11-Day Grand Tour of Türkiye: Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Pergamon, Troy & Gallipoli

Welcome to Istanbul. When you arrive, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check-in. The route into the city can take time depending on traffic, so this first day is deliberately left open rather than scheduled around sightseeing.

After settling in, use the rest of the day at your own pace. You may want to rest after your flight, take a short walk near your hotel, or choose a simple dinner nearby. Istanbul is spread across two continents and several distinct districts, so there is no need to try to cover it all on arrival.

Keep your plans flexible this evening and save your energy for the guided Old City visit tomorrow. Your hotel team can help with practical questions such as nearby restaurants, cash machines, and getting around independently. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Start in Istanbul‘s historic peninsula at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, then continue to the nearby Blue Mosque. Both buildings remain active places of worship, so your guide will explain the visiting etiquette and the role each has played in the city.

Walk on to the Hippodrome, the former Roman chariot-racing ground, where you will see the Obelisk of Theodosius, Serpent Column, and German Fountain. Lunch is served at a Turkish restaurant before the afternoon visit to Topkapi Palace Museum, the Ottoman sultans’ main residence for centuries.

Finish at the Grand Bazaar, where you have time to browse its covered lanes and shops before returning to your hotel. This is a working market rather than a museum, so expect a busy, sometimes noisy setting and take your time if you plan to shop. The evening is free. Overnight in Istanbul.

Early this morning, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to Istanbul Airport for your domestic flight to Ankara. On arrival at Ankara Airport, you will be met and taken into the city center to begin your visit to Türkiye’s capital.

Meet your guide at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Continue to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, where the displays trace Anatolia through prehistoric, Hittite, Phrygian, and Urartian material. This stop gives useful context for many of the ancient sites you will visit later in the trip.

After the city tour, transfer to Ankara Intercity Bus Terminal for the coach journey to Cappadocia. The road journey is a practical travel day, so keep essentials with you rather than in checked luggage. On arrival in the Göreme area, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check-in. Overnight in Cappadocia.

An optional early-morning hot air balloon flight may be arranged separately and paid locally. It requires suitable weather and official approval. After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Begin at Devrent Valley, where erosion has shaped the soft volcanic rock into forms that often resemble animals and other figures.

Continue to Paşabağ Valley, known for tall fairy chimneys with multiple rock caps, then travel to Avanos for a pottery demonstration using clay associated with the Kızılırmak River. Lunch follows at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, stop at a viewpoint over Göreme, where cave homes and carved spaces sit among the valleys.

Visit Zelve Open-Air Museum, an abandoned rock-cut settlement with former dwellings, churches, and a mosque. Your final stop is an outside photo stop at Uçhisar Castle, a high rock formation used as a lookout point. Return to your hotel in the afternoon, with the rest of the evening free. Overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Start in Red Valley, where mineral layers give the rock its changing red and rose tones. From here, follow a light walk through Rose Valley. The route passes carved rock formations and small churches cut into the tuff, a soft volcanic stone.

Continue to Çavuşin Village, where old stone houses and cave rooms show how people once lived along the cliffside. Lunch is served at a local restaurant before the afternoon stops. The pace is active but manageable if you wear walking shoes with a good grip and carry water for the valley section.

See the carved pigeon houses of Pigeon Valley, then visit either Kaymaklı Underground City or Özkonak Underground City, depending on operations that day. These underground settlements include narrow passages, storage rooms, and shared living spaces, so they are not ideal if enclosed spaces are difficult for you. Return to the hotel by late afternoon. Overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Leave Cappadocia by road for Konya, a major Seljuk-era city and an important center for the Mevlevi order associated with Mevlana Rumi. This is a longer transfer day, with a guided stop built into the route.

Meet your local guide for a visit to the Mevlana Museum, where Mevlana’s tomb and objects connected with the Mevlevi tradition are displayed. Continue to Sultan Selim Mosque, Alaaddin Mosque, and the Mosque and Tomb of Shams-i Tabrizi. Lunch is available in Konya before you continue south and west by road.

The final section brings you to Pamukkale, known for its white mineral terraces and the adjacent ancient city of Hierapolis. Arrival is later in the day, so there is no planned sightseeing after check-in. Settle into your hotel and prepare for tomorrow’s walking tour, which includes uneven ancient paving and the travertine slopes. Overnight in Pamukkale.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Begin at Hierapolis, the ancient spa city above Pamukkale. Your guide leads you through the main remains, including the Temple of Apollo, the Ancient Theatre, the Necropolis, and the former Roman Baths.

After an included lunch, continue to Karahayıt, known for thermal water with a reddish color caused by mineral content. Then walk on the white terraces of Pamukkale, formed as mineral-rich water deposits calcium over the slope. You may choose to visit the Cleopatra Antique Pools separately if you would like time in the thermal water.

When the tour ends, continue by road to Kuşadası on the Aegean coast. The drive follows a practical transfer route rather than a sightseeing route, and you arrive in the evening for hotel check-in. Keep a light layer handy, as the coast can feel cooler than the inland plateau after sunset. Overnight in Kusadasi.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Travel from Kuşadası to Ephesus, one of the best-known Greco-Roman cities in western Anatolia. Follow the marble streets with your guide and see major public buildings in the order that makes the site easier to understand on foot.

Stops include the Temple of Hadrian, Trajan Fountain, and the Great Theatre, which stands at the end of the city’s main route. Lunch is scheduled during the day before you continue to the House of the Virgin Mary, a small pilgrimage site in the hills above Ephesus.

Pass by the remains of the Temple of Artemis, then visit İsa Bey Mosque, a Seljuk mosque built below the Ephesus ruins. The contrast between Roman urban remains, a Christian pilgrimage site, and Seljuk architecture is the useful thread running through the day. Return to your hotel in Kusadasi in the afternoon, leaving the evening free for your own plans. Overnight in Kusadasi.

After breakfast, around 10:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Leave Kuşadası and travel north to Pergamon, an ancient center that grew from a hilltop kingdom into a major Roman city. There is a substantial road journey today, balanced by a guided visit after a lunch break.

At the Pergamon Acropolis, follow the terraces above the modern town and see the remains of the Temple of Trajan, Temple of Athena, and Temple of Dionysus. Your guide will also point out the location of the Library of Pergamon and explain its place in the city’s intellectual life.

Continue to the steep Hellenistic Theatre, built into the hillside, before leaving Pergamon for Çanakkale. This evening’s destination sits near the Dardanelles, the narrow waterway separating the Gallipoli Peninsula from northwestern Anatolia. Arrive at your hotel for check-in and use the evening to rest before tomorrow’s Troy and Gallipoli visits. Overnight in Canakkale.

After breakfast, around 8:30 am, you will be picked up from your hotel. Begin at Troy, where excavated layers show repeated settlement over thousands of years. See the symbolic Trojan Horse, sections of the City Walls of Troy, the Bouleuterion, and the Odeon as your guide explains how archaeology and the Homeric tradition overlap here.

Continue to Eceabat for time to pause and have lunch before the afternoon on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The World War I visit includes ANZAC Cove, Beach Cemetery, and the Respect to Mehmetçik Monument. These places are memorial grounds, so the tone of the visit is quieter than the archaeological sites earlier in the day.

Carry on to Lone Pine, Johnston’s Jolly, The Nek, Chunuk Bair, and the Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment Cemetery before returning by road to Istanbul. The journey back is long, with arrival expected late in the evening. You will be transferred to your hotel on arrival, with no further activities planned. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, check out from your hotel in Istanbul. Your transfer to Istanbul Airport will be arranged according to your flight details. Keep your passport, travel documents, medication, and any items you need during the flight in your carry-on bag rather than in checked luggage.

There is no sightseeing planned today, which gives you a straightforward departure morning. If your flight leaves later in the day, you can use any available time near your hotel for a final coffee, a short walk, or last-minute shopping, provided you return in time for your scheduled transfer.

Your driver will collect you from the hotel and take you to the airport for your onward flight. Airport procedures can take time, especially during busy travel periods, so follow the transfer time provided to you and allow the airport staff to guide you through check-in and security. Your tour services end on arrival at the airport.