5 Days Istanbul, Ephesus and Pamukkale Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Istanbul

Fly in whenever suits you. At Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen Airport, one of our team will be waiting at the exit of the international arrivals hall with a sign showing your name, and from there it’s a straight run to your hotel by private car.

The rest of the day is yours. Most people use it to shake off the flight, wander the streets around the hotel and get a first coffee in. If you’d rather do something with your evening, you can add the optional Bosphorus dinner cruise with music and show — just let us know in advance and we’ll arrange the pickup.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): None

Day 2: Byzantine and Ottoman Istanbul: Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar

After breakfast your guide collects you from the hotel and you start on foot in the old city, on the ground where Europe and Asia face each other. First the Hippodrome, today an open square in Sultanahmet where chariot races once drew tens of thousands — three monuments still stand as proof. A short walk brings you to the Blue Mosque, named for the 20,000-odd blue and white İznik tiles lining its interior. Then Hagia Sophia, a building that has been church, mosque and museum in turn, and still one of the great feats of religious architecture anywhere.

Lunch is included, then the afternoon belongs to Topkapi Palace, the seat of Ottoman sultans for close to four centuries, and the Grand Bazaar — 65 streets and more than 4,000 shops selling tea sets, spices, porcelain, carpets, gold and silver, lamps, marbled paper and rather more besides. Small kitchens tucked between the stalls do grilled meat and wraps if you want a snack while you browse. You’ll be dropped back at your hotel in the late afternoon with the evening free.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Flight from Istanbul to Izmir and full day in Ephesus

It’s a very early start today — pickup from your hotel while it’s still dark, transfer to the domestic terminal, and a short morning flight to Izmir. On landing you’re met and driven down to Selçuk, where your licensed guide takes over for a full day around Ephesus.

Ephesus was one of the great cities of the Greek and Roman world, and the marble streets still show it: the Temple of Hadrian with its carved arch, the Great Theatre cut into the hillside for 25,000 spectators, and the Trajan Fountain. Lunch follows, and then the House of the Virgin Mary on Bülbül Mountain, believed to be where she spent her final years. You’ll pass the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, though little more than a single column remains — before visiting the İsa Bey Mosque in Selçuk.

The last stop is Şirince, an old Greek hillside village known for its fruit wines. You get an hour here on your own, no guide, to taste the wines, try the local food and poke around the small village shops. Afterwards you’re driven to your hotel in Kusadasi for check-in.

• Overnight in Kusadasi
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast, Lunch

Day 4: Pamukkale and Hierapolis, then flight back to Istanbul

Breakfast at the hotel, then you’re picked up in Kusadasi and taken to the meeting point in Selçuk where the group comes together for the drive inland to Pamukkale. It’s around three hours with a short comfort stop along the way. Lunch is served on arrival before the guided tour begins.

With a licensed guide you walk the white terraces of Pamukkale, the Cotton Cliffs, formed over millennia by calcium-rich water spilling down the hillside and setting hard. Above them lie the ruins of Hierapolis, the Roman spa city, with its basilica, theatre and Roman baths. Free time follows once the guided portion ends — this is when most people take a dip in the Antique Pool, swimming among submerged marble columns (entrance at your own expense). Your guide will give you the exact meeting point and time.

From Pamukkale you’re transferred to Izmir or Denizli airport for the evening flight back to Istanbul, where a driver meets you and takes you to your hotel.

• Overnight in Istanbul
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: Departure from Istanbul

Breakfast, then check out of your hotel — rooms need to be vacated before midday. Your transfer to Istanbul Airport is timed around your flight, so you can use any spare hours for a last walk or some shopping if your departure is later in the day. Our services end when you’re dropped at the terminal.

• Included Meal(s): Breakfast

Inclusions

• Airport arrival and departure transfers
• Domestic flights Istanbul–Izmir and return to Istanbul
• 3 nights in Istanbul and 1 night in Kusadasi with breakfast
• English-speaking licensed guide on all touring days
• Lunch on days 2, 3 and 4
• Entrance fees to the sites on the program
• Air-conditioned transport, local taxes and service charges

Exclusions

• International flights
• Turkish visa
• Drinks with meals
• Pamukkale Antique Pool and other optional extras
• Tips and gratuities
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses