Best of Turkey Tour - 11 Days

Overview

The Best of Turkey Tour is the perfect first journey through this extraordinary country. In 11 carefully paced days, you experience Turkey’s most iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites — from the grand mosques and palaces of Istanbul to the surreal volcanic landscapes of Cappadocia — without feeling rushed.

Every stop is chosen for maximum historical and cultural impact. Every day is guided by an expert who has spent 25 years walking this ground.

Itinerary

Day 1 — ISTANBUL

Arrival at Istanbul International Airport. Private transfer to your 5-star hotel in the historic Sultanahmet district.

Istanbul is the only city in the world straddling two continents. It has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires — its historic peninsula is a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing 2,500 years of layered civilization.

Accommodation: 5-Star Holiday Inn, Istanbul

Day 2 — ISTANBUL

Full day in Istanbul: Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the ancient Hippodrome, and the Grand Bazaar.

Topkapi Palace was the administrative heart of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. Hagia Sophia’s dome — built in 537 AD — was the world’s largest for nearly a thousand years. The Blue Mosque is lined with 20,000 hand-painted Iznik tiles. The Grand Bazaar has been trading continuously since 1461.

Distance: 5 km | Meals: Breakfast | Accommodation: 5-Star Holiday Inn, Istanbul

Day 3 — GALLIPOLI — DARDANELLES — CANAKKALE

Visit the Spice Market and Rustem Pasha Mosque before departing Istanbul. Afternoon at the Gallipoli Peninsula: ANZAC Cove, Chunuk Bair, Lone Pine Cemetery. Cross the Dardanelles to Canakkale.

The 1915 Gallipoli Campaign claimed over 100,000 lives from multiple nations. For many Australians and New Zealanders, visiting ANZAC Cove is a profoundly personal experience. The site has become one of the most significant places of remembrance in the southern hemisphere’s consciousness.

Distance: 320 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: 4-Star Iris Hotel, Canakkale

Day 4 — TROY — PERGAMON — KUSADASI

Discover the legendary city of Troy — nine civilizations built on the same site from 3000 BC to 500 AD. Drive south to Pergamon and the Asklepion, the ancient world’s most sophisticated hospital.

Troy was considered pure mythology until Schliemann began digging in 1871. The Pergamon Asklepion treated patients with mud baths, herbal remedies, dream interpretation, and even theatrical performances. Galen, the father of modern medicine, trained here.

Distance: 390 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: 5-Star Elite World, Kusadasi

Day 5 — EPHESUS — KUSADASI

The House of the Virgin Mary. Full exploration of Ephesus: the Great Theatre, Marble Road, Library of Celsus, Temple of Artemis site, Basilica of St. John.

Ephesus was the Roman Empire’s second-largest city (population 250,000). Walking its marble streets — where Mark Antony and Cleopatra once walked — is among the most vivid historical experiences available anywhere in the world. The Library of Celsus is one of antiquity’s most beautiful surviving facades.

Distance: 30 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: 5-Star Elite World, Kusadasi

Day 6 — APHRODISIAS — LAODICEA — PAMUKKALE

Aphrodisias (the Roman world’s great sculpture city, with a 30,000-seat stadium). Laodicea (one of the Seven Churches of Revelation). Pamukkale’s white travertine terraces and ancient Hierapolis.

Pamukkale’s mineral-rich thermal waters cascade over brilliant white calcium terraces — “Cotton Castle” in Turkish. The ancient city of Hierapolis was built around these springs and features an exceptionally preserved necropolis with over 1,200 tombs.

Distance: 280 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: 5-Star Hierapark Hotel, Pamukkale

Day 7 — CATALHOYUK — KONYA

Visit Catalhoyuk, the world’s oldest known town (7400-6200 BC). Konya: the Mevlana Whirling Dervish Museum and the 13th-century Karatay Madrasa.

Catalhoyuk was continuously inhabited for 1,200 years and housed up to 10,000 people in mud-brick dwellings entered through roof hatches. It had no streets. Its discovery forced a complete revision of our understanding of early urban life. Rumi, the 13th-century poet whose work is now read in over 20 languages, is buried in Konya.

Distance: 390 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: 5-Star Bayir Diamond Hotel, Konya

Day 8 — CAPPADOCIA

Enter Cappadocia’s extraordinary volcanic landscape. Visit Kaymakli Underground City, Uchisar Rock Castle, and the Greek-Ottoman village of Sinasos.

Kaymakli Underground City extends eight levels below the earth and could shelter 5,000 people from persecution. Early Christians carved entire cities into the volcanic tuff of Cappadocia.

Distance: 240 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Day 9 — CAPPADOCIA

Optional sunrise hot air balloon. Goreme Open Air Museum, Pasabag (Monks Valley), Zelve Open Air Museum, Avanos pottery.

Goreme’s rock-cut churches display some of the finest Byzantine fresco painting outside Constantinople. The “fairy chimneys” of Pasabag are capped with harder volcanic stone that erodes more slowly than the soft tuff beneath. Avanos has been producing pottery from local red clay since Hittite times.

Distance: 40 km | Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Accommodation: Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Day 10 — CAPPADOCIA TO ISTANBUL

Morning transfer to Cappadocia Airport. Domestic flight to Istanbul. Free afternoon to explore neighborhoods, shop, or rest.

Meals: Breakfast | Accommodation: 5-Star Holiday Inn, Istanbul

Day 11 — ISTANBUL — DEPARTURE

Private transfer to Istanbul International Airport.

Meals: Breakfast