, genuinely beautiful, about 2.5 hours from Ephesus and 3 hours from Izmir airport. Plenty of online reviews complain about overcrowding or overhyped photos, but it looked exactly as advertised. Yes, crowded, but the site’s huge enough that there’s still room to bathe, take pictures, and move around comfortably. Wear beachwear if you’re going. We only managed a short visit.

Why the Day Went Sideways

Grabbed a quick snack, then drove back to Izmir for our flight to Antalya. Here’s why this day was poorly planned: we’d spent 2.5 hours driving to Pamukkale only to arrive starving, needing to change into beachwear, enjoy the springs, change back, all inside roughly an hour. We prioritized the springs over lunch, giving ourselves about 50 minutes total there. Changing clothes, entry, and the walk up the mineral hill ate 35 of those minutes, leaving just 15 to actually enjoy the pools. We grabbed hummus-pita and juice for everyone and rushed through lunch in 10 minutes, changing back at the same time.

Landed in Antalya (AYT) late that night. Our sixth friend, who’d skipped Ephesus for an earlier IST-AYT flight, had already checked into our 3BHK Airbnb and picked up our self-drive rental, sweet enough to come collect us at the airport too. We checked in and went out for dinner near Konyaalti beach, the best neighbourhood to stay in around Antalya. Tried Raki, Turkey’s national drink, colourless like water until diluted, when it turns cloudy. Strong stuff.

Day 4 ratings: Ephesus: -3.5 | Pamukkale: +2.5 | Raki: -1

17^th August 2022, Wednesday – The Road Trip Begins

Slept in a little, headed to a beach shack for breakfast and ice cream. Worth noting: everything feels noticeably cheaper post-Istanbul, a vegetarian dish that ran 100-150 TRY in Istanbul (and around 150 TRY in Cappadocia, we’d later find) cost just 50-60 TRY here.

Antalya’s Pebble Beaches

The beaches around Antalya are all pebble beaches, not the most pleasant underfoot, and they get deep fast, leaving little shallow space to actually play in. The water itself was clear and mild though. We hadn’t packed water shoes, so we skipped extended swimming. Plenty of shacks around offering food and drinks, and the beach carried a decent crowd.

A Quieter Stretch at Olympos

Drove to Olympos (an hour each way) for a calmer, far less crowded beach. Relaxed there a while before heading back to Antalya in the evening.

The Search for a Proper Vegetarian Meal

Wanted a proper fine-dining meal to close the day. First place had talented belly dancers, but the menu skewed heavily non-vegetarian. Second place, same story. Third place, same story again. Every restaurant offered the same 2-4 average vegetarian dishes, and we were genuinely ready to pay well for a hearty meal, just no real options existed. Ended up eating those same 2-4 dishes and headed back to our cosy Airbnb for cards.

Day 5 ratings: Antalya beachfront: +1 | Olympos beach: +1.5 | The vegetarian fine-dining scene in Antalya: -4

18^th August 2022, Thursday- Saklikent Gorge & Fethiye

Saklikent Gorge: A Genuine Must-Visit

Drove 3 hours to Saklikent Gorge, and this one’s genuinely unmissable. Entry costs just 13 TRY. You wade through knee-to-waist-to-chest-deep water for about 1-1.5 hours to reach a small waterfall at the end, though honestly, the journey there is what makes it memorable, not the waterfall itself.

Wear proper beachwear (unlike us) and rent stone-friendly shoes at the entrance, we did, and it made a real difference given how rocky the floor is throughout. The water is brutally cold, expect your teeth to chatter within seconds. Unregistered paid guides hang around to help with the trickier sections, we hired one to get through the harder parts.

Just outside the gorge sits a small restaurant with limited food options, set right on the stream, you can dip your feet in while eating, though the water’s still too cold to linger.

Fethiye Beach and Back to Antalya

From there, an hour’s drive to Fethiye Beach, no real agenda, just relaxing. Similar in style to Antalya and Olympos, another stony beach with clear water and a mild crowd. Drove the 3 hours back to Antalya and unwound at a beachside café.

Day 6 ratings (-5 to +5): Saklikent Gorge: +4 | Fethiye Beach: +2

19^th August 2022, Friday- Arriving in Cappadocia

Checked out and headed to the domestic terminal for a morning flight to Kayseri (ASR).

Getting to Goreme

Cappadocia’s a huge expanse of arid, sparsely populated land, and Goreme is its main tourist hub. Kayseri airport sits an hour from Goreme, so pre-booking a pickup through your hotel is essential, ours ran 10 Euros per person one way.

Goreme itself (pronounced “go” as in goat, “re” as in record, “me” as in meat) is a genuinely beautiful, entirely tourist-built town, shops, hotels, cafes, attractions, service providers, and little else. Cave Hotels, small inns designed to mimic the region’s cave architecture with modern amenities inside, are the go-to stay here. Most run around 10 rooms, with terraces set up in traditional carpet-and-low-seating style, genuinely photogenic. Wake up at sunrise and you can watch the hot air balloons drift by from up there too.

The Highlights Tour

With half the day already gone by lunchtime, the full 8-10 hour Red or Green tours were off the table, so we went with the Highlights Tour instead. It covered the Underground City, Pigeon Valley, Uchisar Castle, a Panoramic View Site, Illusion Valley, a sweet shop, and a few more stops. ATV rides, treks, and other regional sites are options too if you have more time.

A Skippable Dinner Show

That night, a Turkish dinner-cum-show for 30 Euros per person, unlimited food and alcohol with roughly two hours of dance performances. Just okay, wouldn’t recommend it.

Day 7 ratings: Cave Hotels: +1 | Underground City: +3 | Pigeon Valley: 0 | Uchisar Castle: +1.5 | Panoramic View Site: +1.5 | Illusion Valley: +1 | Sweet shop: +2.5 | Turkish dinner-cum-show: -2

20^th August 2022, Saturday- The Hot Air Balloon & A Last-Minute Scramble

Up at 3 am for the best activity of the entire trip, the Hot Air Balloon ride. Cost us 150 Euros per person, though it can run as high as 220 Euros if booked late or during peak season. Two ballooning locations exist, Cat and Goreme, go with Goreme, it’s the better of the two.

Left the hotel at 4 am, drove about 40 minutes to a gathering hall for bed-tea, then transferred to another vehicle that took us to our balloon. About 20 of us shared the basket with our aeronaut. The whole experience felt genuinely surreal, hundreds of other balloons dotting the sky, accentuating Cappadocia’s arid landscape stretched out below. Temperature, sunlight, and wind all worked perfectly in our favour. Our aeronaut popped champagne once we landed.

Why We Wish We’d Stayed Longer

We’d risked keeping just one morning free for Cappadocia. Worth knowing: on days when wind speeds don’t cooperate, balloons don’t fly, and your booking reschedules free of cost to the next morning, but only if you’re still in Cappadocia to make it. My honest advice: budget at least two dawns here, just in case.

Cappadocia is genuinely commercial and pricier than most of the country, and be ready to run into plenty of fellow Indian tourists. With so many Indians visiting, tour operators have adapted well, veg food, Jain food, Indian food, shorter history briefings, minimal arduous walking, and sweet/souvenir shops catering specifically to Indian tastes.

Day 8 rating (-5 to +5): Hot Air Ballooning: +5

The Flight Cancellation That Changed Our Last Day

We’d planned 2 days and 1 night in Cappadocia, with a flight from Kayseri (ASR) back to Istanbul on the second day’s evening, connecting to our IST-DEL flight home that same night. That Kayseri-Istanbul flight got cancelled just two days before departure, a genuine bummer.

Our only real option: hire a private car and make the 9-hour road trip from Cappadocia to Istanbul instead. So, straight after the balloon ride, we got ready and left Goreme at 9 am, reaching Istanbul by 6 pm, making our IST-DEL flight home with time to spare.

FAQ Section

Q: How many days do you need for a Turkey itinerary?
8 days works well for a Turkey itinerary covering Istanbul, Antalya’s coast, and Cappadocia, though Istanbul alone deserves at least 3 days to do it justice.

Q: Do Indians need a visa for Turkey?
Yes, unless you hold an active US, UK, or Schengen visa (which qualifies you for an e-visa). Everyone else applies through Gateway International, similar to a Schengen visa process, with fees now considerably higher than a few years ago.

Q: Is Cappadocia worth visiting just for the hot air balloon?
Yes, it’s genuinely one of the best experiences you can have in Turkey, but plan for at least two mornings there, balloon flights get cancelled due to wind and reschedule to the next day free of cost, so a single-morning visit is risky.

Q: Are the beaches in Antalya sandy or rocky?
Rocky. Every beach we visited along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast (Antalya, Olympos, Fethiye) was a pebble beach, clean and scenic, but worth packing water shoes for.

Q: Is Turkey vegetarian-friendly?
It’s manageable in Istanbul and Cappadocia, but genuinely difficult in Antalya’s fine-dining scene, where most restaurants offer just 2-4 average vegetarian dishes regardless of price point.

Q: What’s the best way to get around Turkey?
A mix of domestic flights and self-driving works well. Roads are excellent, and Indian driving licences are accepted, self-driving the Antalya coast (Olympos, Saklikent Gorge, Fethiye) is genuinely worth it.

End Note

Turkey doesn’t let you pick a favourite, and that’s the whole point. Istanbul’s Istiklal Street at night, Saklikent Gorge’s freezing water, and 100 hot air balloons dotting Cappadocia’s sky at sunrise all felt like entirely different trips packed into eight days. A last-minute flight cancellation turned our final day into a 9-hour road trip across the country, and even that somehow became part of the story.

If you’re building your own Turkey itinerary, give Istanbul at least 3 full days, stay two mornings in Cappadocia instead of one in case the balloons get grounded, and pack water shoes for every beach on the Mediterranean coast.