Popular Turkey Budget Tour: 13 Days with Gallipoli & Gulet Cruise

After you land in Istanbul, you meet your tour guide at a welcome meeting. You spend the night in Istanbul.

Today you can join the optional old city tour. At 09:30 AM your guide collects you from the hotel for a full day on foot through the centre of Ottoman and Byzantine Istanbul.

The tour visits:

• Topkapi Palace: the former home of the Ottoman sultans, full of history and fine architecture.
• Blue Mosque: one of Istanbul's best-known landmarks, famous for its blue tiles and its scale.
• Hippodrome: the old chariot-racing track, with the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpent Column and the German Fountain.
• Hagia Sophia: a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a vast, richly decorated Byzantine interior.
• Grand Bazaar: the world's oldest covered market, a lively place to shop for souvenirs, spices and textiles.

After the tour, you are taken back to your Istanbul hotel for the night, with breakfast included.

Today is given to the First World War battlefields of Gallipoli, where stories of courage and loss are still close to the surface.

• Memorial sites: we begin at memorials such as Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and ANZAC Cove, which honour the soldiers who fought here.
• Battlefield walk: we continue to moving sites such as The Nek and Johnston's Jolly, where trenches and tunnels still show how fierce the fighting was.

Overnight in Canakkale.

Today we head to the acropolis of Pergamum, once a major cultural and political centre. Climbing the hill feels like a step back in time, past temples such as the Temple of Trajan and the Library of Pergamum, which once held a large collection of scrolls.

Next comes Troy, the city of the Trojan War and the famous Trojan Horse. At the archaeological site, layer after layer of ruins tells the stories of its battles and heroes.

Overnight in Kusadasi.

Today a guide leads you through Ephesus, one of the great cities of the ancient world.

• Ephesus: walk its well-preserved streets, look at the detailed architecture and hear the stories behind the ruins. The Library of Celsus, the Great Theater and the Terrace Houses are the highlights.
• The Temple of Artemis: the next stop is the site of a temple counted among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Standing among its ruins, you can picture how grand it once was.
• Sirince: we finish in this pretty village known for fruit wine. Stroll its lanes, meet the locals, taste the fruit wines and enjoy the peaceful countryside.

Overnight in Kusadasi.

Today begins at Pamukkale, famous for its unusual white calcium travertines.

• Hierapolis Ruins: the first stop is this ancient city. Across the site you see the remains of large buildings, streets and objects that show how its people lived.
• Temple of Apollo: a classical temple among the ruins and a symbol of the city's importance in ancient times.
• Calcium Terraces: walk gently over the white terraces, formed by mineral-rich hot springs that spill down the hillside.

Overnight in Pamukkale.

Important note: boat tours depend on the weather and the season. If the cruise cannot go ahead, accommodation will be arranged on land instead. The itinerary may also change depending on the gulet's availability, so please contact us before you book.

The gulet cruise sets off from Fethiye. Over these days you swim, snorkel and explore islands and bays along the Turkish coast, and visit historic sites such as Roman Baths and ancient Lycian towns. In between, there is plenty of time to relax on deck and enjoy the scenery.

You spend the nights on board the gulet.

Breakfast is included at the hotel.

All day – free time in Antalya: the day is yours. Relax on the beach, explore the old town (Kaleiçi), go shopping or enjoy the hotel facilities.

Optional ideas (not included):

• Walk the lanes of Kaleiçi, Antalya's historic centre.
• Spend time at Konyaaltı or Lara Beach.
• Visit local bazaars or shopping centres.
• Have lunch by the sea or a coffee at the marina.
• Rest at the hotel or book a spa visit.

Evening – transfer to Antalya Airport: at the scheduled time you are taken to the airport for the domestic flight from Antalya to Cappadocia (Kayseri or Nevşehir). On arrival, a transfer takes you to your hotel.

Overnight at a hotel in Cappadocia.

Cappadocia's moon-like scenery and long history make for a memorable day.

The tour usually starts at around 09:00 and finishes by 16:00 at the latest. Here is the route:

• Goreme Esentepe – panoramic view: we start at the Esentepe viewpoint between Uçhisar and Göreme, looking out over the fairy chimneys, the unusual Cappadocian scenery and the small town of Esentepe.
• Zelve Open-Air Museum: once a centre for monks and Christian learning, Zelve has old monasteries, churches and chapels with well-preserved frescoes that show the region's past.
• Pasabag (Monks Valley): Paşabağ, also called Pasha's Vineyard, is known for its fairy chimneys with three heads and for some of the region's most striking rocks.
• Devrent Valley: a short drive away, this valley looks almost like the surface of the moon, with small pointed fairy chimneys, some shaped like animals and mythical creatures.
• Avanos Pottery Workshop: Avanos has made pottery since 3000 BC, and its craftsmen still shape clay from the Red River. You watch them at work in a traditional workshop.
• Love Valley: the last stop, where millions of years of erosion have carved cones, pinnacles and fairy chimneys up to 40 meters tall, a strange and very photogenic corner of Cappadocia.

You return to your cave hotel for the night, with breakfast included.

Today you check out of the hotel, see more of Cappadocia and then fly to Istanbul.

The day can begin at sunrise with an optional hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia. You drift above the rock formations and fairy chimneys as the sky changes colour, and after landing there is a champagne toast before the transfer back to your hotel.

The tour usually starts at around 09:00 and ends by 16:00 at the latest. Stops include:

• Meskendir Valley (4.4 km trek): the day opens with a 4.4 km walk through this valley near Ortahisar. On the way you can go inside Meskendir Church, decorated with bold red geometric patterns and a large cross carved into the chapel ceiling.
• Rose Valley: a quiet valley behind Ürgüp with unusual rock formations and rock-cut churches tucked out of sight. Its paths link small villages through vineyards and gardens, and local people sometimes offer walkers fresh grapes, apples or apricots.
• Red Valley: like its neighbour, it has striking rocks and old cave churches, with a web of winding trails between remote villages and fields. It is one of the best places to see both the scenery and the history of Cappadocia.
• Cavusin Valley: Çavuşin is among the oldest villages in Cappadocia, a maze of cave houses cut into the rock. It is also home to the Church of John the Baptist, the region's largest cave church, dating from the 5th century.
• Underground City: early Christians dug 36 underground cities in Cappadocia to hide from persecution. We visit the largest and best known, which has eight levels; you walk through parts of it and see old wineries, kitchens and living areas.
• Pigeon Valley: on the edge of Göreme, named after the pigeon houses carved into its cliffs over the centuries. Farmers once collected the droppings to fertilise their fields. Today it is a fine viewpoint and a good place for photos.
• Uchisar Castle Panorama: the final stop is Uçhisar, the highest point in Cappadocia. Its tall rock castle once served as a fortress, and from the top you can see the whole region, with Erciyes Mountain on the horizon.

Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, the tour comes to an end. Say goodbye to your new friends before you leave Istanbul.

Optional extras

• Cappadocia hot air balloon (Göreme): $310
• One extra night at an Istanbul hotel, before or after the tour: $65
• Upgrade to a private tour: $650