Short answer: 7 nights is the sweet spot for first-time visitors. Here's what fits into every length.
Stay: Istanbul only. Sultanahmet or Beyoğlu. Do the Old City day, the Beyoğlu day, and a Bosphorus ferry. Don't try to add Cappadocia.
Stay: 2 nights Istanbul + 2 nights Cappadocia + 1 flex. Internal flight both ways. This is the canonical "first Turkey trip." See our 5-day combo itinerary.
Stay: 3 Istanbul + 3 Cappadocia + 1 buffer. Or split as 2 Istanbul + 2 Cappadocia + 3 Antalya/Bodrum for a beach finish. Our favorite length.
Stay: Istanbul + Cappadocia + Ephesus/Pamukkale + Mediterranean (Antalya or Fethiye). A real Turkey overview.
Stay: Add a food-focused weekend in Gaziantep or a nature leg in Rize / Trabzon Black Sea highlands.
Stay: Work in the lesser-visited: Mersin east coast, Mardin, Van. Or settle into a digital-nomad base in Mahmutlar / Izmir.
A useful frame: every full day in a Turkish city gives you one major sight, two meals, and one neighborhood walk. Every transfer day (flying or driving between cities) eats most of a day. So 5 nights in Turkey is really "5 days minus 2 transfer days = 3 full days of sightseeing." That's two cities, comfortably. Three cities is possible but the third gets short-changed. Four cities in 5 nights is a hostel-bracelet collection, not a trip.
The corollary: long-haul travelers from North America, Asia, or Australia who fly 14+ hours each way should commit to 8-10 nights minimum. The marginal cost of a 6-night vs 8-night trip is small (two more hotel nights); the marginal experience gain is huge (a third city + recovery time + a slow morning at sunset). Travelers from Europe with a 3-hour flight can rationally do shorter — Istanbul as a long-weekend (3-4 nights) is a perfectly good trip for them, where it isn't for someone arriving from Sydney.
April-May and September-October are the goldilocks months — every region works. Add a night to your plans for these months because the light and temperatures reward slow walking and long evenings. June-August: the Mediterranean coast (Antalya, Bodrum, Fethiye) and the Black Sea (Trabzon, Rize) work well; Istanbul and Cappadocia are hot but doable; Eastern Anatolia (Mardin, Şanlıurfa) is uncomfortable. December-February: Istanbul and Cappadocia work (cold but atmospheric, snow on the fairy chimneys is iconic); the Mediterranean coast is largely closed; Eastern Anatolia is harsh. Match your duration to the season, not just to your annual leave.
For most travelers, yes — Istanbul rewards 4-5 nights well, but day 6-7 starts to feel like extra. Better to spend day 5 onwards on a Cappadocia or Antalya add-on. Exception: Istanbul-only trips work for repeat visitors with specific deep-dive agendas (Bosphorus villages, Princes' Islands, day-trips to Bursa).
Yes — Istanbul only. Land Friday morning, two full days, Sunday afternoon flight home. You'll see Sultanahmet, Beyoğlu, the Bosphorus, and one good dinner. You won't see Cappadocia or any beach.
Two weeks is the trip you'll wish you'd taken. Suggested: 4 Istanbul + 3 Cappadocia + 4 Mediterranean coast (Antalya or Fethiye) + 3 buffer (one of Bodrum, Pamukkale, or a flying visit to Şanlıurfa for Göbekli Tepe). Or replace the buffer with longer stays in the prior three.
The exact plan we'd give a friend visiting Istanbul. Where to eat, what to skip, how to avoid tourist traps.
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