Overview
Turkey stretches across two continents, its largest city Istanbul straddling the line between Europe and Asia, while the rest of the country fans out east into Anatolia. This is a nation of enormous internal variety, held together by the Turkish language and a long, layered history that runs from the ancient world through the imperial and early Christian periods to the modern republic, with the capital seated at Ankara rather than Istanbul.
Because the country is so large, most visitors build a trip around a handful of major cities rather than trying to cover everything. Istanbul remains the natural entry point for many, but Ankara, İzmir, Antalya, Bursa and Eskişehir each offer a different angle on the country's west, while Gaziantep, Adana, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Elazığ, Kahramanmaraş, Batman, Erzurum and Van open up the south-east and east for travellers with more time.
This guide is built purely around those major cities and the broad compass directions between them, giving you a practical framework for deciding how much of Turkey to see and how to link the places you choose.
Key facts
| Country | Turkey |
|---|---|
| Currency | TRY |
How Turkey breaks down: cities and areas
Istanbul sits apart from every other Turkish city simply because of its position on both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus, making it the country's connecting point between continents. Ankara, inland and further east on the map of the west, is the capital and functions as Turkey's administrative centre.
The western coast and interior hold several of the country's other major hubs: İzmir on the Aegean side, Bursa in the north-west, Eskişehir further into the interior, and Antalya down on the southern coast. Together these give a west-of-the-country arc that ranges from coastal cities to inland ones.
Further east and south-east, the major cities are more spread out and distinct from one another: Gaziantep, Adana and Kahramanmaraş in the south, Diyarbakır, Batman, Malatya and Elazığ across the south-east and east-central areas, and Erzurum and Van further into the east. These cities give a very different, more inland and eastern flavour to a Turkey trip compared with the west.
How many days do you need
A first trip to Turkey that focuses on Istanbul alone, perhaps with a short add-on to one nearby western city such as Bursa, can work well over a shorter break. Istanbul's scale and its dual-continent position mean it comfortably absorbs several days on its own before you even leave the city.
A more rounded first-timer's itinerary that takes in Istanbul plus one or two other western cities — İzmir, Bursa, Eskişehir or Antalya, for example — needs longer, since travel between cities and time to properly explore each one both eat into the schedule.
For travellers wanting to see the breadth of the country, including the south-east and east, two weeks or more is the realistic bracket. Reaching cities such as Diyarbakır, Van, Erzurum, Malatya, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Adana, Kahramanmaraş or Batman means covering real distances across Anatolia, and each deserves time rather than a rushed pass-through.
Getting around between cities
Turkey's major cities are linked by a mix of rail, road and domestic flights, and which you choose depends largely on distance. Between closer western cities — Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir, Eskişehir — road and rail links make overland travel a practical option, avoiding the need to fly for shorter hops.
For the longer stretches between the west and the south-east or east — say, from Istanbul or Ankara out to Van, Erzurum, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Elazığ or Batman — domestic flights are generally the more time-efficient way to cover the distance, given how far apart these cities sit on the map.
Ankara's position as the capital also makes it a natural hub for onward road and rail connections into the interior, while coastal cities like Antalya and İzmir tend to connect well both along the coast and inland toward other major centres.
A sample multi-stop route
One way to structure a trip that samples both the west and a taste of the interior and south is to begin in Istanbul, using its position on two continents as your starting point. From there, move on to Ankara to take in the capital before heading further into Anatolia.
From Ankara, continue south-east toward Gaziantep, then on to Adana and Kahramanmaraş, three cities that together give a strong sense of the country's south. Travellers with additional time could extend further east still, adding Malatya, Elazığ, Diyarbakır, Batman, Van or Erzurum in sequence, before looping back west — though given the distances involved, this extended leg suits the two-plus-week version of a Turkey trip rather than a short first visit.
Alternatively, a west-only version of this route would run Istanbul to Bursa, then on to Eskişehir, İzmir and Antalya, staying within the western and southern coastal cities and avoiding the longer eastern legs altogether.
When to go
Turkey's size means conditions vary a good deal between its western coastal cities and its eastern interior ones, but no specific seasonal temperature figures are set out here, so plan around the general shift between summer and winter across the Northern Hemisphere calendar. Coastal and western cities such as Istanbul, İzmir, Bursa and Antalya will experience a different rhythm to the year than interior and eastern cities like Erzurum, Van, Malatya or Elazığ, given how much further inland and higher in elevation the eastern cities generally sit.
As a rule of thumb for a country spanning coast and interior, the shoulder periods between the extremes of summer and winter tend to suit long-distance, multi-city itineraries best, since they avoid the most intense conditions at either end of the year in whichever part of the country you're travelling through.
Costs and money
Turkey's currency is the Turkish lira (TRY), and it's worth carrying and budgeting in lira for day-to-day spending across all the cities on your route, since this is the currency used nationwide from Istanbul to Van. Costs are best planned in relative terms rather than fixed figures — the larger, more visited western cities such as Istanbul, İzmir and Antalya are likely to feel different in price to smaller or less-visited eastern cities such as Batman or Elazığ, simply due to differences in scale and tourism infrastructure.
Whichever cities you're combining, it's worth checking current exchange rates and typical local costs shortly before you travel, since currency values shift and this guide deliberately avoids fixed prices.
Language and etiquette
Turkish is the language spoken across the country, from Istanbul and Ankara in the west to Van and Erzurum in the east, and it's the one language you'll encounter consistently on signage, menus and in conversation nationwide.
Given the country's long history spanning the ancient, imperial, early Christian and modern eras, and its position bridging Europe and Asia, travellers moving between very different cities — a cosmopolitan hub like Istanbul versus a south-eastern city like Diyarbakır or Gaziantep — should expect real cultural variety within the one country, and it's worth approaching each city on its own terms rather than assuming a single uniform experience throughout.
Regions & places
Journeys through here
Where to stay in Turkey
Hotels are booked on Booking.com (a third party, off this page). You book and pay them directly — Head Your Way is not the seller.
Getting around Turkey
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission, never at extra cost to you.
Common questions
- Which Turkish city should I start with on a first trip?
- Istanbul is the natural starting point for most first visits, thanks to its position spanning both the European and Asian sides of the country, and it can easily anchor a shorter trip on its own or be combined with nearby western cities such as Bursa, İzmir or Eskişehir.
- Do I need two weeks to see Turkey properly?
- A shorter break suits a focused visit to Istanbul and perhaps one other western city, but to take in the south-east and east — cities such as Diyarbakır, Van, Erzurum, Malatya, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Adana, Kahramanmaraş or Batman — two weeks or more is more realistic given the distances involved.
- How do I travel between Turkey's major cities?
- Nearer western cities such as Istanbul, Bursa, İzmir and Eskişehir are well connected by road and rail, while longer distances to eastern and south-eastern cities like Van, Erzurum, Diyarbakır, Malatya, Elazığ and Batman are generally covered more efficiently by domestic flights.
- What language is spoken in Turkey?
- Turkish is the language spoken nationwide, used consistently across all of the country's major cities from Istanbul and Ankara to Van and Diyarbakır.
- What currency should I use in Turkey?
- The Turkish lira (TRY) is the currency used throughout the country, and it's the currency to budget and pay in across every city on a multi-stop itinerary.
- Is Ankara or Istanbul the capital of Turkey?
- Ankara is the capital of Turkey, even though Istanbul is the country's largest and most internationally recognised city thanks to its position bridging Europe and Asia.
On the map
Sources & method
- GeoNames country — currency, languages, capital · retrieved 2026-08-12T15:10:01+00:00
- Imagery — Wikimedia Commons
Data compiled 2026-08-14 · editorial checks: passed. See our methodology for how Head Your Way sources and reviews travel data.