Multi-day tour
From Lycia to Mount Nemrut in 15 days, by private van
Fifteen days by private van from Istanbul to Commagene: Bursa, Pergamon, Ephesus, Pamukkale, the Lycian sites of Xanthos, Letoon, Patara and Myra, Konya, Cappadocia and dawn on Mount Nemrut.
Private, tailor-made The vehicle and the guide are for your passengers only, and you choose the starting day.
Key facts
- Duration 15 days / 14 nights
- Route Istanbul → Mount Nemrut 18 destinations
- Quotation Quotation within 24 business hours (72 business hours for groups and MICE)
- Recommended months April–June, September, October
- Departure type Private, tailor-made
The fallen stone heads on the terrace of Mount Nemrut in the first light of day: the day 13 sunrise.
Overview
A fifteen-day private circuit by van with driver, designed for closed groups that want to cross Anatolia end to end without repeating a road. It opens with three days in Istanbul, continues by way of Bursa towards the Aegean and links Pergamon, Ephesus and Pamukkale; then it drops down into Lycia, which is what sets this programme apart: Xanthos and its sanctuary at Letoon, Patara, Kaputaş beach, the rock-cut tombs of Myra, the church of St Nicholas and a boat trip over the sunken city of Kekova, with nights in Kaş and in Antalya.
From the Mediterranean it crosses the plateau by way of Konya and the Mevlana shrine to Cappadocia, and from there to the southeast, to Adıyaman, to climb Mount Nemrut at dawn among the colossal statues of the kingdom of Commagene. The return to Istanbul is by domestic flight, included, and the last day is given to the Asian shore.
Included are accommodation with breakfast, three dinners, the entrance fees listed and the domestic flight. The date is the agency’s to choose; quoted to order, in net rates.
From the Mediterranean it crosses the plateau by way of Konya and the Mevlana shrine to Cappadocia, and from there to the southeast, to Adıyaman, to climb Mount Nemrut at dawn among the colossal statues of the kingdom of Commagene. The return to Istanbul is by domestic flight, included, and the last day is given to the Asian shore.
Included are accommodation with breakfast, three dinners, the entrance fees listed and the domestic flight. The date is the agency’s to choose; quoted to order, in net rates.
Route: IstanbulBursaAliağaPergamonKuşadasıEphesusPamukkaleXanthosLetoonPataraKaşDemre (Myra)KekovaAntalyaKonyaCappadociaAdiyamanMount Nemrut
- Physical level: Demanding
- Languages of the guided visits: Spanish, English
Highlights
- The whole of Lycia in two days: Xanthos, Letoon, Patara, the rock-cut tombs of Myra and the church of St Nicholas, with the entrance fees included.
- The boat trip over Kekova, above the walls and stairways of a sunken Lycian town.
- Dawn on Mount Nemrut, among the colossal statues of the kingdom of Commagene, with the entrance included.
- Three days of Istanbul at the start and one on the Asian shore at the end, with Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk and the Kadıköy market.
- Pergamon, Ephesus and Pamukkale on three consecutive days, and Bursa with the Koza Han and the lakeside village of Gölyazı.
- The Mevlana shrine in Konya, on the crossing of the plateau towards Cappadocia.
- The Adıyaman – Istanbul domestic flight included, so the 1,200 kilometres back are not repeated by road.
- A full free day in Antalya, at the midpoint of the circuit.
What is included and what is not
Included
- 14 nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the hotels listed: Istanbul (5 nights), Aliağa, Kuşadası, Pamukkale, Kaş, Antalya (2 nights), Cappadocia (2 nights) and Adıyaman.
- A Spanish- or English-speaking guide throughout the circuit.
- Transport by air-conditioned van with driver for all the visits and journeys in the itinerary.
- Adıyaman – Istanbul domestic flight, economy class.
- Arrival and departure transfers, with assistance at hotel check-in.
- Entrance fees to the monuments and sites listed in the itinerary: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, Ulu Cami and Koza Han, Pergamon and the Asclepion, Ephesus, Hierapolis and Pamukkale, Xanthos, Letoon, Patara, Myra, Mevlana, the Göreme Open-Air Museum and Mount Nemrut.
- Scheduled boat trip over the sunken city of Kekova.
- 3 dinners at the circuit’s hotels: Aliağa, Pamukkale and Adıyaman.
Not included
- International air tickets (home country – Istanbul – home country).
- Lunches: not included on any day. Dinners not stated as included.
- All drinks, with and outside meals.
- Hot-air balloon flight in Cappadocia: an optional activity, booked separately and subject to each morning’s weather clearance.
- Turkish night with folk dancing: an optional activity, on request.
- Bathing in Cleopatra’s Pool at Hierapolis and other optional activities.
- Entrance fees not listed in the itinerary.
- Personal expenses (shopping, minibar, laundry, room service).
- Tips for the guide, the driver and hotel and restaurant staff.
- Visa fees and visa handling services, if required.
- Travel and health insurance (recommended).
- Any service not expressly mentioned as included.
Day by day itinerary
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Day 1
Arrival in Istanbul
Arrival at Istanbul airport, meeting with our representative and transfer to the hotel, with assistance during check-in. Depending on the flight time, the rest of the day is free to rest or for a first walk around the neighbourhood. The guide meets the group in the evening and goes through the whole itinerary, which is worth grasping at the outset because it is long and crosses four very different regions: Istanbul and the Aegean, the Lycian coast, the plateau and the southeast of Commagene. The practical matters of a van circuit are also explained: how the luggage is handled, which legs take a whole day — Bursa, Konya and Adıyaman — what clothing is needed for the mosques, and what to bring for the small hours on Mount Nemrut, where at over two thousand metres it is cold even in summer. Accommodation in Istanbul. It is worth reckoning that this is the longest circuit in the catalogue and the one that crosses the most regions, so light luggage and a small daypack take care of much of the logistics. -
Day 2
Istanbul between continents
A day given to the city that is not in the art books: the water and the neighbourhoods. We begin with the trip along the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia, with the palaces, the fortresses of Rumeli and Anadolu and the old wooden mansions seen from the water, which is the only perspective from which the city makes sense as a strait rather than a map. Then the Spice Market in Eminönü, with its heaps of saffron, dried fruit and apple tea, and the historic district of Balat, of coloured façades and Greek, Jewish and Armenian inheritance, covered on foot and uphill. In the afternoon we go up to İstiklal Street, with its historic tram and its nineteenth-century arcades, and pause at the Pera Palace Hotel, the one used by Orient Express travellers. Accommodation in Istanbul. The day combines boat, walking and tram, so it is a city day with almost no driving, and it is also the one that best helps you get your bearings before the two days of monuments that follow.Notes for the day: The Balat district is on a slope and the streets are cobbled: comfortable shoes are advisable.
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Day 3
Classic Istanbul
The historic peninsula, in a single day and almost all of it on foot, because the monuments are minutes apart. Hagia Sophia opens the morning: the largest dome in the Christian world for nine centuries, with the Byzantine mosaics that survived its conversion into a mosque. Then the Blue Mosque, with its İznik tiles and its six minarets, and the Roman Hippodrome, the long square of the old circus, with the Egyptian obelisk, the serpent column from Delphi and the base of the obelisk of Theodosius. In the afternoon, Topkapı Palace, residence of the sultans for four centuries, with its four courtyards, its kitchens full of Chinese porcelain and the terrace over the Golden Horn; then the Basilica Cistern, Justinian’s reservoir of three hundred and thirty-six columns, and a close at the Grand Bazaar, with free time. The guide decides the order according to the day’s queues. It is the fullest Istanbul day and the busiest at any time of year, so it starts early and the lunch stop, at the passenger’s expense, falls in the middle of the afternoon, depending on the order the guide chooses.Notes for the day: The visiting arrangements at Hagia Sophia depend on current regulations; see the operating notes. The Grand Bazaar closes on Sundays. The Topkapı harem has a separate ticket and is not included.
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Day 4
Bursa, Gölyazı and the Aegean coast
Out of Istanbul heading south: four hundred and sixty kilometres and about six hours with stops, the first of the circuit’s long legs. The main stop is Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, at the foot of Mount Uludağ: we visit the Ulu Cami, the Great Mosque of twenty domes with its ablution fountain under the roof, and the historic Koza Han, the silk-cocoon han, which was the centre of that trade and is still a courtyard of mulberry trees and cafés. Then a different sort of stop: Gölyazı, a fishing village on a peninsula in Lake Uluabat, with stone houses, nets hung out to dry and a ruined Greek church, the day’s quiet counterpoint. The drive ends on the Aegean coast, in the Aliağa area. Dinner included at the hotel. Bursa is about two hours from Istanbul, so the visit falls in the middle of the morning and the group eats there; after that come about four hours of driving to the coast, with the Gölyazı stop halfway. It is a day of transition and the hotel is reached after dark.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 460 km, approximately 6 h with stops.
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Day 5
Pergamon and the acropolis
A day given to Pergamon, with two hundred and ninety kilometres and about four hours of driving spread across it. Up on the acropolis we visit the steepest theatre in the Greek world, wedged into the hillside with almost eighty rows of seats; the terrace of the temple of Trajan; the administrative buildings and the library that rivalled Alexandria’s; and the platform of the altar of Zeus, whose frieze is now in Berlin. Below, the Asclepion, the healing sanctuary where treatment involved water, sleep, diet and theatre and which was one of the earliest hospitals of the ancient world: it is visited along the sacred way, the porticoed court and the tunnel that led to the spring. It is completed with the Red Basilica, seen from outside: the enormous Egyptian temple of Roman date later converted into a church. Transfer to the Kuşadası area and accommodation. Pergamon is the day’s only visit, which allows three or four hours between the upper city and the sanctuary, without the hurry it usually carries when combined with Ephesus on the same day.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 290 km, approximately 4 h. The acropolis is reached by cable car and the route up top is sloping with uneven ground.
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Day 6
Ephesus and Pamukkale
A full morning at Ephesus: the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre of twenty-four thousand seats, the two agoras, the marble-paved streets and the dwellings of the élite, as well as the setting of the Temple of Artemis, of which one re-erected column survives, and the House of the Virgin Mary on Mount Bülbül. The walk takes two to three hours, downhill and with little shade. In the afternoon, three hundred and eighty kilometres and about five hours to Pamukkale, where we visit the travertine terraces of the Cotton Castle — barefoot, by rule of the site — and the ancient city of Hierapolis, with its necropolis, the Frontinus arch and the Roman theatre. Anyone who wishes can bathe in Cleopatra’s Pool among fallen columns, which is an optional activity and is not included. Dinner included at the hotel. It is the busiest day of the Aegean stretch: two large sites and five hours of driving, so we leave Kuşadası early and reach Pamukkale at the end of the afternoon.Optional activities
- Bathing in Cleopatra’s Pool, inside the Hierapolis site
Notes for the day: Road leg of about 380 km, approximately 5 h. To bathe in Cleopatra’s Pool you need a swimsuit and a towel.
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Day 7
Lycia: Xanthos, Letoon and Patara
Into ancient Lycia, the region from which this circuit takes its name: four hundred kilometres and about five and a half hours, with the three visits spread along the way. Xanthos was the capital of the Lycian federation and keeps its theatre, the funerary pillars with inscriptions in Lycian — a language still not fully read — and the Harpy monument. A few kilometres away, Letoon, the region’s federal sanctuary, with the three temples of Leto, Apollo and Artemis beside a spring that now floods part of the site, and where the trilingual inscription that advanced the decipherment was found. In the afternoon, Patara: the harbour city and seat of the Lycian assembly, with its triumphal arch, its reconstructed bouleuterion and an eighteen-kilometre beach behind the dunes; it is also the birthplace of St Nicholas. Accommodation in Kaş. The three sites are a few kilometres apart, so the driving weighs on the first part of the day and the visits are concentrated from midday onwards, once in the Lycian district.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 400 km, approximately 5 h 30. All three sites are visited in the open, on uneven ground and with little shade.
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Day 8
Myra, St Nicholas and the Kekova boat
Two hundred and fifty kilometres and about four hours, plus the boat trip. We begin with a stop at Kaputaş beach, the turquoise cove at the foot of a gorge that is visible from the road. Then Myra, at Demre: its wall of Lycian tombs cut into the cliff face, with façades carved in imitation of timber houses, and the Roman theatre below, with the stone masks fallen among the seats. Next, the Church of St Nicholas, the Byzantine basilica built over the tomb of the fourth-century bishop who stands at the origin of the figure of Santa Claus. In the afternoon, a scheduled boat trip over Kekova and its sunken city: from the deck you can see, through the clear water, the walls, stairways and quays of a Lycian town that an earthquake sank. Accommodation in Antalya. The Kekova boat is a scheduled service shared with other passengers, and it depends on the state of the sea: if it does not sail, the day is reorganised around the sites of the district.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 250 km, approximately 4 h, plus the boat trip. The Kekova boat is a scheduled service and depends on the state of the sea.
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Day 9
Free day in Antalya
A free day in Antalya, the only one of the circuit, and it is placed exactly here for a reason: after five consecutive days of driving and archaeological sites, and before the two long legs that follow, the group needs a day with no schedule. The city offers plenty: the old town of Kaleiçi is walked from the centre, with its narrow streets of Ottoman houses, Hadrian’s Gate, the fluted minaret and the Roman harbour at the foot of the cliff; the beaches of Konyaaltı and Lara are a tram ride away; and the Antalya Archaeological Museum, with its gallery of sculpture from Perge, is one of the finest Roman collections in the country. The guide leaves the addresses, the opening hours and how to get around, and the local team remains available. Accommodation in Antalya. It is also the best day for doing laundry, catching up on sleep or simply not getting into the van, and the guide stays available to the group to organise whatever is needed.Notes for the day: A free day with no scheduled visits. Entrance fees for any museums or monuments visited on your own are not included.
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Day 10
Across Anatolia: Konya and Cappadocia
Four hundred and eighty kilometres and about six hours to climb from the Mediterranean to the central plateau, crossing the Taurus mountains. The day’s stop is Konya, centre of the Seljuk sultanate of Rum and one of the longest continuously inhabited cities in Anatolia. We visit the Mevlana shrine, Rumi’s mausoleum under its conical dome of turquoise-green tile, at once a tomb, a museum and a place of recollection: around the hall of the sarcophagi are the audition hall, the instruments, the manuscripts and the dervishes’ cells. The visit takes about an hour and is made barefoot. Then the last stretch to Cappadocia, with the Konya plain and the volcanoes beyond. Accommodation in Cappadocia, where two nights are spent. Konya is about three and a half hours from Antalya, so the visit falls at midday and the group eats there; after that come about two and a half hours to Cappadocia. The plain opens up all at once on leaving the mountains, and the change of landscape is the sharpest of the circuit.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 480 km, approximately 6 h. At the Mevlana shrine shoes must be removed and shoulders and knees covered; women must cover their hair.
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Day 11
Cappadocia: Göreme, the valleys and an underground city
A full day in the region. We start at the Göreme Open-Air Museum, the group of chapels, refectories and monastic cells cut into the volcanic rock, with Byzantine frescoes of the tenth and eleventh centuries: the Apple Church, St Barbara’s, the Sandal Church and the refectory with its long table carved out of the same stone. Then comes the tour of the volcanic valleys and the fairy chimneys, those cones of compacted ash with a block of basalt on top that protected the column from erosion. The day closes at one of the underground cities that served as refuges: narrow, low corridors, circular stone doors rolled across from inside, and ventilation shafts tens of metres deep. Anyone who wishes can fly in a balloon at dawn, which is an optional activity and is not included. Accommodation in Cappadocia. The three visits are a few kilometres apart and the day has no driving, so it is one of the few on the circuit that leaves a free afternoon to walk around Göreme or Uçhisar.Optional activities
- Balloon flight at dawn over the valleys of Cappadocia
Notes for the day: Photographing the frescoes inside the churches of the Göreme Open-Air Museum is forbidden; the Dark Church has a separate ticket and is not included.
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Day 12
Cappadocia and the southeast: towards Commagene
The longest leg of the circuit: six hundred kilometres and about seven and a half hours of driving, with the necessary stops, from the volcanic plateau to Adıyaman, in the heart of the old kingdom of Commagene. It is a travelling day and it is designed as one: the landscape changes slowly, from the ash valleys to the fields of the plain and then to the arid relief of the Euphrates, and the guide uses the drive to tell who Antiochus I was and why a small kingdom, squeezed between Rome and Parthia, mixed the Greek gods with the Persian ones and placed itself among them on a mountain top. We leave early and arrive at the end of the afternoon; the next day begins in the small hours, so dinner and an early night are advisable. Dinner included at the hotel. Accommodation in Adıyaman. The drive goes by way of Kayseri and then down towards Malatya, with comfort stops roughly every two hours; there are no scheduled visits and it is best not to add any.Notes for the day: Road leg of about 600 km, approximately 7 h 30 with stops. It is the longest travelling day of the circuit.
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Day 13
Dawn on Mount Nemrut and the flight to Istanbul
A start in the small hours and some eighty kilometres of mountain road to climb Mount Nemrut for dawn. The approach to the summit, at over two thousand metres, ends with a stretch on foot up a stony, sloping path, of moderate walking standard, and up there the temperature is appreciably lower and the wind stronger than in the valley, even in summer: a jacket and closed shoes are needed. On the eastern terrace stand the colossal heads of the gods and of King Antiochus I, fallen at the foot of their thrones in earthquakes, and the tumulus of crushed stone covering the tomb that has never been found. The early light is the reason for the early start. On the way back, transfer to Adıyaman airport and the domestic flight to Istanbul, an hour and forty-five minutes. Accommodation in Istanbul. The flight leaves Adıyaman at midday or in the afternoon, so after the descent there is time for breakfast at the hotel and an unhurried transfer to the airport.Notes for the day: Some 80 km of mountain road plus the 1 h 45 flight. Access to the summit may be closed by snow or ice between late autumn and spring; accessibility is checked for each date before the programme is confirmed.
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Day 14
Asian Istanbul: Üsküdar, Beylerbeyi and Kadıköy
The last day of visits, on the Asian shore, and we cross by ferry, which is the fitting way to arrive: twenty minutes on the water with the historic peninsula receding astern. In Üsküdar you see the Ottoman city of neighbourhood mosques and, across the water, the Maiden’s Tower on its islet. Kuzguncuk, a few minutes away, is a small neighbourhood of painted wooden houses with its synagogue, its Armenian church and its mosque within a few metres of each other. Then Beylerbeyi Palace, the sultans’ summer residence at the foot of the bridge, and a close at Kadıköy, with its market of fish, cheeses and pickles, the best place in the city to eat without ceremony. In the evening, anyone who wishes can add the Turkish night with folk dancing and dinner, which is optional and arranged on request. The Asian shore is the half of the city that short circuits never set foot in, and closing the trip here, with the market and the ferry, leaves a different picture of Istanbul from the one on day 3.Optional activities
- Turkish night with folk dancing and dinner
Notes for the day: The Beylerbeyi Palace ticket is not among those included in the programme; check it in the quote.
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Day 15
Free day and departure
A free day in Istanbul until the transfer, whose time is worked out from the international flight and from the traffic to be expected between the hotel and the airport: in Istanbul a wide margin is advisable, because both airports are far from the centre and journey times vary a great deal by time of day. Luggage can be left at the desk after check-out, which in most hotels is at midday, so the morning or the afternoon is free for any outstanding shopping or to go back to somewhere that felt too brief. Transfer to the airport and assistance as far as the check-in area. End of the circuit. If you want to lengthen the trip, what fits best after this itinerary is an extension to the southeast — Şanlıurfa, Göbeklitepe and Mardin — or one more night in Istanbul; it is quoted together with the programme. The day 13 domestic flight and this last day are designed together: the circuit ends in Istanbul rather than in the southeast precisely so that the international departure does not depend on one more connection.
Expected hotels
| City | Nights | Category | Hotel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul | 5 | 4* / 5* | Nippon Hotel Taksim · Elite World Hotel Taksim · Taksim Gönen Hotel · Ramada by Wyndham Hotel Taksim · Point Hotel · Ramada Grand Bazaar Laleli · Byzantium Hotel · 10 Karaköyor similar |
| Aliağa | 1 | 4* | Radisson Blu İzmir Aliağa · Hampton by Hilton Aliağa İzmiror similar |
| Kuşadası | 1 | 4* | |
| Pamukkale | 1 | 4* / 5* | Richmond Thermal Hotel · Pam Thermal Hotel · Hierapark Thermal Hotel · Adem Pira Termal & Spaor similar |
| Kaş | 1 | 3* / 4* | Kekova Otelor similar |
| Antalya | 2 | 3* / 4* | Puding Hotel · 7 Inn Hotelor similar |
| Cappadocia | 2 | 4* / 5* | Suhan Hotel · Avrasya Hotel · Sinasos Hotel · Ramada by Wyndham Hotel Cappadocia · Crowne Plaza Cappadocia · DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos · Remus & Romulus Uçhisar · Temenni Evi · Yunak Evlerior similar |
| Adiyaman | 1 | 4* | Ramada by Wyndham Adıyamanor similar |
Hotels as listed or similar; the final confirmation is given in the quotation.
How the rate is calculated
Rate tailored to the season, the hotel category and the number of travellers. Request a quotation.
Departures
Private, tailor-made
The vehicle and the guide are for your passengers only, and you choose the starting day.
The exact dates of each departure are confirmed in the quotation, together with hotel and domestic-flight availability.
Operational notes
- The order of the visits may change according to opening hours, traffic and the day’s operation. The content of the programme stays the same.
- The circuit involves eight legs between cities, from 250 to 600 km, and three of them take up most of a day: days 4, 10 and 12. The return from the southeast is by domestic flight so that distance is not repeated by road.
- The approach to the summit of Mount Nemrut ends with a stretch on foot up a stony, sloping path, of moderate walking standard. At the top, at over 2,000 metres, the temperature is appreciably lower and the wind stronger than in the valley, even in summer.
- Access to the summit of Mount Nemrut may be closed by snow or ice between late autumn and spring. Accessibility is checked for each date before the programme is confirmed.
- The Kekova boat trip is a scheduled service, shared with other passengers, and depends on the state of the sea: if it does not sail, the day is reorganised around the sites of the district and the group is told at the time.
- The Lycian sites — Xanthos, Letoon, Patara and Myra — are visited in the open, on uneven ground and with little shade. At Letoon the spring floods part of the site and the route follows the water level.
- Hagia Sophia is a working mosque. Foreign visitors follow a dedicated tourist route along the upper galleries, which is suspended during the five daily prayers and, on Friday at midday, for a longer period. The visiting rules and hours depend on current regulations and may change without notice; if access is restricted on the day of the visit, the monument is explained from outside.
- To enter mosques and the Mevlana shrine, shoes must be removed and shoulders and knees covered; women must cover their hair. Working mosques close to visitors during the five daily prayers and, above all, around the Friday midday prayer.
- The Pamukkale travertine terraces are walked barefoot by rule of the site. Photographing the frescoes inside the churches of the Göreme Open-Air Museum is forbidden; the Dark Church has a separate ticket. The underground cities have narrow, low corridors.
- The domestic flight is issued in economy class and the checked and cabin baggage allowance depends on the airline and the fare issued; the exact allowance is shown on the ticket. Schedules may be rearranged and the day’s programme follows the confirmed flight.
- Museums and sites may have a weekly closing day and different summer and winter hours. The final itinerary follows the opening calendar in force on the dates of travel.
- During the religious holidays (Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı, whose dates move because they follow the lunar calendar) museum and shop hours change, the monuments are busier and domestic flights and roads fill up.
- A valid passport, the visa or electronic authorisation and compliance with entry requirements are the traveller’s responsibility. They should be checked in advance, as they depend on nationality.
Best time to travel
Recommended months: April, May, June, September, October
Spring and autumn are the seasons for this circuit, which crosses four different climates in fifteen days. From April to June and from September to October the temperatures allow the Lycian sites and the Aegean to be visited in comfort and the summit of Mount Nemrut is accessible. In July and August the heat of the Mediterranean coast and of the southeast makes the open-air visits and the long road legs harder; in those months the visits are moved to first thing. Between late autumn and spring, access to the summit of Mount Nemrut may be closed by snow or ice, so accessibility is checked for each date before the programme is confirmed.
Gallery
Frequently asked questions
How much road travel is there?
It is a van circuit and there are eight legs between cities. The three longest are day 4 to the Aegean (about 460 km, six hours), day 10 from Antalya to Cappadocia (480 km, six hours) and day 12 to Adıyaman (600 km, seven and a half hours). The return from the southeast is by air, included, precisely so that distance is not repeated.
Are the Turkish night and the balloon included?
No. Both are optional activities and are booked separately. The balloon is flown at dawn and depends on each morning’s weather clearance, so it can be cancelled for safety up to the last moment.
Can Mount Nemrut be climbed at any time of year?
Not always. Access to the summit may be closed by snow or ice between late autumn and spring, and accessibility is checked for each date before the programme is confirmed. The final approach is on foot, up a stony, sloping path, and it is cold and windy at the top even in summer.
What level of fitness does the circuit require?
It is the most demanding in our catalogue. You walk between two and four hours a day on uneven ground, there are long road legs and the climb to Mount Nemrut is of moderate walking standard at over two thousand metres. If anyone travelling has reduced mobility, mention it when requesting the quote so we can review which stages are feasible.
Which meals are included?
Daily breakfast and three dinners at the circuit’s hotels: Aliağa, Pamukkale and Adıyaman. Lunches and drinks are not included; the guide suggests where to stop according to the day’s leg.
Why is there a free day in Antalya?
Because it falls at the midpoint of the circuit, between five consecutive days of archaeological sites and two long road legs, and because the city is worth a whole day on your own: the old town of Kaleiçi, the beaches and the Archaeological Museum, with its gallery of sculpture from Perge.
When is the best time to do it?
April to June and September to October. In July and August the heat of the Lycian coast and the southeast makes the open-air visits and the long legs harder; in winter access to Mount Nemrut may be closed and the itinerary is reconsidered.
How is it requested?
With approximate dates, the number of passengers and the hotel category required, through the quote form. Agencies receive net rates.
Booking conditions
- Deposit
- 30% of the total when the booking is confirmed. For bookings made 30 days or less before departure, the full amount at confirmation.
- Balance
- The remaining 70%, no later than 31 days before departure.
- Payment methods
- Bank transfer or credit card. Card payments carry a 3% surcharge; charges applied by the issuing bank are borne by the client.
- Cancellations
- More than 90 days before departure: handling fee only, plus penalties on services already issued · 89–61 days: 25% · 60–31 days: 50% · 30 days or less and no-show: 100%. Reductions in places follow the same scale. Refunds within 10–14 business days of written cancellation.
Credentials
- Legal name
- Colorido Tours Turkey Turizm Ticaret Ltd. Şti.
- TÜRSAB licence
- A-12116
- Office
- Istanbul
- Operating scope
- Turkey only. Egypt, Jordan and the Greek islands only as extensions of a Turkey itinerary.
- Guides
- Licensed guides in Spanish and English
- 24/7 emergency line during the trip
- +90 544 533 53 55
- Who handles your request
- Your request is handled by our reservations team, and the same person follows the file from quotation through to operation on the ground.
