Loop from Istanbul
Anatolia, Anticlockwise
10 days · 2500 km
Route
Istanbul → Gölyazı → Eskişehir → Konya → Göreme → Boğazkale → Safranbolu → Cide → Akçakoca → Istanbul


Distance
2500 km


Duration
10 days, ~41 hours in the saddle
8 overnight stops


Status
Planned


Best Months
Late May to June, or September to October


World Heritage
Bursa & Cumalıkızık
Göreme NP & Rock Sites of Cappadocia
Hattusha, the Hittite capital
City of Safranbolu


Parks & Protected Areas
Göreme National Park
Küre Mountains NP (D010 corridor)
Lake Uluabat Ramsar wetland
Ihlara Valley canyon


Signature Roads
D010 Amasra – Cide, both ways
Phrygian highland backroads
Konya – Aksaray Silk Road alignment


The Plan

Ten days, anticlockwise out of Istanbul and back. Four world heritage sites, cave hotels, a 1645 caravanserai, and no day over six hours in the saddle. The turquoise coast gets all the riders; this is the other Turkey.


Day Route Distance Highlights Night stay
01 Istanbul → Osmangazi Bridge → Bursa → Gölyazı 230 km
3.5 h
İskender at the source, Cumalıkızık, sunset on the Gölyazı peninsula Gölyazı / Bursa
02 Gölyazı → Eskişehir 200 km
3 h
Odunpazarı quarter, OMM museum, çibörek lunch Eskişehir
03 Eskişehir → Midas Monument → Sivrihisar → Konya 340 km
5 h
Phrygian highlands, open steppe, Mevlana Museum, Saturday dervish ceremony Konya
04 Konya → Sultanhanı → Ihlara Valley → Göreme 330 km
5 h
1229 Seljuk caravanserai, canyon walk, fairy chimneys at dusk Göreme
05 Cappadocia valley loop 90 km
2.5 h
Sunrise balloon, Göreme Open Air Museum, Uçhisar, Kaymaklı, Soğanlı Göreme
06 Göreme → Yozgat plateau → Boğazkale 200 km
3 h
Hattusa: Lion Gate and ramparts; Yazılıkaya sanctuary at golden hour Boğazkale
07 Boğazkale → Alacahöyük → Çankırı → Safranbolu 380 km
5.5 h
Bronze Age sphinxes, empty backroads, saffron lokum on arrival Safranbolu
08 Safranbolu → Amasra → Kurucaşile → Cide 200 km
4 h
The D010 through-ride, every km, no backtracking; fish dinner in Cide Cide
09 Cide → Amasra → Zonguldak → Akçakoca 310 km
5.5 h
The D010 again in opposite light, then the hazelnut coast Akçakoca
10 Akçakoca → Karasu → Şile → Istanbul 230 km
4 h
Easy coastal cruise; Şile Ottoman lighthouse as the final stop Istanbul


Notes

All tarmac, suitable for any confident road rider on a sport-tourer or ADV bike. Averages 250 km a day.

Cave hotels in Göreme and the Safranbolu konaks need booking well ahead.

Steppe days are warm, coastal days cooler. Pack for both.


Open the route in Google Maps