Turkey holds a special place in my heart. When we quit our jobs and went on a 6 month travel adventure, Turkey was our first destination. You’re going to have an amazing time on YOUR 10 day trip to Turkey!
That’s exactly what I’m here to help you achieve.
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While 10 days seems like a lot, there is so much to see in Turkey! So, I’ve created this itinerary based on getting a good, well rounded experience during your 10 days in Turkey.
Let’s go!
When my husband and I left for our 6 month trip to 18 countries, we knew that airfare would be one of the single largest individual costs of our trip. So, after a little bit of research, we found a way to get affordable flights all over the world: travel credit cards.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you.
The first note here that I need to make is that almost no flight is truly free, you do have to pay the taxes and fees. But, what if I told you I just bought a $6 flight from North Carolina, USA to Athens, Greece this week. Or that I’ve spent only $11 for me and Colton to fly from NC to Turkey?
Would you believe those numbers?
I never in a million years thought I could fly abroad for less than a few hundred dollars, and that’s if I somehow found an amazing deal!
It wasn’t until I came across travel credit cards and the world of points and miles that I understood how these serial travelers I was seeing everywhere were affording their flights.
The trick was, they were barely paying for them.
So, after tons of research, applying for credit cards, hitting bonuses, and of course getting everything in order to leave home for 6 months to travel, I bought our one way flights out of the country for $11.
How did we do it?
The world of points and miles, of course!
Let me tell you how we did it and give you the information you need to start earning free flights with your credit card!
Let me preface this with one statement: the world of points and miles is BIG and there is a lot that you honestly don’t need to know to just get started.
So, I’m going to give you the most necessary information to get you started and cut out all the fluff. Let’s go!
I promise you this is not a scam, because maybe that’s the first place your mind is headed when I say “free” flights.
In fact, paying with points and miles to purchase flights at insanely low prices is entirely legal, I promise!
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Interested in checking out my travel credit card recommendations?
Find them here!
What Are Points and Miles
Points and miles are the reward currency of airlines and hotels: aka loyalty points.
I’m not talking about the points you earn by flying with an airline repeatedly, that you only rack up over several years.
I’m talking about points and miles you earn just from having the credit card you already use!
Each bank or airline that offers credit cards with points and miles use them as an alternative currency for purchasing flights.
Many of the banks that offer travel credit cards have both airline and non-airline branded credit cards: a.k.a the airline the bank has partnered with offers airline miles as the sign up bonus, not credit card points. Those miles can only be used with that airline.
If you apply for a bank branded card with no airline association, you’ll earn points with that bank that can then be transferred to their airline or hotel partners.
How To Get Points And Miles With Travel Credit Cards?
The fastest way, and most likely reason why you’re wanting a travel credit card, is to earn points with a sign up bonus.
Most banks offer a sign up bonus of varying amounts after a certain amount of qualifying purchases on the card in the first few months.
It might sound something like this: “earn 60k bonus points when you spend $3,000 dollars on purchases in the first 4 months.” Yadah yadah.
But, you will also earn points while using your card on your everyday purchases! Some cards offer bonus categories, like 3x on grocery purchases, or 2x at restaurants, etc. So, when you spend money on your card, you’ll earn points in return that can be redeemed for various things, like flights or hotel stays.
Generally, if you’re wanting to redeem miles for flights or hotels, you’re going to need a good chunk of miles to do so.
You can purchase some domestic flights with as little as 8,500k points one way, but if you’re flying international, it will likely cost you 15k one way, at the very least.
Of course, the cost of award flights in points can greatly vary and is not always directly tied to the cash ticket price.
Other ways to earn points with travel credit cards include anniversary bonuses, giveaways, and transfer bonuses. These come and go and aren’t something I would rely on.
For the purposes of this post, which is all about a beginner’s guide to free flights with points and miles, sign up bonuses are your very best friend.
READ ALSO:
How to Save Money for Travel – Budget & Save for Your Next Trip
8 Simple Tips to Help You Save Money While Traveling
5 Tips To Find Cheap International Flights
How Much Are Points and Miles Worth?
Not all points are created equal.
Some points are more valuable than others simply because you can transfer and redeem them in more ways.
Points and miles also get their value depending on the deal you get when redeeming them.
Let me give you an example scenario to explain…
For example, let’s say you have 75k Capital One miles and you want to fly from Atlanta, Georgia to Athens, Greece for an amazing holiday eating delicious Mediterranean food and swimming in crystal clear waters for 8 days.
These are the flights you’re looking at. They’ll take you to Greece during the best time to visit, late summer when it isn’t too crowded and not too hot.
You have a few options for how you can book these flights with points
Option 1: Redeem Points with a Travel Portal
Option 1 is to redeem your points through Capital One Travel and their online portal. When you do this, you’re going to get a fixed redemption rate of 1¢ per mile.
So your 75k miles would be worth $750 for travel. You could use those 75k miles to buy a flight worth up to $750 through the Capital One Travel portal. That’s over half of what this ticket is worth. So you would still have to pay about $390+ on top of your 75k miles for this ticket.
We can definitely do better than that!
Option 2: Transfer to a Partner
Option 2 would be to transfer your Capital One miles to one of their airline transfer partners, then book the flight on their website using your points.
If you did this, those 75k miles could become 75k FlyingBlue points (Air France & KLM’s loyalty program and one of Capital One’s transfer partners).
The same exact flight booked on Air France with cash would cost you $1,142.
But, you can transfer your points from Capital One and over to FlyingBlue, so now you have up to 75k FlyingBlue miles! Let’s use them!
If you use FlyingBlue to book the exact same flight, you would only need 30,000 miles and $208 in taxes & fees. Way better than using all 75k and only covering half of the cost!
And, instead of paying $1,142 out of pocket for a round trip ticket to Europe, you’re only paying $208 plus 30,000 points.
*you want to transfer only the amount of points you need. In this scenario, thats only 30k of the 75k.
In this scenario, you would be redeeming your Capital One points, through FlyingBlue, for 3.1cents per mile. Now that’s more like it!
This is why points can be so valuable and why transfer partners can be the best way to go when redeeming points.
I know that was a lot, so let me summarize if for you:
- Out of pocket price for ticket Atlanta to Athens: $1142 on Air France/KLM
- Price of same ticket booked through Capital One Travel: 75k miles + $392
- Price of same ticket booked through FlyingBlue after transferring Capital One miles: 30,000 miles + $208 in taxes and fees.
You would come out of this deal with around 45k Capital One miles left in the bank. That’s enough to buy you another roundtrip flight to Europe.
Now THAT’S how we use points and miles to our advantage 🙂
RESOURCE: Free List of Transfer Partners & Airline Alliances + How to Use Them
*be sure to only transfer the points you need and no more so you can keep the extra points with your bank and transfer them elsewhere in the future*
How Do You Redeem Points And Miles For Flights?
The way that we typically redeem our points and miles is by using them to purchase flights. We do this by transferring our credit card points to transfer partners.
The scenario above is a great example of how we would use our points and miles to get amazing deals on flights.
Here is that chart again that I made to show you where you can transfer points based on what program you’ve accumulated points with.
The process of transferring points can be a bit complicated, but I’m going to help you out here.
Here is the basic rundown of how to redeem your points for flights:
- Accumulate points on your credit card
- Research credit card airlines transfer partners
- Search Google Flights or Skyscanner to find flight routes
- Search for award flights on airline transfer partners
- Find desired flights and see how many points/money required to book them
- Create a frequent flier account with airline if you don’t already have one
- Transfer points on your bank’s website to transfer partner of choice
- Book those flights!!
To use the example from above, I would find the flights I want and make sure I have enough points to pay for them. Then, I would log into Capital One and go to the Capital One Travel portal to transfer my points to FlyingBlue. Once my points were transferred, I would buy my flights!
The real trick is finding award flight availability and the deals that are out there waiting to be had! It takes a little bit of time and practice but you’ll get the gist!
READ ALSO:
How to Save Money for Travel – Budget & Save for Your Next Trip
Our Once In A Lifetime 6 Month Trip Itinerary
What 6 Months of Travel to 18 Countries Cost Us
What Travel Credit Cards Are Best?
For me to answer this question, you’ll need to ask yourself a question first: what are your goals?
Are you looking to cover some international long haul flights? Maybe you’re an avid domestic traveler and would like to cover a few legs of travel for your upcoming trips. Would you like to stay in nice hotels for just the cost of fees?
It’s good to look at the options and decide what you think will work best for your goals!
If you want to cover some flights, I would find a card that has great travel benefits and flexible rewards. If you’re more interested in hotel stays, get a hotel branded card!
You can find my favorite travel credit cards and all the information about them on my
Travel Credit Cards Recommendations page.
Want my help choosing a travel credit card?
Fill out my Free Credit Card Consultation Form & I’ll email you personalized recommendations!
“Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.”
What to Know Before Your 10 Day Trip to Turkey
How to Get Around
Some people decide to rent a car while in Turkey because they prefer to have a bit more control over their itinerary. Other people use Turkish buses and airlines to get around.
Turkey is a large country, so while renting a car might seem to make sense, you can still have long driving times when getting around. Don’t assume renting a car is the best option.
If you don’t rent a car, I would recommend a mix of buses and flying.
I would fly from Istanbul to Izmir, take a bus to Ephesus, take a bus to Pamukkale (Denizli), take a bus on to Antalya, take a bus to Kaş, fly from Antalya to Cappadocia, and fly from Cappadocia back to Istanbul.
Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Jet, and Pegasus airlines are all affordable ways to travel around Turkey. To find affordable flights around Turkey, search with Skyscanner.
For shorter distances, like getting from the Izmir airport to Ephesus, you could take a bus. It really depends on many factors.
What to Wear in Turkey
I’ve written an entire post about what to pack for your trip to Turkey where I go into detail about what to bring and why.
It depends on the season, but there are also certain instances where specific pieces of clothing are required, like when visiting mosques.
So check out that post after you finish reading this one for all the details!
The 10 Day Trip to Turkey Itinerary
2 Days in Istanbul
Where to Stay in Istanbul
I definitely recommend staying in the Sultanahmet neighborhood, because of its proximity to the main things to see as well as to public transportation
Lux
Mid
Budget
Blue Mosque & Hagia Sophia
Both of these mosques are situated within the same park, and they’re pretty hard to miss.
The Blue Mosque is named so because of the blue tiles adorning the inside. When we visited in 2021, the mosque was under construction, so be aware that it could still be depending on when you’re visiting.
The Hagia Sophia is the most popular tourist attraction in Istanbul for good reason. It’s an amazing piece of architecture with an amazing history to match. The building has been both a mosque and a church at one point or another, and the inside is huge.
The Hagia Sophia is a must see during your 10 day trip to Turkey!
Galata Tower
No need to go in the tower, in my opinion, but it is a really cool fairytale looking tower in the middle of the tourist area of town. We enjoyed checking it out!
You can reach Galata Tower by taking the Karaköy funicular, since the walk up to it from the water is quite steep.
Grand Bazaar
You should spend hours wandering around the Grand Bazaar smelling the spices, admiring the handmade items, and chatting with the store owners.
It’s a true maze, so I recommend having your phone maps ready to lead you out of the middle of it once you inevitably get lost.
So much fun!
Bosphorus Strait
Istanbul is located on the Bosphorus Strait, which is a waterway that has been used for thousands of years for sea trade. It allows ships to pass from the Aegean sea to the Black Sea and back.
The strait cuts right through the middle of Istanbul, and actually separates two continents, Europe and Asia.
Because of this, Istanbul sits on two continents, and you can take a ferry from Europe to Asia and back in one day.
Ferry to Asia
You’ll likely be staying on the European side of Istanbul, so you should hop on one of the many ferries that will take you over to Asia while visiting the city. Not only is it a fun activity, but there are wonderful little neighborhoods to explore, including Kadiköy.
Beylerbeyi Palace
While on the Asian side of Istanbul, visit Beylerbeyi Palace, a former summer residence for the Ottoman Emperor.
The audio tour costs money, but it’s a fun activity to do if you have the time. We took a bus from the ferry port to the palace.
1 Day Visiting Ephesus
There is a ton to do in Ephesus, and you could spend hours upon hours here. So, I will give you a pretty large list of things to see while visiting Ephesus, and you should decide what you are interested in and what you have time for.
Ephesus is an ancient city, most famous for its role in the early church of Christianity. Beyond the religious importance of the historical site, it’s also an amazingly preserved example of the living style of the time.
You can see where the wealthy of Ephesus lived, the public library, and even the communal toilets.
It’s truly amazing what is still standing in Ephesus today and the feeling that you’re walking back in time as you meander through the streets of the ancient city.
Where to Stay
Selçuk is the closest town to Ephesus, and has its own charm you should explore.
We ate an amazing, quick lunch in Selçuk and met the nicest Turkish man who owned the restaurant. We wandered through the local market on Sunday and we loved it.
What to See in Ephesus
- Library of Celsus
- Ephesus Ancient Theater
- St. John’s Basilica
- Terrace Houses
- Ephesus Archaeological Museum
1 Day Visiting Pamukkale
Now, I have mixed feelings about Pamukkale but I’m mentioning it because it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Turkey. But that’s just it: it’s an ‘attraction’.
Over-tourism has contributed to the monetization and subsequent degradation of the naturally beautiful landscape that is Pamukkale.
So what’s my suggestion? If you really want to go to Pamukkale, go as early in the morning as possible. I’m talking 6am kinda early. Why? Because by 8am, the place is crawling with tourists.
But, the thing is that getting there that early is really only possible if you rent your own car. So… just think about that. You can rent a car in Selçuk if you wanted to do a day trip to Pamukkale.
There is a real problem here. Tour buses drop off oogles of people every day to walk around in the natural pools.
There is no limit to the number of visitors, so it is often so crowded you can hardly walk, let alone even see the pools.
We made a YouTube video about our experience so you can see what we’re talking about.
If you decide not to visit Pamukkale, take the extra day and spend it on the beautiful Turkish Riviera!
3 Days in Antalya & Kaş
Antalya is a beautiful, large city on the southern coast of Turkey. You should spend a day here enjoying the beaches after exploring Kaş and before hopping on a plane to Cappadocia. Visit Old Town and Hadrian’s Gate.
Wow. Just wow. The Turkish coast is unbelievably beautiful. Spend some time swimming in the wonderful Mediterranean Sea and experience the resort feel of the coast. What a place!
I recommend doing a boat tour in Kaş , otherwise seek out some of the best beaches in the area.
Helpful tip: A ‘plaji’ is a beach.
Where to Stay in Antalya
Mavi Avulu Old Town Apartments
Where to Stay in Kaş
Mandalina Luxury Boutique Otel
2 Days in Cappadocia
We’ve saved the best for last!
That’s right, Cappadocia will absolutely blow your mind.
There are a lot of really cool things to do in Cappadocia, so again I will give you a list and let you choose what you’re interested in!
- Hot Air Balloon: I really feel like this one is a non-negotiable. Sure, it isn’t the cheapest experience ever, but man is it worth every penny. This is a top 10 bucket list type of activity in my opinion!
- Horse Ride
- ATV’s
- Open Air Museums: There are two that we went to and enjoyed. The Goreme Open Air Museum and the Zelve Open Air Museum. I think you probably only need to visit one, though.
Where to Stay in Cappadocia
There are tons of affordable hotels in Göreme, which is where I would recommend you stay. You can easily find a beautiful hotel with amazing views for less than $100/night.
You should definitely stay in a cave hotel built into the rocks of the landscape. So cool!
In the mornings, you can see the hot air balloons from anywhere in town.
We stayed at the Maron Stone House.
Now you’re ready to plan your 10 day trip to Turkey! Please leave a comment if you have other suggestions of places to visit, or questions about visiting Turkey.
Also check out our YouTube videos from our time in Turkey!
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