7-Day Best of Turkey: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus & Pamukkale Tour

You arrive in Istanbul and are met at the airport by our representative, who transfers you to your central hotel. After check-in, the rest of the day is free.

Depending on your arrival time and energy, you might:

• Take a gentle walk around Sultanahmet Square, seeing the exteriors of Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
• Explore the streets around Istiklal Avenue and Galata Tower.
• Sit at a cafe, sip Turkish tea and watch the city move around you.

In the evening, you can join an optional welcome dinner or simply rest and adjust to the new time zone.
Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, you join your first guided experience in Istanbul. Depending on the day of week and your preference, the tour can focus either on the Old City or on the Bosphorus & Two Continents. A common combination is:

Morning – Old City Highlights
You explore key sights around Sultanahmet with a licensed guide. Typical stops include:

• The courtyard and interior of Hagia Sophia (if open for visits at that time).
• The Blue Mosque (or another major mosque during prayer times/renovations).
• A walk through Hippodrome Square, with its obelisk and monuments.

You learn how Istanbul changed from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, and how religion, trade and empire shaped the city’s skyline.

Afternoon – Grand Bazaar or Bosphorus Cruise
In the afternoon, you either:

• Wander through the Grand Bazaar with time for browsing,
  or
• Head to the waterfront for a short Bosphorus cruise, seeing palaces and wooden mansions from the water while your guide points out landmarks on both sides.

At the end of the tour, you’re returned to your hotel or left in a central area to continue exploring on your own.
Overnight in Istanbul.

Early in the morning, a driver collects you from your hotel and transfers you to the airport for your flight to Cappadocia. After landing in Kayseri or Nevşehir, you meet your local guide and join your small-group tour.

Today you explore North Cappadocia. The route usually includes:

• Devrent (Imagination) Valley – rock formations shaped into animal-like figures by wind and water.
• Paşabağı (Monks Valley) – tall fairy chimneys with twin and triple caps, once used as hermit dwellings.
• Avanos – pottery town on the Kızılırmak River, with lunch and a pottery workshop visit.
• Göreme or Zelve Open-Air Museum – rock-cut chapels and monasteries decorated with frescoes.
• A panoramic viewpoint for wide photos over the valleys and villages.

In the late afternoon, you’re dropped at your cave or stone hotel.
Evening free to explore the village, find a terrace for sunset or rest.
Overnight in Cappadocia.

Before sunrise, guests who booked it are picked up for an optional hot-air balloon flight. You watch the balloons inflate in the half-light, then drift above the valleys as the sun rises, with dozens of coloured balloons around you. After landing, you return to the hotel for breakfast.

Later in the morning, you join your South Cappadocia tour. Typical highlights:

• A walk through Red or Rose Valley with its soft, coloured rock and cave churches.
• Visit to Çavuşin village, with rock houses and a cliff-side church.
• Lunch in a local restaurant.
• Exploration of an underground city (Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu), descending through tunnels and rooms once used as shelter.
• A stop at Pigeon Valley and a viewpoint near Uçhisar Castle for final sweeping views.

You’re back at your hotel in the late afternoon.
Evening free—maybe a traditional dinner, wine-tasting or a cultural show.
Overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast and check-out, you transfer to the airport for your flight to Izmir, gateway to Ephesus. On arrival, a driver meets you and takes you to your hotel in Kuşadası or Selçuk.

The rest of the day is free. You might:

• Walk along Kuşadası’s seafront and harbour.
• Explore Selçuk’s backstreets, small shops and cafes.
• Visit a local beach if time and season allow.

It’s a quieter day between more intense sightseeing days, giving you time to breathe.
Overnight on the Aegean Coast (Kuşadası or Selçuk).

After breakfast, you join your full-day Ephesus tour. The day usually unfolds like this:

• House of the Virgin Mary – a peaceful stone chapel on a wooded hillside, believed by many to be where Mary spent her final years.
• Ephesus ancient city – entering from the upper gate, you walk along the marble Street of Curetes, past the Odeon, Temple of Hadrian, baths and (optionally) the Terrace Houses. The route leads to the elegant façade of the Library of Celsus and the vast Great Theatre.
• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• Temple of Artemis – see the remains of what was once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• Depending on the program, a visit to Isa Bey Mosque or the Ephesus Archaeological Museum.

In the late afternoon, you travel inland to Pamukkale (about 2.5–3 hours by coach), arriving in the early evening and checking into your hotel in the Pamukkale area.
Overnight in Pamukkale area.

After breakfast and check-out, you join your Pamukkale & Hierapolis tour.

You start in Hierapolis, the ancient spa town above the terraces. You walk through the necropolis, along the old colonnaded street and up to the Roman theatre, which offers big views over the valley. Your guide explains how people came here for the healing power of the hot springs.

Then you make your way down to the travertine terraces of Pamukkale. From afar they look like snow; up close you see shallow turquoise pools and soft white mineral formations. You remove your shoes and walk barefoot along the marked route, feeling the warm water around your feet and the unusual texture underfoot.

If you like, you can pay the extra local fee to swim in Cleopatra Antique Pool, a thermal pool filled with warm water and fallen marble columns.

In the late afternoon, you’re transferred to Denizli or Izmir airport for your flight back to Istanbul. On arrival, our driver meets you and drops you at your central Istanbul hotel or directly at the international terminal if you’re flying home the same night.
Tour ends on arrival in Istanbul.