TURKISH PANORAMA
9 NIGHTS / 10 DAYS
JC – IA – TOUR NO. 367
Istanbul (3N) Kusadasi (1N) Marmaris (1N) Antalya (1N) Nigde (1N) Cappadocia (1N) Safranbolu (1N)
Heritage Luxury Romantic
Detail Itinerary
Day 1 (Istanbul)
Transfer to the hotel.Welcome to Europe!!!. On arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to the hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts, information about the meeting place and start time can be found on the information boards in the hotel reception area.
Day 2 (Istanbul)
Cable car to Pierre Loti viewpoint. Night transfer to Taksim. A sightseeing tour of the city lasting about two hours, taking in the walls, the Golden Horn, the fishing district, and Taksim. We will skirt round the Topkapi Palace and admire the exterior of Hagia Sophia. On our tour, we will include a cable car ride up to the Pierre Loti viewpoint and we will look round the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent (the largest in Istanbul). We find ourselves in a city built in two continents. At the end of the afternoon, we will provide a transfer to the Taksim neighbourhood, the most commercialised and lively area of ??the city. There will be time to dine in one of its many restaurants, and you can also take the old tram that crosses the area or go to see the nearby Galata Tower.
Day 3 (Istanbul)
Today we include a boat trip on the Bosphorus that will last about two hours. We will undertake the trip on a boat exclusively for Europamundo travellers. The Bosphorus is a strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which separates Istanbul into two parts: the European part and the Asian one. We will enjoy seeing the liveliness of the strait with its multitude of boats. We will pass under the two bridges that unite Europe and Asia and we will admire the palaces of the sultans, the typical wooden houses and the Ottoman villas. Free time (an additional visit with tickets and lunch inside the Topkapi Palace is available).
Day 4 (Kusadasi)
Ephesus. Dinner included. We left early from Istanbul. We crossed by fast ferry (variable schedules according to seasons and months) the Sea of Marmara, after about two hours of crossing, we arrived at the port of BANDIRMA (or Yalova according to schedules). We continued the route through the interior of Turkey. At the beginning of the afternoon, we arrive at EPHESUS, the best-preserved ancient city of Asia Minor; 2000 years ago it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. We know Saint John´s Basilica, after it, the house of the Virgin Mary and the archaeological site (tickets included). We then continue to KUSADASI, a popular coastal town with a lot of atmospheres, commercial life and a small castle. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 5 (Marmaris)
Beautiful Bodrum, We leave for Bodrum, a very beautiful fortified city of Greek origin. You can visit its castle, stroll through its streets full of life and tourism or go around its sports marina. After lunch, we go on our way to MARMARIS, another very beautiful coastal tourist enclave with its castle, its marina and its fountains. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 6 (Antalya)
Boat trip, We leave for DALYAN, an incredible place by a navigable river. We include a two- hour boat trip to see LYCIA’S ROYAL TOMBS, and still, on the boat, we go on to a large lake where we stop at the thermal springs. If you want, you can bathe in the warm waters or have a mud bath! Time for lunch in one of the numerous restaurants in DALYAN by the river. Continuation to ANTALYA, we will make a brief visit to this coastal city of more than a million inhabitants, the door of Adrian, the Ottoman district and its great waterfall that falls straight into the sea. Dinner and accommodation
Day 7 (Nigde)
We leave Antalya for ASPENDOS, we visit the Roman theatre which many believe to be the best preserved in the world. After this, in SIDE we can admire the Greek temple of Apollo by the sea. Time to stroll around the port and through its streets full of life. Amidst impressive countryside we cross the Taurus Mountains, their peaks of over 3,500 metres in height are snow-covered for a large part of the year. A stop in KARAMAN where we visit TARTAN EVI, an ancient Ottoman mansion. Continuation to the region of Cappadocia. NIGDE, dinner and accommodation. Note: Sometimes the Tartan Evi may be closed, in which case the visit would be replaced by another to a mansion of similar characteristics in Cappadocia.
Day 8 (Cappadocia)
A full day in the fantastic region of CAPPADOCIA, with its lunar landscapes, its churches and troglodyte villages. We start by visiting GUMUSLER, an incredible seventh-century underground monastery with maybe the best Byzantine frescoes in Turkey. In KAYMAKLI we will see the underground city that could house 30,000 people. We will visit the natural fortress of UCHISAR. After lunch, we will see the GOREME Valley with its open-air museum and its churches dug out of the rocks, entrance included. Hotel in AVANOS. Dinner included.
Day 9 (Safranbolu)
Traditional Turkish tea. Dinner included. We have a fantastic day in the heart of Anatolia. With the utmost respect to the pilgrims (suitable clothes, silence recommended in the sanctuaries), we visit HACIBECKTAS, the sanctuary guards the tomb of Hacibecktas, a Sufi mystic of the 13th Century. After that, we continue to ANKARA, where we leave free time to walk around and have lunch in the thriving centre of the city. We continue towards the north of Turkey. The landscapes become greener. SAFRANBOLU; arrival in this wonderful little city which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was an important stopping point on the caravan routes. In the courtyard of a magnificent old Caravanserail we will include a traditional Turkish tea. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 10 (Istanbul)
Eydinpinar waterfalls. Today, the leg of our trip follows the Black Sea and its verdant landscapes. In GOKGOL MAGARASI we provide entry tickets to this magnificent cave with its underground river and its multiple colours. In EREGLI, next to the Black Sea, we set aside time to have lunch. We also include a visit to its impressive Cehennemagzi Magarasi caves and tombs that are overflowing with mythology. On our way back to Istanbul, we stop to relax at EYDINPINAR, with a walk between its green paths to the waterfalls! Arrival in ISTANBUL at the end of the day. End of our services. Check the time of your flight in case you need an additional night.
Inclusion & Exclusion
Inclusions
Europamundo General Services: Travel by bus with English speaking guide, basic travel insurance and breakfast buffet.
Includes arrival transfer
City tour in ISTANBUL
Boat: On the Bosphorus in ISTANBUL, Lycian tombs and lake in Dalyan in DALYAN
Evening transfer: Taksim Square in Istanbul in ISTANBUL
Ticket admission: Suleiman the Great Mosque in Istanbul in ISTANBUL, house of the Virgin Mary, Basilica of St. John, Ruins of Ephesus in Ephesus, Roman theatre in Aspendos in ASPENDOS, Greek Temple of Apollo in Side in SIDE, Tartan Evi in Karaman in KARAMAN, Gumusler Monastery; Underground city of Kainacli; Goreme Valley; Uchisar in NIGDE, Hacibecktas in HACIBECKTAS, Traditional tea in Safranbolu in SAFRANBOLU, Gokgol Magarasi cave in GOKGOL MAGARASI, Caves and tombs in Eregli in EREGIL, Eydinpinar Waterfalls in EYDINPINAR
Ferry: Over the Marmara from Istanbul to Bandirma in Bandirma
Funicular: Cableway Viewpoint of Pierre Loti in Istanbul in ISTANBUL
6 dinner included in Kusadasi, MARMARIS, Antalya, NIGDE, CAPPADOCIA, SAFRANBOLU
Exclusions
Airfare / Visa Excluded
All Tips
Any increase in Airfare, Visa Fees, Airport taxes, Govt Taxes, Fuel Surcharges and any applicability of new taxes from Govt
Any up gradation in Airline class or hotel room category
Cost of Air ticket deviation charges
Any Increase in the rate of exchange leading to an increase in all land arrangements which may come into effect prior to departure
Cost of pre or post tour hotel accommodation
Any extra expense such as route change, Airline change, Date change, Accommodation facilities, etc. incurred due to the unforeseen, unavoidable forced major circumstances during the tour
Porterage, laundry, telephone charges, shopping, wines & alcoholic beverages, mineral water, items of personal nature and food or drink which is not part of a set group menu
Any extra cost incurred on behalf of an individual due to illness, accident, hospitalization, or any personal emergency
Any services or activity charges other than those included in the group tour itinerary
To and fro Airfare, Airport transfers, visa fees to join/leave the group and Airport snack hamper for joining and leaving guests
Anything specifically not mentioned in the ‘tour price includes’ column
GST of 5 % applicable on the Final Package Cost
