12 Days Private Turkey Tour From Istanbul

12 Days Private Turkey Tour From Istanbul

Upon arrival at The Istanbul International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Sultanahmet. You will meet your guide and other tour participants for a cocktail and a briefing on your trip before dinner. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul.

Itinerary

Day 1: Day 1 Arrival & Hotel Check-in ( İstanbul)

Stop At: Historic Areas of Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey
Welcome to Turkey! Upon your arrival at Istanbul Airport, our transferman will welcome you and take you to your hotel. After you check-in to your hotel and rest a little bit, our guide will meet you in the lobby and give you an orientation about Istanbul and our 12-day tour.

• Overnight in Istanbul
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a special boutique hotel in Sultanahmet.

Day 2: Day 2 Istanbul (Walking Tour)

Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
For our first stop on our “Turkey in 12 Days” program, we will visit the Blue Mosque, which was built in 1616 by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (Turk ve Islam Eserleri Muzesi), MeydanI Sok. No:46 Sultan Ahmet Mahallesi,, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
After, we will stop by the Turkish Islamic Art Museum to see some of the best work from Islamic Art with spectacular antiquity Turkish Carpets.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Topkapi Palace, Cankurtaran Mahallesi Gulhane Park, Near Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
We will continue our tour by visiting the great Ottoman Palace, Topkapi where Sultans lived for five centuries.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Grand Bazaar Jewelers, Alemdar Mah. Bab-I Ali Cad. Guran Han No:34 D. 4 Fatih, Istanbul 34110 Turkey
After lunch, we will stop at the Grand Bazaar – one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, which dates back to the 16th century.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Suleymaniye Mosque, Prof. SIddIk Sami Onar Cd. No:1 Süleymaniye Mah, Istanbul 34116 Turkey
We will then walk to Suleymaniye Mosque, which was built in 1557 by the great architect Sinan of the Ottoman Empire.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Misir Carsisi (Spice Market), Rustem Pasa Mahallesi, Erzak Ambari Sok. No:92 Eminonu - Fatih, Istanbul 34116 Turkey
We will complete our adventures of the first and busiest day of the program by walking downhill from the Suleymaniye Mosque to the Spice Market where you can find delicious spices and Turkish delight.

We will return to the hotel
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a special boutique hotel in Sultanahmet.

Day 3: Day 3 Istanbul (Walking Tour & Public Transportation)

Stop At: Hippodrome, Binbirdirek, Sultan Ahmet ParkI No:2, Istanbul Turkey
Our first stop on Day 3 will be the great Roman Hippodrome, which dates back to 2nd century A.D. In the Hippodrome, you can see the Obelisk of the Tuthmosis the third, German Fountain, Serpent Column and the Obelisk of Constantine.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Basilica Cistern, Alemdar Mahallesi, Yerebatan Caddesi, No:1/3, Istanbul 34410 Turkey
We will stop and see the Basilica Cistern, which was built at the same time as Hagia Sofia. In this 6th century structure, you will be able to see the heads of Medusa, which brought here from the temples of Constantinople.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Hagia Sophia Museum / Church (Ayasofya), Ayasofya Square, Sultanahmet, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
We will visit Hagia Sophia, the great church built in 537 by Justinianus.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Kariye Museum (The Chora Church), Kariye Cami Sk. No: 8 Fatih, Istanbul 34087 Turkey
After lunch, we will go to the Chora Church, built in 6th century A.C., to see the spectacular, one-of-a-kind mosaics and some frescoes.

We will return to our hotel.
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a special boutique hotel in Sultanahmet.

Day 4: Day 4 Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise & Cappadocia (Fly to Cappadocia)

Stop At: Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
We will start by checking out from our hotel. We will then take a Bosphorus Cruise (approximately two hours). During this trip, you will be able to see some historical scenes of Istanbul such as the palaces, summer mansions, houses from the Ottoman Empire, and more.

• Fly to Cappadocia

Transfer to the Istanbul Airport to catch our flight to Cappadocia.

We will check in to our hotel and rest up for Day 5.

• Overnight in Cappadocia
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a luxury cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 5: Day 5 Cappadocia Region (Private Cappadocia Region Tour)

Stop At: Devrent Valley, Devrent Mevkii No:1 Aktepe Koyu Turkey
Day 5 will begin with an exploration of Cappadocia with Devrent Valley (also known as Imagination Valley), where we will see the different types of Fairy Chimney formations, which formed almost 30 million years ago.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Fairy Chimneys, Goreme Turkey
We will then stop in Pasabag, where we will see the most interesting fairy chimneys, resembling those seen in the Hobbit and Smurfs.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Avanos Oren Yeri, Kapadokya Cd., Avanos 50500 Turkey
This trip offers the opportunity to stop by a local pottery shop, where details are shared of how people survived and created beautiful art dating back to the Hittite period.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Goreme National Park, Goreme 50180 Turkey
The stop at Goreme Open Air Museum allows you to discover some of the best cave churches of the 530 in Cappadocia.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Cappadocia Cave Dwellings, Urgup Turkey
You will see wonderful view of Cave Dwellings
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Uchisar Castle, Uchisar Turkey
We will stop at Uchisar Castle and Pigeon Valley, two of the best spots for photography and photo opportunities in the world.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar KasabasI Nevşehir Kapadokya, Goreme 50240 Turkey
Pause for a photo break at Pigeon Valley.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Goreme panorama, Uchisar Yolu uzeri 1.km, Goreme 50180 Turkey
Beautiful view of Cappadocia.
Duration: 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a luxury cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 6: Day 6 Cappadocia Region (Private Cappadocia Region Tour)

Stop At: Kaymakli Underground City, Derinkuyu Turkey
To start Day 6, we will drive to Kaymakli Underground City to see how Christians protected and defended themselves from the persecutions and invasions for centuries.

• Nar Lake (Photo Break)

We will drive approximately one hour to Nar Lake for photo break.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Ihlara Valley, Guzelyurt 68500 Turkey
During the photo break, we will have to drive a bit more to reach Ihlara Canyon for 3.8 km hike by the river and beautiful nature.
Duration: 2 minutes

Stop At: Selime Monastery, Guzelyurt Turkey
Selime monastery is the biggest religious building in Cappadocia with a cathedral-size church.

• Sarihan Caravanserai

We will stop in Sarihan Caravanserai to visit the 13th century residence for the merchants and their camels.

We are going to drive back to our hotel.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a luxury cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 7: Day 7 Cappadocia Region (Private Cappadocia Region Tour)

Stop At: Soganli Valley, Situated Near Yesilhisar In The Province of Kayseri, Kayseri 38800 Turkey
We will meet in our hotel lobby to start our last day in Cappadocia. Our first adventure of the day will take us to Soganli Village where we can see one of the greatest examples of monastic life.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Sobesos Ancient City, 50400 Şahinefendi/Ürgüp/Nevşehir, Turkey
We will then drive to Sobesos Excavation site of a Roman City with one-of-a-kind floral mosaics that have only recently been discovered.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Keslik Monastery, Urgup Turkey
Upon arrival at the Keşlik Monastery, you will have the opportunity to understand how the people survived and practiced their religion on a small site. This also gives us an idea about their little known social lives.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Sinasos Kilisesi, Davutlu, Manastır Vadisi Açık Hava Müzesi, 50400 Mustafapaşa/Ürgüp/Nevşehir, Turkey
We are going to drive to Sinassos where we will see an Old Greek Village, which was re-inhabited after 1927.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Red Valley, Nevsehir Ortahisar, Nevsehir 50650 Turkey
We will drive (approximately 20 minutes) to Red Valley to begin our lovely 2-hour hike.

We will return to our hotel and rest up for another day of adventures.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a luxury cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 8: Day 8 İzmir & Transfer to our Hotel

Stop At: Kusadasi Castle, Kusadasi Merkez, Kusadasi Turkey
We will transfer to the airport and take a flight to Izmir (schedule varies based on flight time). Upon our arrival at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport, we will check in to our hotel. The rest of the day will be spent relaxing. Dinner and overnight will be in Kusadasi or Selcuk.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a 5 stars hotel in Kusadasi or Selcuk

Day 9: Day 9 Ephesus Region (Private Daily Ephesus Tour)

Stop At: Ancient City of Ephesus, Selcuk 35920 Turkey
Day 9 will begin with a tour of Ephesus, where we can stroll and get lost inside the beautiful ancient site.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: The Temple of Artemis, Ataturk, Park Ici Yolu No:12, Selcuk Turkey
After lunch, we will drive to the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: The Basilica of Saint John, Isa Bey Mahallesi, 2013. Sk. No:1, Selcuk 35920 Turkey
Later, we will visit the Basilica of St. John, which was donated by Justinianus, who financed Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Meryemana (The Virgin Mary's House), Selcuk 35100 Turkey
We will visit The Virgin Mary's house.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Ephesus Museum, Selcuk Turkey
We will visit the Selcuk Ephesus Museum and see some of the amazing artifacts from Ephesus.

We will return to our hotel.
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a 5 stars hotel in Kusadasi or Selcuk

Day 10: Day 10 Prine, Miletus, Didyma (Tour with Private Van)

Stop At: Priene Antik Kenti, Soke/aydIn Güllübahçe mahallesi, Gullubahce Turkey
We will begin our tour with a 1 to 2 hour drive to Priene, an Ionian City that was first established in the 7th century B.C. as a port city on the sea, which was silted by the Meander River.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Miletus, Didim Turkey
After, we will drive to Miletus. This city is known for some of the great philosophers of ancient times, including Thales, Anaximenes, and Hekaistos.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Temple of Apollo, Ataturk Boulevard Yenihisar, Didim 07330 Turkey
Our last stop of the day will be Didyma, the Temple of Apollon where most prophecies were given. The biggest oracle was serving at the Apollon Temple. Depending on schedule, lunch may be after the visit.

At the end of the tour, we will return to our hotel.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a 5 stars hotel in Kusadasi or Selcuk

Day 11: Day 11 Aphrodisias & Hierapolis (Drive to Denizli & Private Tour)

Stop At: Aphrodisias, 80 km from Pamukkale, Geyre Turkey
Following check-our from our hotel, we will drive approximately two hours to Aphrodisias, which is one of the most well-preserved ancient sites in Turkey. Earliest settlement in Aphrodisias dates back to 5000 B.C. However, the city that we are going to see is from 2nd century B.C.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Hierapolis & Pamukkale, Pamukkale 20280 Turkey
Later, we will drive to one of the greatest healing centers in the world, Hierapolis. Hierapolis can be named as “Woodstock ‘69” of the ancient world. Since it was one of the healing regions of the time, people often carried their tombs with them to die. That’s why the name Necropolis (cemetery) of Hierapolis is so common in Anatolia. During this trip, guests also can see the travertine, Cotton Castle, formed by calcium.

We will return to our hotel and prepare for the next morning.

We hope you enjoy Turkey and our services at Pupa Tourism. We look forward to welcoming you in Turkey.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Accommodation at a 5 stars hotel in Pamukkale.

Day 12: Day 12 Going back to home

Stop At: Denizli Airport, Cumhuriyet Mah., Küme Evler Sok. No:1, 20350 Çardak/Denizli, Turkey
If you plan to depart, we will transfer you to the Airport.

We hope you enjoy Turkey and our services at Pupa Tourism. We look forward to welcoming you in Turkey.
Duration: 3 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.