Itinerary

Day 1.  Istanbul

Istanbul.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Arrival. Transfer to the hotel.Welcome to Europe!!!. Upon arriving at the airport we will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts. Please, check the informative posters placed at the hotel reception area which have all the information about your upcoming services such as meeting place, time and the guide’s name.

Day 2. Istanbul

Istanbul.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Sighseeing tour. Cable car to Pierre Loti viewpoint. Topkapi Palace .Night transfer to Taksim.A sightseeing tour of the city. We find ourselves in a city built in two continents. On our tour, we will include a cable car ride up to the Pierre Loti viewpoint and we will lenter the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent (the largest in Istanbul). We will see the walls, the Golden Horn, the fishing district, and we will admire the exterior of Hagia Sofia. After the visit, we will offer tickets and a visit to the Top Kapi Palace, which was the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire, with its magnificent courtyards and its pavilions.At the end of the afternoon we will provide a transfer to the Taksim neighbourhood, the most commercialised and lively area of the city. There will be time to dine in one of its many restaurants, and you can also take the old tram that crosses the area or go to see the nearby Galata Tower.

Day 3. Istanbul

Istanbul.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Boat trip on the Bosphorus. Today we include a boat trip on the Bosphorus that will last about two hours. We will undertake the trip on a boat exclusively for Europamundo travellers. The Bosphorus is a strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which separates Istanbul into two parts: the European part and the Asian one. We will enjoy seeing the liveliness of the strait with its multitude of boats. We will pass under the two bridges that unite Europe and Asia and we will admire the palaces of the sultans, the typical wooden houses and the Ottoman villas. Free time.

Day 4. Ankara

Istanbul- Ankara- Capadocia.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: High speed train. Arrival to the fantastic Cappadocia region. Dinner included.Today we travel by train: from the station in the Asia district, we take the most modern and fast train in Turkey, a pleasant 4-hour trip through the Anatolian landscapes, perhaps having a coffee in the train café. Arrival in ANKARA. After a time to have lunch in the area of the station, travelling by bus, we will take you to discover the Mausoleum of Ataturk. After that, we will continue en route to Cappadocia. We will pass through the SALT LAKE, with its incredible landscapes. Arrival in AVANOS (CAPPADOCIA), dinner included.

Day 5. Cappadocia

Cappadocia.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: landscapes of spectacular shapes. Picturesque towns. Dinner included.Full day in the fantastic region of CAPPADOCIA, with its lunar landscapes, its churches and troglodyte villages. We will discover the GOREME Valley with its open air museum and its churches carved into the rocks, entry tickets included. We will visit UCHISAR, a natural fortress. In KAIMACLI we will visit the underground city that could house 30,000 people. Returning to Avanos we stop at PASABAG, the valley of the fairies, we will walk in this spectacular natural area. Free time and dinner included.

Day 6.  Konya

Cappadocia- Ihlara- Konya.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Ihlara Valley, Caravanserai, Konya. Dinner included. At the far end of Cappadocia, we will visit the IHLARA Valley; known for the freshness of its waters, its churches and villages excavated in the rock. Then we continue our route, with a stop in an old CARAVANSERAI from the 13th Century before arriving in KONYA where we visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana. Here we will learn about the sect of the Dervishes (entrance included). Dinner included. At night, we suggest that you attend the dance performance of the whirling dervishes in the cultural centre.

Day 7. Pamukkale

Konya- Egridir-Pamukkale.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fantastic Cotton Castle at the end of the day. Dinner included. We take a scenic road between the lakes, and get to know EGRIDIR, a beautiful town next to a large lake, with its walls and mosques. There’s time to have lunch. We then continue to PAMUKKALE-Hierapolis, whose calcareous waters have created the Cotton Castle (entrance included). Dinner included.

Day 8. Kusadasi

Pamukkale- Ephesus- Kusadasi.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Ephesus. Dinner included. We leave for EPHESUS, the best preserved ancient city of Asia Minor; 2000 years ago it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. We see the house of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of Saint John and the impressive ruins of Ephesus (entrance included). We then go on to KUSADASI, a popular coastal town with a lot of atmosphere, commercial life and a small castle. Dinner included.

Day 9.  Kusadasi

Kusadasi- Izmir- Bursa- Istambul.-TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Interior of Anatolia. Hanging bridges crossing the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus Strait. We leave for the city with the fourth largest population in Turkey: IZMIR. We see the church of Saint Polycarp, the oldest in the city, which reminds us of the importance of this area in early Christianity (entrance included). We then return to inland Turkey. Stop en route for lunch before reaching BURSA, the fourth largest city in Turkey, whose historic centre has been declared UNESCO World Heritage, with its traditional commercial districts, mosques, religious schools, public baths … The green mosque stands out. Arrival in ISTANBUL at the end of the day. End of our services. Please, check the time of your flight in case you might need an additional night