MAGNIFICENT TURKEY
Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Izmir, Pergamon, Troy, Canakkale and much more...
Guaranteed departures on Saturdays and Sundays all year round, from Istanbul.
Book Now! All our programs in up to 12 installments without interest
What is included in this package
- 3-night accommodation in Istanbul.
- Tour through inland Turkey on Half Board basis & with local official English-speaking guides.
- 1-night accommodation in Ankara in 4* or 5* hotels.
- 2-night accommodation in Cappadocia in 4* or 5* hotels.
- 1-night accommodation in Pamukkale in 4* or 5* hotels.
- 1-night accommodation in Izmir in 4* or 5* hotels.
- 1-night accommodation in Canakkale in 4* or 5* hotels.
- Full day city tour in Istanbul with an official English-speaking guide and lunch.
- Tickets and entrance fees to the archaeological sites as per description.
- All transfers as mentioned in this itinerary.
- 24/7 Emergency phone line.
- Daily breakfast.
- Local taxes.
Not included & Optionals
- Personal expenses & Gratuities (optional).
- International air tickets.
- Ask for extensions to Greece.
- Add extra nights in Istanbul by clicking on "Customize your Program" or in step 1 of the reservation.
- Check our FAQs section for more information on selected hotel categories and properties.
- 10% discount for groups of more than 10 travelers
Important: Please note that the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is closed on Sundays.
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Package Tour Itinerary: Magnificent Turkey
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 savour the seaside views while you eat on your feet.
After a filling breakfast at your hotel, you will enjoy some free time in the city. We will then pick you up in our deluxe air-conditioned bus and, past the Intercontinental bridge, you will travel to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Ankara is as an important trade center and a major intersection in the road network of the country. Upon your arrival you will have dinner and a good night's sleep.
Greca Tip: Wander around the cobblestone streets and check out the shops located within old Ottoman houses for an experience that is far removed from the city’s hectic energy.
After a tasty breakfast, you will visit the city and some of its most interesting landmarks, such as the Mausoleum of Ataturk, dedicated to the founder of the Turkish Republic, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations with exhibitions from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Hittite and Phrygian Urartu past of central Anatolia.
In the afternoon you will depart for Cappadocia, a marvelous and fascinating region of lunar landscapes, formed over the centuries in the thick and soft layer of lavas sculpted by the two nearby volcanoes. On your way there you will stop at one of the 36 underground cities of Cappadocia, which was built by Christian communities as a protection from Muslim Arabs. Here the stables, storage, and other common rooms are perfectly preserved in the soft volcanic rock. Upon arrival at your destination, you will check-in at your hotel, have dinner and enjoy a good rest.
Greca Tip: Watch a unique panorama in Göreme and learn more about the cultural heritage of Turkey and the Cappadocia region.
This day will be fully dedicated to the beautiful region of Cappadocia. After a filling breakfast you will start by visiting the Göreme Valley, its open-air museum with the villages of prehistoric cave dwellers and underground cities. It is here where the ideas of Christianity were unified by St Basil the Great and his Christian brothers. You will visit the churches, chapels and monasteries, with their ancient frescoes painted on the walls.
Your next destination will be the troglodite village of Uçhisar and the valley of Avcilar, which has a spectacular landscape.
You will continue through the Devrent valley, also known as Imaginary Valley, with its pointed, mushroom-like structures, many of which are said to resemble animal shapes. Finally, you will visit local artisan workshops, such as carpet-making or jewelry shops with the popular translucent onyx stones.
You will return to your hotel, where you will enjoy dinner and spend the night.
Greca Tip: At sunrise fly over the historic cave dwellings of Goreme Town in a hot-air balloon or watch the balloons from the rooftop garden of your hotel.
Early in the morning, and after a delicious breakfast, you will depart for Pamukkale, meaning 'cotton castle' in Turkish. On your way there you will stop at the Old Palace and Medieval Fort of Caravanserai, built along the trade route that once lead to Persia. Here, in former times, merchants from the east and west used to rest, stock up on supplies and socialize.
Upon your arrival, you will have free time to familiarize yourself with the city and maybe visit Pamukkale's travertine terraces or white calcium cascades formed by the activity of the hot thermal springs in the area. You will enjoy dinner and a good rest at your hotel.
Greca Tip: You may use your free time to take a dip in the thermal pool of your hotel.
Breakfast and, at the agreed time, you will continue to the city of Ephesus, the ancient Roman capital of Asia Minor, where Cleopatra, Marc Antony and the apostle Saint Paul once walked in its streets. In Ephesus you will visit the ruins of the Odeon, a small roofed theatre for plays and concerts, the Arch of Hercules, the Library of Celsus, which once held nearly 12,000 scrolls, the Greco-Roman theater as well as the Agora and the Basilica of Saint John, built during the reign of the emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Afterwards, you will visit the house, which is believed to be the last resting place of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Afterwards you will stop at a leather production center and then continue to Izmir , the third largest city in Turkey. Here, you will check in at your hotel, have dinner and a good rest.
Greca Tip: You can also visit the brilliant Ephesus museum with the finds from the ancient city, including an exquisitely carved Artemis statue and the Gladiator Room.
After breakfast and at the time indicated by your guide, you will depart for the ancient city of Pergamon - the current Bergama- one of the cultural, commercial, and medical centers of the ancient world in Asia Minor. In Pergamon, you will visit the Acropolis, the steepest theater in the world, Asclepius, and you will have a panoramic view of the Altar of Zeus, mentioned in the Book of Revelations. Another important place that you will visit is the Library, which, according to archaeologists, competed with that of Alexandria, with more than 200,000 written records. The name of the city continues to live as a distortion of Pergamon, "pergamini" or 'parchment', which was the paper that resulted from the treatment of sheepskins and rivaled papyrus for writing purposes.
After the visit, you will continue to Troy, a fascinating place that evokes the poetic name of the Iliad Epic Saga of Homer.
After visiting this famous archaeological city of history and literature, you will continue to Çanakale, located in the southern coast of the Dardanelles, at their narrowest point. Here you will check in at your hotel, have dinner and spend the night.
Greca Tip: Don't miss ascending the interior tower of Kilitbahir Castle for views of the storied waterway.
After a delicious breakfast, you will head to the Dardanelles Strait, formerly known as the Hellespont, where you will travel by ferry to the Gallipoli Peninsula. You will visit one of the most emotionally evocative places in Turkey, the World War I Battlefields of Gallipoli. In early 1915 French, British and colonial forces fought the Gallipoli campaign to secure a sea route to relieve their eastern ally, Russia. However, after eight months of fighting the Allied soldiers withdrew with heavy casualties, while the campaign also marked one of the greatest Ottoman victories. There are now many cemeteries and war memorials on the historic site, such as Brighton Beach, the Beach Cemetery, Anzac Cove, Ariburnu Cemetery, the Anzac Commemorative Site, Respect to Mehmetik Statue dedicated to Little Mehmet who carried a Kiwi soldier to safety, Lone Pine Australian Memorial, the Nek, Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial.
After about a five-hour drive, you will arrive in Istanbul and will be transferred to your hotel, where you will check-in and spend the night.
Greca Tip: In the Gallipoli Museum, apart from the soldiers' uniforms and ammunition, photographs and personal effects, you will also see the letters that they wrote to their families about their experiences in the battlefield.
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.
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.
