7 Day Turkey Classics Tour

7 Day Turkey Classics Tour

Day 1: Istanbul & Ankara

We'll pick you up from your hotel in Istanbul at the scheduled time and set off to Ankara, capital of Turkey, located 450 kilometres away. One of the highlights of the journey is when the bus crosses the enormous Bosphorus Bridge.

After a few hours on the road, you’ll get to your hotel. Enjoy an exquisite dinner at the hotel before you go to your room.

Day 2: Ankara, Saratli & Cappadocia

Once you’ve enjoyed a delicious Turkish breakfast, you will embark on a tour of the capital city. The guided tour includes admiring Ankara’s most important landmarks, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. It accommodates numerous collections of Anatolian archaeology, such as items from the following periods: Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Urartu, Phrygia, among others. Then, you’ll visit Anιkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (first President of the Republic of Turkey).

Afterwards, leave the capital behind and head to Cappadocia. On the way, you’ll stop at Saratli, a surprising Underground City founded by the Christian communities to protect themselves from the Muslim Arab attacks. While you visit the well-preserved city, you’ll wander around the old stables, rooms and public wards.

You'll arrive in Cappadocia in the late afternoon, where you'll have dinner and spend the night.

Day 3: Cappadocia

Enjoy a healthy breakfast and set off to explore the stunning landscape of Cappadocia, one of the most famous regions of Turkey, packed with astonishing rock formations, fairy chimneys and moon-like scenery. You'll also have the chance to go on one of the world's most famous balloon rides - if there's one image that stands out in Capadoccia it's the hundreds of balloons in the sky at sunrise.

On this guided tour, you will visit Göreme, an area full of houses and churches chiselled into the sandstone rocks and paintings from the tenth and eleventh century. Then, visit Uçhisar, a troglodyte village with stunning cave houses. Followed by the Monks Valley, home to the most striking fairy chimneys and the Derbent Valley.

Once you have marvelled at the unique landscape of Cappadocia, you will return to your hotel.

Day 4: Konya & Pamukkale

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and leave Cappadocia behind on your air-conditioned coach. The tour heads to Pamukkale, location of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis. 

Mid-journey, you will stop at Sultan Han, a Seljuk caravanserai established during the thirteenth century: then once in Pamukkale, you'll have free time to discover the 'cotton castle' a unique sight made of thermal pools and petrified waterfalls.

After a busy day, you’ll head back to your hotel where you will enjoy a filling dinner and spend the night.

Day 5:  Ephesus & Esmirna

Hop on the bus in the morning and set off to Ephesus, a city dedicated to the Goddess Artemis.

Once you get to this beautiful city, you’ll visit the Odeon, the Hadrian Temple, the House of Love, the Library of Celsus, the Agora, the Theatre and the Marble Street. You will also visit the House of the Virgin Mary, the last place where the Virgin Mary lived.

On your way to İzmir, you’ll stop at a leather factory to visit its shop.

Upon arrival in İzmir, the country's third largest city, we'll head to the hotel where we'll eat and spend the night.

Day 6: Esmirna, Pergamon, Troy & Çanakkale

Leave İzmir behind and head to Pergamon, the historic city situated very near the modern town of Bergama. Once you get to the ancient Greek city, you’ll visit the well-preserved ruins, especially of the Sanctuary of Asclepion, the first hospital in Asia Minor.

Afterwards, head to Troy, a world-famous historical city that dates to the late Classical antiquity and the setting of the Trojan War. While you wander around the archaeological site, you’ll see the wooden horse used during the filming of Troy with Brad Pitt. 

Continue your trip towards Çanakkale, where you’ll have dinner and spend the night.

Day 7: Çanakkale, Gallipoli & Istanbul

In the morning, we'll cross the Dardanelles Strait by car ferry and make our way to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Here, we'll visit the WWI Battlefields of Gallipoli, where we'll see important sites including Brighton Beach, Beach Cemetery, ANZAC Commemorative Site, Turkish and Allied trenches and tunnels, The Nek and Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial, among others.

Then, after a fun-filled week discovering the best of Turkey, you'll arrive back in Istanbul at 4:30 pm and be dropped off at your hotel or where you prefer.

Hotels

This tour includes six nights' accommodation in the following 4 or 5-star hotels with half board (breakfast and dinner):

• Ankara: Etap Altınel Ankara 5* or Ickale 5* or a similar hotel
• Cappadocia: Dinler Urgup 5* or Avrasya Hotel 5* or a similar hotel
• Pamukkale: Colossae Hotel 5* or Richmond Hotel 5* or a similar hotel
• İzmir: Blanca 4* or Palm City 4* or a similar hotel
• Çanakkale: Iris 4*, Akol 4* o Idakale 4* or a similar hotel

The indicated price is per person in a double room. If you need a room with an extra bed, you must indicate so when making the reservation. In this case, the price is the same as the double room. People sleeping in a single room will have to pay a supplement.

There are no quadruple rooms, but if you're in a group you can request two adjoining or connected double rooms, depending on the availability of the hotel. The reduced price for children is valid only when a child shares a room with two adults.

Hotel pickup

This tour includes pickup from the following areas in central Istanbul: Bayrampaşa, Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu, Eminönü, Eyüp, Fatih, Kağıthane, Şişli and Zeytinburnu. If you're staying outside these areas, you'll have to go to the meeting point located at The 5* Marmara Taksim Hotel.

Important to note

On the last day of the tour, we'll arrive back in Istanbul around 4:30 pm, so we recommend that your return flight departs from 10 pm onwards, as the arrival time to the airport is dependent on traffic.