Highlights
- 5-day tour of Turkey’s Aegean region from Istanbul
- Experience the highlights of several ancient Greek cities and enjoy enlightening commentary from your local guide
- Tour battlefields on the Gallipoli Peninsula and visit the ancient city of Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Visit well-preserved ancient ruins in Pergamum and Ephesus
- Admire white limestone terraces in Pamukkale and soak in the hot springs of Hierapolis
- Four nights of accommodation, daily meals and transport by air-conditioned coach included
- Small-group tour limited to 20 people ensures a more personalized experience
Useful Information
Walk around the ruins in Ephesus
You’ll be picked up from your Istanbul hotel and taken to the Gallipoli peninsula for a tour of the World War I battlefields and other war-related sites with your guide. Visit the Lone Pine Memorial and Chunuk Bair Memorial, as well as Anzac Cove, the Nek, Johnston's Jolly and original trenches and tunnels.
Afterward, head to your hotel in the town and seaport of Çanakkale.
Overnight: 4-star hotel in Çanakkale
Day 2: Çanakkale – Troy -- Pergamum -- Kusadasi (B, D)
Enjoy breakfast in the morning and then step back in time on a visit to Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home of the famed Trojan Horse. Here, learn about the city's fascinating ancient history, including its connection to Homer’s Odyssey.
Continue your tour to Pergamum, an ancient Greek city, where you’ll visit the magnificent acropolis whose impressive temples and library made Pergamum a renowned cultural and political center in its time.
After your tour, head to your hotel in Kusadasi for dinner.
Overnight: 4-star hotel in Kusadasi
Day 3: Kusadasi -- Ephesus -- Kusadasi (B, D)
After breakfast, absorb yourself in history with a day trip to Ephesus, home to the Temple of Artemis and full of a palpable mystical atmosphere.
Visit Arcadian Way, Hadrian’s Temple and an ancient theater. Follow your guide to St John’s Basilica and the house of the Virgin Mary, where many believe she spent her final years.
Next, head to a local carpet village, where you’ll learn about the tradition of carpet weaving and see carpets being made by hand. In the evening, head back to your hotel in Kusadasi for dinner.
Overnight: 4-star hotel in Kusadasi
Day 4: Kusadasi – Pamukkale – Hierapolis -- Pamukkale (B, D)
Start your morning with breakfast and then browse a display of locally hand-crafted leather goods. Then, head to Pamukkale to admire the magnificent white limestone terraces, known as travertines.
Enjoy a tour of the ancient city of Hierapolis to see the magnificently preserved Necropolis, its main street fronted by gates, Basilica of St Philippe and a Greek-Roman theater.
You can also take a dip in the hot springs, which were used in Roman times because of their therapeutic powers. After your relaxing soak, head back to Pamukkale for dinner in the evening.
Overnight: 5-star hotel in Pamukkale
Day 5: Pamukkale -- Istanbul
On your fifth day, journey back to Istanbul, passing through rural Turkey and ancient Bursa to visit famous Green Mosque and explore a silk bazaar. When you arrive, you’ll be taken to your hotel to conclude your tour.
Reviewed by Mrs Joanna C K, April 2013
Excellent tour in all respects. Our guide, Can, was very knowledgeable. Interesting and varied. Our 12- and 10-year old children enjoyed it too. Food good throughout.
Reviewed by Kerin J, May 2013
The tour itself was great. The places were fantastic. The guide and driver were terrific. The bus was too small and too crowded. If you are going to spend that much time on a bus and with that many people, it needs to be a proper coach one, with comfortable seats and conditions.
