Package overview
- Accommodation: 9 nights / 10 days.
- 9 breakfasts, 8 lunches and 5 dinners.
- Admission tickets.
- Professional tour guide.
- Transport and further services listed below.
Included & Not Included
Included services
- 9 nights of accommodation in the planned hotels or hotels of a similar category, with breakfast.
- 5 dinners at the circuit hotels, excluding Istanbul.
- 8 lunches in local restaurants.
- Admission tickets for the itinerary.
- Spanish-speaking guide.
- Arrival and departure transfers with a Spanish-speaking assistant.
- Tax.
- Wi-Fi on the bus throughout the route.
- 0.5 litres of mineral water per person per day in the vehicle.
Not included
- International flights.
- Optional excursions.
- Personal expenses.
- Travel and health insurance.
Detailed Tour Program
Day 1: Istanbul — Tuesday
Arrive at Istanbul Airport and meet the assistant at gate 8. Transfer to the hotel and overnight accommodation.
Day 2: Istanbul — Wednesday
Breakfast at the hotel, followed by a visit to the Mosque of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Continue to the Egyptian Bazaar, also known as the Spice Bazaar, the second-largest and second-oldest bazaar in Istanbul. Shop for spices, dried fruit, sweets, saffron, tea and caviar. Lunch at a local restaurant.
Then take a Bosphorus cruise on a regular ferry along the strait separating Asia and Europe. There will be opportunities to photograph the area's natural beauty, Ottoman palaces and waterfront mansions featured in Turkish television dramas. Also see Ortaköy's square and cafés, Mecidiye Mosque and the suspension bridges linking the two continents. Return to the hotel in the afternoon and overnight accommodation.
Day 3: Istanbul — Ankara — Salt Lake — Cappadocia — Thursday
Breakfast box and an early departure for Ankara. Arrive in the capital of the modern Republic of Turkey for a panoramic city tour with a stop at Atatürk's Mausoleum. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue towards Cappadocia, stopping at Salt Lake on the way. Arrival at the hotel, dinner at the hotel and overnight accommodation.
Day 4: Cappadocia — Friday
Optional tour: Hot-air balloon ride to enjoy a wonderful panorama in one of the world's most beautiful regions.
Breakfast at the hotel. Visit Özkonak Underground City, built by Christian communities seeking protection from the Romans. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit Göreme Valley, followed by Devrent Valley. Visit a traditional shop known for carpets handmade using an ancient technique. Dinner at the hotel and overnight accommodation.
Optional tour: Folk-dance show in a typical cave, with a limited quantity of local drinks.
Day 5: Cappadocia — Saturday
Breakfast at the hotel and panoramic visits to Avcılar and Güvercinlik valleys. Appreciate the fairy chimneys that give Cappadocia its distinctive landscape. Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the old village of Uçhisar at Cappadocia's highest point. In the afternoon, visit a shop selling jewellery and stones characteristic of Cappadocia. Dinner at the hotel and overnight accommodation.
An optional Jeep Safari excursion in a 4×4 vehicle is available.
Day 6: Cappadocia — Pamukkale — Sunday
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Pamukkale. Lunch at a local restaurant, followed by a stop at a clothing outlet. Arrival at the hotel, dinner and overnight accommodation.
Day 7: Pamukkale — Ephesus — Izmir — Monday
Breakfast at the hotel and departure to visit the ancient city of Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle, a natural wonder with remarkable limestone formations and white natural pools. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue to the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey's best-preserved ancient Greco-Roman city and the Asian capital of the Roman Empire.
See the magnificent Library of Celsus, Marble Street and the theatre with capacity for 25,000 people, where Saint Paul addressed his followers. Visit the House of the Virgin Mary, a Christian religious site near Ephesus, seven kilometres from Selçuk. According to tradition, John the Evangelist brought the Virgin Mary here after Christ's crucifixion, escaping persecution in Jerusalem, and she remained here until her blessed Assumption.
There will also be time to visit a leather outlet; the region is known for the quality of its leather goods. Dinner at the hotel and overnight accommodation.
Day 8: Izmir — Istanbul — Tuesday
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Istanbul. Reach the Dardanelles Strait and cross from Asia to Europe over the 1915 Çanakkale suspension bridge, the longest in the world. Arrival in Istanbul, transfer to the hotel and overnight accommodation.
Day 9: Istanbul — Wednesday
Breakfast and departure to visit Hagia Sophia, whose dome was the largest in the Christian world for 900 years. It was a church, then a museum and is now a mosque. Lunch at a local restaurant.
Visit the Roman Hippodrome, dating to Emperor Septimius Severus in 203 and serving as the city's centre until the Republic. The Blue Mosque, the city's most visited mosque, has an impressive collection of İznik tiles. Sultan Ahmet commissioned it as a counterpart to Hagia Sophia. Finish with shopping at the Grand Bazaar.
An optional visit to Topkapı Palace is possible. This was the residence of the Ottoman sultans, with beautiful rooms and gardens. The 86-carat Spoonmaker's Diamond is among the largest diamonds in the world. Overnight accommodation.
Day 10: Istanbul — Thursday
Breakfast; depending on the departure time, a breakfast box may be provided. Transfer to the airport for the return flight. End of services.
Additional Information
Accommodation
| Destination | Hotel |
|---|---|
| Istanbul | Nippon Hotel — Elite World Taksim |
| Cappadocia | Avrasya Capadocia — Temenni Evi Capadocia |
| Pamukkale | Richmond Thermal — Pam Thermal Hotel |
| Izmir & Kuşadası | Hampton By Hilton Aliaga Izmir — Radisson Blu Aliaga |
