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10-Nights Wonders of Turkey - Classic Group from $3,595
Insight Vacations
OFFER ID 1663545
Wonders Of Turkey - Small Group, Summer
Travel across Turkey with your Small Group, linking Istanbul’s mosques, bazaars and Bosphorus shores with the battlefields of Gallipoli, the ruins of Troy and the streets of ancient Ephesus. Meet women at a social enterprise, share a Farm-to-Table vineyard lunch and walk the travertine terraces of Pamukkale. In Cappadocia, step inside a cave house and watch a Sema ceremony. Along the way, visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, enjoy a Small Group Exclusive experience at a backgammon lesson in a traditional coffee house and stand beneath the dome of Hagia Sophia.
Dining Summary
- 7 Dinner (D)
- 10 Breakfast (B)
- 1 Lunch (L)
- Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
- Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
- We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
- From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
- Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
- If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.
- Istanbul: Meet your Travel Director and your Small Group for your first dinner together in Istanbul, marking the start of your journey through Turkey.
- Izmir: Share a Farm-to-table lunch at Nif Baglari, a family-owned wine producer in the foothills near Izmir. Walk through the vines and learn how the land is used, then sit down to seasonal dishes made with produce grown on the property, served in the vineyard setting.
- Cappadocia: Experience a Sema ceremony performed by the whirling dervishes, part of the Mevlevi Sufi tradition. You’ll watch the ritual unfold through music, movement and costume, in a form of worship still practised across Turkey today.
- Istanbul: Toast the culmination of your travels during dinner at a local restaurant with your Small Group and Travel Director.
- Istanbul: Visit Hagia Sophia with your Local Expert. You’ll step beneath the central dome and see how elements from its time as a Byzantine basilica and as an Ottoman mosque share the same interior, reflecting the building’s long and layered history.
- Cappadocia: Step inside a traditional cave house and meet a local Cappadocian who has lived there for decades. Hear how the home was shaped, how it has changed over time and what it means to remain rooted in this landscape.
- Ayvalik: Visit the Copmadam workshop, where one-of-a-kind items are made from recycled packaging, creating employment opportunities for local women. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality.
- Izmir: Join a backgammon lesson in a traditional Turkish coffee shop, learning the basic rules of tavla, a game played in Anatolia since Ottoman times. Sip traditional Turkish coffee before sitting down for a friendly match against local players, following the pace and customs typical of the neighborhood.
- Gallipoli: Visit ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula, the landing site for Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The site remains the focus of ANZAC Day commemorations, including the dawn service held here each year.
- Troy: Visit this ancient sight fabled to have been destroyed over love and view the huge reconstructed Trojan Horse.
- Ephesus: Visit the Archaeological museum housing many of the artifacts from Ephesus.
- Ephesus: Walk through Ephesus with a Local Expert, following the Arcadian Way into the heart of the Roman city. You’ll stand before the Library of Celsus, take in the scale of the amphitheater and visit the House of the Virgin Mary, set in the hills above the ruins.
- Pamukkale: Walk along the travertine pools at Pamukkale, where thermal waters have created white limestone terraces across the hillside. You’ll see how the calcium-rich water continues to shape the formations, leaving new deposits as it flows.
- Konya: Step inside the Sultanhani Caravanserai, built in 1229 to support traders and travelers crossing the Anatolian plain. See how the space was designed for overnight shelter, with stables, storerooms and a central courtyard still intact.
- Saratli: Explore the underground city of Saratli, where tunnels, rooms and passageways were carved out to provide shelter and storage. You’ll walk through the lower levels and see how early communities built out daily life below ground.
- Göreme: Explore the rock-cut churches of Göreme, carved into the soft volcanic rock of Cappadocia. Inside, you’ll see early Christian frescoes that have survived for centuries, offering a close look at how communities once lived and worshipped here.
- Avanos: Visit a pottery studio in Avanos, a town on the Kizilirmak River with a clay-working tradition that dates back to Hittite times. Watch how red river clay is prepared and shaped at the wheel, and follow the stages as each piece is formed, dried and decorated.
- Ankara: Visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Tu
10 nights from $3,595 per person
Insight Vacations: Wonders of Turkey - Small Group, Summer
Day 1 - Welcome to Istanbul
Arrive in Istanbul, the only major city set across two continents, shaped by the Bosphorus and a skyline of domes and minarets. You’ll transfer to your hotel and have time to settle in. If time allows, head out for a first look at the city’s waterfront life, watching ferries cross the strait and taking in views towards the historic peninsula. This evening, meet your Travel Director and your Small Group for dinner in a local restaurant. Share Turkish dishes and begin getting to know the travelers you’ll be exploring with.
Accommodations: Radisson Blu Sisli, Istanbul
Meals: Dinner
Day 2 - Gallipoli, Anzac Cove and Troy
Follow the shores of the Sea of Marmara towards the Gallipoli Peninsula, a landscape defined by the 1915 campaign and the events commemorated each year on ANZAC Day. Visit ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine Cemetery, learning how the coastline and ridgelines shaped what happened here and how the memorial sites were established. Later, continue to Troy, the archaeological site linked to Homeric legend and later excavations that revealed multiple layers of settlement. See the replica Trojan Horse at Troy beside the excavated mound at Hisarlik, where archaeologists have identified nine main settlement layers dating from the Early Bronze Age to around A.D. 500.
Accommodations: Kolin, Çanakkale
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Izmir
Start the day at Copmadam, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience where women turn recycled materials into handmade goods. The co-operative supports long-term employment in a part of Turkey where opportunities for women remain limited. Continue to Nif Baglari, a family-owned wine producer in the hills outside Izmir, for a Farm-to-Table vineyard lunch. Later, arrive in Izmir with time to explore the waterfront, visit the Kemeralti Bazaar or stop for a coffee in the Alsancak district before dinner with your Small Group.
Accommodations: Swissotel Büyük Efes, Izmir
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 - Ancient Ephesus
Travel to Selçuk for a visit to Ephesus, walking along ancient streets lined with monumental remains from the city’s Roman period. Continue to the House of the Virgin Mary, a small shrine above Selçuk visited by pilgrims. Later, learn about Turkish carpet weaving through a closer look at materials, natural dyes and knotting techniques. Arrive at a traditional coffee shop for your Small Group Exclusive experience, learning the basics of tavla (backgammon) before sitting down for a game over Turkish coffee. Continue to Izmir for the night, where you could join an Optional Experience for dinner on the seafront promenade, sharing seafood and meze with drinks.
Accommodations: Swissotel Büyük Efes, Izmir
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 - The Pools of Pamukkale Relaxed Start
Travel inland to Pamukkale, known for its white travertine terraces formed by mineral-rich thermal waters. Explore the site with your Travel Director, visiting the ruins of ancient Hierapolis, including the Roman theater and the remains of streets, tombs and bathhouses. See the pools that still flow across the terraces today. Later, check in to your hotel, the Doga Thermal Health Spa, which draws its water from the same geothermal sources. You’ll have time to unwind in the thermal pools, try a traditional hammam or explore the wider spa facilities before dinner with your Small Group.
Accommodations: Doga Thermal Health & Spa, Pamukkale
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - The Underground City and Cappadocia
Travel into central Turkey, following a route once used by traders and travelers on the Silk Road. Stop at the Sultanhani Caravanserai, a fortified roadside inn built in the 13th century to shelter caravans. Later, explore the underground city of Saratli, where early communities carved out homes, storage areas and passageways beneath the ground. Arrive in Ürgüp in the early evening and settle into your hotel before dinner with your Small Group.
Accommodations: DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos, Cappadocia
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - The Cappadocia Experience Relaxed Start
Start the day in Göreme, the heart of Cappadocia. You may choose to rise early for an Optional Experience to watch the region’s hot air balloons lift at sunrise. Later, explore the rock-cut churches of the Göreme Open-Air Museum, with frescoes that date back to the 10th century. Continue to Pasabag Valley to see the region’s fairy chimneys and former cave dwellings. In the afternoon, meet a Cappadocian local who will show you their cave house and share how daily life has shifted over the decades. The day ends with a performance by the whirling dervishes before dinner in a local restaurant.
Accommodations: DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos, Cappadocia
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - Ankara
Begin in Avanos, a town on the Kizilirmak River known for its pottery traditions. Learn about the craft and see how local clay is worked and shaped before firing. Continue on to Ankara, Turkey’s capital and the center of the modern republic. Visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, often referred to as the Hittite Museum, to see key finds from Anatolia’s early cultures. Then visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey and the Republic’s first President. The rest of the day is at leisure. Perhaps head up to Ankara Castle for views across the city, explore the lanes of Hamamönü’s restored Ottoman-era quarter, or spend longer in Ulus around the historic center.
Accommodations: Ankara HiltonSA
Meals: Breakfast
Day 9 - To Istanbul
Leave Ankara for Istanbul, returning to the city where your journey began. On arrival, join a Bosphorus cruise to see Istanbul from the water, traveling between Europe and Asia as you pass Ottoman palaces, neighborhood mosques and busy quays along both shores. In the evening, explore at your own pace. You might walk through Karaköy and across the Galata Bridge, follow Istiklal Caddesi’s shops and cafes, or head towards the Spice Bazaar and Eminönü’s ferry piers.
Accommodations: Radisson Blu Sisli, Istanbul
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10 - Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire
Spend your final full day exploring Istanbul’s historic peninsula. Start at the Blue Mosque, known for its six minarets and interior Iznik tiles, then cross the Hippodrome, the former chariot-racing ground of Constantinople. Continue to Hagia Sophia with Insight Choice: select the Hagia Sophia History Digital Experience, outlining its shift from basilica to mosque and museum, or visit Hagia Sophia itself with your Local Expert. Later, visit Topkapi Palace, once the seat of Ottoman sultans, and walk the covered streets of the Grand Bazaar. In the evening, share a final dinner with your Small Group and Travel Director as your journey through Turkey comes to a close.
Accommodations: Radisson Blu Sisli, Istanbul
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11 - Farewell Istanbul
our journey through Turkey comes to an end in Istanbul. After breakfast, take a moment to say goodbye to your Travel Director and Small Group, reflecting on the days spent traveling together, before transferring to the airport for your onward travel.
Meals: Breakfast
Vacation Details
* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.
Fine dining, on-site bars or lounges and room service with extended hours are characteristic of deluxe establishments. Guest services usually include valet parking, concierge services, baggage assistance and laundry services. Other on-site facilities often include shops and boutiques, full service spas, full fitness facilities with pools and tennis courts. Business amenities may include available up-to-date technology and support staffs available for services. Attention to detail is apparent in the guestrooms which typically have stylish furnishings, quality bedding and bath products and often provide an evening turn down service.
All fares are quoted in US Dollars.
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