5 Days Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus Tour from Kayseri Airport

Day 1: Arrival in Kayseri/Nevşehir

Arrive at any time. A transfer meets you at Kayseri/Nevşehir airport and takes you to your hotel in Cappadocia, and the rest of the day is free for you to explore on your own.

• Overnight in Cappadocia
• Accommodation: Heaven Cave House OR Dedeli Konak Cave Hotel or similar (Standard quality)

Day 2: Exploring North Cappadocia

For an additional option, you can book an early morning hot air balloon ride for aerial views over the valleys. Please note that this activity carries an extra cost.

After breakfast around 9:30 am you will be collected from your hotel for the full-day tour of North Cappadocia. The route opens at Devrent Valley, with its unique fairy chimneys, and continues to Pasabag Valley (Monks Valley), where the pinnacles take a mushroom shape. From there the road runs to the city of Avanos. After lunch you see the Zelve Open Air Museum in Cappadocia, whose carved caves and ancient churches give a glimpse into the region’s monastic history. Towards the end of the day, before you head back to your hotel, there is time for the natural castles of Uchisar. Once the trip is complete, we transfer you back to your hotel around 4:00 pm.

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

Day 3: Exploring South Cappadocia

After breakfast at the hotel around 9:30 am you will be picked up at the hotel and meet your tour guide, who opens the full-day South Cappadocia tour with a briefing on the day’s activities. The Red Valley begins the route, with its famous rock-cut churches to explore and a hike of approximately 5 km through the Rose Valley (Gulludere Vadisi). Cavusin Village, famous for its houses and churches of Christian Clergymen, comes next, and around noon we break for lunch. Afterwards you drive on to the Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik Vadisi). The afternoon brings a visit to the Kaymakli Underground City or Ozkonak Underground City, where early Christians lived, and there your full-day tour ends.

After the tour, a non-smoking, fully air-conditioned local bus carries you overnight to Pamukkale, pulling out of the bus station at approximately 9:00 pm. The journey takes 10 hours in total, broken by three stops for your personal needs.

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

Day 4: Pamukkale, then on to Kusadasi

Your bus pulls into the Pamukkale / Denizli main bus station between 05:30 – 06:00, where we meet you and drive you to your hotel to freshen up, with time for breakfast and a short rest. Around 9:30 am you will be picked up from the hotel for your guided tour of the Pamukkale and Hierapolis area with a professional licensed tour guide.

Around 10:00 am you reach the first destination, Karahayit, and its Red Spring Waters. The drive then continues to Pamukkale, where your visit to the ancient city of Hierapolis begins around 10:30 am. Among 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 Antique Pool, and the nicest corners of Pamukkale also make for good photos. Around 12:30 pm approximately 60 minutes of free time follow, yours to spend on the natural beauties of Pamukkale; swimming in the Pamukkale Antique Pools (at your own expense) is one option during this free time. At 1:30 pm the guide gathers you again to walk through the middle of the Pamukkale travertines (Cotton Castle) from top to down, shoes and socks off. At 2:30 pm lunch is served at a local restaurant. After lunch at approximately 3:30 pm, an Onyx Factory follows for approximately 30 minutes.

The tour ends around approximately 4:00 pm, and you then set off for Kusadasi, a drive of approximately 3 hours. 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 5: Discovering Ancient Ephesus

After breakfast at the hotel around 8:30 am you will be picked up and meet your tour guide, who opens the full-day tour of Ephesus with a briefing on the day’s activities. First on the route is the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world, and then the world famous ancient Greco- the Roman City of Ephesus, the most well-preserved example in the world. A break for lunch follows this impressive site. Afterwards 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 from there you visit the Isabey Mosque. Next you are taken to the Sirince Village; an old Greek village well-know for its quaint beauty and wine tasting and production, where one hour is free for you to explore on your own without a guide the different foods and wines of the area and visit various small traditional village shops.

At the end of the tour we arrange your transfer to Izmir airport by 5:00 pm, or instead to your hotel in Izmir, whichever you prefer. END OF OUR SERVICE and TOURS.

• 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
• Overnight intercity coach ticket (Cappadocia to Pamukkale)
• 2 nights 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 5, bus and/or flight tickets are not included.
• Flights before and after the tour are not included in the tour price. You can organize your flights separately at any point.
• 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.
• On Day 5 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.
• Vegetarian lunch options are available upon request.
• 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.

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.