TURKEY NO PAIN BY PLAIN & TRAIN

With this tour, you can both enjoy the train journey and experience Turkey by bus and plane. You will have the chance to see the most beautiful places of Turkey from Mevlana to fairy chimneys, to Ephesus, to the historical peninsula of Istanbul.

Day 1: Arrival to Istanbul: One of our colleagues will be waiting for you at the arrival hall bearing a sign of Efendi Travel. He/she will accompany you to our vehicle and you will be transferred directly to your hotel. Accommodation in Istanbul.

Day 2: Istanbul City Tour: You will be picked up from your hotel at around 08:30. You will visit: Hagia Sophia , Blue Mosque, Roman Hippodrome Grand Bazaar After lunch you will see: Topkapi Palace , Sultan Tombs  and the tour ends about 16:30 and back to hotel Accommodation in Istanbul. (breakfast at hotel, lunch on the tour)

Please note that Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays and Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. Blue Mosque will not be visited on Fridays.

Day 3: Dolmabahce Palace Tour & Bosphorus Cruise: (check out from hotel in the morning) You will be picked up from your hotel at around 08:00-08:30 for Dolmabahce Palace & Bezmi Alem Mosque Tour. We firstly visit Dolmabahce Palace, recent residence for Ottoman Sultans. Famous with great collection of European antiquity, furniture and 4.5 tons chandelier, the palace has 285 rooms of 46 halls. After palace the next stop is Bezmi Alem Mosque. Then you will drive to the restaurant for lunch break. After lunch, you will first drive by Golden Horn shores viewing the City Walls, dating back to the Byzantine Era. Then you will get on the vehicle and drive to Eminonu, where you will get on the boat for a 2-hour Bosphorus Cruise. You will see the most impressive sights along the shores of the Bosphorus including Dolmabahce Palace, Ciragan Palace, Maiden´s Tower, Bosphorus bridges, Rumeli and Anadolu fortresses and Ottoman Residences. After the cruise, you will be dropped off back at your hotel at around 17:00.

Day 4:  Ephesus Ancient City and Virgin Mary’s House Tour: You will be picked up from your hotel in Sultanahmet or Taksim at 04:15 to be transferred to Istanbul  Airport to take 07:00 flight to Izmir. Upon your arrival, you will be greeted and transferred to Ephesus to meet with your guide and the rest of the group for full-day Ephesus Ancient City Tour. You will visit to EPHESUS which is known to be the Commercial, the Religious and the Social Center of Antiquity, and one of the Highlights of any Visit in Turkey. Ephesus is probably the best combination of Greek, Roman and Byzantine civilisations. You will visit the Fountains of Trajan, Polio, the Temples of Hadrian and Domition, the Library of Celcius, Bouloterion and the Great Theatre with a capacity of 24.000 spectators. After lunch, you will drive to Temple of Artemis (Diana), than drive to the House of the Virgin Mary. After the tour, you will be transferred to Kusadasi and drop-off at your hotel. Accommodation in Kusadasi. (lunch on the tour)

Day 5: Pamukkale Travertines and Hierapolis Ancient City: You will be picked up from your hotel at around 08:15 for the tour of Pamukkale, which is the center of natural thermal spring waters with healing properties. Due to the chemical properties in the water, pure white colored travertine and stepped water terraces have been created on the mountain slope. It is for its resemblance to cotton piles that it is called ´Cotton Castle´ in Turkish. Visit the travertine and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest Necropolis with 1200 gravestones in Anatolia. The sacred pool also is one of the highlights of the site. There shallow thermal waters ripple over a wonderful scattering of ancient roman ruins that lie beneath. After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel. Accommodation in Kusadasi (breakfast at hotel, lunch on the tour)

Day 6: Free day & Flight to Cappadocia : (check out from hotel until noon) You will be picked up from your hotel and transfer to airport to take a day flight to Kayseri. Upon your arrival, you will be met at the airport and transfer to your hotel in Cappadocia. Free day. Accommodation in Cappadocia. (breakfast at hotel)

Please note that there are limited direct flights between Kayseri and Izmir. In case there would not be suitable flight for your travel dates, a connecting flight will be arranged for you, which might incur extra costs.

Day 7: First day in Cappadocia: You will be picked up at around 09:00, then you will drive to Devrent Valley where the geographical formations remind a place of another planet. Then in Pasabagi, you will take a stroll between the amazing fairy chimneys of Cappadocia. From there, driving to Avanos to have lunch. After having the lunch you leave from Avanos to see the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art in Goreme Open Air Museum. Then you will drive to Uchisar Castle, the highest point of the region, where you will have a fabulous panoramic view over Cappadocia. You will return back to your hotel at around 17:00. Accommodation in Cappadocia. (lunch on the tour)

Day 8 : Second Day in Cappadocia: You will be picked up from your hotel at around 09:00 for a tour on a 4km hike through the Rose Valley visiting the churches. Afterwards visit the old Christian village of Cavusin. Stop for lunch in Pigeons Valley and then continue on to see the marvel of construction that is the Kaymakli Underground City. You will also visit the Ortahisar Natural Rock Castle. After the tour, you will be dropped off at your hotel at around 17:00. Accommodation in Cappadocia. (breakfast at hotel and lunch on the tour)

Day 9. : Meet the guide and driver at the hotel at 8.30. We set off with our guide and driver westward along the ancient Silk Road toward Konya, stopping for a look at the huge Sultan Han caravanserai en route. After we arrive in Konya, visit the Tomb of Rumi in the Museum of Mevlana, an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims. Then, we visit the Ottoman-era Sultan Selim mosque before having lunch in a traditional Turkish restaurant. After our lunch we drive to the Alaaddin Hill (a prehistoric tumulus) to visit the 1000-year-old Alaaddin Mosque. In its courtyard are the tombs of many of the Seljuk Turkish sultans. Walking down the north side of the Alaaddin Hill we pass the remains of the Seljuk sultan’s palace, then cross the street for a view of the elaborate portal of the InceMinareliMedrese theological college. And then Accomodation in Konya

Day 10: Transfer from your hotel to train station and then have a train to Istanbul Sogutlucesme after arrival to Train station in Istanbul have a public transportation to your hotel in Istanbul.

Day 11: You will be picked up from your hotel depending on your flight time and transferred to the airport directly for your departure flight home.

Price:

1750  EUR per person in double/twin room. If you are a single traveler, there will be a 25% single supplement surcharge.

Tour Price Includes

Accommodation in 3* hotels or similar boutique hotels

Meal services during the tour noted in the itinerary above

Transportation by major flight companies

Professional licensed guiding services

Entrance fees to the museums during guided tours

The local tours may include some shopping facilities if the timing will be available

Tour Price Excludes

Personal expenses

Dinners

Tips (optional)

Extra Offers

Whirling Dervish Show: 20 Eur per person extra

Rhythm of the Dance Show: 25 Eur per person extra

Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus: 60 Eur per person extra

Turkish Night, Dinner & Belly Dance Show: 70 Eur per person extra

Standard Hot-air Balloon Ride: 270 Eur per person extra