9-Day Private Turkey Tour: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Pergamon, Gallipoli & Troy

Day 1: Arrive and Overnight in Istanbul

Upon your arrival at Istanbul New Airport(IST) or Sabiha Gökcen Airport(SAW), our team will be waiting for you at the exit of the international line of the Airport, holding a sign with your name written on it. After which, you will be transferred to your hotel. The afternoon is free for you to spend at leisure. Alternatively, you can join the Night Cruise on the Bosphorus with Dinner & Show.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): No meals are included on this day
• Accommodation: Muyan Suites OR Antea Hotel OR Ayasultan Hotel OR Deluxe Golden Horn Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 2: Istanbul Byzantine and Ottoman Relics Tour

After your breakfast, around 8:30 am, we will pick you up from your hotel to begin a full-day tour of this magnificent city. It includes an official English-speaking guide, tickets, lunch at a central city restaurant, and a visit to the most resplendent monuments that the Ottoman, Byzantine, and Roman empires have handed down to future generations: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque), Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square), Topkapi Palace and Historical Grand Bazaar, which houses more than 4000 stores. After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel at approximately 5:00 pm. The rest of the day will be at leisure.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Muyan Suites OR Antea Hotel OR Ayasultan Hotel OR Deluxe Golden Horn Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 3: Fly to Cappadocia from Istanbul – North Cappadocia Tour

You will be picked up from your hotel for your transfer to the airport to catch your early morning flight to Kayseri or Nevsehir. Upon arrival at Kayseri or Nevsehir airport, you will be picked up and transferred to Cappadocia. In Cappadocia, you will meet your professional tour guide to begin your full-day tour of North Cappadocia. Your tour will start with a visit to the Devrent Valley to see the unique fairy chimneys. Next, you will visit the Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley) to see the mushroom-shaped pinnacles. After this visit, you will drive to the city of Avanos. After lunch, you will visit the Zelve Open Air Museum in Cappadocia. The museum features a series of carved caves and ancient churches, providing a glimpse into the region’s monastic history. Finally, towards the end of the day tour, before returning to your hotel, you will have the opportunity to visit the natural castles of Uchisar. Please note that the interior of the Uchisar castles is not accessible for visits. After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel in Cappadocia for check-in.

• Overnight in Cappadocia
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Holiday Cave Hotel OR Heaven Cave House OR Ottoman Cave Suites or similar (Standard quality)

Day 4: South Cappadocia Tour – Fly to Izmir

After breakfast at the hotel around 9:30 am, you will be picked up and met by your tour guide to begin your full-day tour of South Cappadocia. Your tour guide will brief you on the day’s activities. Your tour will begin with a visit to the Red Valley where you will be able to explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike approximately 5 km through the Rose Valley (Gulludere Vadisi). Next, you will visit Cavusin Village which is famous for its houses and churches of Christian Clergymen. We will take a break for lunch around noon. After lunch, you will drive to the Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik Vadisi). In the afternoon you will visit the Kaymakli Underground City or Ozkonak Underground City where early Christians lived. This will be the end of your full-day tour. After the tour, you will be transferred to Kayseri or Nevsehir airport for your flight to Izmir through Istanbul. Upon your arrival at the Izmir airport, a representative will be present holding your name sign to pick you up and transfer you to your hotel.

• Overnight in Kusadasi
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Derici Hotel OR Efe Boutique Hotel OR Marina Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 5: Drive to Pamukkale – Visit the Necropolis of Hierapolis

After breakfast around 8:00 am, you will be picked up from your Kusadasi hotel and taken to the meeting point in Selcuk where the full group will first meet. You will then begin the Pamukkale tour with a drive from Selcuk starting at 8:30 am to Pamukkale which will be around 3 hours. En route to Pamukkale after 1.5 hours, there will be a 10-minute stop for a restroom break. Upon arrival around 11:45 am, the group will be first taken to have lunch and after lunch, at around 1:00 pm you will begin your guided tour of the Pamukkale and Hierapolis area with a professional licensed tour guide. In Pamukkale, you will see the Cotton Cliffs, one of the natural wonders of the world formed by deposits of calcareous salts. Also, you will visit the ancient ruins of the City of Hierapolis with its basilica, theatre, and Roman Baths. At the end of the guided tour, you will have some free time to explore the area on your own. As an option, you may choose to swim in the Pamukkale antique pools (at your own expense) during this free time. The tour guide will inform you about the exact meeting point and time. At the end of the tour around approximately 4:00 pm, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Kusadasi at around 7:00 pm.

• Overnight in Kusadasi
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Derici Hotel OR Efe Boutique Hotel OR Marina Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 6: Ephesus Tour

After breakfast at the hotel around 8:30 am, you will be picked up and met by your tour guide to begin your full-day tour of Ephesus. You will visit the ruins of Ephesus, the ancient Greek city that became an important centre of this time. Visit the Temple of Hadrian, Great Theater, and Trajan Fountain. After lunch, let’s visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where it is believed she spent her last years. We will pass by the Temple of Artemis; there is little to see of this that was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Afterwards, you will visit the Isa Bey Mosque. Next, you will be taken to the Sirince Village; which is an old Greek village and is well-know for its quaint beauty and wine tasting and production. Here you will have one hour free to explore on your own without a guide the different foods and wines of the area and visit various small traditional village shops. After the visit, you will be transferred to your hotel around 4:00 pm.

• Overnight in Kusadasi
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Derici Hotel OR Efe Boutique Hotel OR Marina Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 7: Visit Pergamon – Drive to Çanakkale

After breakfast, you will be picked up around 9:00 am from your hotel in Kusadasi to travel to Pergamon. After the lunch break, the tour will start a fully guided Pergamon Acropolis Tour. At Pergamon, the ancient world’s major power, you will visit the Acropolis, the ruins of Zeus Altar “Throne of Satan”, the Hellenistic Theatre which had a seating capacity of 10,000 people, the Great Library which held 200,000 books, and the Trojan, the Gymnasium situated on terraces, the lower Agora, Temple of Dionysus, Temple of Athena and Temple of Trojan. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel in Canakkale.

• Overnight in Canakkale
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Comfort Anzac Hotel OR Kervansaray Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 8: Visit Troy and Gallipoli – Drive to Istanbul

After breakfast, you will be picked up approximately at 8.30 am to depart to Canakkale to visit the legendary site of Troy. Troy is the city of Helen and was famous in Homer’s Iliad. You will see the reproduction of the Trojan Horse and learn about the Trojan Wars as well as see the Sacrificial Altars, ancient city walls, and houses of Troy which are thousands of years old, the Bouleterium, Odeon, and current excavations. We will travel by ferry across the part of the Dardanelles known as “the Narrows”; reaching a small fishing village called Kilitbahir, known for its fort built by Mehmet the Conqueror. After lunch in Eceabat, we will travel to Gallipoli. Your visit will include Brighton Beach, the intended landing place, Beach Cemetery on the southern tip, Anzac Cove, the landing place of the first wave of Australian and New Zealand troops and home to up to 30,000 troops during the campaign, Ariburnu Cemetery, Anzac Commemoration Site, Lone Pine Australian Memorial, site of the successful attack and capture of Turkish trenches by the Australians during the August offensive, Johnston’s Jolly, where there are the original Allied and Turkish trenches and tunnels, 57th Regiment Turkish Memorial, The Nek and the Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial. At the end of the tour around 6:00 pm, you will travel to Istanbul. You will arrive in Istanbul around 11:00 pm and will be transferred to your hotel in Istanbul.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Muyan Suites OR Antea Hotel OR Ayasultan Hotel OR Deluxe Golden Horn Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 9: Departure from Istanbul – End of Tour Service

After breakfast, you will check out from your hotel in Istanbul (hotel check-out is before 11:00 am) and will then be transferred to the Istanbul International Airport according to your flight details. This will be the end of our tour and services.

• Included Meal(s): Breakfast

INCLUDED in the Tour Price:

• All transfers as mentioned in this itinerary.
• All transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle.
• All domestic flights from city to city mentioned above (Istanbul to Cappadocia and Cappadocia to Izmir).
• 2 nights in Istanbul at a 4-star hotel including breakfast.
• 1 night in Cappadocia at a cave hotel including breakfast.
• 3 nights in Kusadasi at a 4-star hotel including breakfast.
• 1 night in Canakkale at a 3-star hotel including breakfast.
• Professional licensed English-speaking guide during the tours.
• Meals as per itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch).
• Entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the program.
• Local taxes and service charges.

NOT INCLUDED:

• International flights
• Visa to enter Turkey.
• Hot Air Balloon Ride.
• Optional tours mentioned in the program, they will be provided at an additional cost.
• Escorting tour guide.
• Services not mentioned in the program.
• Drinks with meals.
• Travel insurance (recommended).

IMPORTANT INFO:

• Please note that the Blue Mosque is not open for visitation on Fridays as it is closed for religious prayer services. You will only be able to visit the outside of the Blue Mosque area on tours operated on Fridays. No visitation will be allowed inside the Blue Mosque for tourists on Fridays.
• St. Sophia is closed on Monday, this will be replaced with the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici).
• Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesday, it will be replaced with the Beylerbeyi Palace.
• Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday.
• During religious holidays, the spice market and Grand Bazaar are closed.
• Vegetarian lunch option available upon request.