9 Days Turkey Tour

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, all among the region's finest sights. 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.

If you would like, begin with an optional sunrise balloon flight — one of the great experiences of 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 aptly named Pigeon Valley and the panorama from Love Valley. You will explore the Kaymakli Underground City and its many levels of rooms, wineries, tombs and stables, and can attend a traditional carpet-weaving demonstration. At the end of the tour you will be transferred to the airport for the one-hour flight to Izmir, where our representative will meet you on arrival and take you to your hotel in Kusadasi.

After breakfast, your guide will collect you for a tour of 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, ending at the House of the Virgin Mary, her final home. Afterwards you will be transferred 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 three 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 Fethiye (about four hours' drive) for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, enjoy a full free day to explore the lovely coves and beaches of Fethiye. In the evening, there is the option of a night out at one of the bars or clubs along the seafront.

After breakfast, we will collect you from the lobby around 10:00 am and set sail from Fethiye harbour at about 11:00 am, heading for Samanlik Bay for a swim and lunch — or, depending on the sea, to Butterfly Valley, a nature reserve home to some 130 species of butterflies and moths. We then cruise on to Oludeniz, the Blue Lagoon, conditions allowing, where paragliding is available if you would like to try it. The day's final stop is St Nicholas Island, with its Byzantine ruins, a swim, dinner and your first night on board — a chance to sleep under the stars rather than in a cabin.

Around sunrise we set off for the Aquarium or Firnaz Bay near Kalkan, where breakfast and a swim await. We then cruise to Kas, mooring in the harbour for lunch and a stroll through this lovely fishing village. Of ancient Antiphellos, as Kas was once known, only the Lycian rock tombs, sarcophagi and Roman theatre survive — yet the town's charm endures. In a bay near Kekova we pause to swim, enjoy dinner and spend a second night aboard.

We set off for the Sunken City of Kekova, a protected Lycian-Roman site best admired from the water. After lunch we visit Simena, a traditional Turkish fishing village reachable only by sea, with the ruins of its Byzantine-Ottoman castle. Gokkaya Bay offers optional water sports — a chance not to be missed — followed by dinner; relax in this pirates' haven or see the night out at the Smugglers' Inn.

After an early breakfast, we take a look at a cave once used by ancient pirates before sailing to Andriake harbour. The cruise ends around 10:30 am; after disembarking, you will be transferred to the airport for the one-hour flight to Istanbul. On arrival, our representative will meet you at the exit and take you to your hotel, bringing your nine-day Turkey tour to a close.