6 Days Ephesus, Pergamon, Pamukkale & Cappadocia Tour

Day 1: Fly to Izmir and Tour Ephesus

Early in the morning, at around 4:30 am, a driver collects you from your Istanbul hotel and runs you out to the domestic airport, where your flight to Izmir departs between 6:00 – 7:30 am. At Izmir airport another driver meets you and continues to Selçuk, and there your professional tour guide is waiting for a full-day tour of Ephesus. The Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, opens the day, and from there you walk into the world-famous ancient Greco-Roman City of Ephesus, the most well-preserved example in the world. A lunch break follows this impressive site. Next comes the House of the Virgin Mary, believed to be where she spent her last days and a holy place for both Christians and Muslims, and then the Isabey Mosque. You are then taken to Sirince Village; an old Greek village well-known for its quaint beauty and for wine tasting and production. You have one hour free here to explore without a guide, trying the different foods and wines of the area and looking around the small traditional village shops. When the tour is over, a transfer takes you to your hotel in Kusadasi to check in.

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

Day 2: Tour Pergamon

After breakfast, around 8:30 am a vehicle collects you at the hotel and drives out to Pergamon. The Acropolis comes first: in its day the cultural center of the Hellenistic Period, it held a famous library as big as the one in Alexandria, a school of architecture, government buildings and monuments, among them the world-famous Zeus Altar. The site also played an important role during the beginning of Christianity in the Roman Period, and one of the Seven Churches of the Revelations is located here. You move on to the Ascelepion, dedicated to the God of Good Health, “Asklepios”; at this important medical center people were treated with massages, mud baths, drinking of the sacred waters and the use of herbs and ointments, while diagnosis was often by dream analysis. A transfer then brings you back to your hotel.

• 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 3: Pamukkale and Hierapolis

After breakfast around 8:00 am a driver collects you from your Kusadasi hotel and brings you to the meeting point in Selcuk, where the full group comes together. The drive to Pamukkale leaves Selcuk at 8:30 am and takes around 3 hours, with a 10-minute restroom stop after 1.5 hours. You arrive around 11:45 am and the group has lunch first; after lunch, at around 1:00 pm a professional licensed tour guide leads you around the Pamukkale and Hierapolis area. In Pamukkale you see the Cotton Cliffs, one of the natural wonders of the world, formed by deposits of calcareous salts, and you also visit the ancient ruins of the City of Hierapolis with its basilica, theatre and Roman Baths. Once the guided tour finishes you have some free time to explore the area on your own, and you may choose to swim in the Pamukkale antique pools (at your own expense) during this free time. Your guide will confirm the exact meeting point and time. The tour ends around approximately 4:00 pm and a transfer returns you to your hotel in Kusadasi at around 7:00 pm.

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

Day 4: Fly to Cappadocia at Leisure

After breakfast you check out of your Kusadasi hotel, and a driver collects you for the transfer to Izmir Airport and your flight to Kayseri. On arrival you are met and driven to your hotel in Cappadocia; once you have checked in, the rest of the day is free.

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

Day 5: Explore North Cappadocia

If you like, you can add an early morning hot air balloon ride for aerial views of the valleys. This activity is available at an extra cost.

After breakfast around 9:30 am you are collected at your hotel for the full-day tour of North Cappadocia. The unique fairy chimneys of Devrent Valley open the day, and the mushroom-shaped pinnacles of Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley) follow. From there the road leads into the city of Avanos. After lunch you visit the Zelve Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, whose series of carved caves and ancient churches provides a glimpse into the region’s monastic history. The natural castles of Uchisar round off the day tour, and you are then driven back to your hotel.

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

Day 6: South Cappadocia, then Fly to Istanbul

After breakfast at the hotel around 9:30 am your tour guide meets you following pickup at the hotel for a full-day South Cappadocia tour. An outline of the day’s activities comes first, then Red Valley, where the rock-cut churches are yours to explore and a hike of approximately 5 km leads through Rose Valley (Gulludere Vadisi). The route carries on to Cavusin Village, known for its houses and churches of Christian clergymen, and lunch follows around noon. A drive after lunch brings you to Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik Vadisi), and the afternoon is given to either Kaymakli Underground City or Ozkonak Underground City, where early Christians lived. The full-day tour ends here. At around approximately 4:00 pm you transfer to Kayseri or Nevsehir airport for your late evening return flight to Istanbul between 7:00 – 10:00 pm (flight duration is approximately 1 hour 30 minutes). This concludes our services and tours.

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

Important notes: Your return flight from Kayseri/Nevsehir arrives at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW), subject to availability when tickets are booked. Our service ends on arrival; the airport-to-hotel transfer is not included, so please arrange your own. To request a specific arrival airport, email us before booking; changes after confirmation cost extra.

INCLUDED in the Tour Price:

• Pick up from Istanbul hotel and transfer to Istanbul Airport (on the European side of Istanbul only)
• Domestic flight tickets as per the itinerary
• 3 nights in Kusadasi at a 4-star hotel including breakfast
• 2 nights in Cappadocia at a cave hotel including breakfast
• English-speaking guide during the tours
• Meals as per itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch)
• Visits and entrances fees as indicated in the itinerary
• Local taxes and service charges

NOT INCLUDED:

• Drop off transportation service from Istanbul New Airport OR Sabiha Gökçen Airport to Istanbul Hotel upon returning to Istanbul
• 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.
• The normal arrival time in Istanbul is between 8:00 – 10:00 pm. If you are planning on reserving your plane back home that same day, we recommend you book a plane ticket from 12:30 am onwards, to avoid missing your flight.