Istanbul to Cappadocia & Ephesus: 7-Day Turkey Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/7

Duration7d

GroupUp to 20

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Four Turkish regions in seven days: Istanbul's bazaars, Cappadocia's underground cities, Ephesus's ancient temples, Pamukkale's thermal pools

You arrive in Istanbul and skip the airport scramble; a guide meets you and walks you through the week. Over seven days you visit Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar, fly to Cappadocia to explore underground cities and fairy-chimney valleys, tour Ephesus's ancient temples and the House of the Virgin Mary, and soak in Pamukkale's thermal pools. All flights, hotels, meals, entrance fees and ground transport are included, so you move through four regions without arranging any of it yourself.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive and relax in Istanbul

Arrive in Istanbul
Meet representative and transfer to hotel
Check in and relax
Meet travel consultant for tour briefing

Day 2 — Istanbul Old City walking tour

Breakfast at hotel
Pick up from hotel by guide
Visit Hagia Sophia
Visit Blue Mosque
Visit Hippodrome and monuments
Visit Grand Bazaar
Visit Topkapi Palace
Transfer to airport
Fly to Cappadocia
Overnight in Cappadocia

Day 3 — North Cappadocia sightseeing tour

Pick up from hotel
Visit Goreme Panorama
Visit Uchisar Castle
Visit Pasabag Valley
Visit Dervent Valley
Visit Goreme Open Air Museum
Visit Kizilirmak River
Visit Urgup and Avanos pottery towns
Return to hotel
Free time in Cappadocia

Day 4 — South Cappadocia tour and balloon ride

Optional hot air balloon ride
Breakfast and hotel check-out
Visit Ortahisar Castle
Visit Love Valley
Hike in Red Valley
Visit Cavusin Village
Visit Kaymakli Underground City
Return to hotel

Day 5 — Ephesus ancient city tour

Breakfast at hotel
Pick up by tour guide
Visit Temple of Artemis
Visit Ephesus Ancient City
Visit Hadrian Temple and Celsus Library
Visit Theater and Hamams
Lunch at local restaurant
Visit House of Virgin Mary
Transfer to hotel in Kusadasi

Day 6 — Pamukkale and Hierapolis tour

Breakfast at hotel
Pick up from hotel
Visit Hierapolis Ancient City
Visit Cleopatra’s Antique Pool
Visit White Travertine Terraces
Optional bath in hot springs
Return to hotel in Kusadasi

Day 7 — Departure from Istanbul

Breakfast at hotel
Transfer to Istanbul airport
Self check-in for flight
End of service

The Experience

You land in Istanbul and a representative meets you at the airport. No taxi negotiation, no hotel search — you're transferred straight to your boutique hotel, checked in, and by evening your travel consultant walks you through the week ahead. Day two starts early: a full walking tour of the Old City takes you through Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern (built in 532 to store water for the Byzantine palace), and the Grand Bazaar with its nearly 4,000 shops. By afternoon you're at the airport again, heading to Cappadocia on the first of three domestic flights included in the package.

Cappadocia hits differently when you arrive. The landscape is volcanic rock carved into fairy chimneys and valleys — Devrent Valley looks like someone sculpted it, Monks Valley (Pasabag) has formations that seem to defy geology. Your guide takes you through Göreme's open-air museum and the underground city of Kaymakli, which spreads across several floors and once sheltered people fleeing catastrophe. You walk through Cavusin Village, where cave houses built between the 3rd and 13th centuries still line the hillside. There's time to try pottery in Avanos if you want, or simply stand in the landscape and let it register. The hotel is a cave hotel — not a gimmick, just the way things are built here.

Ephesus comes next, a full day walking the ruins where the Temple of Artemis once stood (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). You see the Celsus Library, the theater, the old harbor. Lunch is in a local restaurant, then you visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where she spent her final years and which the Vatican recognizes as a pilgrimage site. The drive to Pamukkale takes time but the road is good and the landscape keeps changing. Pamukkale itself is the white travertine terraces cascading down the mountainside — you can walk them, swim in Cleopatra's Antique Pool (fed by hot springs), or just photograph the geometry of it.

The last morning you're transferred back to Istanbul airport according to your flight time. Six nights in boutique hotels, breakfast every day, five lunches, all entrance fees, all three flights, and a licensed guide throughout — it's the kind of itinerary where you don't spend mental energy on logistics. The 7-day Turkey tour moves you through four regions without backtracking, and the fixed schedule is what makes that possible in a week.

What’s included

Your package includes six nights in boutique hotels (Zeynep Sultan, Black Tulip, Olimpiyat, Golden Horn Sirkeci in Istanbul.
Garden Inn, Milagre Cave, Holiday Cave, or Ascension in Cappadocia.
Istankoy or Ilayda in Kusadasi), all breakfasts, five lunches, one dinner and a meet-and-greet reception, three domestic flights (Istanbul–Cappadocia, Cappadocia–Ephesus, Pamukkale–Istanbul), all entrance fees to Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, Cappadocia's open-air museums and underground cities, Ephesus's ancient temples and library, and Pamukkale's travertine terraces, a professional licensed tour guide for all walking tours and site visits, all transfers from the airport on arrival and departure, and all domestic taxes. Vegetarian meals are available upon request.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Tours Turkey

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see Turkey's four main regions in one week without arranging flights, hotels, meals or entry tickets yourself — the fixed itinerary and included transport are what make four destinations fit into seven days.