Compare Istanbul, Cappadocia & the Turquoise Coast by Audley Travel vs Classic Tour to Turkey by Odynovo
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 10 days | 10 days |
| Price From | $ 5,060 | $ 3,158 |
| Price Per Day | $ 506 | $ 316 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Private guided tour | Private guided tour |
| Lodging Level | Standard | Premium |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Internal airfare and ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included | N/A |
9 breakfasts |
| Description |
Visit the Dolmabahçe Palace, Spice Market, Chora Museum and take a cruise along the Bosphorus. Explore the cave churches of Göreme Open Air Museum with your guide, then embark on a jeep safari to some of the area's best panoramic viewpoints. A further day at leisure, to relax in the outdoor pool at your hotel, lounging on the private oceanside rocky platform. |
Turkey is a land full of incredible cultures and diverse landscapes. In the 10 days, with our knowledgeable guide, you will marvel at the historical treasure of the celebrated Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire in Istanbul, discover the fairy chimney and delicate paintings in humble rock-cave churches of Cappadocia, and explore ancient Greece ruins from Izmir to Bodrum along the east coast of the Aegean Sea. |
Day 1: Istanbul
Accommodation options: Kent Hotel, Hotel Sultanhan, Levni Hotel & Pera Palace Hotel
Upon arrival into Istanbul, you'll be met at the airport and driven to your centrally located hotel.
Day 2: Istanbul
Accommodation options: Kent Hotel, Hotel Sultanhan, Levni Hotel & Pera Palace Hotel
Today you embark on a tour of some of Istanbul's main highlights with your private guide, including the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.
Day 3: Istanbul
Accommodation options: Kent Hotel, Hotel Sultanhan, Levni Hotel & Pera Palace Hotel
A further day exploring with your guide, today you'll visit the Dolmabahçe Palace, Spice Market, Chora Museum and take a cruise along the Bosphorus.
Day 4: Cappadocia
Accommodation options: La Casa Cave Hotel, Kayakapi Premium Caves, Yunak Evleri & Argos in Cappadocia
You'll be driven to the airport today in order to fly to Cappadocia. On arrival, your private driver will meet you and take you to your hotel, situated among the iconic rock formations that typify the area.
Day 5: Cappadocia
Accommodation options: La Casa Cave Hotel, Kayakapi Premium Caves, Yunak Evleri & Argos in Cappadocia
Today, explore the cave churches of Göreme Open Air Museum with your guide, then embark on a jeep safari to some of the area's best panoramic viewpoints.
Day 6: Cappadocia
Accommodation options: La Casa Cave Hotel, Kayakapi Premium Caves, Yunak Evleri & Argos in Cappadocia
Today you'll take part in a traditional cookery course in a local family home. The rest of the day is at your leisure to explore the local town and surrounding landscape.
Day 7: Kaş
Accommodation options: Olea Nova Hotel, Lukka Hotel, Kaş, The Upper House Hotel & Lycia Hotel
Transfer to the airport then fly south to Dalaman. You'll be met at the airport by your private driver, and transferred along the Turquoise Coast to Kaş.
Day 8: Kaş
Accommodation options: Olea Nova Hotel, Lukka Hotel, The Upper House Hotel & Lycia Hotel
Today is at leisure for you to relax or explore by yourself. The town of Kaş has plentiful opportunities for shopping, eating and drinking, and simply wandering the streets is a pleasant way to relax and soak up the laid-back atmosphere.
Day 9: Kaş
Accommodation options: Olea Nova Hotel, Lukka Hotel, The Upper House Hotel & Lycia Hotel
A further day at leisure, to relax in the outdoor pool at your hotel, lounging on the private oceanside rocky platform, or exploring the peninsula on foot.
Day 10: Return home
Transfer to the airport, ready for your flight back to Istanbul. Here, you will catch your return flight home.
Day 1: Arrival – Istanbul
Overnight: Istanbul
Welcome to Istanbul, the economic, cultural, and historical heart of Turkey. Touching down at the airport, be welcomed and transferred to your hotel by our representative. After settling into the hotel, you may stroll around the historical center of the timehonored Istanbul to spot some clues about the past Eastern Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
Day 2: Istanbul
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Istanbul
Start the city exploration with a one-hour cruise on the Bosphorus Strait to capture the distinctive urban landscapes of Istanbul, one side Asian and the other side European. Disembarking the boat, on a hill at the European side of the narrowest point of this strait, you will see the Rumeli Fortress built on the orders of the Ottoman Sultan between 1451 and 1452. Continue to explore the exotic Spice Bazaar and get a panoramic view of Istanbul at Galata Tower.
Day 3: Istanbul
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Istanbul
Start the tour today from the Topkapi Palace, once the administrative heart of the Ottoman Empire and the main residence of its sultans. Be sure to visit the Imperial Harem, the forbidden quarter for the female member of the Sultan's family. Stepping out of the palace, several minutes away is the Hagia Sophia with history near 1,500 years, during which it has alternated between Christ church, Islamic mosque, and national museum. Nearby it, you will also visit the iconic Blue Mosque, the underground Basilica Cistern, and the historic Hippodrome hosting the Egyptian Obelisk and Serpentine Column.
Day 4: Istanbul - Kayseri – Cappadocia
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Cappadocia
After breakfast, take the private transfer to the airport for a short flight to Kayseri. Meet your local guide on arrival and move on to Cappadocia to discover the fairy chimneys at Devrent Valley and Pasabagi Valley. In the afternoon, proceed to discover the beautiful examples of Byzantine art in the cave churches of the Goreme Open Air Museum and the Uchisar Castle standing prominently as the highest point in Cappadocia and offering fabulous panoramic views of this dreamy land. The tour also includes a photo stop at the Pigeon Valley.
Day 5: Cappadocia
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Cappadocia
Ortahisar is a small town with a rock castle, like the Uchisar Castle, towering dominantly at 90 meters high over it. Start the tour in the morning from Ortahisar Castle, followed by the Kaymakli Underground City, which, for more than a thousand years, always provided refuge to those persecuted by war and political persecution. Continue to the Cavusin Valley to discover the old village carved into a mountain and inhabited by locals until the 1950s. Take some time in the afternoon hiking in the Red Valley, watching the setting sun sprinkling its dynamic colors over the sharp sandstones, and tasting a cup of local wine that benefits from the mineral-laden volcanic soil of this area.
Day 6: Cappadocia - Kayseri - Izmir – Kusadasi
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Kusadasi
Leave Cappadocia behind and get to Kayseri airport for your flight to Izmir, possibly with a connection in Istanbul. On arrival, meet your guide and explore Izmir with the Agora Open Air Museum and the historical Elevator, the best place to get a panoramic view of the city, before moving on to Kusadasi, the gateway to Ephesus.
Day 7: Kusadasi - Ephesus - Kusadasi
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Kusadasi
Focus the day on Ephesus, a ruined Greek city that is famed in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Walk around to explore the many monuments in the majestic archaeological site of Ephesus, including the Arcadian Way, the Antique Theater, the Roman Baths, and the Celsus Library. Before returning to Kusadasi, you will also visit the Shrine of the Virgin Mary and the Basilica of St. John about 5km from Ephesus.
Day 8: Kusadasi – Bodrum
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Bodrum
Continue south and you will reach Bodrum after about 2.5 hours. On arrival, check into your hotel and enjoy the otherworldly scenery of the Aegean Sea.
Day 9: Bodrum
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Bodrum
Scan the city with your guide. Discover the Bodrum Castle built by the Knights of St. John and with four towers bearing the names of English, French, German, and Italian, the four nations responsible for their construction. Proceed to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. From the remains and the renatured model, you can imagine how it looked and why it was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Proceed to see the symbolic windmills and explore Bodrum Antique Theater.
Day 10: Bodrum - Istanbul – Departure
Meals: Breakfast
Free in the day until your guide meets and escorts you to the airport in Bodrum for your flight to Istanbul to connect with your homebound flight.
