Istanbul Trip Overview
Start and end in Istanbul!
With the In-depth Cultural tour of Eastern Turkey In 11 Days. You have an 11 days tour package taking you through Istanbul, Cappadocia, and 8 other destinations in Turkey. Includes accommodation, flights, an expert guide, insurance, meals, transport, and more.
Additional Info
Duration: 11 days
Starts: Istanbul, Turkey
Trip Category: Air, Helicopter & Balloon Tours >> Air Tours
Explore Istanbul Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Istanbul, Turkey, Turkey
Start and end in Istanbul!
With the In-depth Cultural tour of Eastern Turkey In 11 Days. You have an 11 days tour package taking you through Istanbul, Cappadocia, and 8 other destinations in Turkey. Includes accommodation, flights, an expert guide, insurance, meals, transport, and more.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Istanbul – Airport Transfer
Stop At: Istanbul, Istanbul
Welcome to Istanbul. Our driver will meet you at the airport. You will be transferred to your hotel.
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Istanbul – Recital Hotel (or similar)
Day 2: Jewels of Istanbul
Stop At: Dolmabahce Palace, Visnezade Mahallesi Dolmabahce Cd, Istanbul 34357 Turkey
After you meet with your guide at the hotel, you will visit Dolmabahce Palace which was built in the 19th century and is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world. It was the administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire with the last of Ottoman Sultans was residing there.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Camlica Hill, Turistik Camlica Cd. Uskudar, Istanbul Turkey
After Dolmabahce Palace, you will pass across the Bosphorus by driving and reach Camlica Hill on the Asian Continent side of Istanbul. You can see the Bosphorus, two of the bridges which link each side of Istanbul, the Old City of Istanbul, and more.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Bosphorus Strait, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
You will take a boat to the Bosphorus Strait for about 1 and a half hours. During your tour, you will see more palaces, mansions, and famous restaurants just on the side of the Bosphorus.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Pierre Loti Tepesi, Idris Kosku Cad. Eyup, Istanbul 34050 Turkey
A flyover by Cable Car to enjoy the beautiful view of Golden Horn from Pierre Loti hill.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Misir Carsisi (Spice Market), Rustem Pasa Mahallesi, Erzak Ambari Sok. No:92 Eminonu – Fatih, Istanbul 34116 Turkey
The Spice Bazaar is one of the largest bazaars in the city. Located in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Istanbul – Recital Hotel Sultanahmet (or similar)
Day 3: Explore the Old City & Fly to Cappadocia
Stop At: Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultan Ahmet, Ayasofya MeydanI No:1, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
Hagia Sophia is a Late Antique place of worship in Istanbul, designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. Built-in 537 as the patriarchal cathedral of the imperial capital of Constantinople, it was the largest Christian church of the eastern Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire) and the Eastern Orthodox Church, except during the Latin Empire from 1204 to 1261, when it became the city’s Latin Catholic cathedral. In 1453, after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. In 1935, the secular Turkish Republic established it as a museum. In 2020, it re-opened as a mosque.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Topkapi Palace, Cankurtaran Mahallesi Gulhane Park, Near Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
The Topkapı Palace is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it served as the main residence and administrative headquarters of the Ottoman sultans.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mah At Meydani Cad No 7, Istanbul 34122 Turkey
Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah, and a hospice.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Hippodrome, Binbirdirek, Sultan Ahmet ParkI No:2, Istanbul Turkey
Hippodrome of Constantinople is a square in Istanbul, Turkey. Previously, it was a circus that was the sporting and social center of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos, horse, and dromos, path or way. For this reason, it is sometimes also called Atmeydanı (“Horse Square”) in Turkish. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine eras.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Grand Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world’s most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls in the world.
Duration: 1 hour
Pass By: Cappadocia, Cappadocia
After the old city tour in Istanbul, you will be transferred to the airport and take a flight to Cappadocia.
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cappadocia – heaven Cave Hotel (or similar)
Day 4: Explore Cappadocia – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Devrent Valley, Devrent Mevkii No:1 Urgup Yolu, 50500 Turkey
After Breakfast at the hotel, we start to explore the Cappadocia region. We start with Devrent Valley (also spelled as Dervent Valley) reveals many different rock formations and is only a 10-minute drive from Goreme. The small fairy chimneys in the valley form a lunar landscape, or moonscape, by their strange look. The valley also has many animal-shaped rocks.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Pasabag, Urgup Turkey
Then we pass through Pasabag or Pasha’s Vineyard is situated on the Zelve road between the popular town of Goreme and traditional pottery-making town Avanos. Here you can find spectacular cone topped rock pillars known as Fairy Chimneys standing tall throughout the vineyard, Pasha was a in important officer in Ottoman times when the region was captured. However Pasabag is more commonly known as Monks Valley, it earned its name from the many monk refuges carved into the soft rock cones.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Avanos, Avanos, Cappadocia
Drive to the city of Avanos. The most famous historical feature of Avanos, which is still relevant and very visible today, is its production of earthenware pottery; it is also the most economic activity in the town. The ceramic trade in this district and its countless pottery factories date right back to the Hittites, and the ceramic clay from the red silt of the Kızılırmak has always been used. It is a popular destination because of its attractive old town with cobbled streets, and views over the river.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Goreme Open-Air Museum, Merkez, Muze Cd., Goreme 50180 Turkey
In the afternoon visit another beautiful open air museum at Göreme where the remains of rock-cut churches and Christian settlements date back hundreds of years.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Uchisar Castle, Uchisar Turkey
Lastly, before returning to your hotel, visit the natural castles at Uchisar. After the tour, we will be back at our hotel.
Duration: 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cappadocia – Heaven Cave Hotel (or similar)
Day 5: Explore Cappadocia – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Gulludere Vadisi, Goreme Belediyesi, Goreme 50180 Turkey
After having breakfast at the hotel, we will again depart for a full day Cappadocia tour. Depart from your hotel to visit Red valley, and explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike 5 km through the Güllüdere valley.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Çavuşin, 50502 Çavuşin/Avanos/Nevşehir, Turkey
Then visit Çavuşin village. This village is famous for the houses and churches of Christian clergymen.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Pigeon Valley, Uchisar KasabasI Nevşehir Kapadokya, Goreme 50240 Turkey
After lunch Drive to the pigeon valley. Pigeon Valley is a lovely valley located near Uchisar town named after the thousands of pigeon houses carved into the soft tufa since ancient times and offers another spectacular panoramic view over Cappadocia together with the spectacular views of the dovecotes.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Kaymakli Underground City, Derinkuyu Turkey
In the afternoon visit Kaymaklı underground city. Where early Christians lived in fear and faith.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Cappadocia – Heaven Cave Hotel (or similar)
Day 6: Drive Nemrut – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Mount Nemrut, Adiyaman 50100 Turkey
Today after breakfast drive to Adıyaman. It will take around 4 hours to arrive. After arrival has lunch and then start to visit Mount Nemrut. On the way to Mount Nemrut, You will visit Karakus Tumulus, Cendere Bridge, and Artemia. You will see one of the best Sunset in the world from the top of the Nemrut. You can have a chance to taste Syrian wine here. Today you will have an amazing experience in your life.
Duration: 3 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight in Adiyaman
Day 7: Diyarbakır & Mardin – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: City Walls, Diyarbakir Turkey
Today you will visit Diyarbakır, another ancient settlement; at 5000 years old is one of the oldest cities in the world. An overwhelmingly Kurdish city Diyarbakir is famed for its ancient city walls; constructed by the Romans, the current walls, built of massive black basalt blocks are, after the great wall of China, the longest continuous defensive wall in the world.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Grand Mosque, Cami Kebir, Pirincler Sk. 10 A, Diyarbakir 21300 Turkey
We will visit also one of the oldest and important mosques in the Muslim World. Ulu Camii.
Duration: 30 minutes
Pass By: Mardin, Mardin, Mardin Province
From Diyarbakir, we continue to Mardin, located on a high hill overlooking the plains of southern Turkey.
Meals included:
• Lunch
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Mardin
Day 8: Mardin & Gobekli Tepe & Urfa – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Deyrulzafaran Monastery, Alimli Turkey
After breakfast, we will visit Deir-Al-Zafaran (the Saffron Monastery), the center of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchy, and still an active monastery. The site of the Saffron monastery has been a sacred place for thousands of years.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Gobekli Tepe, Dağeteği Mahallesi, Sanliurfa 63290 Turkey
From Mardin proceed to the ongoing archaeological dig at Gobekli Tepe. Although not widely known amongst the general public Gobekli Tepe is probably one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight Urfa
Day 9: Harran & Halfeti – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Harran, Harran, Sanliurfa Province
Today we leave from Urfa and drive to Antep. On the way, we will visit Harran. Harran is one of the science centers of the world. First University in the world was built here. Harran is also famous for house type.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Halfeti, Halfeti, Sanliurfa Province
Today we will have a boat trip to Halfeti/Birecik and you will have nice panoramic views here.
Duration: 2 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight Gaziantep
Day 10: Gaziantep & Fly Back to Istanbul – Full Day Guided Tour
Stop At: Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Mithatpasa Mahallesi Haci Sani Konukoglu Bulvari Sehitkamil, Gaziantep 27500 Turkey
We will visit the mosaic museum in Antep. Antep is another ancient Roman city and the mosaic museum will surprise you.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Gaziantep, Gaziantep, Gaziantep Province
You will have a chance to taste Gaziantep Baklava. Baklava the world-famous Turkish Dessert is from Antep.
Duration: 1 hour
Pass By: Istanbul, Istanbul
Afternoon we will take you to the airport and you fly back to Istanbul.
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight Istanbul
Day 11: Departure from TURKEY – Airport Transfer
Pass By: Istanbul, Istanbul
After the tour, we will transfer you to the Istanbul Airport and take your international flight back home.
Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.
