15 Days Turkey Excursion Package on Private Basis

Our representative meets you at Istanbul Airport with a name sign and takes you to your hotel by private van.

After check-in the rest of the day is free to explore Istanbul on your own. Overnight in Istanbul.

Your guide meets you in your hotel lobby or at the cruise port to begin the Old City tour:

• Highlights of Topkapi Palace Museum: more than a royal residence, it was the seat of Ottoman government for almost 400 years and remains a great monument of Oriental architecture.
• Hippodrome / Sultanahmet Square: the square where chariot races were held in Roman times, home to the Egyptian Obelisk from the Byzantine era and, today, the German Fountain.
• Hagia Sophia: built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian and important to both the Christian and Islamic worlds. After the Ottoman conquest the bells, altar and sacred vessels were removed and many mosaics were covered when the church became a mosque.
• Blue Mosque: built in the early 1600s for Sultan Ahmed I, a true masterpiece whose proportions feel remarkably light for a building of its size.
• Grand Bazaar: one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 4,000 shops selling ceramics, leather, rugs, carpets, handicrafts, clothing, silver and gold.

At the end of the tour your guide accompanies you back to your hotel.

*If one of the mosques cannot be visited, the Basilica Cistern is visited instead.

Your guide meets you in your hotel lobby or at the cruise port to begin the Bosphorus tour:

• Spice Market
• Bosphorus Cruise: by public ferry between the European and Asian shores, passing Galata Tower, Dolmabahce Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Rumeli Fortress, old Ottoman mansions, the Bosphorus Bridge and waterfront mosques.
• Dolmabahce Palace
• Taksim Square
• Cicek Passage
• Istiklal Street

*Please let us know if you would prefer a private yacht for the Bosphorus cruise.

At the end of the tour your guide accompanies you back to your hotel.

Your guide meets you in your hotel lobby or at the cruise port to begin the Golden Horn tour. You will visit:

• Suleymaniye Mosque
• Fener
• Balat
• St. Stephen Church
• Pierre Loti Hill and the cable car (enjoy a Turkish coffee or tea with a view of the Golden Horn)
• Chora Church (Kariye Mosque)

At the end of the tour your guide accompanies you back to your hotel. In the evening you attend a one-hour Whirling Dervish ceremony, a glimpse into the world of Sufism.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Your private guide and van pick you up at 8:00 am for Troy, the legendary home of Helen and the Trojan Horse. You will visit:

• The Trojan Horse
• Troy Museum
• The sacrificial altars
• The 3,700-year-old city walls
• The houses of Troy I
• The Bouleuterion (Senate Building)
• The Odeon (Concert Hall)
• Remains of the successive cities from Troy I to Troy IX
• Pergamon Ancient City
• The Altar of Zeus
• The Acropolis

After the tour you are driven to your hotel in Kusadasi. Overnight in Kusadasi.

Your guide meets you at the hotel at 11:00 am. Today you visit:

• Sirince, an authentic Ottoman-era village
• The biblical ancient town of Smyrna

After the tour you return to your hotel. Overnight in Kusadasi.

Your guide picks you up from your Kusadasi hotel and introduces the history of Ephesus before you explore the ancient city. With your guide's explanations you will visit:

• Great Theater
• Celsus Library
• Temple of Hadrian
• Harbor Street
• Terrace Houses
• House of the Virgin Mary
• Isa Bey Mosque

After the tour your guide and driver drop you off at your hotel. Overnight in Kusadasi.

At 9:00 am your private guide and driver pick you up for the Pamukkale tour, home to the natural calcium pools formed by thermal water. The drive takes about 3 hours, and your local guide tells you about the sites on the way.

You will visit:

• The calcium pools
• Necropolis
• Roman Baths
• Domitian Gate
• Latrina
• Frontinus Street
• Agora
• Byzantium Gate
• Triton Fountain
• Cathedral
• Temple of Apollo
• Plutonium (explained from outside because of ongoing excavations)
• Theater
• Hierapolis

(Optional, extra cost) If time allows, you can swim in the Cleopatra Pool.

After the tour you drive about 4 hours to Antalya. Overnight in Antalya.

At 10:00 am your private guide and driver pick you up. You will visit:

• Perge: an ancient Pamphylian city on the route of St. Paul, including its stadium.
• Aspendos Theatre: one of the most complete Roman theatres in the world.
• Manavgat Waterfalls
• Side and its beautiful streets

After the tour you are driven back to your hotel. Overnight in Antalya.

At 10:00 am your private guide and driver pick you up. You will visit:

• Demre: home to the Lycian rock tombs of Myra.
• Church of St. Nicholas: the church of the saint who inspired Santa Claus.
• A boat trip to Kekova Island: to see the famous sunken city.

*Bring your swimsuit, as there is time for a swim.

After the tour you are driven back to your hotel. Overnight in Antalya.

At 9:00 am your private guide and driver pick you up for the drive from Antalya to Cappadocia via the spiritual city of Konya. On the way you stop at the Sultanhan Caravanserai, one of the largest and most important caravanserais in Central Anatolia.

It is a long drive from Antalya. Your guide tells you about the sites along the way.

In Konya you visit:

• Mevlana Museum
• Karatay Madrasa (Tile and Stone Art Museum)
• Ince Minaret Madrasa (Wood Art Museum)

After lunch in Konya you continue to Cappadocia and are taken to your hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia.

(Optional) Early in the morning you are picked up for a one-hour hot air balloon flight over the valleys of Cappadocia. After landing there is a small celebration in the valley and a flight certificate ceremony, and then you are taken back to your hotel for breakfast.

At 10:00 am your private guide and driver pick you up for the North Cappadocia tour, which includes:

• Uchisar Castle
• Goreme Open Air Museum
• Avanos
• Valley of Monks (Pasabag)
• Devrent Valley

After the tour your guide and driver drop you off at your hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia.

Your private guide and driver meet you at your hotel at 10:00 am for the South Cappadocia tour. With your guide's explanations you will visit:

• Kaymakli Underground City
• Rose Valley
• Love Valley
• Pigeon Valley
• Ortahisar Castle
• Mustafapasa (Sinasos)

After the tour you are transferred to the airport for your flight to Istanbul. Our representative meets you on arrival with a name sign and takes you to your hotel by private van. Overnight in Istanbul.

Your guide meets you at the hotel at 11:00 am for a 4-hour food tour on foot, tasting local Turkish cuisine and crossing to Kadikoy by public ferry.

After the tour your guide accompanies you back to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

A free day in Istanbul to explore the city at your own pace. You are transferred to Istanbul Airport in time for your international flight.

This is the end of our service. Thank you for travelling with us; we look forward to welcoming you again.