A Spectacular Journey Through Turkey's Landscapes, Ancient Cities & Mediterranean Coast: 7 Days

Your Cappadocia adventure begins with a private transfer from your Istanbul hotel to the airport for your domestic flight to Kayseri Airport. On arrival you'll be welcomed by our local team and transferred to your Cappadocia hotel by shared shuttle. Once you've settled in, the rest of the day is free for relaxation, or for one of Cappadocia's exciting optional experiences.

Cappadocia's magic reveals itself slowly — a landscape of volcanic tuff sculpted over millions of years into cones, pillars and "fairy chimneys," later hollowed out by hand into homes, churches and entire underground cities. Many guests spend their first evening choosing between a sunrise hot air balloon flight (roughly 60 minutes, optional and not included), an ATV or jeep safari through the valleys at sunset, horseback riding, a traditional Turkish Night with music and dancing, a Turkish hamam bath, or a Whirling Dervish ceremony.

• Optional: Sunrise hot air balloon flight over the fairy chimneys
• Optional: ATV or jeep safari through Cappadocia's valleys
• Optional: Turkish Night with traditional music, dance and dinner
• Optional: Turkish bath (hamam) or Whirling Dervish ceremony

Overnight: Cappadocia hotel, with breakfast.

After breakfast, hotel pickup at 09:00 begins a full day combining dramatic scenery, ancient settlements and underground architecture. Rising above its namesake town, Ortahisar Castle is one of Cappadocia's most distinctive rock formations, its strategic position reflecting the region's importance through the Byzantine, Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. From there you'll walk through Red Valley (Kızılçukur), named for the warm reddish tones of its volcanic rock, with winding trails, sculpted cliffs and vineyards that turn especially dramatic in the afternoon light.

At Çavuşin, a historic settlement of rock-carved homes and religious spaces, you'll see how communities adapted to Cappadocia's volcanic terrain over centuries. The afternoon descends beneath the surface at Kaymaklı Underground City, an extraordinary subterranean settlement of interconnected living spaces, storage rooms and passages carved from soft volcanic rock — one of the most fascinating examples of ancient Anatolian ingenuity anywhere in Turkey. The day closes at Pigeon Valley, stretching between Uçhisar and Göreme, named for the countless pigeon houses carved into the rock that once supplied natural fertilizer and fresco plaster to local farmers.

• Ortahisar Castle — rock fortress with panoramic valley views
• Red Valley (Kızılçukur) — scenic walking trail among sculpted cliffs
• Çavuşin Village — historic rock-cut settlement
• Kaymaklı Underground City — multi-level subterranean complex
• Pigeon Valley — carved dovecotes and dramatic rock scenery

Tour ends around 17:30 with a transfer back to your hotel. Overnight: Cappadocia hotel, with breakfast.

Today reveals another side of Cappadocia. Hotel pickup at 09:00 begins at Devrent Valley ("Imagination Valley"), famous for rock formations that seem to resemble animals and figures — every visitor sees something different. At the Zelve Open-Air Museum you'll walk among rock-cut homes, churches and monasteries in a setting that combines archaeology and nature almost seamlessly, while the optional Göreme Open-Air Museum (entrance fee not included) contains some of Cappadocia's finest Byzantine frescoes.

From the panoramic Esentepe Viewpoint, the scale of the Cappadocian landscape unfolds across valleys and fairy chimneys — one of the best photography stops of the entire trip. Uçhisar Castle, a natural rock formation extensively carved over centuries into rooms and passages, offers sweeping views over the surrounding volcanic terrain. The day finishes in Avanos, beside the Kızılırmak (Turkey's longest river), a town renowned for a pottery tradition tracing back to the ancient Hittite period, where you can watch artisans at work.

• Devrent Valley — imaginative volcanic rock formations
• Zelve Open-Air Museum — rock-cut churches and homes
• Esentepe Viewpoint — panoramic Cappadocia photography stop
• Uçhisar Castle — Cappadocia's highest natural viewpoint
• Avanos — traditional pottery-making on the Kızılırmak river

The tour ends around 17:30 with a transfer to Nevşehir Bus Station, where at 21:00 you'll board an overnight intercity bus toward Antalya (approximately 10 hours, with two rest breaks).

Arriving in Antalya in the morning, you'll transfer to your hotel, leave your luggage, enjoy breakfast, and set out at 08:00 for a full day among the Mediterranean region's most impressive ruins. Aspendos Theatre is one of the best-preserved ancient theatres anywhere in the Mediterranean, its monumental seating and remarkable acoustics still hosting performances today — a striking demonstration of Roman engineering.

Perge, once one of ancient Pamphylia's major cities, is also associated with the early Christian period and the journeys of St. Paul; walking its colonnaded streets and public buildings is a genuine journey through classical urban life. On a peninsula overlooking the sea, Side was an important ancient port, and its ruins meeting the Mediterranean directly create one of the region's most memorable views. The day ends on a gentler note at Kurşunlu Waterfall, where cascading water and forested surroundings offer a refreshing break from the archaeology.

• Aspendos Theatre — the Mediterranean's best-preserved Roman theatre
• Perge Ancient City — monumental Pamphylian streets and ruins
• Side Ancient City — ruins on a peninsula over the Mediterranean
• Kurşunlu Waterfall — forested natural waterfall

Tour ends around 17:00. Overnight: Antalya hotel, with breakfast.

Hotel pickup at 08:30 begins with two contrasting waterfalls: the Lower Düden Waterfall (Karpuzkaldıran), where water plunges dramatically toward the Mediterranean, and the Upper Düden Waterfall, surrounded by greenery and long connected to local legend. From there you'll reach Kaleiçi Marina, a historic natural harbour beneath Antalya's old city with deep roots stretching back to the ancient settlement itself.

Hadrian's Gate, a monumental Roman archway erected in 130 AD to honour Emperor Hadrian, remains one of Antalya's most recognizable landmarks. The day finishes wandering Kaleiçi, Antalya's historic heart, where narrow streets reveal traditional Ottoman-era houses, atmospheric courtyards, small shops and views over the marina — the perfect place to feel where Antalya's ancient history meets its modern Mediterranean lifestyle.

• Lower & Upper Düden Waterfalls
• Kaleiçi Marina — historic harbour beneath the old city
• Hadrian's Gate — Roman monument built in 130 AD
• Kaleiçi Old Town — Ottoman-era streets and courtyards

Tour ends around 17:00, with transfer to Antalya Bus Station and departure by intercity bus at 18:00 for the next stage of the journey.

Pickup around 08:00 for the journey to Pamukkale, with the guided tour beginning around 11:00. Pamukkale means "Cotton Castle," and the name barely does justice to the landscape: white mineral terraces cascade down the hillside like frozen waterfalls, formed over thousands of years by mineral-rich thermal water depositing calcium carbonate. It is one of Turkey's most iconic sights, and one of the few places on earth where geology, thermal springs and ancient history sit directly on top of one another.

Above the terraces stands Hierapolis, once an important religious and thermal centre, with extensive ruins that reveal the scale of ancient urban life. The Roman Theatre, elevated above the site, offers dramatic views and beautifully preserved decorative detail. The Necropolis, an extensive ancient cemetery of tombs and sarcophagi, offers a fascinating window into ancient burial customs, while nearby Karahayıt's "Red Water" creates a striking mineral contrast to Pamukkale's brilliant white. For those who wish to bathe, the optional Cleopatra Antique Pool (entrance fee not included) is one of Pamukkale's most popular add-ons.

• Pamukkale Travertines — UNESCO-listed white mineral terraces
• Hierapolis Ancient City — Roman religious and thermal centre
• Roman Theatre & Necropolis of Hierapolis
• Karahayıt Red Water — distinctive mineral springs
• Optional: Cleopatra Antique Pool

Tour ends around 16:00, continuing onward toward the Aegean coast. Overnight: included as part of the transfer to Kuşadası/Selçuk region.

Hotel pickup at 09:00 for a full-day tour of one of Turkey's greatest archaeological treasures. Ephesus was one of the most important cities of the ancient Mediterranean world — a major centre of commerce, culture, religion and intellectual life — and walking its marble streets provides an extraordinary sense of connection to the civilizations that once flourished here. The Library of Celsus, with its monumental columns and elaborate façade, is perhaps the single most photographed building in Turkey, while the enormous Great Theatre, capable of seating thousands, carries real significance in early Christian history through its association with St. Paul.

On nearby Mount Koressos, the House of the Virgin Mary is regarded by Christian tradition as the place where Mary spent her final years, and remains an important pilgrimage site visited by people of many faiths. Nearby, only fragments and foundations survive of the once-celebrated Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — a powerful reminder of the scale of ancient Ephesus at its height.

• Ancient City of Ephesus — one of the best-preserved classical cities on earth
• Library of Celsus — Ephesus's iconic monumental façade
• Great Theatre of Ephesus
• House of the Virgin Mary — pilgrimage site on Mount Koressos
• Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Ephesus tour ends around 15:30 with a transfer to Selçuk Bus Station, and at 16:00 you'll depart by intercity bus toward Istanbul (approximately 9 hours, with two rest breaks). On arrival in Istanbul, you'll be transferred back to your hotel, bringing your 7-day Turkey journey to a close.