When you arrive at Istanbul airport a member of our team will be there to meet you and take you to your hotel, you will have the rest of the afternoon and evening free.

Alternatively we have an optional extra tour that can be added on to your itinerary.

Overnight in Istanbul.

OPTIONAL TOUR: BOSPHORUS DINNER CRUISE
In the evening we will drive you to the water's edge, for an evening that will show you some amazing places, you will enjoy great food and also some fantastic traditional Turkish entertainment.
The mighty waterway of the Bosphorus Straits, that cuts a city into two sides Europe and Asia and as you sail along the cities banks you will pass under the iconic Bosphorus bridge and also sail by incredible ancient buildings such as Kucuksu palace and Rumeli Fortress. The night's entertainment will take you on a journey across Turkey with Belly Dancing, Folk Dancers, Whirling Dervishes and some stirring music played on traditional instruments. Your meal will be a great introduction to the food of this country with classics such as Baklava, Mezzes and Turkish coffee, all you have to do is relax and enjoy the ride.

Istanbul is an amazing city and many who live here say it would take a lifetime to see it all, but we will show you some of the most historical and iconic places whilst you’re here. Istanbul is home to some of the worlds largest oldest and most beautiful mosques such as the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque as Constantinople the city was the capital of the Byzantine and the Ottoman era of Turkey. Whilst under Roman rule the great Hippodrome thrived and was an important part of daily life, the Obelisk still stands in its centre. 

You will also visit the home of kings the Topkapi Palace with extensive gardens that look out over the Bosphorus straights the setting is delightful, despite it being an administrative centre for over 400 years the luxury and expense is evident, the kings and their many wives lived well. Not too far from the place is the Grand Bazaar and no visit to Istanbul is complete without seeing this place with your own eyes a labyrinth of narrow alleyways and thousands of shops that have been in continuous use since it was constructed in 1455/56 making it the oldest market in the world. In the evening at the end of the tour, we will take you back to your hotel.

Our recommendation:
After the day's tour ends and you have your own free time, we recommend also visiting the Spice Bazaar to enjoy the sights and smells of Turkish tea, spices, and candies. You will be on your own here as its not part of your tour package, but you will have plenty of time and can make your own way back to your hotel.

Important Notes:
-The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays
-Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays
-Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesday
-Blue Mosque Entrance is limited on Fridays due to prayers, therefore we are unable to enter on Fridays.

We provide pickups from hotels in central areas in the following vicinities:
Sultanahmet, Sirkeci, Laleli, Aksaray, Taksim area. Pickup from anywhere outside these areas may incur an extra charge. Please speak to our crew if you have any questions.

Overnight in Istanbul

This morning, you will be taken to the airport in Istanbul, where you will catch a domestic flight to the amazing central Turkish region of Cappadocia. You will be met on landing and transferred to your tour group.

NORTH CAPPADOCIA TOUR
You will start your North Cappadocia Tour, visiting many of the most amazing sights of the region including Goreme open-air museum, the panoramic views over the valley at Esentepe. Devrent Valley, which is one of the most photographed areas as many of the stones here have been sculpted by the winds over thousands of years, many look like everyday objects but one of the largest and most realistic is the famous camel rock now fenced off to stop tourists from riding it, yes they did.

The day will lead you through Monks Valley (Pasabag) and on to see the famous pottery at Avanos a skilled craft that has been handed down through families and is thriving today. You will also visit the Three Beauties one of the largest and strangest sculptures in the valley.
When the tour is over you will be taken to your accommodation in the Cappadocia region

- Evening -  
OPTIONAL TOUR: TURKISH NIGHT SHOW & DINNER.
You will not want to miss out on this authentic show, featuring great food and folk dancing from different regions across Turkey. The music and costumes are both colourful and unforgettable. This tour costs extra.

Overnight in Cappadocia

South Cappadocia Tour
After a delicious, healthy breakfast, you will start your tour of the southern region, there are so many valleys each with something unique and beautiful to see from Love valley, Rose valley and Red valley and on to Cavusin village where homes and hotels are carved out of the sheer rock face. You will spend some time in Guvercin Vadisi which means Pigeon valley and as you look around you will see thousands of small holes in rock faces fences on poles in trees, in fact, everywhere there are literally thousands of pigeons living here.

One of the most impressive places to visit in the whole of the Cappadocia region and not to be missed is the incredible underground city. Early Christians and many civilisations over the last 2000 years have sought refuge here, they are complex and massive in size with many multilayers and functions from homes to schoolhouses to storerooms, animal stalls, churches and even an air conditioning system and an efficient waste disposal system there are even special storerooms for the dead. A truly remarkable test of man's skill and initiative.

Overnight Cappadocia

- Early Morning - 
OPTIONAL TOUR: CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHT
 If you are an early riser and want to experience this breathtaking activity then we will arrange all the details for you right down to the champagne, Cappadocia is world-famous for a sky full of hot air balloons and for good reason the lunar landscape takes on a new shape from above and is the only place on earth with these unique rock formations. This extra activity takes place before that start of your full-day south Cappadocia tour and costs extra.

Today you will be taken to the airport for your domestic flight to Izmir. On arrival in Izmir, we will meet you and take you to your accommodation in the Ephesus region.

Overnight in Ephesus

This amazing city is on many peoples bucket list, a stunning visual feast and atmosphere that you do have to experience for yourself, this huge city was home to over a quarter of a million people in the height of its day 3000 years ago and it is amazing that so much has survived and still in situ today from the main street to the latrines the brothel to the library of Celsus and on to the Agora and great amphitheatre. As you walk these worn marble stones you can easily see how life would have been.

Not far from the city and just with its limits are two other fascinating places that you will visit the temple of Artemis one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and although much of the temple has long gone the foundations show us the incredible scale of the largest building of its time. Also on a gently sloping mountainside, you will journey to the last know home of the virgin Mary, mother of Christ. It is widely believed that Saint John looked after Mary after the death of her son and was brought to modern Turkey to peacefully live out the last of her days, a humble home with a baptismal font and small alter.

Overnight in Ephesus

Today's journey takes you to another magical landscape that will fill your senses, Pamukkale is a high mountainside, where natural thermal waters enriched with calcium have found their way to the surface and trickled for millions of years into the strange collection of pools that cascade down getting larger and larger, you can take off your shoes and walk on some parts of this amazing place, just above the cascading pools is the city of Hierapolis a city that grew as people came to renew and heal themselves in the therapeutic hot springs, this city is beautiful and has one of the most amazing amphitheatres and some of the most intricately carved sarcophagi.

In the evening at the end of the tour, you will be taken to Denizli to the local bus station where you will catch a bus to the southern Mediterranean city of Antalya, a  member of our team will meet you and take you to your accommodation in Antalya.

Overnight in Antalya

Antalya is a large modern city, sitting right on the edge of the Mediterranean but it is jam-packed with history and incredibly beautiful scenery,  after breakfast this morning, you will be picked up and taken to one of the oldest parts of the city which is called Kaleici which translated means ‘’ inside the castle’’ this area with its coble stoned narrow streets and the mighty gateway of Hadrian, the Hidirlik tower and the main square are all part of the old original city that was protected by a mighty wall. The next part of the tour will take you by boat to the waterfalls of Antalya both the Duden falls and the Karpuzkaldiran falls are beautiful and the short cruise will be a welcome moment of relaxation.

After your cruise, you will be taking a cable car ride up to the highest part of the city to get the best and most amazing views not only over this magnificent city but also over the Olympos mountains in the distance.

At the end of the day when you tour comes to an end, we will meet you and take you to your hotel.

Overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast on your last morning with us, we will pick you up and take you to the airport by private transfer for you to catch your return flight to Istanbul. We wish you a safe journey and hope that this 9-day tour is one that will stay in your heart forever