10-Day Turkey Package Tour from Istanbul: Gallipoli to Cappadocia

Meals: lunch. Transfers included.

Between 06:00 and 07:00 am you leave Istanbul for the Gallipoli Peninsula. Pick-up is offered only from hotels in central areas: Sultanahmet, Sirkeci, Beyoglu, Taksim and Fatih. The drive lasts about 5 hours with one stop on the way, where you can buy breakfast at your own cost.

Around 12:00 you reach Canakkale for lunch at a local restaurant, then continue to the Gallipoli tour area. The guided visit covers:

• Beach Cemetery – a quiet seaside cemetery a few steps from the landing shore, where many ANZAC soldiers lie.
• ANZAC Cove – the slim beach where Australian and New Zealand troops landed under heavy fire in 1915.
• Ari Burnu Cemetery – graves from the first days of the campaign, looking out over open water.
• ANZAC Commemorative Site – the place where dawn services remember everyone who served on the peninsula.
• Respect to Mehmetcik Monument – a moving tribute to the Turkish soldiers who defended their homeland.
• Lone Pine Australian Memorial – trenches, rows of graves and plaques that recount a key Australian battle.
• Johnston's Jolly – surviving Turkish and Allied trench lines that show how near the two sides lived and fought.
• Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment Cemetery – honouring the regiment known for its sacrifice in the first landings.
• The Nek – a thin ridge linked with doomed charges and one of the saddest stories of the campaign.
• Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial – a high ridge with wide views, marking New Zealand's hard-won advance in August 1915.

At 17:00 the tour finishes and you transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Canakkale.

Meals: breakfast. Transfers included.

At 08:15 you are collected from your Canakkale hotel and driven to Troy.

• Troy Ancient City – In 334 BC Alexander the Great visited Troy, paid tribute to Achilles and used the site to tie himself to Homer's heroes. Keep that in mind and the Bronze Age walls, altars and gates, along with the Roman levels above them, read less as scattered ruins and more as a stage that rulers kept returning to for centuries.
• Trojan Horse Replica – The wooden horse is modern, not ancient, but it gives the legend a visual anchor before you walk the excavated layers, linking the Troy of the Iliad to the real city under your feet.

At 12:30, after the tour, you head south by intercity transfer toward Kusadasi/Selcuk; the bus time can shift with the intercity schedule. Around 17:00 we meet you at Izmir Bus Station and drive you to your hotel in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Overnight in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Meals: breakfast. Free time.

The day is yours. Rest at the hotel, shop, stroll the seafront or explore the area on your own schedule. A few ideas: Ladies Beach, the bazaar in the old town and the marina, or a short trip out to Sirince village.

Overnight in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Meals: breakfast and lunch. Transfers included.

At 08:30, once you have had breakfast, you are picked up for a full day at Ephesus, starting with the drive to the ancient city.

• Ephesus Ancient City – Marble streets polished by countless feet lead past temples, fountains and public buildings in striking condition. About 250,000 people once lived here, and the Great Theatre, which still holds 25,000, makes that figure easy to picture. Stand on its stage, look up at the tiers of stone seats, and the reach of this Roman city becomes clear.
• House of Virgin Mary – Set on a wooded hillside around seven kilometres from Ephesus, the shrine is a real change from the open marble ruins. The road climbs through pines, the air is cooler up high, and the chapel is hushed inside. Most visitors welcome the slower pace after the busy main site.
• Temple of Artemis – Some people arrive expecting grand ruins and find one rebuilt column in a field. Once your guide explains that the field holds the outline of a building that shaped a whole era of ancient architecture, the empty space starts to say a lot. Told well, a story can make very little to see feel like plenty.

The tour finishes at 16:00 and you return to your hotel in Kusadasi/Selcuk for the night.

Meals: breakfast. Free time.

Another open day to spend as you like: unwind at the hotel, shop, walk by the sea or head out independently. Ideas include a boat trip along the coast, Pigeon Island with its castle, or seafood by the harbour in the evening.

Overnight in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Meals: breakfast and lunch. Transfers included.

At 08:00, after breakfast, you transfer to Pamukkale for a full day of touring.

• Pamukkale – Over thousands of years, warm spring water rich in calcium carbonate has spilled down this hillside and hardened into smooth white terraces as it cooled, one thin layer at a time. The result is a UNESCO-listed landscape in Denizli that has drawn visitors since antiquity.
• White Calcium Terraces – Photos show bright white travertine, but up close you notice ridges, ripples and mineral patterns left by the flowing water. Underfoot the surface changes from smooth to slightly rough depending on how recently each part was active, a reminder that this is slow-moving geology, not a built structure.
• Hierapolis Ancient City – A walk from the northern necropolis to the southern gate is about two kilometres, with the theatre and main temple area near the middle. The open hillside has no shade in summer, so wear good shoes and carry water. Take your time: almost every fallen column has carving worth a look.
• Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool – Here you can swim at a comfortable 36 degrees Celsius among Roman columns that fell into the water in a strong earthquake centuries ago and were left in place as part of the site's story. It is an optional extra: bring money for the entry fee, which is paid on site and is not covered by the tour.

The tour ends at 16:00 and you transfer to Pamukkale Bus Station. At 17:00 the bus leaves for Antalya (the time may change); the ride takes around 3 hours with regular stops. Around 20:00 you reach Antalya Bus Station and are driven to your hotel.

Overnight in Antalya.

Meals: breakfast.

After breakfast the whole day is free to spend in Antalya as you wish. Lie on the beach, wander through the old town, or simply relax to the sound of the Mediterranean.

Overnight in Antalya.

Meals: breakfast and lunch. Transfers included.

At 08:15 you transfer to the first site and meet your guide. Lunch is at a local restaurant during the day.

• Perge Ancient City – A leading city of ancient Pamphylia, Perge keeps a fine colonnaded main street, a large Roman theatre, big thermal baths and a columned agora. With fewer visitors than Ephesus it feels open and calm, so the guided visit is clear and easy to follow.
• Aspendos Theatre – Often called the best-preserved Roman theatre anywhere, Aspendos still has its stage building and seating rising close to their original height. Live performances each summer still put its acoustics to the test.
• Side – Built on a slim peninsula between two beaches, Side has a well-kept main street, a temple of Apollon facing the water and a Roman theatre that rivals Aspendos in size. Ruins, sea and a small-town feel give it a different mood from the inland sites.

Around 17:00 the Perge, Aspendos and Side tour ends and you transfer to Antalya Bus Station. An overnight bus takes you to Cappadocia, a ride of about 9 hours with 2-3 breaks.

Night on the intercity bus to Cappadocia.

Meals: lunch. Transfers included.

Around 07:00 the bus pulls into Cappadocia Bus Station. You transfer to your hotel and wait in the lobby for the day tour; early check-in is possible only if the hotel permits it. You then head to the first stop and meet your guide.

• Devrent Valley (Pink Valley) – A short walk from the car park brings you into the main field of formations, where the best-known animal shapes stand close together. Your guide leaves time to wander and pick a favourite.
• Pasabag Open Air Museum – This popular stop draws big groups at peak hours, usually from ten until noon on summer days, so Red Tour guides tend to come early or after the midday rush for a calmer visit.
• Avanos Pottery Workshop – Avanos is a working town rather than a staged attraction. A brief walk through its streets before or after the workshop helps, because the river, the market and the potters make more sense together.
• Goreme Panoramic View – Morning light defines this viewpoint, with the eastern sun throwing long shadows over the valley floor and turning the western faces of the chimneys warm gold. Getting here before ten is honest advice, not a slogan.
• Zelve Open Air Museum – In 1952 the residents of Zelve were moved out because cave sections, carved and enlarged for over a thousand years, had become unstable. They resettled in Yeni Zelve, a new village nearby, where many of their descendants still live. It ranks among the key events of modern Cappadocia.
• Uchisar Castle (exterior view) – As the last sightseeing stop of the Red Tour, the sheer size of Cappadocia's biggest and most commanding landmark gives a day of valleys, chimneys and caves a fitting close.

At 17:00 the North Cappadocia tour ends and you transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Cappadocia.

Meals: breakfast and lunch. Transfers included.

Optional early-morning add-ons: a Hot Air Balloon Flight, our most booked activity and the top-rated Cappadocia experience, known for its sunrise views; or a Balloon Watching Tour to the best sunrise photo spots, with the best viewpoints guaranteed. You can add either one at the best available price when booking.

At 09:30 you have breakfast, check out of the hotel and set off for the day.

• Red Valley – Inside the valley, sunlight slips between tall rock columns and casts long, angular shadows on the trail, quite unlike the open plateau. Photographers often time their visit for mid-morning, when shadows are crisp and the warm rock colours are at their richest.
• Rose Valley (Gulludere Valley) – Local guides call it the most reliably beautiful canyon in the region for its natural colour and carved heritage sites, and repeat visitors often come back to Gulludere for this valley alone, naming it their strongest memory of earlier trips.
• Cavusin Village – Recent stabilisation has secured parts of the cliff and improved paths through the upper settlement while keeping its raw character. Anyone who came a decade ago will see that different areas are open now, part of an effort to balance preservation with safety.
• Pigeon Valley – A deep canyon runs between Uchisar and Goreme, its steep walls rising above a trail on the valley floor. Look up and you can count hundreds of carved pigeon-house openings in rough rows at every reachable height.
• Underground City – Wells and water points inside let residents reach fresh water without going above ground, which was vital during a siege. Some wells reached aquifers deep in the volcanic rock, a supply that did not depend on rain or rivers.

At 17:00 the South Cappadocia tour ends and you transfer to the airport. At 19:30 you fly from Cappadocia to Istanbul (flight time may change), landing at 20:50 (arrival airport and time depend on availability).

The tour finishes here. If you need an airport transfer or a hotel booking, contact us and we will send prices and availability.