Trip plans

Day-by-day, hour-by-hour plans for exploring on your own, with transit directions, opening days and facts from official sources. Free to use; hotels and flights are sold separately.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam trip plans →

3 days · Amsterdam
Amsterdam in 3 days: canals, museums and north of the IJ
The plan splits Amsterdam into three geographic clusters, so you never cross the city and back in one day. Day one starts at Dam Square and walks the palace, the quiet Begijnhof courtyard and the UNESCO-listed canal ring, ending at the Anne Frank House and the Jordaan. Day two begins with herring or a stroopwafel at the Albert Cuyp market in De Pijp, then moves to Museumplein for the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Day three takes the free ferries north across the IJ to the A'DAM Lookout terrace and street-art-filled NDSM; if you prefer, swap it for a train trip to Zaanse Schans. The Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum all use timed tickets, so buy all three before you travel. Hours and fees link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Antalya

Antalya trip plans →

3 days · Antalya
Antalya in 3 days: a self-guided itinerary
An hour-by-hour plan for the stone lanes of Kaleiçi and a swim at Konyaaltı, the ancient cities of Perge and Aspendos, both Düden waterfalls and an optional day in Side. Practical advice on heat, sun and swimming; opening hours and closing days link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Cappadocia

Cappadocia trip plans →

2 days · Cappadocia
Cappadocia in 2 days: a self-guided itinerary
Day one covers Göreme's rock-cut churches, the fairy chimneys of Zelve and Paşabağları, the potters of Avanos and sunset over the Red Valley; day two the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, then Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Ürgüp. There is an optional note on the dawn balloons. Opening hours, closing days and ticket details link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Gaziantep

Gaziantep trip plans →

2 days · Gaziantep
Gaziantep in 2 days: food and bazaars
Gaziantep is a city you get to know through its food, and this plan is built that way. Day one is entirely on foot: at the kitchen museum below the castle you learn the story of the dishes you will eat for two days, then move through the coppersmiths' hammering to the covered bazaars and caravanserais, and end the afternoon with menengiç coffee in a historic coffee house. Day two gives the morning to the Zeugma mosaics and the Archaeology Museum, then crosses to Tepebaşı for a church turned mosque and waits for evening in the stone lanes of Bey Mahallesi. Beyran or katmer for breakfast, lahmacun at lunch, baklava in the late afternoon: the food is spread across both days. The castle is currently closed for restoration, so the plan uses it as a landmark seen from outside. Opening days and hours link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Istanbul

Istanbul trip plans →

3 days · Istanbul
Istanbul in 3 days: a self-guided itinerary
Hour-by-hour plan for the old city, the bazaars and Beyoğlu, and a day on the Bosphorus, with tram, funicular and ferry directions. Opening days, ticket prices and timetables link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Izmir

Izmir trip plans →

2 days · Izmir
Izmir and Ephesus in 2 days: a self-guided itinerary
Day one covers historic Izmir on foot: Kadifekale, the Agora, Kemeraltı, Konak, the Historic Elevator and a sunset walk on the Kordon. Day two moves to Selçuk for the ancient city of Ephesus, the Terrace Houses, the Ephesus Museum and Ayasuluk Hill, with an optional late-afternoon stop in Şirince. Opening hours, closing days and entry rules link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Mardin

Mardin trip plans →

2 days · Mardin
Mardin in 2 days: the old city, Midyat and the monasteries
Mardin's old city is a hillside of golden stone buildings rising tier on tier above the Mesopotamian plain, and most of it is best seen on foot; day one is given entirely to it. Start at the Kasımiye Madrasa, which opens onto the plain, then climb to the Zinciriye Madrasa, the Mardin Museum and the Great Mosque to complete the historic core. In the afternoon walk the bazaar and First Street to the city museum, and end the day with a guided tour of the Deyrulzafaran Monastery east of town. Day two heads into Tur Abdin: the stone houses of Midyat, the city museum in an old han, the guest house terrace, then the Mor Gabriel Monastery, a living community for centuries. Most museums close on Mondays, so do not start on a Monday. Opening hours and rules link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Pamukkale

Pamukkale trip plans →

2 days · Pamukkale
Pamukkale and Denizli in 2 days: travertines and ancient cities
Pamukkale's white limestone terraces and the ancient city of Hierapolis share one site and one ticket, so day one is given entirely to it. Climb the travertines barefoot early in the morning on the footpath from the village, swim if you like in the thermal Antique Pool among fallen columns, see the museum inside the site and spend the afternoon in the ancient city from the theatre to the necropolis. Day two moves to the Denizli side: the quieter, broad-streeted Laodicea in the morning, the cable car up to cool Bağbaşı plateau at midday, and the city museums and wood-oven Denizli kebab in the evening. The plan follows winter visiting hours; remember that the footpath closes before all the gates. Opening hours and fees link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Şanlıurfa

Şanlıurfa trip plans →

2 days · Şanlıurfa
Şanlıurfa in 2 days: Göbeklitepe, the museums and Balıklıgöl
Two days in Şanlıurfa run from some of the oldest pages of human history to today's bazaars. Day one is given to prehistory: in the morning you walk among the giant T-shaped pillars of Göbeklitepe east of the city, in the afternoon you see its finds in the Şanlıurfa Museum and Roman mosaics in neighbouring Haleplibahçe, and in the evening you drink mırra coffee in the courtyard of Gümrük Han. Day two is on foot in the historic centre: Balıklıgöl with its sacred fish, the cave at Mevlid-i Halil and the castle that shapes the skyline. The beehive houses of Harran are an afternoon option; the archaeological site is currently closed after the earthquake, so check before you go. Hours link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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Trabzon

Trabzon trip plans →

3 days · Trabzon
Trabzon and Uzungöl in 3 days: Sumela, Hagia Sophia and the uplands
The easiest way to split Trabzon into three days is to point each day in one direction. Day one stays in the city: Hagia Sophia by the sea, the Atatürk Mansion in Soğuksu, lunch in the Kemeraltı bazaar, the Trabzon Museum in a richly decorated mansion, and the view from Boztepe to close the day. Day two heads south via Maçka into the Altındere Valley, where you walk through the forest to the Sumela Monastery set against a sheer rock face, with an optional rice-pudding stop in Hamsiköy on the way back. Day three is a long day trip east to Uzungöl, a lake among forested slopes. Both of the last two days start early, because Sumela's ticket office closes early and Uzungöl is far. Hagia Sophia is a mosque today, so plan your visit outside prayer times. Hours and fees link to the official source with the date we last checked them.
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