After your arrival in the city that was once Byzantium (and later Constantinople), your English-speaking assistant will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in one of our private vehicles.  He will help you with the check-in, inform you about all the details of your trip, offer a brief presentation of the city and its day to day life and answer your questions. The rest of the day will be free for you to relax and start enjoying this stunning city.

Alternatively, you can join the Night Cruise on the Bosphorus with Dinner & Show or enjoy an hour's pampering at the Hamam Cimberlitas.

Greca Tip: You can also head to Ortaköy, the area for upmarket chic, where you will find a strip of stands serving kumpir, Turkey's answer to the jacket potato. Pick your spud and toppings and savor the seaside views while you eat on your feet.

After your breakfast, at the agreed time, we will pick you up from your hotel, or the nearest pick-up point, to begin a full-day tour of this magnificent city. It includes an official English-speaking guide, tickets, lunch at a central city restaurant and a visit to the most resplendent monuments that the Ottoman, Byzantine, and Roman empires have handed down to future generations: Hagia Sophia, Constantinople Racecourse, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar, which houses more than 4000 stores.

At the end of the visit, you may linger some more in the old city, enjoying the amazing atmosphere, and finally you will make your own way to your hotel.

Greca Tip: Visit Camilca Hill on the Asian side of Istanbul and enjoy a panoramic view of the city, the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.

Early transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Izmir.  Upon arrival, we will transfer you to Kusadasi and Ephesus, the most important Greek city in Ionian Asia Minor and one of the best preserved and restored. You will stroll through its 2,000 year old marble streets passing temples, houses, statues and grand monuments, such as the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” which drew pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean. The House of the Virgin Mary, a domed cruciform chapel seven kilometres from Ephesus, has also become a major place of Christian pilgrimage. It is believed that Virgin Mary was taken to this stone house by St John, where she lived until her death at the age of 101. Return to your hotel in Kusadasi, dinner and accommodation.

Greca Tip: One of the most beautiful spots in Kusadasi is Güvercinada or Pigeon Island, which is attached to the mainland by a causeway and from which Kusadasi ('Bird Island') takes its name.

After breakfast you will be driven to Pamukkale, also known as 'Cotton Castle'. The Turkish name refers to the surface of the snow-white limestone shaped over millennia by the calcite-rich springs. It is famous for the carbonate mineral left by the water of the area's 17 thermal springs, which have drawn visitors since the time of Classical antiquity.  After lunchtime you will visit the ancient city of Hierapolis, meaning sacred city, which was built on top of the travertine formation. In the archaeological site, you will be amazed at the remains of the magnificently preserved Necropolis, temple ruins, the main street and the Domitian Gate with a Monumental Arch, the ancient Roman baths, among the largest in all Asia Minor, the mighty Theater and the Devil's Hole, a mysterious hole in the ground next to Apollo's Temple, where poisonous gases emanated due to the underground volcanic activity.  Continue to the town of Pamukkale for your overnight stay.

In Pamukkale's Antique Pool (beside the Temple of Apollo) you can partake in the most atmospheric hot spring experience with half-submerged columns and chunks of fallen marble scattered in the water all around you.

Greca Tip: The small but excellent Hierapolis museum displays a variety of findings from the site, including intricate stone reliefs, sarcophagi as well as statuary from the nearby archaeological site of Aphrodisias.

After breakfast you will visit Hierapolis, an ancient Hellenistic city declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 1988. You will visit the ruins of the Necropolis and the ancient Roman baths. You will be amazed at the sight of the cotton castle, a natural wonder of immense proportions, with white waterfalls that form pools of hot springs. On the way back to the hotel you will enjoy the thermal pools and, at the appointed time, you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight to Istanbul.  Arrival and transfer to your hotel.

Greca Tip: In Pamukkkale's Antique Pool (beside the Temple of Apollo) you can have the most atmospheric hot spring experience with half-submerged columns and chunks of fallen marble scattered in the water all around you.

You will enjoy your breakfast and, at the time indicated, we will transfer you to Istanbul airport to board your international flight.

From all of us at Greca, we wish you a safe journey and hope to see you again soon to create more wonderful moments that will be etched in your memory forever.

Have a nice trip! Or as the locals say: "Iyi yolculuklar!"

Greca Tip: If you think that your stay in Istanbul was too short, you can add additional nights at the time of your booking.