Loop from Istanbul
Anatolia, Anticlockwise
10 days · 2500 km · Turkey
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 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


Route Map


Open in Google Maps 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.