11 Days Turkey Tour

On arrival in Istanbul, our driver will be waiting at the exit with a sign showing your name and will take you to your hotel. Take your time to check in and relax after the flight. At a convenient hour, your travel consultant will meet you at the hotel to welcome you and give a brief overview of your eleven-day tour.

After breakfast, your guide will meet you in the lobby for a walking tour of the old city. The day takes in the great highlights of historic Istanbul: the soaring dome of Hagia Sophia, the elegant Blue Mosque, and the ancient Hippodrome with its Obelisk of Theodosius brought from Egypt and the Serpentine Column from the Temple of Delphi. You will pause at the German Fountain, explore the grand courtyards of Topkapi Palace — once home to the Ottoman sultans — and finish among the maze of stalls in the Grand Bazaar. The whole route is walkable, and afterwards you will be driven back to your hotel.

Early this morning your driver will collect you from the hotel for the transfer to the airport and the one-hour flight to Cappadocia. On arrival, our representative will meet you at the exit and bring you to our office, where you can leave your luggage before the guided northern Cappadocia tour. You will begin at the Esentepe rock panorama, see the Byzantine-era Uchisar Castle from outside, and explore Pasabag, Devrent and the Three Beauties valleys. The day continues in the old towns of Urgup and Avanos, the latter famous for red-clay pottery, where you can try the wheel. At the end of the day you will be transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay in Goreme.

Begin the day, if you wish, with an optional sunrise balloon flight over Cappadocia. After breakfast and check-out, your guide will collect you for a tour of southern Cappadocia: Meskendir and Rose Valley with their red rock and walking trails, the cave houses of Cavusin, the well-named Pigeon Valley and the view from Love Valley. You will explore the Kaymakli Underground City and its many levels of rooms, wineries, tombs and stables. At the end of the tour you will be transferred to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, we set off for Antalya, stopping along the way in Konya — the adopted home of Rumi (Mevlana), the Sufi mystic who inspired the Whirling Dervishes, and once a major trading city on the Silk Road. We arrive in Antalya at the end of the day and check into the hotel.

After breakfast, your guide collects you for a full day around Antalya. The first stop is ancient Perge, where you will see the ruins of the Roman and Hellenistic gates and the agora — a place where Saint Paul once preached. From there you will visit Aspendos and its superbly preserved Roman theatre, one of the finest in Anatolia, followed by one of the region's most beautiful waterfalls and the Temple of Apollo at Side. Afterwards you will be driven back to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, you will be transferred to Antalya's bus terminal for the coach to Denizli. On arrival at Denizli, our representative will meet you and take you to your hotel in the Pamukkale area.

After breakfast and check-out, your guide will collect you at the set time for a full day at Pamukkale and Hierapolis. You will visit the gates of ancient Hierapolis, its necropolis and beautiful ancient theatre, and the famous travertines with their lovely panorama, with the chance to swim among the ruins in Cleopatra's pool or visit the Hierapolis Archaeology Museum. At the end of the tour you will be transferred to your hotel in Kusadasi — about two and a half hours' drive through lovely scenery, with stops along the way.

After breakfast and check-out, your guide will collect you at the set time and head for Ephesus. You will visit the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the 25,000-seat amphitheatre, the famous Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian and the harbour street of the ancient city, finishing at the House of the Virgin Mary, her final home. Afterwards you will be transferred to the airport for the one-hour flight to Istanbul, where our representative will meet you and take you to your hotel.

After breakfast, take the day to explore Istanbul at your own pace. A half-day Bosphorus cruise is a must on any visit, or you could arrange a day out to the nearby islands for a swim or a bike ride. In the evening, a Bosphorus dinner cruise gives you a beautiful view of the city by night, the European and Asian shores lit up on either side. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. Depending on your international flight time, your driver will be waiting in the lobby to take you to the airport. This brings your eleven-day Turkey tour to a close, and we hope to welcome you again.