Istanbul, Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus Round Trip: 3, 5 or 8 Days

A round trip from Istanbul to Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus needs at least 3 days, works best in 5, and becomes a relaxed Aegean holiday in 8: two days on the road down the coast, one day at Ephesus, and a one-hour flight from Izmir back to Istanbul. The fastest version is our Gallipoli, Troy and Pergamon tour, two days from Istanbul to Kuşadası from $443 per person, followed by a day at Ephesus.

This page is written for travellers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, who often ask for exactly this route: the three great archaeological sites of western Turkey in order, from north to south. Below you will find the route with driving times, three itineraries of 3, 5 and 8 days, the 2026 ticket prices at each site, flight options from Germany and the entry rules for German citizens.

The route and the driving times

The three sites lie on a line down the Aegean coast, which makes them easy to link without doubling back. You leave Istanbul westwards, cross the Dardanelles at Çanakkale, and then drive south.

Driving times are planning estimates from route calculators; on our tours the guide and driver handle the timing. The second day, Troy and Pergamon together, is the long one, about 8 hours with both visits and the drive.

Three itineraries: 3, 5 or 8 days

3 days: the compact version

• Day 1: Istanbul to Gallipoli. Early pickup, lunch in Eceabat, the battlefields in the afternoon, night in Çanakkale.
• Day 2: Troy in the morning, Pergamon in the afternoon, drive to Kuşadası or Selçuk.
• Day 3: Ephesus with a guide, then the evening flight from Izmir to Istanbul.

This is the route of our two-day Gallipoli, Troy and Pergamon tour, plus a day at Ephesus, for example with the Ephesus day tour from Kuşadası and Selçuk from $127 per person. If you would rather skip Gallipoli, the one-day Troy and Pergamon tour from Çanakkale does day 2 on its own, from $311 per person.

5 days: Istanbul included

• Day 1: Arrive in Istanbul, transfer to the hotel.
• Day 2: Istanbul's old city: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar.
• Day 3: Drive to Troy and on to Pergamon, night in Kuşadası.
• Day 4: Ephesus, then the flight back to Istanbul.
• Day 5: Departure.

Our Istanbul, Troy and Ephesus package follows this pattern over 5 days from $1,595 per person, but without Pergamon. If you have one more day, the 6-day tour with Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus and Antalya (listed below) includes Pergamon as standard and adds Antalya's old town, from $2,140 per person.

8 days: the full Aegean round trip

Our 10-day western Turkey tour covers the same ground with Pamukkale and Antalya, from $1,760 per person, and can be shortened. For a fully private version with your own guide and car, see our tailor-made Turkey tour page.

Troy: the start of the route

Troy is the oldest of the three sites and the hardest to read without a guide. Nine main settlements lie on top of each other on the hill of Hisarlık, from the early Bronze Age to Roman Ilion; Heinrich Schliemann began digging here in 1871. The walls of Troy VI, about 3,700 years old, are the highlight, together with the Troy Museum, which opened in 2018 at the entrance to the site.

In 2026 foreign adults pay €27 for a single ticket covering the site and the museum. The ministry's 2027 tariff lists the combined ticket at €30 from 1 April 2027. Allow three hours for both. More detail is in our guide to the Troy tour from Istanbul.

Pergamon: acropolis, theatre and Asklepion

Pergamon, above the modern town of Bergama, was the capital of the Attalid kings in the Hellenistic period and one of the great centres of learning of the ancient world. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2014. The visit has two parts, on opposite sides of the town:

• The acropolis, on the hill. A cable car runs up from the lower town. At the top you see the Temple of Trajan with its re-erected columns, the foundations of the great altar, the remains of the famous library and, below them, the theatre built into the hillside, one of the steepest in the ancient world.
• The Asklepion, in the plain below, a healing sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, where the physician Galen worked. A colonnaded sacred road, a small theatre and an underground passage remain.

Tickets 2026: the Ministry of Culture and Tourism lists €15 for the acropolis and €13 for the Asklepion for foreign adults; children under 8 enter free. Both sites open from 08:00 to 18:30 in summer (1 April to 31 October) and from 08:30 to 17:00 in winter. The Museum Pass The Aegean, at €95, covers many sites in the region and can pay off on an 8-day trip. Our guides to the Pergamon acropolis and the Asclepion of Pergamon have more on each.

The Pergamon Altar is in Berlin

For German visitors, Pergamon has a special connection. The Great Altar of Zeus was excavated by German archaeologists in the late 19th century and taken to Berlin, where it gave the Pergamonmuseum its name. In Bergama you stand on its foundations, where trees now grow on the terrace that once carried it.

The Pergamonmuseum has been closed for renovation since October 2023. The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin have announced that it reopens on 4 June 2027, with the Pergamon Altar on view again for the first time in years; the south wing stays closed and is expected to reopen around 2037. If you travel in 2027, you can see the site in Turkey and the altar in Berlin in the same year.

Ephesus: the end of the route

Ephesus is the best preserved of the three and the one most visitors remember: the marble street down to the Library of Celsus, the great theatre, and the Terrace Houses with their wall paintings and mosaics. Base yourself in Selçuk, next to the site, or in Kuşadası on the coast; our guide to Kuşadası hotels for Ephesus compares the two.

The 2026 ticket for foreign adults is widely reported at €40, including the Ephesus Experience Museum; the Terrace Houses need an additional ticket. Go early in summer, because there is little shade on the main street. Our Ephesus ancient city guide covers the route through the site, and a private day with your own guide is our private Ephesus tour from $300 per person.

Travelling from Germany: flights, entry and money

Flights. There are direct flights to Istanbul from most large German airports, with a flight time of about three hours. For this route, an open-jaw ticket is often the smartest choice: fly into Istanbul and home from Izmir. SunExpress and other airlines fly direct between Izmir and several German airports, including Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, with flights of around three hours. That saves you the domestic flight back to Istanbul at the end.

Entry rules. According to the German Federal Foreign Office, German citizens can enter Turkey with a Reisepass, a Personalausweis or a Kinderreisepass, and they can stay up to 90 days within 180 days without a visa for tourism. A passport needs at least one blank page. Rules can change, so check the Auswärtiges Amt page shortly before you travel. School holidays, bridge days and children's documents are covered in our Türkei Rundreise 2027 guide.

Money. The currency is the Turkish lira. Ticket prices at state museums and sites are set in euros but charged in lira, and card payment is the easiest way to pay. Cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and larger shops; keep some lira in cash for small purchases and tips. Our tour prices are quoted in US dollars.

Language. Our multi-day tours run with English-speaking guides. German-speaking guides are arranged on request, subject to availability; see our page on German-speaking guides.

Best time for the route

Spring and autumn are the best seasons. From April to early June and from September to October the temperatures are pleasant for walking around exposed ruins, and the sites keep their longer summer hours until the end of October at Pergamon. July and August are hot along the Aegean, especially at Ephesus and on the Pergamon acropolis, so start early and take water and a hat. Winter is quiet and cheaper, but the sites close by 17:00 to 17:30 and some days are rainy.

For travellers bound by German school holidays, the Easter and autumn holidays fit this route well. A longer round trip with Cappadocia is described in our 14-day Türkei Rundreise, and our Turkey tour packages from Germany page lists further routes.

Tours that cover this

• Gallipoli, Troy & Pergamon Tour from Istanbul to Kusadasi, 2 Days: the first two days of the route, ending near Ephesus, from $443 per person.
• Troy and Pergamon Tour: Canakkale to Kusadasi/Selcuk in One Day: one guided day from Çanakkale to the Ephesus area, from $311 per person.
• Istanbul, Troy & Ephesus Tour Package: 5 Days with Flight Back: Istanbul, Troy and Ephesus with the flight back, from $1,595 per person.
• Istanbul, Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus & Antalya Tour: 6 Days with Flights: all three sites plus Antalya, from $2,140 per person.

Further options are listed on our multi-day trips page and in the Pergamon travel guide.

Frequently Asked Questions