8 Days Turkey Tour

Your eight-day Aegean tour of Turkey begins as you arrive in Istanbul. Our driver will be waiting at the exit with a sign bearing your name and will take you to your hotel. Check in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. At a convenient time, your travel consultant will meet you at the hotel to welcome you and give a brief outline of the tour ahead.

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.

After an early check-out, your driver will collect you for the roughly four-hour drive to the Gallipoli peninsula, with a breakfast stop along the way. On arrival, you will pause for lunch before visiting Brighton Beach, the Ariburnu and ANZAC Cove cemeteries, the Lone Pine Australian memorial, the original tunnels and trenches at Johnston's Jolly, the Nek cemetery, Chunuk Bair, and the Ataturk and New Zealand memorials. At the end of the day you will be transferred to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, we will collect you from the lobby and set off for Troy. You will start at the replica of the wooden Trojan Horse — which you can climb into for a photo — the excavation information centre with its underground exhibits, the fortification walls of Troy VI with their tower and gateway, the sacrificial altars, the Odeon and the Temple of Athena, focal point of a great annual festival in the goddess's honour. After a lunch break, we drive to the ancient city of Pergamon, where you will see the Acropolis and its library, the temples of Athena and Dionysus, the Altar of Zeus, the lower Agora, the Asclepion healing centre, the Hellenistic theatre and the Red Basilica, originally a temple to Serapis. The theatre is especially striking, built dramatically into the steep hillside. Afterwards we continue to the lovely resort town of Kusadasi and drop you at your hotel.

After breakfast, your guide will collect you from the hotel at the appointed time and set off for Ephesus. You will explore the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the vast 25,000-seat amphitheatre, the famous Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian and the harbour street of the ancient city. The visit ends at the House of the Virgin Mary, her last home, after which you will be driven back to your hotel.

After breakfast and check-out, your guide will collect you at the set time for a full day at Pamukkale and Hierapolis — about two and a half hours' drive through lovely scenery, with a lunch break on arrival. You will visit the gates of ancient Hierapolis, its necropolis and beautiful ancient theatre, and the famous travertines, whose panorama gleams like an icy mountain; there is 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 the airport for your flight to Istanbul, where our representative will meet you at the exit and take you to your hotel.

After breakfast, the day is yours to enjoy Istanbul at your own pace. You might take a half-day Bosphorus cruise — a must on any visit to the city — or arrange a trip to the nearby islands for a swim or a bike ride. In the evening, a dinner cruise on the Bosphorus is a lovely way to see Istanbul lit up, with the European and Asian shores gliding past.

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 eight-day Turkey tour to a close, and we hope to welcome you again.