What To Expect

Day 1: Arrival Day

• Arrival Day

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

Day 2: Istanbul City Tour
• TopkapI Palace

  Go to the Topkapi Palace, which was once used by the Ottoman Sultans from the 15th to 19th centuries and see the magnificent collection of priceless jewels, silver, crystal, and porcelain, robes that were worn by the sultans and the relics of the prophet Mohammed. (Entrance to the Harem is extra).

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

  Visit the Hagia Sophia, which was built by Emperor Justinian and was the largest building in the world for over 1000 years and has intricate mosaics and a huge central dome.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Blue Mosque

  After lunch, we will visit the stunning Blue Mosque that was built for Sultan Ahmet I, and is a unique piece of architecture with its six minarets and features 20,000 beautiful Iznik tiles.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Hippodrome

  Visit the ancient Hippodrome with Obelisk of Theodosius, Snake Pillar and German Fountain of Wilhelm II.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

Day 3: Istanbul Tour with Bosphorus Cruise
• Misir Carsisi (Spice Market)

  Visit the exotic Egyptian Spice Market located on the Golden Horn before boarding your cruise of the Bosphorus where the waterway separates the two continents Europe and Asia.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Beylerbeyi Palace

  Discover the absolute best of Istanbul by sea for a memorable Bosphorus Cruise between two continents Asia and Europe. Cross over the Bosphorus Bridge to Asia where you will visit Beylerbeyi Palace, which was once the summer address of the Ottoman Sultans.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Camlica Hill

  Then finally on to Camlica Hill for a fantastic view of Istanbul.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 4: Half day Tour with a Option of a Turkish Bath
• Dolmabahce Palace

  Once you meet your professional guide at your hotel in Istanbul and are aboard your air-conditioned vehicle, you will travel to Dolmabahçe Palace. Discover how this palace was one of the last castles built by the Ottoman Empire. Admire the excellent mixture of European and Ottoman architecture that are along the banks, overseeing the Bosphorus Strait. Enter the palace and discover mesmerising rooms that once hosted sultans and their royal guests. Walk into pristine marble rooms and gaze up at the sparkling crystal chandeliers.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Grand Bazaar

  See the Grand Covered Bazaar with its many shops perfect for your holiday souvenirs.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Istanbul

  For the second half of your day choose to do a traditional Turkish Bath (optional charge) You’re taken to a steamy, humid room surrounded with marble-lined seating and marble wash-basins running hot and cold water. In the centre is a raised marble platform “gobektasi” (navel stone). This is a hot platform for you to relax and work up a sweat. You will get a rub of your body with a coarse loofah to remove any layers of dead skin. Then you will get a soap massage where the Masseuse will cover your head to toe with creamy white frothy bubbles, using a cloth bag. Then they will massage all over your body with pressure on your bones. You will have eased muscles you never knew you had. Finally, you will take a shower, and you will be given a thick cotton towel to cover yourself and be left in a cold room for relaxation.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 5: Istanbul – Cappadocia

• Check out from the hotel and catch a flight to Kayseri. Transfer to your hotel in Goreme for the rest of your day at leisure.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

Day 6: Cappadocia Tour
• Devrent Valley

  Meet at the hotel reception after breakfast, then have your first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia with some rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley, walk-in Pasabag near Zelve and wonder at the “fairy chimneys” where the sound of the wind mixes with the “songs of fairies”.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Avanos Oren Yeri

  Visit Avanos which has been the centre of terra cotta work of art since around 3000 BC, and you will get a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Uchisar Castle

  Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. (Optional) Evening at caravanserai to see a Whirling Dervish ceremony.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Dervis Evi Whirling Dervishes

  (Optional) Evening at caravanserai to see a Whirling Dervish ceremony.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: NO

Day 7: Cappadocia Tour

• Morning Optional: Sunrise balloon flight in Cappadocia.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NO

• Red Valley

  Today you will have breakfast in a village house with a Turkish Style breakfast. See the panorama of the Red Valley, with its fabulous volcanic rock formations and is in the heart of Cappadocia but still away from the tourist crowd.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Derinkuyu YeraltI Sehri

  Tour the Derinkuyu Underground City, one of the fascinating underground settlements in Cappadocia. We can also choose to stop at the carpet cooperative where people from the village make carpets.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 8: Cappadocia, Ihlara Valley
• Ihlara Valley

  Today you will visit Ihlara Valley near Mount Hasan and Mount Melendiz (two of the three volcanoes of Cappadocia) and is a canyon with a depth of around 100m and was formed by the Melendiz River thousands of years before. It starts at Ihlara village and ends at the Selime Monastery at Selime village after making 26 bends along 14 kilometres. It is thought that the valley once housed over four thousand dwellings and about a hundred cave churches that were decorated with frescoes. Approximately eighty thousand people once lived in Ihlara Valley. There are 4 entrances to Ihlara valley. The first one is at the start of the valley in Ihlara Village and the second one opens at the 4th kilometre of the valley and is the most popular entrance.

  Duration: 6 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 9: Cappadocia – Izmir
• Kayseri Saat Kulesi

  Check out from the hotel and drive to Kayseri for a morning flight to Izmir. Transfer to your hotel in Kusadasi for the rest of your day at leisure.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

Day 10: Ephesus
• Ancient City of Ephesus

  Visit the ancient city of Ephesus and spend a few hours walking in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, Apostles Paul, Caesar, Cicero, and John and many other well-known historical names.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Ephesus Terrace Houses

  The recently opened Terrace Houses (entry included) which is where the wealthiest Romans lived and are a great example of sensitive excavation and presentation and the mosaics and frescos are stunning.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Meryemana (The Virgin Mary's House)

  Tradition has it that St John brought Virgin Mary hereafter the Crucifixion and lived her last years close to the city of Ephesus on a secluded mountaintop. A lovely chapel was constructed on the site and tended by Franciscans and open to visitors and has been designated a pilgrimage site by the Pope.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Basilica of St. John

  We will continue with Saint John Church where Apostle John spent his final years and was buried

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• The Temple of Artemis

  Visit the temple of Artemis to see the remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 11: Priene, Miletus and Didyma
• Priene Antik Kenti

  Ephesus may be the creme-de-la-creme of the ancient ruins but Priene, Miletus and Didyma though less frequently visited are still significant ancient settlements. Priene sits on a dramatic position overlooking the Meander Valley and plain. Miletus preserves a spectacular theatre, and Didyma has a Temple of Apollo vaguely reminiscent of the magnificent temples at Karnak in Egypt.

  Duration: 5 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 12: Pamukkale
• Hierapolis & Pamukkale

  Drive to the travertine terraces at Pamukkale which are definitely one of the most spectacular natural wonders that you will be able to see from several mineral springs in a substantial white cliffside. About 200 m overlooking the plain you can see how the calcite-laden waters have dripped over a number of terraced levels and created a fairyland of unusual solidified cascades and shell-shaped basins and look like creations made from snow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish name Pamukkale (cotton castle). Moreover, the water in the basins changes its colour according to how the light enters.

  Duration: 5 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 13: Izmir - Antalya
• Izmir

  After breakfast transfer to İzmir airport for a flight to Antalya. Transfer to your Hotel and the rest of your day is at your leisure.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 14: Aspendos and Perge
• Perge Antik Kenti

  We will see Perge, which was initially settled by the Hittites around 1500 BC. Visit the impressive collonaded street, baths, nymphaeum, and agora and the fountain of the River God, where waters once poured down the centre of the city. We continue to Aspendos to see one of the best-preserved amphitheatres in the world.

  Duration: 4 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Aspendos Ruins

  We continue to Aspendos to see one of the best-preserved amphitheatres in the world.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

Day 15: Antalya
• Kursunlu Waterfalls

  After breakfast, we will visit the waterfalls of Antalya Kursunlu and Duden waterfalls. After the tour, a transfer will take you back to your hotel.

  Duration: 4 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 16: Relax Day
• Antalya

  Today is a relaxing day in Antalya where you can use your hotel’s facilities or choose to explore Antalya some more.

  Duration: 4 hours

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 17: Antalya – Istanbul

• After breakfast transfer to Antalya airport and fly to Istanbul and transfer to your hotel.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Basilica Cistern

  In the afternoon enjoy a half-day tour to the Underground Cistern of Yerebatan

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Galata Koprusu

  Have a walk to Galata bridge to see the fishermen of Istanbul.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 18: Departure Day