Turkey Independent Travel from Korea: 10-Day DIY Route and Budget

Yes, Türkiye is easy to travel independently from Korea: ten days covers Istanbul (three nights), Cappadocia (three), Pamukkale (one) and Selçuk for Ephesus (two), using two domestic flights, one long bus or flight and a regional train. Korean passport holders need no visa for up to 90 days. The main sights on this route cost about €171 per person in entrance tickets from 1 April 2027, before Topkapı Palace. Where public transport runs thin, a single day tour fills the gap, such as our Cappadocia Red Tour with lunch from $80 per person.

This page is a 자유여행 plan: each leg, how to get there, what to book before you leave Incheon and what the tickets cost. If you would rather have a private guide and car for the whole trip, our guide to Turkey tours from Korea covers that version, and our 2027 holiday planner for Korean travellers matches the route to Chuseok, the October holidays and early May.

Is Türkiye easy without a tour?

For the cities, yes. Istanbul has metro, tram, ferries and the İstanbulkart, and the old city is walkable. Selçuk is a small town with Ephesus about 4 km away. Google Maps works well for public transport in Istanbul, and Korean Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted widely.

Three things are harder on your own:

• Distances. Türkiye is about eight times the size of South Korea. Cappadocia to Pamukkale is about 610 km by road, so one leg of any classic route is a long day or a night bus.
• Cappadocia without a car. The valleys around Göreme are walkable, but the underground cities are 30 to 40 km away and the Ihlara Valley close to 90 km, and local buses do not run to suit sightseeing.
• Language outside Istanbul. In bus stations and village restaurants, English is limited. A translation app and the Turkish names of your stops help. KakaoTalk is not used in Türkiye; hotels and drivers use WhatsApp.

Our answer for most Korean travellers is to go independently and book one or two day tours where they save the most time.

The 10-day route at a glance

Road distances on this page are calculated on OpenStreetMap data. Türkiye is six hours behind Korea all year.

Istanbul on your own: days 1 to 3

Several flights from Incheon land early in the morning. From Istanbul Airport, the Havaist coach and the M11 metro both reach the centre; our step-by-step page on Istanbul Airport to the city for Korean travellers compares them by hotel area.

Buy an İstanbulkart at a machine in the airport or at a station. It works on the metro, tram, Marmaray, buses and public ferries, and one card can pay for several people.

A workable three days:

• Day 1, arrival. Rest, then an evening walk around Sultanahmet Square. Jet lag from Korea wakes you early, so do not plan a late night.
• Day 2, the old city. Hagia Sophia first thing (foreign visitors pay €25 for the upper-gallery route), the Blue Mosque outside prayer times, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace, which closes on Tuesdays.
• Day 3, the water. A public ferry on the Bosphorus from Eminönü costs a fraction of a cruise; our self-guided Bosphorus ferry page has the routes. Then Galata, Karaköy and the Asian side at Kadıköy.

Our 3 nights and 4 days in Istanbul plan for Korean travellers gives a longer Istanbul version, if you want to cut the coast.

Cappadocia without a car: days 4 to 6

Fly from IST or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) to Nevşehir or Kayseri. Turkish Airlines flies from IST to both; AJet and Pegasus use SAW. Keep the domestic flight at the same airport as your arrival if you can. Nevşehir airport is about 40 km from Göreme, around 40 minutes by road, and Kayseri about 78 km; many hotels arrange an airport shuttle. Our pages on the Nevşehir airport transfer and Kayseri airport transfer compare them.

Stay in Göreme if you are travelling independently. It has the most restaurants and day tour departures, and the Göreme Open-Air Museum is about 1.5 km from the centre by road.

What you can do without a car, and what is easier with a day tour:

• On foot from Göreme: the Open-Air Museum, Love Valley and Rose Valley. No tour needed.
• Paşabağ, Zelve and Avanos: only 6 km or so from Göreme, so a taxi or the local minibus works, with some waiting. The Red Tour covers them in one go.
• Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı underground city, the Ihlara Valley and Selime: about 30 to 40 km south for the underground cities and close to 90 km for Ihlara. Without a car, the Green Tour is by far the easiest way.
• Sunrise balloon flight: booked separately with a licensed balloon company.

Balloon flights depend on wind and the daily permission from the civil aviation authority, and they are cancelled on some mornings in every season. Book the balloon for your first Cappadocia morning, so a cancellation can move to the second or third. Our Cappadocia balloon price update explains the types of flight, and our Red and Green Tour guide for Korean travellers compares the two day tours.

Renting a car is the other option. Rental companies often ask Korean licence holders for an International Driving Permit as well as the Korean licence, so get one at a police station or the Incheon Airport centre before you leave, and confirm with the rental company.

The long leg: Cappadocia to Pamukkale and Ephesus

Day 7, Cappadocia to Pamukkale. About 610 km by road. Independent travellers have two choices:

1. The overnight bus from Göreme or Nevşehir to Denizli. You save a hotel night but arrive tired, and you lose a morning. From Denizli bus station, minibuses run the 18 km to Pamukkale village.
2. Fly via Istanbul. Kayseri or Nevşehir to Istanbul, then Istanbul to Denizli Çardak airport, about 70 km from Pamukkale. It takes most of the day but is more comfortable.

At Pamukkale and Hierapolis, you walk the white travertines barefoot, so carry a bag for your shoes. Stay in Pamukkale village and go up at opening time or in the late afternoon. In summer, Denizli averages highs near 35°C in July and August, according to MGM, and the white rock reflects the sun.

Day 8, Pamukkale to Selçuk. Regional trains run between Denizli and Selçuk several times a day, taking about 3 to 3.5 hours on current timetables, with tickets at the station or on the TCDD site. Buses also run the route, about 190 km by road.

Day 9, Ephesus. The lower gate of Ephesus is about 4 km from Selçuk by road; taxis and minibuses run there. A good order is to take a taxi to the upper gate and walk downhill through the city, about an hour of uneven marble. Do not skip the Terrace Houses, a separate ticket inside the site. The House of the Virgin Mary is about 10 km away by road with no regular bus, so you need a taxi or a tour.

Day 10, home. The regional train from Selçuk to İzmir stops at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, about 60 km away. Fly to Istanbul and connect to Incheon. Leave plenty of time at IST: if the two flights are on separate tickets, you collect and re-check your bags.

What to book before you leave Korea

• Domestic flights. Istanbul to Cappadocia and İzmir to Istanbul. Prices rise as the date approaches, especially in Korean holiday weeks.
• The balloon. On popular dates, the cheaper flights fill weeks ahead.
• A cave hotel in Göreme. Cappadocia has a limited number of cave rooms, and the good ones go first in spring and autumn.
• The overnight bus, if you take it. Seats can be booked online a few days ahead.
• An eSIM or roaming plan. Mobile data matters for maps, translation and WhatsApp.

You do not need to book Istanbul's mosques, public ferries or the Denizli–Selçuk train in advance.

Budget: entrance tickets in 2027

State museums and sites charge foreign visitors in euros and collect the amount in Turkish lira. These are the Ministry of Culture and Tourism prices valid from 1 April 2027:

Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace are run by the National Palaces Administration and priced separately in lira. The Museum Pass Türkiye costs €185 from 1 April 2027 and gives 15 days of entry to more than 300 state museums and sites. It does not cover Hagia Sophia, so on this route it only pays off if you add several of Istanbul's state museums, such as the Archaeology Museums (€16) and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (€19). Our Istanbul Museum Pass page does the sums for the city.

Hotels, food and transport vary too much by season to give one honest number. As a rule, Istanbul and Cappadocia cave hotels cost more than Pamukkale and Selçuk, and the domestic flights are the largest single transport cost.

Tours that cover this

Day tours that fill the gaps in an independent trip:

• Cappadocia Red Tour with Lunch: Pasabag, Zelve, Avanos & Love Valley: from $80 per person.
• Cappadocia Green Tour: Derinkuyu, Ihlara Valley & Selime with Lunch: from $80 per person.
• Ephesus Day Tour from Kusadasi & Selcuk with Lunch and Guide: from $127 per person.
• Hagia Sophia Small-Group Tour with Entry Ticket, Blue Mosque & Bazaar: from $120 per person.

A Korean-speaking guide for one or more days is arranged on request, subject to availability; see our Korean-speaking guide in Istanbul page.

Frequently Asked Questions