9-Day Classic Turkey Highlights Tour from Istanbul

After you arrive at Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gokcen Airport, our team will meet you at the exit gate with a sign carrying your name.

You will be transferred to your hotel in central Istanbul for check-in.

The rest of the day is free, which helps you settle in before the touring part of the journey begins. You can relax near your hotel, take a short walk in your neighborhood, or simply recover from your flight.

Overnight stay in Istanbul

Meal: Breakfast

08:30 - Pick up from your hotel and transfer to Sultanahmet for the morning city tour.

• Blue Mosque: The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul's defining Ottoman landmarks, known for its domes, minarets and blue Iznik tiles.
• Hippodrome of Constantinople: The Hippodrome was the ceremonial heart of Byzantine Constantinople and still frames important monuments in the Old City.
• Hagia Sophia Mosque: Hagia Sophia shows Istanbul's layered Byzantine and Ottoman history through its vast dome, mosaics and monumental interior.
• Grand Bazaar: The Grand Bazaar adds color, trade history and free time in one of Istanbul's most recognizable covered market areas.

12:30 - Guided tour ends near the Grand Bazaar. The afternoon is free at your own pace.

Overnight stay in Istanbul

Meal: Breakfast

Slower morning in Istanbul before the afternoon departure.

13:30 - Pick up from your hotel and transfer to the pier for the Bosphorus Cruise.

• Bosphorus Cruise: The Bosphorus Cruise shows Istanbul from the water, passing palaces, mosques, bridges and waterfront mansions on both shores.
• Landmarks from the water: The Bosphorus Cruise shows Istanbul from the water, passing palaces, mosques, bridges and waterfront mansions on both shores.

17:30 - Cruise ends and transfer back to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Istanbul

Meal: Lunch

05:00 - Pick up from your hotel in Istanbul and transfer to the airport. (Pickup time and airport may change.)

07:00 - Flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. (Flight time may change.)

08:00 - Arrival in Cappadocia. (Arrival airport and time may change according to availability.)

Transfer from the airport to the north Cappadocia touring area.

• Devrent Valley (Pink Valley): Devrent Valley introduces Cappadocia through animal-shaped fairy chimneys and wide volcanic forms that make the landscape feel almost imagined.
• Pasabag Open Air Museum: Pasabag is one of the best places to see Cappadocia's multi-headed fairy chimneys and the cave cells once used by hermit monks.
• Avanos Pottery Workshop: Avanos adds a cultural stop to the valley route, showing how red river clay is shaped in local pottery workshops.
• Goreme Panoramic View: Goreme panoramic viewpoints help you read the scale of Cappadocia, with cave settlements, valleys and volcanic ridges visible together.
• Zelve Open Air Museum: Zelve preserves a former cave village spread across several valleys, with carved rooms, tunnels and churches that show daily life in the rocks.
• Uchisar Castle (exterior view): Uchisar Castle is Cappadocia's highest natural viewpoint and shows how defensive and domestic spaces were carved into one rock mass.

17:00 - Transfer to your hotel in Cappadocia.

Overnight stay in Cappadocia

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:30 - Pick up from your hotel in Cappadocia.

Transfer to the south Cappadocia touring area after hotel check-out.

• Red Valley: Red Valley is known for warm volcanic colors, walking paths and layered rock walls that make south Cappadocia especially photogenic.
• Rose Valley (Gulludere Valley): Rose Valley, also called Gulludere, combines pink-toned cliffs with rock-cut churches and quiet walking sections.
• Cavusin Village: Cavusin is an old cave village where abandoned rock houses and cliff churches show the lived history of Cappadocia.
• Pigeon Valley: Pigeon Valley is named after carved dovecotes in the cliffs and gives one of Cappadocia's most familiar valley views.
• Underground City: The underground city reveals tunnels, storage rooms, ventilation shafts and defense passages used by local communities for protection.

17:00 - Transfer to the Cappadocia bus station after the tour.

20:00 - Overnight intercity bus from Cappadocia to Pamukkale. Bus departure time may change according to the final schedule. The journey takes approximately 10 hours, and the bus makes a few short comfort stops on the road for basic needs.

Overnight on the bus

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

05:00 am - Arrival at Denizli Bus Station and transfer to a hotel in Pamukkale to freshen up before the tour.

09:30 - Start the guided Pamukkale tour.

• Pamukkale: Pamukkale is famous for white travertine terraces formed by mineral-rich thermal water flowing down the hillside.
• White Calcium Terraces: The white calcium terraces are the signature view of Pamukkale, where shallow mineral pools step down the slope like a natural staircase.
• Hierapolis Ancient City: Hierapolis rises above the travertines with Roman streets, baths, theatre remains and a long sacred thermal tradition.
• Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool: Cleopatra Antique Pool is visited inside the Pamukkale area; entering the area is included, while swimming among ancient columns is extra on-site.

16:00 - Pamukkale tour ends and transfer to Kusadasi/Selcuk begins.

Overnight stay in Kusadasi/Selcuk

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

08:30 - Pick up from your hotel in Kusadasi/Selcuk after breakfast and check-out.

Transfer to the Ephesus touring area.

• Ephesus Ancient City: Ephesus Ancient City preserves marble streets, temples, theatres and civic buildings from one of the great cities of the Roman world.
• House of Virgin Mary: The House of Virgin Mary is a quiet pilgrimage site on the mountain above Ephesus, visited for both its religious meaning and setting.
• Temple of Artemis: The Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and explains why Ephesus once mattered far beyond the region.

17:00 - Transfer to Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport after the tour.

19:30 - Flight from Izmir to Istanbul. (Flight time may change.)

20:45 - Arrival in Istanbul. (Arrival airport and time may change according to availability.)

Transfer to your hotel in Istanbul.

Overnight stay in Istanbul

Meal: Breakfast

Rest of the day at leisure in Istanbul.

Overnight stay in Istanbul

Meal: Breakfast

After breakfast, please complete hotel check-out before 11:30.

According to your international flight schedule, our team will arrange your transfer to Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

Your 9 Days Best of Turkey Tour Package ends with the final airport transfer. We hope the route leaves you with a real cross-section of Turkey rather than only a quick checklist of famous places.