Istanbul and Mediterranean Coast Walk and Cruise Tour

Istanbul and Mediterranean Coast Walk and Cruise Tour

Begin in Istanbul and end in Dalaman with this sailing walk and cruise tour where you have an 11-day tour taking you through Istanbul and 9 other destinations in Turkey.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival Day

Stop At: Sultanahmet District, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
Arrive in Istanbul, and be collected from Istanbul Airport and check-in at the hotel in the Sultanahmet district, one of Istanbul’s oldest and most fascinating areas.

Our first night’s dinner is on a rooftop terrace with spectacular views onto the Blue Mosque and the St Sophia church/mosque.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel in Istanbul

Day 2: St Sophia and Blue Mosque Tour in Istanbul

Stop At: Hagia Sophia Museum / Church (Ayasofya), Ayasofya Square, Sultanahmet, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
This morning we will visit the spectacular St Sophia church, erected 1,500 years ago by Emperor Justinian and once the largest church in the world.


Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Basilica Cistern, Alemdar Mahallesi, Yerebatan Caddesi, No:1/3, Istanbul 34410 Turkey
Then we descend beneath Istanbul to the vast cisterns that enabled Constantinople to withstand numerous sieges.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
After a delicious lunch together, we visit the Blue Mosque, built 1,000 years after St Sophia and one of the most beautiful mosques in the world.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Istanbul, Istanbul
We’ll take a short break and then reconvene later to get a traditional “scrub” in a Turkish hammam. It’s an experience you’ll never forget!
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel in Istanbul

Day 3: Topkapi Palace and the Grand bazaar

Stop At: Topkapi Palace, Cankurtaran Mahallesi Gulhane Park, Near Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
Today we visit the elegant and opulent Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottoman Sultans for 500 years.

We walk to lunch before we explore the Grand Bazaar, a thousand-year-old shopping paradise with over 3,000 shops packed into a maze of over 60 streets.
Duration: 4 hours

Stop At: Grand Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
We walk to lunch before we explore the Grand Bazaar, a thousand-year-old shopping paradise with over 3,000 shops packed into a maze of over 60 streets.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Misir Carsisi (Spice Market), Rustem Pasa Mahallesi, Erzak Ambari Sok. No:92 Eminonu - Fatih, Istanbul 34116 Turkey
Later today we walk to the Egyptian Spice Market, and then over the Galata Bridge to have dinner in the “modern” part of town, once the seat of Genoese and Venetian traders.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel in Istanbul

Day 4: Fly to Dalaman and Board the Yacht

Stop At: Dalaman, Dalaman, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
We will transfer in the morning to the airport for the flight to Dalaman, on the Mediterranean coast. Be met at the airport and have a 20-minute transfer to Göcek village where you board our yacht.

Cruise out to a secluded bay where we drop off for a short hike along the Lydae peninsula, and our destination is Hammam Bay, the Roman baths where Cleopatra once met her beloved Marc Antony en route to battle.

We are picked up by the boat and spend the night anchored in a protected bay.

Walk 1.5 hrs over rocky but reasonably flat terrain for about 5 kms/3 miles.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 5: Aliman Bay - Fethiye

Stop At: Dalaman, Dalaman, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
Have a refreshing dip in the warm waters of the Mediterranean before breakfast on the aft deck before we begin our two-hour walk to Aliman Bay.

We follow an ancient trail from semi-submerged Roman ruins up to a hidden valley, that is now home to a solitary farmer and his family but was once the site of the Roman town of Lydae, whose 2,000 ruins remain years later.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Fethiye, Fethiye, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
We then descend along an ancient road to a gorgeous bay where the boat will be waiting for us, and you will have time for a swim, then enjoy lunch on board and relax for a while as we cruise across the Gulf of Fethiye.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Gemiler Island, Fethiye Turkey
Anchor in the lee of Gemiler island, and explore the Byzantine ruins in the soft glow of the evening light and was once a stop off point along the pilgrimage route to Jerusalem. The island is also covered in chapels and tombs dating back to the 5th – 8th centuries as well as a mysteriously covered walkway.

Morning Walk: 2.5 hours with some moderate climbing on rocky trails. About 8 kms/5 miles Afternoon walk: 1 – 1.5 hours with a short climb. About 3 kms/2 miles.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 6: Sail to Olu Deniz

Stop At: Oludeniz, Oludeniz, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
Enjoy a morning swim, before we motor to Olü Deniz, one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful bays and take a van up to the village of Kirme and begin our walk high above the coast.


Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Faralya, Faralya, Uzunyurt, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
We will stop on the way for a refreshing tea in Faralya village, with great views over dramatic Butterfly Bay, then continue along terraced olive groves and through a pine forest to reach Kabak Bay where we have lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the sea and our yacht in the bay below.

The afternoon is free for swimming and relaxing.

The Walk: 3 hrs, with one long downhill, one short uphill, and a long flat traverse. Shorter options are available — about 12 kms/7.2 miles.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 7: Pinara - Kalkan

Stop At: The Lycian Way, OvacIk, Fethiye Turkey
Today we travel inland to get a look into rural life and explore the ruins of ancient Lycia while our boat cruises along a bit of exposed coast.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Pinara Antique City, Merkez Esen, Fethiye 40 km (24 mi) SE of Fethiye, Fethiye 48300 Turkey
Have a one-hour transfer along a beautiful back road that takes you to Pinara, a Lycian city with an acropolis perched high on a rocky promontory. The surrounding rock walls are honey-combed with carved rock tombs. We explore the acropolis of this once important Lycian city and marvel at the ruins that date back to the 6th century B.C., including a deserted Greek theatre.


Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Kalkan, Kalkan, Turkish Mediterranean Coast
Lunch is prepared for us by a farming family and served up beneath the shade of their olive trees before we continue to the coastal village of Kalkan, where the boat will be waiting for us. Cruise to a lovely calm bay, swim, aperitif, and then dinner.

The Walk: about 2 hours to explore the ruins; not much distance, just a bit of climbing. About 4 kms/2.5 miles.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 8: Aperlae - Simena

Stop At: Aperlai Antik Kent, Sahilkılınçlı, 07580 Kaş/Antalya, Turkey
After a relaxing morning, cruise out to Aperlae, and swim above the sunken remains of the ancient Lycian port where we will explore the ruins before lunch.


Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Castle of Simena, Demre (Kale) Turkey
Our afternoon walk takes us past the Lycian sarcophagi to the unique village of Simena, that is surmounted by a Medieval castle containing a small Roman theatre within its walls. The town flows down the hillside in a jumble of ancient rock tombs, sarcophagi, and white-washed houses.

Morning Walk: 1.5 hours on flat terrain. About 6 kms/4 miles Afternoon walk: 1.5 hours on mostly flat terrain. About 6 kms/4 miles.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 9: Cruise to Kas

Stop At: Kas, Kas, Turkish Mediterranean Coast
Have another chilled out morning of swimming and breakfast on the deck before a scenic two-hour cruise to the charming village of Kas.

Have 2 hours to peruse the shops, cafes, and carpet shops in this colourful fishing village.

Lunch is back on the boat that is anchored amongst a cluster of rock islands.
Then have a two-hour cruise to Finaz Liman bay where we tender to the beach for a walk up to an imposing and fascinating Roman aqueduct.

We moor for the night in Finaz Liman bay.

Afternoon Walk: 1.5 hrs, up a fairly steep slope and then back down. About 4 kms/2.5 miles.


Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 10: Ghost Village of Kayaköy

Stop At: Kayakoy, Kayakoy, Mugla Province, Turkish Aegean Coast
This morning the boat has an early start while we stay nestled in our cabins before arriving in a calm bay in time for our now ritual swim and breakfast.

Afterwards, we dock into a quiet bay and walk to the ghost village of Kayaköy to explore the eerie remains of the village deserted in 1923 when the town’s inhabitants were sent to Greece for a population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

Have lunch beneath the shade of enormous plane trees at a local restaurant, which produces delicious and refined Turkish cuisine. Walk back through the village and down to the boat for a final swim.

Morning Walk: 1.5 hrs, beginning with an extended uphill on a rocky trail. 5 kms/3 miles Afternoon walk: 1 hour, mostly downhill on a rocky trail. 5kms/3 miles.
Duration: 7 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight stay on the boat

Day 11: Departure Day

Stop At: Istanbul Airport, Tayakadın, Terminal Caddesi No:1, 34283 Arnavutköy/İstanbul, Turkey
A short cruise takes us back to Göçek village, where we disembark our boat in time for morning flights (timing can change year by year).

We transfer you to Dalaman airport for flights to Istanbul or elsewhere, or you could extend your stay.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.