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Cappadocia, Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale & more
Plan Your Turkey Trip →Turkey by city
This page sorts Turkey tours by the cities they visit. Most itineraries build from a few bases: Istanbul for Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, Cappadocia for the rock-cut valleys, Ephesus and Pamukkale for Aegean ruins and travertine terraces, Antalya for the Mediterranean coast, plus Gallipoli, Troy, Konya, Ankara, Bursa and Pergamon as shorter stops. One Nation Travel plans, books and coordinates each itinerary, and selected local providers deliver the listed services. Choose a city below, then browse its tours.
Istanbul spans the Bosphorus and is the usual arrival city, with 58 itineraries starting or staying here. Istanbul tours covers the multi-day routes, while single-day city tours and day trips out of the city are listed separately. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was completed in 537 under Justinian I, the Blue Mosque of 1617 carries six minarets, and Topkapi Palace housed the Ottoman court until 1856. Two or three nights.
Cappadocia is the volcanic plateau around Göreme, reached by a one-hour domestic flight from Istanbul, and 109 itineraries include it. The Göreme Open-Air Museum preserves rock-cut churches with 10th- to 12th-century frescoes, Derinkuyu Underground City runs about 85 meters (280 feet) deep across roughly eighteen excavated levels, eight of them open to visitors, and Uçhisar Castle is honeycombed with tunnels. Sunrise hot air balloon flights are an optional extra and depend on wind conditions and official flight permission. Two nights is typical, based in the Göreme and Uçhisar valleys; see Cappadocia tours.
Ephesus lies inland from Kusadasi beside Selçuk and anchors the Aegean leg. The Library of Celsus, begun in the 110s AD as a tomb-monument for Celsus and completed under Hadrian, faces the Great Theater, enlarged to roughly 25,000 seats; the Terrace Houses keep their mosaic floors. The House of the Virgin Mary is 7 km (4 miles) from Selçuk. Eighty-one itineraries appear on the Ephesus hub, and tours from Izmir reach the site in a morning. One night is usually enough.
The white terraces at Pamukkale form where spring water near 35°C (95°F) deposits calcium carbonate, and visitors walk the marked route barefoot. Above them, Hierapolis was founded in the 2nd century BC and shares a UNESCO listing with the travertines, and Cleopatra's Antique Pool holds earthquake-toppled columns. Almost every itinerary pairs it with Ephesus for a single night. Tours covering both are on the Pamukkale page.
Antalya is the Mediterranean base, and its hub of 32 itineraries runs to beach extensions and Pamphylian ruins. The walled old town, Kaleiçi, is entered through Hadrian's Gate, built in 130 AD. Aspendos Theater, built in the later 2nd century AD under Marcus Aurelius, retains its stage building, Perge's colonnaded street runs from the Hellenistic gate, and the Temple of Apollo stands on the headland at Side. Two nights, more with beach time.
Gallipoli and Troy share the Çanakkale crossing and are usually visited together on a single overnight trip from Istanbul. Anzac Cove marks the landing of 25 April 1915, the Lone Pine Monument records the Australian and New Zealand missing, and Chunuk Bair carries the New Zealand memorial. Troy has nine settlement layers. Itineraries are split between the Gallipoli battlefield pages and the Troy and Çanakkale listings.
Konya sits between Cappadocia and the Aegean, adding half a day rather than a night. The Mevlana Museum holds Rumi's tomb beneath a fluted turquoise dome and served as the Mevlevi lodge until 1925. Alaeddin Mosque, completed in 1221, reuses ancient columns and holds the tombs of eight Seljuk sultans. Twelve itineraries stop in Konya.
Ankara works for travelers arriving by domestic flight, and its 13 listed itineraries are mostly overland legs between Cappadocia and the coast. Anitkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum, was completed in 1953 and is approached by a road lined with 24 lion statues. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations holds the principal Hittite and Phrygian collection, and the Roman Baths still show their hypocaust pillars. Most routes allow one night here.
Bursa was the first Ottoman capital and works as a day trip or single night from Istanbul. The Ulu Cami of 1399 carries 20 domes on 12 piers, the Green Tomb of Mehmed I was finished in 1421, and Koza Han has traded silk cocoons since 1491. Cumalıkızık keeps its Ottoman timber houses. Four itineraries include the city.
Pergamon, above modern Bergama, pairs with Ephesus on Aegean routes and needs half a day. Its acropolis crowns a 335-meter (1,100-foot) hill above the Bakırçay plain, the Hellenistic theater seats about 10,000 on the steepest rake to survive from antiquity, and only the platform of the Altar of Zeus remains; its frieze went to Berlin in the 1880s. Twenty-eight itineraries include Pergamon tours.
Most Turkey trips combine two to four of these cities, usually Istanbul with Cappadocia, then Ephesus and Pamukkale on the Aegean side. To compare complete itineraries by length, starting city and route, see Turkey tours by route and duration. Turkey also combines with Egypt and Jordan on longer trips, listed under multi-country tours.
Istanbul plus Cappadocia is the essential pairing; adding Ephesus and Pamukkale in the west rounds out the classic route. Antalya suits beach time and Gallipoli/Troy suit history-focused trips. Published multi-city itineraries may connect them with domestic flights and transfers; check the tour page and written confirmation for the services included.
Many group and private Turkey itineraries list licensed English-speaking local guides. Other languages may be available on selected private departures. Check the individual tour page and written confirmation for the guide language and services included.
Yes — multi-country itineraries pairing Turkey with Egypt and/or Jordan are popular, connected by short regional flights. See the Turkey & Egypt, Turkey & Jordan and 3-country tour pages for current routes.