Highlights

Visit the historical Gallipoli peninsula and more on this 11 day organized tour. Be wowed at the lunar landscape and cave churches of Cappadocia. Enjoy the natural spa waters of the white cotton castle called Pamukkale and enjoy touring the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus. 

Tour Itinerary

  • Days: 11
  • Starting Point: Istanbul
  • Ending Point: Istanbul
  • No Booking Fees

Pick up from the airport and transfer to your hotel by private car. Overnight stay in Istanbul.

  • Destination: Istanbul
  • Legend:

Pick up from your hotel & visit Haghia Sophia, Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar and Topkapi Palace (Harem & Aya Irini included). Overnight stay in Istanbul.

  • Destination: Istanbul
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & enjoy the Bosphorus by Boat. Visit the Spice Bazaar, Beylerbeyi Palace, Bosphorus Bridge and Camlica Hill. Overnight stay in Istanbul.

  • Destination: Istanbul
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & drive (4.5 hours) south to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Hear expert information from a local guide. Visit the Kabatepe War Museum, the intended landing place at Brighton Beach and Anzac Cove where the Dawn Service is held each year. Also visit the NZ Memorial at Chunuk Bair, the Australian Memorial at Lone Pine, and the Turkish Memorial as well. Overnight in Canakkale. Note: Enough time is spent in Gallipoli to visit all the sites mentioned above.

  • Destination: Gallipoli
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & morning tour of the ruins of the ancient cities of Troy (1 hour drive from Canakkale). Lunch break. In the afternoon, drive to Kusadasi, stopping at the beautiful ruins of Pergamon on the way (2 hours drive). These stunning ruins, beautifully located on a hill top, demonstrate that the architects and sculptors of Pergamon were among the most talented in the Hellenistic world. Final drive to Kusadasi will be 2.5 hours. Overnight in Kusadasi.

  • Destination: Pergamon & Troy
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & visit the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. Then visit Ephesus Ancient City, the best-preserved Greco-Roman city in the world. Here you will explore the Agora, Odeon, Celsius Library, Hadrian Temple, Roman Baths, Grand Theatre & Marble Street. After a lunch break, visit the House of Virgin Mary, where she is thought to have spent her final years. Overnight stay in Kusadasi.

  • Destination: Ephesus
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & morning drive (2.5 hours) to Pamukkale, then lunch. In the afternoon, tour the 'Cotton Castle.' Bring swimwear as you may have time to swim in the Antique Pool (extra fee applies.) Also visit the ancient ruins of the City of Hierapolis with its theatre and Necropolis. After the tour, transfer to Kusadasi. Overnight in Kusadasi.

  • Destination: Pamukkale
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from your hotel & transfer to the airport for your flight Cappadocia (maybe via Istanbul.) On arrival, transfer to your hotel. Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

  • Destination: Cappadocia
  • Legend: B

05:00 Hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia (Optional Extra - please contact us for price) Hotel pickup, then a quick snack and safety briefing. Watching the balloon inflate, then you're off! Soaring over fairy chimneys, and dipping low to skim cave dwellings. This may be your favourite part of your Turkey trip - it will certainly be unforgettable. Celebrate a soft landing with a quick drink, and return to your hotel for breakfast around 8.30am. Full Day Cappadocia Tour - (North) Pick up from your hotel & tour start from Devrent Valley (Imagination Valley), spectacular fairy chimneys and beautiful and scapes. After Devrent valley, we will visit Pasabag (known as Monk valley) where we will see double and triple headed rock formations. Lunch at Avanos, famous for pottery and Redriver (Kızılırmak). After lunch, you will visit Goreme open air museum which is in the heart of Cappadocia. Open air museum famous for wall painting, dates back to 10th century describing the life of Jesus Christ and monks. The last stop will be the Uchisar castle, natural and one of the biggest mass fairy chimney of the region. Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

  • Destination: Cappadocia
  • Legend: B, L

Full Day Cappadocia Tour - (South) Pick up from your hotel & tour starts with Red valley. Explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike through the colourful and breath taking fairy chimneys. After 4 kms hiking, you will visit Cavusin (Greek village), famous for rock cut churches. After lunch, you will visit the one of the magical places of the region, the largest underground city of Cappadocia. After the underground city, you will visit the pigeon valley famous for dovecotes. The last stop is Ortahisar castle, one of the biggest mass fairy chimney of Cappadocia. After the tour, transfer to airport for your flight back to Istanbul. Overnight stay in Istanbul.

  • Destination: Cappadocia
  • Legend: B, L

Pick up from the hotel according to your flight schedule and transfer to the airport.

  • Destination: Istanbul
  • Legend: B


You can customize this trip with additional days! Slow the pace with rest days in locations of your choice, or add additional sightseeing days along the route.

Tour Map

Tour Details

  • In Brief

    Small Group Tour (8 to 12 with a maximum of 16). Due to popular request! This tour has the no-nonsense efficiency of our Best of Turkey tour, but includes Gallipoli and Troy as well.

  • Special Features

    Great for Australians and Kiwis. We can add days or tailor this one to your preference. Great boutique hotels. This tour is also available on private basis.

  • What's Included

    - All accommodation as per the itinerary
    - Professional English speaking guide on tours
    - All flight tickets mentioned in the itinerary
    - All transportation & transfers
    - All meals mentioned in the itinerary
    - All museum and entrance fees where necessary
    - All Local taxes
    - Wifi available at all our hotels

  • What's Not Included

    - International airfares
    - Drinks with meals
    - Optional Hot Air Balloon Flight (time and availability to be confirmed at the time of booking)
    - Travel Insurance, visas or passports
    - Tips & Personal Expenses

Hotels

Departure Date

Not available for departure through Anzac Day.

  • Start Date
    Finish Date
    Day / Days / Every Day
  • Start Date: 01.01.2024
    Finish Date: 31.12.2024
    Day / Days / Every Day: Every Day

Price List

  • Start
    Finish
    Single
    Double/Twin PP
    Triple PP
  • Start: 01.01.2024
    Finish: 31.12.2024
    Single: 4,966 AUD
    Double/Twin PP: 3,935 AUD
    Triple PP: 3,420 AUD

Book Now / Enquiry

If you are traveling with children, please send us an enquiry through the below form for costing and further information.



Reviews

Helen

Australia

Initially I was hesitant to travel to Turkey due to unfavourable coverage about Turkey in the media and the issues with Syria. My husband was very keen and suggested that we look at an organised tour for safety and hence we made our booking with TTC. From our first dealings with Michael at TTC, the entire process was highly professional and the customer service exceptional, including immediate responses to email queries and bookings. Once on the tour, the accommodation used was of a very high standard. All daily pickups were reconfirmed the night previously so we never had any issues with transportation. However it was the daily guides who really made the trip such a success. We had a range of small groups and private guides and all were friendly, professional and extremely passionate about their jobs. In particular, our guide Apo for the Anzac tour in Gallipoli was exceptional. We would have no hesitation in recommending TTC to anyone considering a trip to Turkey and indeed plan to travel back to Turkey with them in the future. Attached is a favourite photo from the Anzac tour in Gallipoli Kind regards, Helen 

Read More

Rosalie Dolliver

Turkey

We had the privilege and luck to choose Turkey Travel Centre (TTC) to plan and organise our 10 amazing days spent in and around Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cappadocia. Not once did we need to confirm the next tour hotel pick up or transfer, instead the hotel or previous tour guide would remind us what was happening next. All hotels were great and indicative of the area ( not a generic building that could be anywhere in the world) andstaff there went out of their way to be helpful. The tour guides were informative, fun, patient and easily understood. TTC understood what we were wanting to see and delivered- and when I emailed a query prior and during the trip they responded the same day - seven days a week, via phone or email. Thanks TTC you made our holiday a delight ! Ron & Rosalie 

Read More

Heather Farmer

Australia

To Michael and your wonderful team thank you so much for organising the holiday of a lifetime to Turkey. Arrangements were perfect, the boutique hotels outstanding and our amazing guide Mehmet was so knowledgeable and truly loved his job, making our experience all the more special. I have no hesitation in recommending your agency to anyone considering a trip to this amazing country. Thank you all again. 

Read More

John Brandham

Australia

Hello Michael I just wanted to send you a quick email to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed our adventures in Turkey and to let you know (although I am sure you already do) what a wonderful guide you have in Mehmet. Throughout the trip he was very knowledgable and an extremely fine representative for both your company and for Turkey. The trip went off without a single problem and nothing was too much for us to ask of either Mehmet or John the driver. I will make sure I recommend your company to anyone I know who intends to travel to Turkey for a holiday. Best regards John and Trish Brandham

Read More

Kerry Rose

Sydney Australia

To Michael, Ihsan and all of our TTC guides and drivers. A huge congratulations for providing such a wonderful personalised tour. We followed the recommendation of friends who had travelled with TTC previously and have since recommended TTC to others who have been equally impressed.We added a few days onto the Best of Turkey Plus Gallipoli tour. Places of interest, hotels, transport and transfer arrangements and wonderful guides who were so knowledgeable but had the added facility of being great story tellers made our time in Turkey absolutely fabulous. No problem was too small and the personalised attention from Ihsan in Istanbul was to be commended. Thank you. Kerry Rose and Rosemary Saur 

Read More

Elaine

Melbourne

Hello Ihsan, I would like to thank you, your agency and network of tour guides for the excellent experience I had while in Turkey. Everything was rather seemless, which was very important to me as a woman travelling solo. I very much appreciated meeting you, and the exchanges we had both by phone and email. You have been very professional and obviously enjoy your work. Elaine

Read More

Blogs

A Tour of Cappadocia and Pamukkale

Turkey has some of the best natural wonders of the world. Two of them are the fairy chimneys of the Cappadocian landscape and the white calcium pools of Pamukkale.

Both are gorgeous sites that should be seen at least once in a lifetime. They defy belief and certainly make a holiday more interesting than your average beach package tour. Let’s take a look at what makes them so special.

Touring Cappadocia and Pamukkale

Cappadocia is the land of the Hittites with heritage steeped in history and culture of people who made their homes from caves. Also previously ruled by the Persian, Romans and Byzantine Empires, its importance was as a major contributor to the beginning and spread of Christianity.

Today, visitors can look over the landscape of Cappadocia and see the caves and fairy chimneys that communities were formed around. The Goreme Open air museum was a centre of importance for converted Christians to hide from the Romans in secret caves and hundreds of underground cities protected the citizens from invading forces.

These days, the citizens do not bear the troubles of their ancestors. Invasions are outdated, replaced instead by a worldwide reputation for an unbelievable landscape that is ideally viewed from a hot air balloon just as the sun is rising.

After a short tour in Cappadocia, the next place to head to is the white calcium pools of Pamukkale. Formed naturally by high amounts of calcium that solidifies in the water, the pools cover the side of the mountain and are reflective of its nickname, the cotton castle.

Pamukkale is in the Denizli region of Turkey and a stopping point on the Cappadocia, Ephesus route. It is a world heritage site and in recent years, much needed rules were put in place to prevent its destruction due to irresponsible building rules.

These days, the hotels are all located in the nearby village and for an amazing sight; wake up in the morning just as the sun is rising. As well as the pools, the ancient city of Hierapolis is worth exploring. This city was often used as a rest and relaxation centre for Roman soldiers who used to bathe in the hot spring waters bought in from the natural pools of Pamukkale.

Read More