8D7N GREAT ANATOLIA (PRIVATE TOUR)
Description
Itinerary
Price
Hotel
Remarks
Description
Overview
This 8-day tour of Turkey begins with your arrival in Istanbul, where you’ll visit iconic landmarks such as the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. After a day of sightseeing in Istanbul, you’ll travel to Ankara, the country’s capital, to explore the Mausoleum of Ataturk and the Anatolian Civilizations Museum. From there, you will continue to the stunning region of Cappadocia, known for its unique landscapes and optional hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys and valleys. You’ll also visit historical sites like the Goreme Open Air Museum and underground cities, along with scenic valley tours.
The journey continues with visits to Konya, famous for the Mevlana Museum and Whirling Dervishes, and Pamukkale, renowned for its thermal pools and ancient ruins at Aphrodisias and Hierapolis. You’ll explore the ancient city of Ephesus, including the Great Theatre and Basilica of St. John, before returning to Istanbul for your final day. The trip offers a blend of cultural heritage, natural beauty, and historical landmarks, concluding with a departure from Istanbul.
Included/Excluded
- Hotel Accommodation at below suggested hotels or similar category
- Domestic flight ticket from/to Istanbul
- Private sightseeing as per above itinerary
- All escorted transfer
- Daily meals where indicated (drinks are not included during the dinners)
- Transportation by A/C deluxe vehicle
- English speaking professional tour guide through the tour
- All entry fees to the sites and museums
- Tips to the hotel and restaurant staff
- Service charges and local taxes
- Return International Flight Ticket
- Travel Insurance
- Drinks and meals which are not listed at the itinerary
- All personal expenses
- Tips to the tour guide and driver
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival Istanbul (No Meal)
- Following our arrival in Istanbul, meet with our representative at the airport and transferred to our hotel where we will have our dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Istanbul (Breakfast/Lunch)
- After breakfast we set off on a full day of sightseeing in Istanbul. We will start with a visit to the renewed Sultanahmet Mosque, known popularly as The Blue Mosque an incredibly beautiful mosque known for its blue Iznik (Nicaea) tiles are unique for the fact that it has six minarets.
- Continue to the Hippodrome once the vast arena that functioned as the heart of sporting (chariots races and athletics) events and political activities of the old city.
- From here we go to the nearby Hagia Sophia the Church of Divine Wisdom.
- After lunch our next visit will be Topkapi Palace which for more than 400 years was the imperial residence of the Ottoman Sultans, now home to the priceless collections porcelain, jewelry, calligraphy and many masterpieces of art.
- The tour will end with the visit to the Grand Bazaar, the vast and legendary covered market that is the biggest souk in the world with nearly 4000 shops of antiques, jewelry and carpets.
- During the visit of the Grand Bazaar, we will be experiencing Turkish coffee from Sark Kahvesi, historical coffee roasters located in the Grand Bazaar.
Day 3: Istanbul / Ankara / Cappadocia (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
- After breakfast, we drive to Istanbul airport for our domestic flight to Ankara.
- Upon arrival to Ankara, we will visit to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
- After that, visit the Anatolian Civilizations Museum at which numerous remnants from Stone Age, Neolithic Age, Hittites, Urartians, Phrygians and many others are on display.
- After that, we drive to Cappadocia.
- Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Cappadocia.
Day 4: Cappadocia (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
- OPTIONAL HOT AIR BALLOON IN CAPPADOCIA: You will be collected from your hotel roughly one hour before sunrise. We drive to our base, and serve tea, coffee and cookies, as the passengers meet. Then we go to our take off field designated for that day. The balloon will be ready and waiting for you. Following a safety briefing from your pilot, we climb into the baskets and take off. During the flight we rise to altitudes of several hundred meters to give you a good view of all that there is around, but what we do mostly is drift through the valleys and canyons and around the fairy chimneys, performing contour flying. This sort of balloon flight is possible only in Cappadocia in the whole world. The actual flight time is between 45 to 55 minutes. On landing, we have a traditional celebration party with some champagne and cakes, and we give every passenger a commemorative flight certificate written to their names. Then we bring you back to your hotels. The whole excursion takes about 3 hours from pick up to drop off.
- After breakfast, we will explore the famous valleys of Cappadocia.
- Visit Goreme Open Air Museum, Kaymakli Underground Cistern, Devrent, Pigeon, Pasabag and Avanos valleys, the latter providing us with the opportunity to purchase some pottery made with kick-wheel method that has been shaped here for millennia.
- Dinner and overnight at hotel in Cappadocia.
Day 5: Cappadocia / Konya / Pamukkale (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
- Early departure for Konya. On the way visit the 13th century Seljukian caravanserai “Sultanhan”.
- The next stop will be Konya which is famous with Mevlana Museum and the Theological Scholl of Whirling Dervishes.
- Lunch enroute, drive to Pamukkale.
Day 6: Pamukkale / Kusadasi (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
- After breakfast, you will depart from your hotel to visit
- Afterwards, you will visit Hierapolis founded during the Hellenistic period as a control point of trading routes connecting East to West.
- Upon arrival at the site, you will be welcomed by the spectacular views of calcium pools that have been irrigated by the spring waters of Hierapolis for thousands of years.
- After a short break to take pictures and enjoy the view, you will continue to the ancient site that is still being excavated by Italian archaeologists.
- You will keep exploring the ancient site by touring the Gate of Domitianus and the Byzantine Baths.
- Once you reach the lower slopes of the hills that rise behind the site, you will note one of the best-preserved Roman Theatres of the world of archaeology.
- Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi.
Day 7: Kusadasi / Istanbul (Breakfast/Lunch)
- After breakfast, we will drive shortly to the town of Seljuk.
- From this point, a wide-open view overlooking the former harbor of the ancient city of Ephesus can be seen.
- After the visit of the Basilica of St John, we will walk downhill to visit the 14th century Isabey Mosque.
- Following this visit, our driver will pick us up to drive shortly to the ruins of Ephesus the city mentioned in the Bible several times.
- Stroll through the extensively excavated archeological site with the Great Theatre where St Paul had preached and the Church of the Councils (two of the Christian Councils were held here).
- Concluding your sightseeing, you may spend some leisurely time in the town center of Kusadasi.
- You may stroll through the charming market that is right across the port to hunt for bargains in fine jewelry, silverware and leather products at a great variety of stores offering handmade souvenirs of Turkish culture.
- At the end of tour, we drive to Izmir airport for our departure flight back to Istanbul.
- Arrive in Istanbul, we drive to our hotel in Istanbul.
Day 8: Istanbul / Departure (Breakfast)
- After breakfast, we transferred to Istanbul airport for our departure flight back home.
Price
THIS TABLE BELOW SHOWS COST PER PERSON
| Single Supplement | 2 People | 3 People | 4 People | 5 People | 6 People | 7 People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MYR 2600 | MYR 17,500 | MYR 13,320 | MYR 11,220 | MYR 9960 | MYR 9140 | MYR 8550 |
Hotel
THIS TABLE BELOW SHOWS COST PER PERSON
| City | 4 Star |
|---|---|
| Istanbul | Hotel Beyaz Saray or similar |
| Cappadocia | Suhan Cappadocia Hotel or similar |
| Pamukkale | Adempira Thermal Hotel or similar |
| Kusadasi | Palmin Hotel or similar |
Remarks
