4-Day Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus Tour (Starts from Istanbul and Ends in Izmir)

Day 1: Fly to Kayseri/Nevsehir from Istanbul – North Cappadocia Tour

The day begins very early: collection from your hotel in Istanbul is around 4:00 am, with a transfer to the domestic airport for the flight from Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevsehir between 6:00 – 7:30 am. A driver meets you at Kayseri or Nevsehir airport and brings you across to Cappadocia, where your professional tour guide joins you for a full day in the north of the region. First comes Devrent Valley and its unique fairy chimneys, followed by Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley), where the pinnacles take a mushroom shape. From there the road leads to the city of Avanos. Lunch is followed by the Zelve Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, a series of carved caves and ancient churches that give a glimpse of the region’s monastic history. Towards the end of the day, and before the drive back to your hotel, there is the opportunity to see the natural castles of Uchisar, though please note that the interior of the Uchisar castles is not accessible for visits. You are then transferred to your hotel in Cappadocia to check in.

If you wish, you can add a traditional Turkish Night show with dinner.

• Overnight in Cappadocia
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast
• Accommodation: Heaven Cave House OR Dedeli Konak Cave Hotel OR Romantic Cave Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 2: South Cappadocia Tour – Overnight bus from Cappadocia to Pamukkale

As an optional extra, you can book an early morning hot air balloon ride and see the valleys from the air. Please note that this activity comes at an additional cost.

After breakfast at the hotel around 9:30 am, your tour guide meets you at the hotel for the full-day tour of South Cappadocia and briefs you on the day’s activities. The first call is Red Valley, where you can explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike approximately 5 km through the Rose Valley (Gulludere Vadisi). Next comes Cavusin Village, famous for its houses and churches of Christian Clergymen. There is a break for lunch around noon, after which you drive on to the Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik Vadisi). The afternoon is given to the Kaymakli Underground City or the Ozkonak Underground City, where early Christians lived, and with that the full-day tour comes to an end. You then travel overnight to Pamukkale on a non-smoking, fully air-conditioned local bus, leaving the bus station at approximately 9:00 pm. The journey lasts 10 hours in total, with three breaks along the way for your personal needs.

• Overnight Bus to Pamukkale
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: No accommodation is included on this day

Day 3: Pamukkale and Hierapolis Tour

Arrival at the Pamukkale / Denizli main bus station is between 05:30 – 06:00, and from there you are taken to a 2-star hotel in Pamukkale to freshen up and have breakfast before the full-day Pamukkale tour begins. There will be no stay in the hotel room. Once you have freshened up and eaten, you meet the rest of the group in the hotel lobby to join the tour.

Around 09:30 am you are collected from the hotel for your guided tour of the Pamukkale and Hierapolis area with a professional licensed tour guide. Around 10:00 am brings you to the first destination, Karahayit, and its Red Spring Waters. The drive then continues to Pamukkale, where the visit to the ancient city of Hierapolis starts around 10:30 am. Its highlights are the Necropolis, Roman Baths, Domitian Gate, Latrina, Oil Factory, Frontinious Street, Agora, Byzantium Gate, Triton Fountain, Cathedral, Apollon Temple, Plutonium, Theater, and Cleopatra Antique Pools. There is also the chance to take photos from the nicest corners of Pamukkale. Around 12:30 pm you have free time of approximately 60 minutes to explore the natural beauties of Pamukkale, and during that time you may, as an option, swim in the Pamukkale antique pools (at your own expense). At 1:30 pm you rejoin the guide for the Pamukkale Travertines, known in Turkish as Cotton Castle, where mineral-rich thermal waters flow down white travertine terraces. You can take in the Cotton Castles and walk through the middle of the Pamukkale travertines, from top to down without shoes and socks. At 2:30 pm you are taken to a local restaurant for lunch.

After lunch at approximately 3:30 pm, there is a visit to an Onyx Factory lasting approximately 30 minutes. The tour closes around approximately 4:00 pm, when the drive to Kusadasi begins (approximately 3 hours), and we drop you at your hotel in Kusadasi.

• Overnight in Kusadasi
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: Efe Boutique Hotel OR Neopol Hotel Deluxe OR Derici Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 4: Ephesus Tour – Trip ends in Kusadasi

After breakfast at the hotel around 8:30 am, your tour guide meets you for a full day at Ephesus. You will visit the ruins of Ephesus, the ancient Greek city that became an important centre of this time, taking in the Temple of Hadrian, the Great Theater and the Trajan Fountain. After lunch comes the House of the Virgin Mary, where it is believed she spent her last years. You will pass by the Temple of Artemis; there is little to see of what was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The Isa Bey Mosque follows, and then Sirince Village, an old Greek village known for its quaint beauty and for its wine tasting and production. Here you have one hour free to explore on your own without a guide, trying the different foods and wines of the area and calling in at various small traditional village shops. Tour will end at approximately 4:00 pm.

There are two available options at the end of the Ephesus tour.

Option 1: Your tour can simply finish in Kusadasi. This will be the end of our service.

Option 2: Rather than finishing in Kusadasi, you may ask for a transfer to Izmir Airport for a domestic or International flight. The other choice is a transfer to the Kusadasi or Izmir main bus station, where you can take a bus onward to another destination, e.g. Bodrum, Marmaris, Antalya, Fethiye and Istanbul. Whichever you pick, the cost of the domestic flight ticket or bus ticket for your onward journey is not included. We can book one for you at an extra cost for your chosen next destination within Turkey. Our tour service ends here.

• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch
• Accommodation: No accommodation is included on this day.

INCLUDED in the Tour Price:

• All transfers mentioned in the itinerary
• Domestic flight ticket from Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevsehir only
• Overnight intercity coach ticket (Cappadocia to Pamukkale)
• 1 night in Cappadocia at a cave hotel including breakfast
• 1 night in Kusadasi at a 4-star hotel including breakfast
• English-speaking guide during the tours
• Meals as mentioned in the itinerary: (B) breakfast, (L) lunch
• Entrance fees mentioned by the itinerary
• Local taxes and service charges

NOT INCLUDED:

• End of the Tour in Ephesus on Day 4, bus and/or flight tickets are not included.
• Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride.
• Optional tours mentioned in the program, they will be provided at an additional cost.
• Services not mentioned in the program.
• Drinks with meals.
• Travel insurance (recommended).

IMPORTANT INFO:

• The order of the itinerary is indicative and subject to change, but all visits described will take place.
• This is a regular group tour, but if requested at cost can be provided as a private tour.
• The regular group tour has shopping stops included in the tour.
• Vegetarian lunch option available upon request.
• On Day 4 the tour finishes at approximately 4:00 pm. You have the option to be dropped off directly to the Izmir airport, Izmir bus station or in Kusadasi / Selcuk area. This will be the end of our tour service.
• You can swim in the Antique pool in Pamukkale. However, please note that there is an extra charge that you will have to pay directly at your own expense before entry to the pools. This entrance fee to the pools is not covered as part of your tour. Please note that you must bring your own towel, swimsuit etc. if you need to use the pools.
• On flights luggage allowance is 15 kg per person for checked in luggage. For carry-on, you can take up to 8 kg per person. One carry-on is allowed per person.

WHEN TO BOOK?

• Book as soon as possible to guarantee availability, especially during public holidays and festivities.
• You can book up to 2 days before (Istanbul local time) if there are still places available. If less than 2 days before start of your requested tour date, please contact us by email or phone as it would be a last-minute booking that will need to be checked for availability before your tour reservation is confirmed.