Istanbul & Turkey: 10-Day Tour with Cappadocia & Ephesus by Plane

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/23

Duration10d

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Ten Days Across Four Regions: Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale & Cappadocia

You spend ten days moving between Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Antalya, and Cappadocia by domestic plane, staying in three- and two-night blocks at each region. Your guide handles the route, timing, and skip-the-line access to major sites; you pay entry fees in cash on the day. The itinerary covers four of Turkey's most significant historical and natural landmarks without requiring you to arrange flights, hotels, or transportation logistics yourself.

10d

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival to Istanbul

Arrive at Istanbul Ataturk Airport
Meet and drive to hotel

Day 2 — Treasures of Istanbul

Visit Hagia Sophia
Explore Basilica Cistern
See Blue Mosque
Walk around Hippodrome
Shop at Grand Bazaar
Tour Topkapi Palace

Day 3 — Bosphorus Cruise and Flight to Izmir

Breakfast and hotel check-out
Visit Spice Bazaar
Take Bosphorus Cruise
Drive to airport
Fly to Izmir
Meet driver and transfer to hotel

Day 4 — Ancient Ephesus Tour

Visit House of Virgin Mary
Explore Ancient Ephesus
See Temple of Artemis

Day 5 — Pamukkale Tour and Travel to Antalya

Visit Pamukkale Thermal Pools
Tour ancient city of Hierapolis
Drive to Antalya and check-in

Day 6 — Antalya City Tour

Enjoy boat tour instead of cable car
Visit Duden Waterfalls
Lunch with panoramic view
Explore Antalya Old Town (Kaleici)

Day 7 — Flight to Cappadocia

Drive to Antalya Airport
Fly to Kayseri
Meet driver and transfer to hotel

Day 8 — Underground Cities of Cappadocia

Visit Rose Valley
Explore Red Valley and rock churches
Walk in Pigeon Valley
Tour Kaymakli Underground City
Visit Uchisar town

Day 9 — Fairy Chimneys and Flight to Istanbul

Check out and visit Goreme Open-Air Museum
Explore Devrent Valley
Visit Monks Valley (Pasabagi)
Lunch and pottery in Avanos
See Goreme Panorama
Visit Uchisar Castle
Drive to Kayseri Airport
Fly to Istanbul
Meet driver and transfer to hotel

Day 10 — Departure Day

Breakfast and hotel check-out
Drive to Istanbul Airport
End of service

The Experience

There's something about standing in a place where three empires once ruled that makes you want to slow down and actually look. Istanbul does that to you on day two, when you move through Hagia Sophia—a building so massive it held the title of largest on earth for centuries, second only to the Egyptian Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. You'll walk the Basilica Cistern next, descend into cool underground chambers, then surface at the Blue Mosque with its six minarets rising against the sky. The Spice Bazaar hits differently when you're there in person: cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint filling the air so thick you can taste it. A half-day Bosphorus cruise follows, and you'll see the waterway that splits Europe from Asia lined with marble palaces, wooden villas, and fortresses. Then you fly to Izmir the same afternoon.

Ephesus is the kind of place that rewires how you think about "old." Walking the ancient streets—past the third-largest library of the ancient world, past the largest Roman theatre on the Asian continent—you're moving through a city that once held 250,000 people in the first century AD. It's the best-preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean, which means the stones still tell their story. You'll visit the House of the Virgin Mary, built on foundations from the first century, and the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After Ephesus, you drive to Pamukkale, where thermal pools cascade down white limestone terraces at 35 degrees Celsius. The water contains calcium bicarbonate; it's been considered healing since ancient times, making this the earliest spa on earth. UNESCO declared it a world heritage site. You'll swim in the Sacred Pool, where Roman ruins sit beneath shallow thermal water.

Antalya gives you a different rhythm. The cable car up Tunektepe (closed for maintenance, so you'll take a one-hour boat tour instead) shows you the coastline, mountains, and turquoise Mediterranean from 1,365 meters. Duden waterfalls are the most visited in the region—you walk through the park and listen to the water. Lunch comes at a local restaurant with panoramic views, then you have an hour or so to wander the old town, Kaleici, with its narrow stone streets, Hadrian's Gate, the Clock Tower, and the Truncated Minaret. It's the kind of place where you find souvenirs you actually want.

Cappadocia is where the landscape stops making sense in the best way. You'll see the Rose Valley and Red Valley, where pink-tinted sandstone glows at sunset. Pigeon Valley earned its name from thousands of dovecotes carved into soft volcanic rock. Kaymakli Underground City once sheltered 15,000 Christians across eight stories connected by 30 kilometers of corridors—you'll walk through ancient bedrooms, churches, meeting halls, and food storage rooms. The Göreme Open-Air Museum holds rock-cut churches from the ninth century with colorful frescoes still visible on the walls. Devrent Valley looks like a sculpture zoo made by nature, with animal-shaped rocks everywhere. In Avanos, you'll have a traditional Turkish lunch and try pottery-making with local experts. Uchisar Castle, the natural highest rock formation, offers one of the best panoramic views of the fairy chimneys before you fly back to Istanbul for your final night.

The tour runs ten days total, with three nights in Istanbul, two in Kusadasi (near Ephesus), two in Antalya, and two in Cappadocia. Domestic flights are included if you choose that option at booking—otherwise you arrange your own. All transfers from airports, meals as listed in the itinerary, and an air-conditioned vehicle with a local guide are included. Entry tickets to historical sites are paid separately in cash (Lira, USD, or Euro) to your guide, who carries pre-paid skip-the-line passes to keep you out of long queues. Children eight and under get free entry to most sites. Note that Topkapi Palace closes Tuesdays (the Turkish Islamic Art Museum is visited instead) and the Grand Bazaar closes Sundays.

What’s included

Your ten-day tour includes accommodation for nine nights across four cities (three nights in Istanbul, two in Kusadasi, two in Antalya, two in Cappadocia), domestic flight tickets if you select the included option, all airport and hotel transfers, land transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, meals as outlined in the itinerary (including a traditional Turkish lunch and pottery-making in Avanos), and a local expert guide throughout.
Entry tickets to historical sites are paid separately in cash to your guide, who provides pre-paid skip-the-line passes.
Children eight and under receive free entry to most sites.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Tour Altinkum Travel

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to see Turkey's four major regions—Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Cappadocia—in one trip without arranging flights, hotels, or transport yourself. The fixed itinerary and included guide handle the logistics, which is what makes a ten-day journey across multiple regions possible without the planning burden.