In supplier order. Some entries may cover multiple days; optional experiences are described by the supplier.
Sample itinerary. Choose a departure for its exact itinerary and hotel plan.
Day 1 — Fly to Istanbul
Fly from London (regional connections available) with Turkish Airlines. Check into your hotel and enjoy a welcome dinner.
Meals: dinner
Day 2 — Istanbul
Take a walking tour of the city, stopping at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace, among other sights.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3 — Istanbul
Tour the Egyptian Bazaar, the secondlargest covered market in Istanbul; and continue to the Grand Bazaar, the world’s largest covered souk. Try Turkish coffee in one of the city’s old coffeehouses. Later, join a local imam for a private visit to a mosque from the Ottoman period.
Meals: breakfast
Day 3.1 — Transfer: Istanbul to Canakkale
Day 4 — Canakkale
Drive to Canakkale and tour the Gallipoli battlefield, site of the aborted Allied invasion of 1915. Visit Cape Helles, Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 4.1 — Transfer: Canakkale to Dikili (Izmir)
Day 5 — Troy - Pergamon - Izmir
Visit Troy to see the legendary walls and a replica of the wooden Trojan Horse. Travel on to Pergamon, a Greco-Roman city of exceptional beauty. Lunch is served near Pergamon, where you will be divided into small groups and join local families for a home-cooked meal.
Meals: breakfast, lunch
Day 5.1 — Transfer: Dikili (Izmir) to Kusadasi
Day 6 — Kusadasi - Ephesus
Tour Ephesus, home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Walk the city’s Marble Road to the Temple of Artemis, the Temple of Hadrian, the Library of Celsus, and the Great Theatre of Ephesus.
Meals: breakfast, lunch
Day 7 — Kusadasi - Magnesia
Visit the city of Magnesia, which rose to prominence in 400 BC. Enjoy a private lecture from the archaeologists overseeing excavations, as well as exclusive access to the areas not normally open to the public.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 7.1 — Transfer: Kusadasi to Konya
Day 8 — Hierapolis - Konya
Visit Hierapolis and explore its necropolis, as well as the Gate of Domitianus and Byzantine Baths. Drive to Konya and visit the Mausoleum of Mevlâna, built in 1274 to house the tomb of the Sufi poet and founder of the Mevlevi Order.
Meals: breakfast
Day 8.1 — Transfer: Konya to Cappadocia
Day 9 — Cappadocia
Drive to Cappadocia, stopping en route at the Sultanhani Caravanserai, a rest station along the ancient Silk Road. Tour Özkonak Underground City, a fascinating ancient settlement built into the side of Cappadocia’s Mount Idis. Later, visit a local Cappadocian family at their traditional stone house.
Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 10 — Cappadocia
Take an optional, dawn hot-air balloon ride over Cappadocia’s striking landscape (£365 per person). Tour the monastic centre of Göreme; move on to Pasabag Valley, to admire tower-shaped hermitages; stop at Uchisar, a rock-carved citadel with panoramic views. The final stop is Avanos, an ancient town best known for its red clay pottery, which you can see being made in a local studio.
Meals: breakfast, lunch
Day 11 — Fly home
Transfer to the airport; fly home.
Meals: breakfast