Highlights of Turkey Tour (7 Days - 6 Nights)

[Ali Cini]

HIGHLIGHTS OF TURKEY TOUR (7 DAYS & 6 NIGHTS)

Day 1 (Arrival to Istanbul)
After your arrival to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, we will meet you in front of the exit gate at the international terminal; with a sign bearing your name and transfer you to your hotel in Old City area (Sultanahmet). You will have free time in the afternoon depending on your arrival time. It is possible to include some tours on this day if you are arriving in the morning. Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet.

Day 2 (Full day Group Istanbul Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

The tour will begin with a pick-up from your hotel after your breakfast at around 08:30am. You will visit the famous Topkapi Palace; the main residence for the Ottoman Sultans between 15th and 19th centuries, with its jewel encrusted treasury and the famous Harem (It is possible to visit Harem Section with an extra 15 TL per person).

The next stops before lunch will be The Basilica Cistern which has 336 marble columns and the Roman Hippodrome which was once the center of Istanbul's political life. After having lunch, you will respectively visit Hagia Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), Million stone, Tomb of Sultan Mahmud and ancient Ottoman cemetery, Cemberlitas (Columnof Constantine) and Grand Bazaar. The tour will end around 4:30pm with free time in Grand Bazaar which is very close to almost all the hotels in Sultanahmet area and the guide will show you the directions on how to get to your hotel. Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet

Day 3 (Group Cappadocia Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

With an early pick-up from your hotel around 05:00am , we will transfer you to Ataturk Airport and have the flight to Cappadocia. Our driver will meet you at the airport and drive you to your hotel for the breakfast. After having the breakfast, you will start touring in magical Cappadocia with the most important place in Cappadocia Region: Goreme Open Air Museum. The museum is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. You will see the best-preserved rock-cut churches in the area. The next visit will be in Cavusin where there were Greek and Turkish people living together until 1924. You will see an old Greek and Turkish Village which was inhabited until 1950's and then moved by the government to a new place because of the falling rocks from the village. We will visit Pasabag (Monks Valley) which is also known as mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys. The fairy-chimneys in Pasabag are the best-protected ones in the area and it gives the best idea about the formation of a fairy-chimney.

We will have our lunch at a local restaurant in Avanos. After lunch, we will have the kick-wheel pottery demo which is an art for about 4000 years. Starting with the Hittites, this art became the most important cultural heritage of the town. The next stop will be Kaymakli Underground City after driving about 30 minutes which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Cappadocia. After experiencing the life in underground, we will drive you to Pigeon Valley to see Uchisar Castle and the valley from a panoramic point. The tour will end around 5:00pm and we will drive you back to your hotel. Overnight accommodation in Goreme.

Day 4 (Group Cappadocia Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

Optional Hot Air Balloon Flight in the early morning can be a good start the day with sunrise.

We will pick you up at 09:30am from your hotel and drive to Mustafapasa, the former Greek Village Sinasos with spectacular architecture.. This village housed both Turkish and Greek people until the population exchange compulsory has been fulfilled in 1924. We will see some Old Greek Houses, an Ottoman Madrasah and an 18th-century church.We then drive to Sobessos Excavation Site. This site is currently being excavated and we will see the Roman bath, tombs, temple and beautiful mosaics already unearthed. This is the only ancient city that is inherited from Romans in Cappadocia.

The next stop will be Soganli Valley, one of the most secluded and tranquil valleys in Cappadocia. We begin our hike along one side of the valley, visiting some cave churches and we return along the other side of the valley to the old village. You will also have your lunch in this lovely valley. In the afternoon, we tour Derinkuyu Underground City, the deepest underground city in Cappadocia which is a UNESCO site as well. We will explore the caves of this interesting city and talk about the way of life there. After the visit in underground city, we will drive you back to your hotel around 05:00pm.

Day 5 (Flight to Ephesus, free day at leisure)

We will pick you up two hours before the flight and take you to Kayseri Airport. You will have a direct* flight to Izmir Airport. Our driver will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Selcuk. You will have a free day at leisure today. You can visit St. John Basilica on this day which is going to be very close to your hotel. Overnight accommodation in Selcuk.

Day 6 (Group Ephesus Tour - Flight to Istanbul, breakfast and lunch included)

We will pick you up from your hotel around 09:30am and drive to Ephesus Ancient City, one of the biggest excavations in the world. We will visit the Odeon, The Fountain of Trajan, the stream baths of Scholastica, Hadrian and Domitian Temples, impressive library of Celsius. We will then visit The Grand Theatre, where Saint Paul preached. The theatre was the largest one in ancient times with capacity of 24.000 seats. The walk in the Ephesus ruins will be around 2 hours and then we will have the lunch.

After lunch, we will visit The Artemis Temple which is one the Seven Wonders of the World in Ancient World. We wil drive to The Virgin Mary House which is believed that she lived there for a while with St. John the Evangalist. The tour will end around 4:00pm and then we will take you to Izmir airport for your flight to Istanbul. We will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Old City area.

Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet

Day 7 (Transfer to airport for flight back home)

On your last day in Turkey, you will have free day for your leisure until the transfer time to the airport. We will then drive to Ataturk Airport for your flight back to your country.

* Direct Flights to Izmir may not be available in winter or the flight might be in the afternoons. We will offer connecting flight options in those cases. The rate for the package might be a little cheaper or expensive depending on early or late bookings because of the flight ticket rates.

 

The rate for the tour will be 910 Euro per person on minimum 2 people.

The rate includes:

-Domestic flight tickets (Istanbul - Cappadocia, Cappadocia - Izmir and Izmir - Istanbul)

- All airport transfers

- Hotel accommodations with breakfasts

- Professionally-licensed and experienced English speaking guides (All of our guides graduate from 4-year university course to be a tour guide)

- All admission fees to museums on the itinerary (except the entrance to Harem and Terrace Houses)

- Lunches where described on the itinerary

- Parking fees

- Service Charges and taxes

Exclusions:

- International flight tickets

- Personal expenses during the tours

- Drinks

- Optional tips to drivers, guides and hotels

Please send us an email to get detailed information and make your booking. We will reply your request the latest in 24 hours.

 

The hotels in this package will be as (depending on the availability):

Istanbul : Hotel Amira (standard room), Blue House Hotel (standard room) or, Ferman Sultan Hotel (standard room) on Bed & Breakfast basis

Cappadocia : Koza Cave Hotel (suite room), Mithra Cave Hotel (deluxe room) or Sultan Cave Suites (junior suite room) on Bed & Breakfast basis

Selcuk : Hotel Nilya (standard room), Hotel Bella (room with balcony) or Hotel Kalehan (standard room) on Bed & Breakfast basis

 

It is possible to have private tours in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus area which makes the itinerary much more flexible. Our regular tours have maximum 14 people while private tours will be only for your party. We can customize the itineraries up to your personal requests. If you would like to have the itinerary with private tours, the rate will will be 1220 Euro per person.

Please email us to get more detailed information and we will reply your request the latest in 24 hours.