Multi-day tour
Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus in five days, with domestic flights
A five-day scheduled circuit linking the valleys of Cappadocia, the travertines of Pamukkale and the ruins of Ephesus without going through Istanbul, with both connecting domestic flights included.
Scheduled departure · Private, tailor-made It can be booked either way: on the scheduled departure, sharing services with other passengers, or privately, with your own vehicle and guide. The quotation states which of the two has been priced.
Key facts
- Duration 5 days / 4 nights
- Route Cappadocia → İzmir 4 destinations
- Quotation Quotation within 24 business hours (72 business hours for groups and MICE)
- Recommended months April–June, September, October
- Departure type Scheduled departure · Private, tailor-made
The travertines of Pamukkale, the stage the circuit visits between Cappadocia and Ephesus.
Overview
A five-day, four-night scheduled circuit through the interior and the Aegean, designed to be added to a stay in Istanbul without repeating the city. Services are shared: the vehicle, the licensed English-speaking guide and the visits are shared with the other passengers on the same departure.
The programme enters through Cappadocia on a connecting flight from Istanbul of an hour and a quarter, leaves the afternoon of day 1 free and gives day 2 to the Göreme Open Air Museum and the valleys of Uçhisar and Avanos. Day 3 crosses to Pamukkale by road, with a stop at a Silk Road caravanserai, and reaches Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle in the afternoon. Day 4 visits Ephesus — the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and the House of the Virgin Mary — and ends in İzmir. Day 5 leaves İzmir on the second connecting flight.
Both domestic flights, the entrance tickets on the itinerary and one dinner in Cappadocia are included. International flights and lunches are not.
The programme enters through Cappadocia on a connecting flight from Istanbul of an hour and a quarter, leaves the afternoon of day 1 free and gives day 2 to the Göreme Open Air Museum and the valleys of Uçhisar and Avanos. Day 3 crosses to Pamukkale by road, with a stop at a Silk Road caravanserai, and reaches Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle in the afternoon. Day 4 visits Ephesus — the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and the House of the Virgin Mary — and ends in İzmir. Day 5 leaves İzmir on the second connecting flight.
Both domestic flights, the entrance tickets on the itinerary and one dinner in Cappadocia are included. International flights and lunches are not.
Route: CappadociaPamukkaleEphesusİzmir
- Physical level: Moderate
- Languages of the guided visits: Spanish, English
Highlights
- Three of the country’s great destinations — Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus — in five days and without going through Istanbul.
- Both connecting domestic flights included: in through Cappadocia and out through İzmir.
- The Göreme Open Air Museum and the panorama from Uçhisar Castle on one full guided day.
- Hierapolis and the travertines of Pamukkale on the same afternoon, with a night in a thermal-category hotel.
- Ephesus on foot, from the upper end down to the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre, and the House of the Virgin Mary.
- A stop at a Silk Road caravanserai on the crossing of the plateau towards the Aegean.
- A scheduled departure with shared services; the same circuit is also quoted privately.
What is included and what is not
Included
- 4 nights’ accommodation in listed hotels with breakfast: 2 nights in Cappadocia, 1 in Pamukkale and 1 in İzmir.
- 2 connecting domestic flights: Istanbul – Cappadocia on day 1 and İzmir – Istanbul on day 5.
- 1 dinner at the hotel in Cappadocia.
- Services of a licensed English-speaking guide on the visits stated in the itinerary.
- Entrance tickets to the sites on the itinerary: Göreme Open Air Museum, Uçhisar Castle, Hierapolis and Pamukkale, Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary.
- Transport by modern air-conditioned vehicle for the visits and legs of the programme.
- Airport – hotel transfers in each destination.
Not included
- International flights (home country – Istanbul – home country).
- Accommodation in Istanbul before and after the circuit, which can be quoted together with this programme.
- Lunches and all drinks.
- Dinners, apart from the one at the hotel in Cappadocia stated as included.
- Balloon flight at dawn in Cappadocia and Turkish Night: optional activities, on request.
- Admission to the Dark Church at the Göreme Open Air Museum, which is charged separately.
- Personal expenses (shopping, minibar, laundry, room service, etc.).
- Tips for the guide, the driver and hotel and restaurant staff.
- Visa fees and visa handling services, if required.
- Travel insurance (recommended).
- Any service not explicitly mentioned as included.
Day by day itinerary
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Day 1
Connecting flight and arrival in Cappadocia
The circuit opens with a connecting domestic flight from Istanbul to Kayseri (ASR) or Nevşehir (NAV) airport: an hour and a quarter in the air, with the ticket included in the programme. The arrival terminal depends on the schedule for the date, and the day’s timing follows the ticket that is issued.
You are met in the terminal and transferred to the listed hotel in Cappadocia. From Kayseri airport to Göreme is about 75 kilometres, a little over an hour on the road with Mount Erciyes behind you; from Nevşehir, about 40.
The afternoon is free, with no guided visits. It is a useful stretch of time for walking around whichever village the hotel stands in — Göreme, Uçhisar or Ürgüp, depending on the property — and for climbing to one of the viewpoints as the light drops. Those who wish can book the balloon flight for the following dawn or the Turkish Night this evening; both are optional activities and are arranged separately.
Dinner tonight is not included: the programme’s included dinner is the one on day 2. Overnight in Cappadocia.Optional activities
- Turkish Night in a typical cave venue, transfers included
- Balloon flight at dawn on day 2 (weather permitting)
Notes for the day: The domestic flight is issued in economy class; the baggage allowance depends on the airline and the fare and is shown on the ticket. Kayseri and Nevşehir airports are assigned according to the available schedules.
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Day 2
Cappadocia: the Göreme museum, the valleys of Uçhisar and Avanos
For anyone who has booked the balloon, pick-up at the hotel before dawn and return at around eight, in time for breakfast. The guided day begins afterwards.
The day concentrates on the north of the region. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the central visit: a Byzantine monastic complex of churches and refectories carved into the tuff, with frescoes of the life of Christ in several chapels. It is walked by narrow stairways and photographing the paintings inside is not allowed; the Dark Church, the best preserved because it was walled up, has a separate ticket and can be added.
Then the valleys of Uçhisar, with the panoramic stop at the foot of the castle — the highest hollowed-out rock in the region, from which the valleys, the fairy chimneys and, on a clear day, Mount Erciyes all open out — and Avanos, on the bank of the Kızılırmak, the longest river in Turkey. The day includes an explanatory stop at a carpet workshop, standard on this route: the visit is informative and any purchase is entirely voluntary.
Back to the hotel and the included dinner at the hotel itself. This circuit gives a single day to Cappadocia; the two and three-day programmes in the region split the north and the south into two full tours.Optional activities
- Balloon flight at dawn (weather permitting)
- Dark Church at the Göreme Open Air Museum (separate ticket)
Notes for the day: This circuit does not include the underground city or the Ihlara Valley, which belong to the region’s green tour and are part of the two and three-day Cappadocia programmes.
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Day 3
Cappadocia – Pamukkale: a Silk Road caravanserai, Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle
Breakfast, an early start and the longest leg of the circuit: some 650 kilometres and around eight hours on the road to Pamukkale, crossing the central Anatolian plateau towards the Aegean. It is worth counting it for what it is, a driving day with stops, rather than a day of visits.
Mid-morning there is a stop at a Silk Road caravanserai, one of the fortified inns the Seljuks built a camel day apart from one another to shelter the caravans: a courtyard, stables, a covered hall and a single gate.
In the afternoon, once in the Aegean, the visit to Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle. Hierapolis was founded by the kings of Pergamon in the second century BC and became a Roman spa town: the necropolis, the colonnaded street, the monumental gate and the theatre remain. The travertines, the white terraces that give the place its name, were formed by millennia of calcareous thermal water; they are walked barefoot along the marked stretch, with warm water running over the stone.
Check-in at the hotel in Pamukkale, a thermal property. Overnight in Pamukkale.Notes for the day: On the travertines you walk barefoot along the marked stretch and the stone can be slippery; a bag for your shoes and a towel are advisable. Cleopatra’s Pool has a separate ticket and is not included.
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Day 4
Pamukkale – Ephesus – İzmir: the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and the House of the Virgin Mary
Breakfast and departure for Ephesus: some 190 kilometres and around three hours on the road, dropping from the interior to the Aegean plain.
Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and one of the largest cities of the eastern Mediterranean. The route enters from the upper end and walks down the main street: the two-storey façade of the Library of Celsus, raised in the second century as the monumental tomb of a governor and rebuilt from its own stones; the Great Theatre, with room for some twenty-four thousand spectators; and, between the two, the agora, the temples and the terrace houses on the hillside. You walk on ancient paving, on a slope and with almost no shade, so in summer an early start, water and a hat are advisable.
A few kilometres away, on Bülbül hill, stands the House of the Virgin Mary, recognised as a place of pilgrimage; the visit is short and quiet.
Afterwards, transfer to İzmir, where the circuit spends its last night. Overnight in İzmir.Notes for the day: At Ephesus you walk on ancient paving and on a slope, with little shade. The terrace houses have a separate ticket and are not included. Closed shoes, and covered shoulders for the visit to the House of the Virgin Mary.
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Day 5
İzmir – Istanbul: connecting flight and end of services
Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to İzmir airport (ADB) for the connecting domestic flight to Istanbul, one hour and ten minutes, whose ticket is included in the programme. The transfer time is set against the confirmed flight, allowing for domestic check-in; luggage can be left in the hotel’s store room if the flight is in the afternoon.
With an afternoon flight, the morning is free in İzmir: the Kordon seafront promenade, the historic Asansör lift and the Kemeraltı bazaar are all a short way from the centre and are visited independently, without a guide.
End of our services on arrival in Istanbul. The circuit does not include accommodation in Istanbul or the transfer from the airport to a city hotel: the nights before and after can be quoted together with this programme, as can the connection with the international flights. Should your client want to close the trip on the coast, Kuşadası is a little over an hour from Ephesus and is also quoted separately.Notes for the day: The programme ends on arrival in Istanbul. We advise against booking the international return flight for the same day without a comfortable margin between the domestic arrival and the international departure.
Expected hotels
| City | Nights | Category | Hotel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Pamukkale | 1 | 4* / 5* | Richmond Thermal Hotel · Pam Thermal Hotel · Hierapark Thermal Hotel · Adem Pira Termal & Spaor similar |
| İzmir | 1 | 4* | Radisson Blu İzmir Aliağa · Hampton by Hilton Aliağa İzmiror 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
Scheduled departure · Private, tailor-made
It can be booked either way: on the scheduled departure, sharing services with other passengers, or privately, with your own vehicle and guide. The quotation states which of the two has been priced.
The exact dates of each departure are confirmed in the quotation, together with hotel and domestic-flight availability.
Operational notes
- This is a scheduled circuit with shared services: the vehicle, the guide and the visits are shared with the other passengers on the same departure. The exact departure date is confirmed in the quotation.
- 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.
- Seats in the vehicle are not numbered and daily rotation is recommended. In high season a leg may be shared with another English-speaking group.
- The licensed English-speaking guide accompanies the visits stated in the itinerary. The airport-to-hotel transfers are provided without a guide.
- Both domestic flights are issued in economy class; the baggage allowance depends on the airline and the fare and is shown on the ticket. Kayseri (ASR) and Nevşehir (NAV) airports are assigned according to the available schedules, and the programme of days 1 and 5 follows the confirmed times.
- Day 3 is a road leg of some 650 kilometres and around eight hours with stops. That day’s visits are concentrated in the afternoon, once in Pamukkale.
- On the travertines of Pamukkale you walk barefoot along the marked stretch and the wet stone is slippery. Cleopatra’s Pool has a separate ticket and is not included.
- Ephesus is walked on ancient paving, on a slope and with little shade; the terrace houses have a separate ticket and are not included. For the House of the Virgin Mary, clothing covering shoulders and knees is required.
- At the Göreme Open Air Museum photographing the frescoes inside the churches is not allowed, and the Dark Church has a separate ticket, which is not included. Museums and sites keep summer and winter opening hours.
- The balloon flight is not part of the programme. It is confirmed each dawn on wind and visibility and the operator may cancel it at the last moment; this itinerary leaves one available sunrise, that of day 2.
- The programme includes an explanatory stop at a carpet workshop, standard on this route. The visit is informative and any purchase is entirely voluntary.
- The circuit does not include accommodation in Istanbul or the city transfers: it starts at the Cappadocia airport and ends when the domestic flight lands in Istanbul. A comfortable margin between that arrival and the international return flight is advisable.
- During the religious holidays (Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı, whose dates move with the lunar calendar) domestic flights and hotels fill up early and the sites receive more local visitors.
- A passport valid for at least six months beyond the return date, the electronic visa according to nationality and compliance with entry requirements are the traveller’s responsibility and depend on their nationality.
Best time to travel
Recommended months: April, May, June, September, October
The circuit runs all year and crosses two different climates. In Cappadocia, a plateau at over a thousand metres, April to June and September to October bring clear days and mornings with little wind, the condition the balloon needs; between December and March it snows often. In the Aegean, April, May, June, September and October are the comfortable months: in July and August an early start is advisable at Ephesus and Hierapolis, because you walk on stone with almost no shade. Pamukkale visits well in any season, and the winter contrast of snow and hot water has its following.
Gallery
Frequently asked questions
Which flights are included and which are not?
The two connecting domestic flights are included: Istanbul – Cappadocia on day 1 and İzmir – Istanbul on day 5. International flights are not included and are booked by the agency. The circuit starts at the Cappadocia airport and ends on arrival in Istanbul.
Can it be combined with a stay in Istanbul?
Yes, and that is the usual way to sell it: the circuit does not repeat the city, so it links up before or after with however many nights your client wants in Istanbul. That accommodation and the city transfers are quoted together with this programme.
How much road travel is there on day 3?
Some 650 kilometres and around eight hours between Cappadocia and Pamukkale, with stops, including the Silk Road caravanserai. It is the longest leg of the circuit and is best presented to the client as a driving day rather than a sightseeing one; the visit to Hierapolis and the travertines is in the afternoon, once in the Aegean.
How many days are given to Cappadocia?
One guided day, day 2, plus the free afternoon on arrival. That day covers the Göreme Open Air Museum and the valleys of Uçhisar and Avanos. The underground city and the Ihlara Valley are not part of this circuit: they belong to the green tour and do appear in the two and three-day Cappadocia programmes.
Is the balloon flight included?
No. It is an optional activity booked separately and operated by a licensed balloon company. It is confirmed each dawn on wind and visibility and may be cancelled on safety grounds. This itinerary leaves one available sunrise, that of day 2.
Which meals are included?
Four breakfasts at the hotels and one dinner, on day 2 at the hotel in Cappadocia. Lunches, the other dinners and all drinks are outside the programme; stops are made at restaurants along the route and each passenger pays their own.
Where do you sleep each night?
Two nights in Cappadocia, one in Pamukkale — in a thermal-category hotel — and one in İzmir. The table of foreseen hotels on this page gives the names and the category for each place; they are foreseen hotels and, should one have no availability, it is replaced by another of a similar category.
How physically demanding is it?
Moderate. Ephesus is walked on ancient paving, on a slope and with little shade; at Hierapolis the ground is uneven and on the travertines you walk barefoot on wet stone, which is slippery. Day 3 is eight hours on the road. Anyone who would rather skip a visit waits with the guide.
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.
