TURKEY TOUR  #8  (7 DAYS /8 NIGHTS)

Independent package tours from the reputable travel agency of Turkey
This package tour is available departing from Istanbul everyday in summer season

EPHESUS, PAMUKKALE, FETHIYE BOAT CRUISE, ANTALYA TOUR FROM ISTANBUL

TOUR ITINERARY  

DAY 1 :ISTANBUL

Note: Times mentioned in this itinerary can change slightly in different seasons. Specific times and further details will be informed after reservation process is completed.

20 : 00 Transfer to the bus station from our office in Sultanahmet
21 : 30 Departure to Kusadasi by bus-overnight ride, arriving next morning.
Optional: Overnight bus can be replaced with morning flight next morning, if you pay the additional cost.

DAY 2 :KUSADASI-EPHESUS

06 : 00 Arrival in Kusadasi. Check in the hotel
09 : 30-17:00 Full day tour of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary, including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Where you visit:
Ephesus - Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeum, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The Theater had seating for 25,000, was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival.
House of the Virgin Mary - The Vatican has recognized this small house in the Solmissos Mountains as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A small shrine dedicated to St. Mary was found when the ruins of the house were first discovered.
What you see along the way: From Kusadasi, you travel north to St. John’s Basilica, passing the Byzantine fortress at Selcuk and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Ephesus Open Museum then up to the House of Virgin Mary located in Bulbul Mountain. After the visit head for the upper gate of Ephesus. By the end of touring Ephesus, return to Kusadasi.
Special notes: Ephesus requires walking long distances over uneven surfaces
Dinner at hotel included
Hotel accommodation in Kusadasi (or Selcuk). Private rooms with air condition and bath/WC.
Possible hotels are Palm Hotel   Grand Onder, Derici Hotel or similar quality/location hotels to be selected by us if they are not available at the time of booking.
 

Library of Celcus	Temple of Hadrian	Virgin Mary's House

Ephesus: This ancient city is one of the best preserved of the Roman cities in the eastern Mediterranean and is a great example of Roman architecture. When the Romans made Ephesus their provincial capital, it became a busy town with great commercial, trading and political importance, A significant Christian community grew, and the city was visited by St John the Evangelist in the 1st century, then by St Paul, who was there between 51-53 AD and wrote some of his epistles. It has also been the gathering point of two Ecumenical Councils in early periods of Christianity.

House of Virgin Mary: This house, where the Virgin Mary is supposed to have lived during her last days, and to have died with Johanna at her side, is situated 7 km south of the antique city of Ephesus in Izmir. The miraculous discovery of the house is as exciting as the place itself. The German Nun Katharine Emmerich (1774-1824) had described the surroundings of the house from her dream, who had never been there. The authenticity of the house as a holly place was also confirm by visits of two previous Popes in 1967 and 1979, and the latest Pope Benedict in 2006.
 

DAY 3 : PAMUKKALE-FETHIYE

Breakfast at hotel included
08:30-17:30 Pamukkale & Hierapolis tour including transfers, entrance fees, guide
Lunch during the tour is included.
(Visiting the amazing white colored travertines, hot spring pools and water terraces have been created by nature in millions of years on the mountain slopes of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest ancient Necropolis of Turkey with 1200 gravestones)
Bus to Fethiye at the end of the tour (apprx 4 hours) and transfer to your hotel in Fethiye.
 

Bathing in pools is no more allowed	Ancient graves	Agora entrance of the ancient city

Pamukkale (Hierapolis) is one of the most enchanting and remarkable sights in the whole of Turkey with the great dazzling white plateau, almost 400 feet high, rising in a curtain of stalagmites and shallow pools, giving one into another on hundreds of different levels, and ancient city of Hierapolis located on this plateau. The great baths were constructed in the second century and are so well-preserved that they now serve as a museum. The impressive and recently restored theatre, the Martyrium of St. Philip the Apostle of the 5th century – a colonnaded street erected by Domitian, a monumental gate of the same period, another bath stretching on for over a Mile, the necropolis with a fascinating variety of tombs and sarcophagus are the famous monuments of this antique city.
 

DAY 4 - 5 - 6 : FETHIYE- OLYMPOS 4 DAY 3 NIGHTS BOAT TRIP

Cruise boats in Fethiye Harbor

After breakfast in your hotel, transfer to boats in the harbor of Fethiye located at the intersection of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas; for a gullet cruise lasting 3 nights 4 days  and covering the most beautiful coasts, islands and bays near-by.

Day 04 - Departure from Fethiye marina at around 11:00-12:00 o'clock noon time.  Stop at Samanlik bay for swimming and lunch. Move on to Butterfly Valley (Kelebekler Vadisi) where it is possible stop for swimming, shortly visiting the Blue Lagoon (Oludeniz) if the weather permits and arrive to St Nicholas Island (Gemiler Adasi) early in the evening where you will have your dinner and your boat will anchor for overnight. You can swim and visit Byzantium ruins in the island.

Day 05 - Around sunrise departure to Aquarium or Firnaz Bay near Kalkan for breakfast & swimming. Cruising to Kas where you will stop in the harbor for lunch and visit this charming fishing village. Only Lycian rock tombs & sarcophagi and the Roman theatre are left from the ancient city called Antiphellos, but the charm of the town remains up to modern times! You will stop for swimming in a bay near Kekova and stay there for dinner and overnight.

Day 06 - After breakfast your boat will depart for visiting Sunken City of Kekova Island. This Lycian- Roman archaeological site is protected and no swimming or snorkeling is allowed, so you will only see the ruins here from the boat while cruising very slowly over the sunken city. We will sail on to Kalekoy (ancient Simena) located at the mainland opposing the Kekova Island which is a typical Turkish fishing-village with no access for cars from the land. You can visit the Byzantine/Ottoman castle after lunch. In Gokkaya Bay, once the haven for pirates, water sports are available at your own expense. You can relax after dinner or party the night away at the Smugglers Inn discotheque which provides transfer for boat guests (at your own expense

Breakfast,  lunch and  dinner included during the gullet cruise
Accommodation in private single/double cabins. PS: gullet cabins have 1 double berth (bed) only.
Cruise itinerary can be changed because of technical reasons, weather conditions and local regulations.
Click here for the further details of this blue cruise
Click here for more the map of the blue cruise destinations.
 

DAY 7 : END OF CRUISE IN DEMRE, ANTALYA

After breakfast you can take a look at the Pirate's Cave before cruising to Cayagzi (Andriake) harbor near Demre arriving there at around 14:00. Yu will fist be transferred to Olympos and take a bus to Antalya, approximately 2 hours ride. Transfer to your hotel will be provided additionally.

Hotel accommodation in Antalya. Private rooms with air condition and bath/WC.
Possible hotels are: Chrystal Beach, Acropol Beach, Perla Mare or similar quality/location hotels to be selected by us if they are not available. at the time of booking.
 

DAY 8 : ANTALYA

Antalya is one of the best of Turkish cities perfectly combining historical, natural beauties also known as Turkish Riviera with many neighborhood sandy beaches and vivid night life. There are many well preserved significant ancient sights around the city which you must definitely see if you happen to visit Turkey.
Breakfast at hotel included.

Depending on your departure date from Istanbul you will join one of the following tour from Antalya:

Tour of Perge, Aspendos, Side and either Manavgat or Kursunlu Waterfall.
This tour covers the highlights of Antalya. We recommend you to adjust your departure day from Istanbul in order not to miss this tour.

If "Day 8" is Sunday, Perge Aspendos tour will be replaced with:
Termessos & Duden Waterfalls Tour.
Depart in the morning to visit Termessos ruins, located some 30 km from Antalya. We will visit Duden Waterfalls on the way back which will make the tour great combination of historical and natural beauties of Antalya region.

All tours including hotel transfers, entrance fees and lunch

Transfer to bus station, overnight bus to Istanbul arriving next morning. End of the service upon your arrival to bus station next day in the morning (Day 9)
(Optional. Evening flight to Istanbul, if you avoid another overnight bus ride and pay the difference.)

 

Antalya Aspendos Theater	Perge Hellenistic Gate	Roman columns in Side

TOUR PRICE

Departure: This tour package is departing almost everyday between below dates. Please ask !

Prices are not guaranteed in case of last minute bookings. Ask for group discount for big groups.

Prices include:
All taxes. (various fees will apply for credit card payments, about which you will be informed in advance)
Accommodation in private rooms at 3 or 4 star - or similar quality special class/boutique hotels.
Mentioned day-tours guided in English, including entrance fees for museums, transfers and lunch.
Gullet cruise with breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation in private cabins (4 days/3 nights)
All mentioned meals above in the itinerary (drinks are excluded)
Overnight transportations by non-smoking, air-conditioned new model buses
All connecting transfers in between the tour period. 



Customize this tour package:

Hotels can be upgraded to high quality 4 or 5 star or deluxe boutique hotels, if you pay the extra cost. You can tell us specific hotels you want to stay in each destination.

Flights Vs. Overnight Bus Rides
Instead of overnight bus ride on departure:
Day 2: Transfer to Airport + Istanbul-Izmir morning flight + Transfer to Ephesus tour
65-100 Euro extra cost depending on season, early reservation and number of participants.

Instead of overnight bus on return
Day 9: Transfer to airport + Antalya-Istanbul evening flight.
50-100 Euro extra cost depending on season and early reservation and number of participants.

Possible Inclusions
Airport transfers from/to hotels in Istanbul for your international flights
Hotel accommodation in Istanbul before or after the tour with special discounts.
Istanbul Daily City Tours (Private or Group Tours) with special discounts.
Extra hotel accommodation in Kusadasi, Fethiye, Olympos or Antalya if you want to extend your stay.

Click Here for other Independent tour package departing from Istanbul everyday
 

PAYMENT AND RESERVATION

Payment and reservation: Depending on season/number of participants etc, we will request 15-25 % of the total tour price in advance. We will send you necessary details by e-mail. Advance payments can be made by Pay Pal, Visa and Master and American express credit cards by mail order method or money transfer. You can pay the balance in Istanbul with credit cards or in cash, as you wish.