A monument in Gallipoli depicting a Turkish soldier carrying a wounded Australian. Photo / Lindy Laird

A monument in Gallipoli depicting a Turkish soldier carrying a wounded Australian. Photo / Lindy Laird

My family and I are heading over to Turkey. We are planning to fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia. We were then going to hire a car and drive round the coast via Olympos, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Troy and Gallipoli and then back to Istanbul. How long might this take us? We were thinking of taking about 10 days - is this realistic?
Nicola Davey

The short answer is that 10 days isn't long enough for this trip - you'll need at least two weeks to do it justice (three would be even better, and allow you to enjoy some R&R along the way). From Cappadocia, it's a full-day trip across the Taurus Mountains down to the coast, particularly if you opt to visit the underground cities of Kaymakli or Derinkuyu en route.

It would be worth spending one night on the eastern Mediterranean coast - Silifke would be a good choice, particularly as the extraordinary Cennet ve Cehennum (Caves of Heaven and Hell) are close by. The nearby seaside resort of Kizkalesi, with its excellent beach and mesmerising Maiden's Castle floating in the sea, would be another option.

From here, follow the coast road west, stopping in Antalya to visit both Kaleici (the city's Old Town on the harbour) and the excellent Antalya Museum.

From Antalya, it's a 90km drive to Olympos and its mysterious Chimera. There are plenty of places to stay in Olympos and Cirali, many in treehouse accommodation. You'll probably want to spend two or three days here relaxing before heading inland via the amazing ruin of an ancient hilltop city at Termessos, west of Antalya.

From here, it's only a couple of hours to the Anatolian Lake District - this part of the country is particularly beautiful in April, when the apple trees blossom, and in May/June, when the famous Isparta rose harvest takes place. Consider overnighting in Egirdir.

From here, it's a three- to four-hour drive to Pamukkale and next-door Hierapolis - just be warned that the travertines at Pamukkale don't look much like the pictures you see in the tourist brochures. Fortunately, the ruins at Hierapolis more than live up to their reputation.

After a night here, a three-hour drive will see you in Selcuk, a pretty village next to the preserved classical city of Ephesus. There are plenty of alluring and well-priced accommodation options in Selcuk, so it's worth staying at least two nights; alternatively, you could base yourself in Sirince, 9km east of Selcuk - it's quieter but more expensive than Sirince.

Then you're back on the coast. You could follow the winding road all the way to Canakkale, overnighting at the charming seaside villages of Candarli, Yeni Foca or Ayvalik on your way. Alternatively, you could drive inland to Bergama, where the ruins of Pergamum, one of the Middle East's richest and most powerful small kingdoms in the period between Alexander the Great's rule and the Roman domination of Asia Minor, is sited. Bergama has plenty of accommodation and you'll probably need to stay two nights, as the ruins call for at least a full day's exploration. In Canakkale, you'll need two or three nights - the Gallipoli Peninsula needs a full day and Troy needs a half-day - before making your way back to Istanbul, a six- to seven-hour drive.