Türkiye Tours
13 days
per person
Meeting point
Istanbul Airport, the first exit door
Included
Breakfast at the hotels and lunch at restaurants
Ancient Türkiye Blue Cruise holds ancient cities and days at sea on one route. After Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale, three nights are spent on a gulet along the Aegean and the Mediterranean.
The journey begins in cities and archaeological sites that carry empires, myth and daily life. Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale are the stops on land. It then becomes a Blue Cruise. A traditional gulet sails coves, coastal villages and bays that are reached from the sea. The days are for swimming, the deck, and the coast. The route closes in Antalya, at Perge, Aspendos and Side.
1
After you land at Istanbul Airport, a Solandra representative meets you at the first exit door and takes you to your hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
2
Visited sights: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Grand Bazaar. After breakfast the guide picks you up from the hotel for a full day in the Old City. You see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, once home to the Ottoman sultans and to the first president of Turkey, and the Hippodrome, where the obelisks still stand. The last stop is the Grand Bazaar, the large covered market at the heart of the old city. There is time to walk it. At the end of the tour you are taken back to your hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
3
Visited sights: Devrent Valley, Pasabag (Monk’s Valley), Avanos, Goreme, and the Open Air Museum. You are picked up early and taken to the airport for the flight to Cappadocia. The flight takes about an hour. On arrival a Solandra representative meets you at the first exit door. The day covers Devrent Valley and its chimneys, Pasabag, Avanos, the Goreme valley, and the Open Air Museum, where churches and early Christian dwellings cut from the soft rock are still standing. Breakfast is not included on this day. Lunch is. After the tour you are taken to your hotel. The night is in Cappadocia.
4
Visited sights: Red and Rose Valley, Gulludere Valley, Cavusin Village, Kaymakli or Ozkonak Underground City, Ortahisar, Uchisar Castle, Pigeon Valley, and Three Beauties Valley. After breakfast the southern tour begins. In Red and Rose Valley the rock colour changes through the day, and there is a short walk in Gulludere Valley. In old Greek Cavusin you visit the houses and churches linked with Saint John the Baptist and Nikephoros Phokas. In the afternoon you see Kaymakli or Ozkonak, one of the widest underground cities in Cappadocia. Uchisar Castle is the highest point of the region and the place for a panorama of Cappadocia. Pigeon Valley looks back at the castle, and pigeons still live in the dovecotes. The last stop is Three Beauties Valley, known for its vineyards and the view. At the end of the day you fly from Cappadocia Airport to Izmir. You are met at the first exit door and taken to the hotel in Kusadasi. The night is in Kusadasi.
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1–16 people
5
Visited sights: Ephesus, the Temple of Artemis, and the House of the Virgin Mary. After breakfast you drive to Ephesus. In the ancient city you see the Temple of Hadrian, the Library of Celsus, the theatre, the baths, and the old harbour. After lunch you visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where she spent her last days, and the Temple of Artemis, counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. What remains is the foundation of the Hellenistic marble temple. At the end of the tour you are taken to your hotel in Kusadasi. The night is in Kusadasi.
6
Visited sights: the calcium terraces, the Hierapolis museum, the Hierapolis theatre, the Roman bath, the Temple of Apollo, and the Cleopatra thermal pool. Swimming in the pool is optional. After breakfast you drive to Pamukkale and see the white travertine terraces left by the hot springs, the “cotton castle” the town is named for. After lunch you visit Hierapolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site: the museum, the theatre, the Roman bath, and the Temple of Apollo. In antiquity people came here to be healed. Walking the terraces is part of the tour. Swimming in the Cleopatra pool is optional. At the end of the day you are taken to the bus for Fethiye. The ride takes about four hours. On arrival a representative meets you at the bus station and takes you to the hotel. The night is in Fethiye.
7
Check-in and a briefing are at Fethiye harbour at 09:00, then you board the gulet. The boat leaves for Butterfly Valley, for a swim and lunch. The walk up to the waterfall is optional. The valley is known for more than 136 kinds of butterflies and moths, which are hard to see in summer. Ölüdeniz follows. Paragliding from Babadağ, about 2,000 metres above the beach and the lagoon, is optional. In the evening the gulet anchors at St Nicholas Island, with time to walk the ruins and watch the sunset. The night is on the gulet.
8
The morning is in Aquarium Bay, just outside Kalkan, for breakfast and a swim. The gulet then goes to Kaş, a fishing village with time for the shops, handmade jewellery, clothes and coffee. The night is on the gulet, in a bay between Kaş and Kekova.
9
After breakfast the gulet passes over the Sunken City, a Lycian town ruined by an earthquake. It is a protected site, and the boat moves slowly. Swimming, diving and snorkelling are not allowed. You then anchor for Kekova and Simena Castle. The walk to the top looks over the bay. The night is on the gulet.
10
There is time for a morning swim. After breakfast the gulet returns to Üçağız harbour. You leave the boat before lunch, around 10:30–11:00. Lunch is not included. The bus from Üçağız to Olympos takes about two hours. You are met at the Olympos bus station and taken to the hotel in Antalya. The night is in Antalya.
11
Visited sights: Perge, the theatre at Aspendos, and Side. After breakfast you visit Perge, capital of Pamphylia: the Roman baths, the agora, the colonnaded street, the nymphaeum and the stadium. Aspendos follows, a theatre built in the 2nd century with room for about 15,000 people, still used for festivals and concerts. After lunch you see Side, once a port of this coast: the theatre, the Roman baths and the Temple of Apollo. At the end of the tour you are taken back to your hotel in Antalya. The night is in Antalya.
12
After breakfast the morning is free until pickup. You then fly from Antalya Airport back to Istanbul. You are met at the first exit door and taken to your hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
13
You are taken to the airport four hours before your international flight. Check-in is self-service. That is the end of the service.
100% ticket guarantee
The tickets you need for the experience are delivered to you on time.
100% satisfaction guarantee
If the experience does not happen as promised, you receive a refund.
100% support guarantee
Before, during, and after the trip, support is available in Turkish and English.
