It’s easier to get to Turkey than one might think. We’ve had pleasant experiences with Turkish Airlines (a Star Alliance member), which has nonstop flights from major U.S. cities like New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

Meet a driver arranged by the Andrew Harper Travel Office. (Especially if it’s your first time in Turkey, it’s helpful to have prearranged top-quality drivers and guides at key points.) Transfer to a hotel in or near the old center, either the Pera Palace in Beyoğlu or the newly refurbished Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet. The latter has only a handful of accommodations with views, but its location is more central to top ancient sites. The Pera Palace has rooms with views of the Golden Horn and is closer to the shopping and restaurants of Galata and Taksim Square.

You’ll likely arrive in the late afternoon or early evening. Settle in, have dinner and relax at your hotel.

Spend at least two days exploring Istanbul, the domes and minarets of which assemble into one of the most romantic skylines in the world. Take a day to explore the top sites of Sultanahmet, including the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapı Palace. Use another to see the magnificent mosaics of St. Savior in Chora (also known as the Kariye Museum), the ancient city walls, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Take a private sunset cruise along the Bosphorus, an iconic Istanbul experience.

Fly from Istanbul nonstop to Nevşehir or to slightly more distant Kayseri, the two gateways to Cappadocia. Transfer to atmospheric Uçhisar, checking into either the artifact-filled Museum Hotel, which offers only cave rooms, or the Ariana Sustainable Luxury Lodge, which has both cave rooms and more traditional accommodations.

Time permitting, explore Uçhisar and/or have a walk along the scenic Pigeon Valley hiking trail.

Spend two (or better yet, three) days in Cappadocia, famous for its rock pinnacles known locally as fairy chimneys. Start early your first morning with a hot air balloon ride. The stunning scenery is worth the early wake-up call.

Explore the frescoed monasteries and dwellings hewn from the rock in the Gӧreme Open Air Museum and Zelve Valley. Perhaps do a little bird-watching in the Sultan Marshes, south of Uçhisar, or visit the town of Avanos to the north, a center of pottery-making.

Farther afield is the Neolithic “proto-city” of Çatalhöyük, a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s a three-hour drive from Uçhisar. It’s worth the trip for prehistory buffs.

Transfer to either the Kayseri or Nevşehir airport and fly to Istanbul. Connect to a flight south to İzmir.

Meet a driver who takes you south to İsabey Vineyard, and lunch beneath the shade of a 300-year-old sycamore tree on the patio.

After a wine tasting, continue south to the coastal city of Kuşadası. We have no recommended hotels in this region, but there are comfortable options. Your travel advisor can suggest the property that best suits your needs.

Visit the ruins of Ephesus, a Roman city referred to in the Bible. Its scenic main street winds past old houses, storefronts, temples and even communal toilets en route to its culmination, the dramatically restored façade of the Library of Celsus. To the right is a huge amphitheater that once faced a harbor, now silted up.

Have lunch at the restaurant of Yedi Bilgeler, a boutique winery housed in a wisteria-draped villa — plus do a wine tasting, if you like — before returning to Kuşadası.

Depart Kuşadası this morning. It’s possible to reach your next hotel within about 90 minutes, but if ancient ruins are at all of interest, turn this transfer into a sightseeing excursion.

Stop first at Priene, which once stood on the coast (improbable as it seems). The city contains an impressive ensemble of Greek architecture, including the remains of a temple to Athena, an amphitheater and a bouleuterion, rather like a city hall.

Farther south, formerly wealthy Miletus also had a strategic coastal location, until silting moved the seashore miles to the west. The ancient theater there is spectacular, as is the column-lined Sacred Way (you can also find Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman buildings here).

Continue to Didyma, once home to the Oracle of Apollo. The magnificent partially reconstructed Temple of Apollo is a highlight, among other ancient structures.

On the (current) coastline is your home for the next few nights, the Six Senses Kaplankaya, which overlooks the Aegean. Since the sightseeing above will occupy the better part of a full day, take the rest of the late afternoon and evening to settle in, relax and have dinner at the resort.

Use a full day to relax at the Six Senses Kaplankaya. Enjoy the beach, indulge in a spa treatment, take a cooking class and/or arrange for a private boat tour of the coast.

Depart Six Senses and drive around the bay. Stop first at Karnas Vineyards, surrounded by grapevines, olive groves and cypresses, for a wine tasting and lunch.

Farther south is the relatively unspoiled mountain village of Etrim, known for its traditional weaving. Continue from there to the Bodrum Peninsula and check into its most luxurious resort, Amanruya.

That’s enough sightseeing for today — it’s time to relax.

Spend two full days at Amanruya. Head into the city of Bodrum itself to visit the fascinating Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, hike along the rugged coastline near the resort, charter Amanruya’s yacht for a half or full day (perhaps including an island picnic), or book a private sightseeing cruise aboard a traditional wooden gulet. Of course, simply enjoying the property is also a tempting option!

Fly from Bodrum back to Istanbul. You can connect to your flight home, if the schedule allows, but we recommend spending another day or two if possible.

Check into a property in a more northerly neighborhood of Istanbul. The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus is the grandest choice, occupying a 19th-century Ottoman palace. For something more contemporary, consider the new Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, a little more up the strait. Yet farther north is the Six Senses Kocatas Mansions, which combines two historic homes and includes a spa in hillside gardens. Or consider Sumahan on the Water, located in a former raki distillery on the Asian side of Istanbul in Çengelköy, an area renowned for its fish restaurants.

Consider a morning tour of Dolmabahçe Palace, an astonishingly ornate 19th-century palace on the water. In the afternoon, we highly recommend a relaxing sightseeing cruise of the Bosphorus if you haven’t done so already. Various other guided tours of lesser-known historic neighborhoods near the various hotels noted above are also possible.

Transfer back to Istanbul’s airport and board your flight home. Or if time permits, it’s possible to take a nonstop flight from Istanbul to Malé, the capital of the Maldives. A few days (or more) at a private-island resort would be a stellar way to end a vacation!