Day 1 · Istanbul
Arrive in Istanbul
You are met at Istanbul airport and driven to your hotel, about 50 minutes away. The rest of the day is free to settle in.
- Travel
- 45 km, about 50 minutes
11 days · 10 nights
Turkey's great sites in one unhurried overland loop, from the Dardanelles to the rock valleys.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesAfter two nights in Istanbul, the road leads to the Gallipoli battlefields and Troy, down the Aegean to Pergamon and Ephesus, inland to Pamukkale and across to the Mediterranean at Antalya. The last stretch climbs to Konya and the cave country of Cappadocia, and you fly home from Kayseri.
The same person from your first question to the flight home, with a wedding or vow renewal planned alongside if you like.
How the days unfold. Your advisor tailors the pace, the hotels and the extras to you.
Istanbul
Day 1 · Istanbul
You are met at Istanbul airport and driven to your hotel, about 50 minutes away. The rest of the day is free to settle in.
Day 2 · Istanbul
A guided day in the Sultanahmet quarter: the Hippodrome and its ancient columns, the Blue Mosque with its blue Iznik tiles, and Hagia Sophia, the great Byzantine church that is now a mosque. After lunch there is time to browse spices, Turkish sweets and coffee before you head back to the hotel.
Gallipoli and Canakkale
Day 3 · Gallipoli and Canakkale
An early start for the Gallipoli peninsula, with a breakfast stop on the way and lunch on arrival. Visit the Gabatepe museum, then Ariburnu Cemetery, Anzac Cove, Beach Cemetery, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair, before crossing to Canakkale for dinner.
Troy, Pergamon and Kusadasi
Day 4 · Troy, Pergamon and Kusadasi
Walk the layered ruins of Troy, then drive about three hours to Pergamon for lunch and the hilltop acropolis, once famous for its temples and library. Continue down the coast to Kusadasi for dinner.
Ephesus and Sirince
Day 5 · Ephesus and Sirince
A fully guided visit to Ephesus, one of the best-kept ancient cities anywhere, from the Temple of Artemis along Curetes Street to the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre. After lunch and a carpet weaving centre, there is free time in the hillside village of Sirince, known for its fruit wines, before dinner back in Kusadasi.
Pamukkale
Day 6 · Pamukkale
Drive inland to Pamukkale, check in and have lunch, then walk the white travertine terraces and the Roman ruins of Hierapolis, with the chance to paddle in the warm spring water. Dinner is at your thermal hotel.
Antalya
Day 7 · Antalya
An easy drive south to Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, with a coffee stop on the way. The afternoon is free, with dinner at the hotel.
Day 8 · Antalya
Walk the lanes of Kaleici, Antalya's walled old town, past the old harbour, the clock tower, Hadrian's Gate, the Broken Minaret and the Hidirlik Tower. After lunch you visit the Duden waterfalls, where the river drops towards the sea, and the rest of the day is free.
Konya and Cappadocia
Day 9 · Konya and Cappadocia
A long drive north across the Anatolian plateau, stopping in Konya for lunch and the green-tiled Mevlana Mausoleum, resting place of the founder of the whirling dervishes. You reach Cappadocia in time for dinner at your cave hotel.
Cappadocia
Day 10 · Cappadocia
Go below ground at the Ozkonak underground city, then see the tenth-century frescoes of the Goreme Open Air Museum and the abandoned cave houses of Cavusin. After lunch in Avanos and a pottery workshop, finish among the rock formations of Love Valley, Devrent Valley and the Three Beauties.
Day 11 · Cappadocia
A free morning in Cappadocia, then a transfer to Kayseri airport for your flight to Istanbul and onward home.
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
Istanbul · 2 nights
Or similar
Canakkale · 1 night
Or similar
Kusadasi · 2 nights
Or similar
Pamukkale · 1 night
A thermal hotel. Or similar
Antalya · 2 nights
Or similar
Cappadocia · 2 nights
A cave hotel. Or similar
Tell us when you would like to travel. Your advisor confirms dates and hotels, tailors the trip to the two of you, and stays with you until you are home.
Turkey
8 days · 7 nights
Antalya → Alanya → Kizkalesi → Cappadocia → Antalya
A self-drive loop that starts and ends at Antalya airport. You follow the Mediterranean east past Side and Alanya to the sea castle at Kizkalesi, then head inland for three nights in Cappadocia before crossing the Taurus Mountains home by way of Konya.
Turkey
5 days · 4 nights
Istanbul → Cappadocia
A short pairing of Turkey's two best-known places. Two nights in Istanbul cover the old city and a cruise on the Bosphorus; a short flight then takes you to Cappadocia for an underground city, the cave churches of Goreme and the valleys.
Turkey
7 days · 6 nights
Istanbul → Antalya → Cappadocia
Two nights each in three very different places. Begin with the old city and the Bosphorus in Istanbul, fly south to the walled old town and waterfalls of Antalya, then cross the mountains by way of Konya to finish among the valleys of Cappadocia.
After two nights in Istanbul, the road leads to the Gallipoli battlefields and Troy, down the Aegean to Pergamon and Ephesus, inland to Pamukkale and across to the Mediterranean at Antalya. The last stretch climbs to Konya and the cave country of Cappadocia, and you fly home from Kayseri.
Every trip can be shaped around you before you book.
Arrive early or stay on at the end, in the same hotel or somewhere new.
Your travel expert books flights that fit the first and last day.
Choose a better room or a hotel with a view for the nights that count.
A honeymoon, an anniversary or a birthday, planned into the trip.
Other ways to see Turkey, closest in length first.
Small group tour | 11 days | Istanbul · Bodrum · Cappadocia
Small group tour | 10 days | Istanbul · Kusadasi · Cappadocia
Small group tour | 9 days | Istanbul · Çanakkale · Antalya
Private tour | 8 days | Istanbul · Kusadasi · Cappadocia
