Antalya to Istanbul
Trans-Anatolian Express
11 days · 3070 km
Route
Antalya → Eğirdir → Konya → Göreme → Sivas → Kemaliye → Trabzon → Amasya → Safranbolu → Amasra → Istanbul


Distance
3070 km


Duration
11 days
9 overnight stops


Status
Planned


Best Months
Late May to June, or September to October
The high plateau turns cold fast


World Heritage
Göreme NP & Rock Sites of Cappadocia
Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği
City of Safranbolu


Parks & Protected Areas
Sagalassos archaeological site
Beyşehir Lake National Park
Kemaliye Dark Canyon
Altındere Valley NP (Sumela)


Signature Roads
Kemaliye Stone Road
Zigana pass, Pontic Alps
Yozgat plateau sweepers
D010 Amasra – Cide, out and back


The Plan

Eleven days on a single line. The loops out of Istanbul return you to where you started; this one doesn't. Start on the warm Mediterranean, ride northeast across the high steppe, thread the Euphrates canyon, cross the misty Pontic Alps, and finish over the Bosphorus. Every morning a different Turkey.


Day Route Distance Highlights Night stay
01 Antalya → Sagalassos → Eğirdir 190 km Straight into the Taurus; Roman Sagalassos on its cliff, pine-forest hairpins Eğirdir
02 Eğirdir → Lake Beyşehir → Konya 220 km Eşrefoğlu Mosque's Seljuk woodwork, then the steppe opens; evening with Rumi Konya
03 Konya → Sultanhanı → Ihlara Valley → Göreme 310 km Silk Road alignment, 1229 caravanserai, Byzantine cave churches, fairy chimneys at dusk Göreme
04 Cappadocia loop 50 km Sunrise balloon, Kaymaklı underground city, crowd-free Soğanlı; luggage-free day Göreme
05 Göreme → Yozgat plateau → Sivas 270 km Crisp air, empty sweepers, untouristed Seljuk monuments, high-altitude chill Sivas
06 Sivas → Divriği → Kemaliye 250 km The Great Mosque's shifting stone carvings, then the canyon; Stone Road at dusk or dawn, unhurried Kemaliye
07 Kemaliye → Erzincan → Zigana pass → Sumela → Trabzon 380 km Steppe dissolves into misty Pontic forest; cliff-pinned Sumela Monastery Trabzon
08 Trabzon → Amasya 330 km Inland over the Pontic hills to riverside Ottoman houses beneath rock-cut royal tombs Amasya
09 Amasya → Safranbolu 380 km Quiet Anatolian backroads to the great Ottoman timber town; night at Cinci Hanı Safranbolu
10 Safranbolu → Amasra → D010 to Cide and back 260 km The riding day: the D010 both ways, luggage left at the hotel; castle-walled harbour night Amasra
11 Amasra → hazelnut coast → Şile → Istanbul 430 km Coastal run home, Şile lighthouse for the final photograph, over the Bosphorus Istanbul


Notes

All tarmac except the Stone Road's rough canyon surface.

Pack a full modular suit. The plateau days are cold, the Mediterranean start is not.

One-way Antalya to Istanbul rentals exist but carry a drop fee. Confirm the amount with the operator before booking.


Open the route in Google Maps