A group waving from the carved balcony of a rock-cut house in Cappadocia, the middle stage of the fourteen days.

Multi-day tour

Turkey by private car in 14 days, with Ankara and Alaçatı

Fourteen days by road with car and guide for your group alone: Istanbul over four days, Ankara, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Alaçatı and Bursa.

Private, tailor-made The vehicle and the guide are for your passengers only, and you choose the starting day.

Key facts

  • Duration 14 days / 13 nights
  • Route Istanbul → Bursa 9 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

A group waving from the carved balcony of a rock-cut house in Cappadocia, the middle stage of the fourteen days.

Overview

A fourteen-day private circuit that crosses Turkey by road, with no domestic flights and with a car and guide exclusively for your group. It is the programme that gives Istanbul the most time — four days split between the beginning and the end of the trip, with museums, palaces, the Bosphorus by private boat, the Asian shore and the districts of Fener and Balat — and the only one that includes Ankara, with the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, the Citadel and the Mausoleum of Atatürk.
In between comes the classic itinerary: the Salt Lake and the underground city of Özkonak on the way to Cappadocia, two nights among the volcanic valleys, the caravanserai of Sultanhanı on the long leg to Pamukkale, Hierapolis and the travertines, Ephesus, a day in the Aegean village of Alaçatı and the stop at Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, on the way back.
Included are accommodation with breakfast, six dinners outside Istanbul, the entrance fees listed, the hotel tax, wifi in the vehicle and mineral water on board. The date is the agency’s to choose and it is quoted to order, in net rates.

Route: IstanbulAnkaraLake TuzCappadociaPamukkaleEphesusİzmirAlaçatıBursa

  • Physical level: Moderate
  • Languages of the guided visits: Spanish, English

Highlights

  • Four days of Istanbul: museums and palaces, Süleymaniye and the Bosphorus by private boat, the historic peninsula and the Asian shore.
  • Ankara and the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, the finest Hittite collection in the world, with Anıtkabir and the Citadel.
  • The eight-level underground city of Özkonak and the Salt Lake on the way to Cappadocia.
  • Two nights in Cappadocia, with the Avcılar and Güvercinlik viewpoints and the cave village of Uçhisar.
  • The Seljuk caravanserai of Sultanhanı on the Silk Road, on the leg to Pamukkale.
  • Hierapolis, the travertines and Ephesus in a single day, and a slow day in Alaçatı.
  • Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, with its İznik-tiled mosques, on the way back.
  • Six included dinners, hotel tax, wifi in the vehicle and mineral water on board.

What is included and what is not

Included

  • 13 nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the hotels listed or of similar category: Istanbul (7 nights), Ankara, Cappadocia (2 nights), Pamukkale and İzmir (2 nights).
  • A Spanish- or English-speaking guide throughout the circuit.
  • Private car with driver for all the visits and journeys in the itinerary.
  • All transfers, including arrival and departure.
  • Entrance fees to the monuments and museums listed in the itinerary: the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, Anıtkabir, the Citadel of Ankara, the Özkonak underground city, Hierapolis and Pamukkale, Ephesus and the mosques of Bursa.
  • Private Bosphorus cruise.
  • 6 dinners at the circuit’s hotels outside Istanbul: Ankara, Cappadocia (2), Pamukkale, İzmir and Alaçatı.
  • Hotel tax.
  • Wifi in the vehicle and mineral water on board.

Not included

  • International air tickets and domestic flights.
  • 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 in a cave restaurant: an optional activity, on request.
  • The 4x4 jeep excursion in Cappadocia and other optional excursions.
  • Entrance fees not listed in the itinerary.
  • Personal expenses (shopping, minibar, laundry, room service) and excess baggage.
  • Tips for the guide, the driver and hotel and restaurant staff.
  • Turkish visa or electronic authorisation, and its handling.
  • Travel and health insurance (recommended).
  • Any service not expressly mentioned as included.

Day by day itinerary

  1. Day 1

    Arrival in Istanbul

    Arrival at Istanbul airport, meeting with our representative and transfer to the hotel, where the first three nights are spent. 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 to go through the whole itinerary, which is long and has two quite distinct blocks: four days in Istanbul split between the beginning and the end of the trip, and nine days of driving through Anatolia and the Aegean in between. The practical things worth knowing from day one on a road circuit are also explained: how the luggage is handled, which legs are long — the one from Cappadocia to Pamukkale takes a whole day — and what clothing is needed to enter mosques. Accommodation in Istanbul. It is also worth knowing that this is the only circuit in the catalogue that uses no domestic flight at all: the whole route is covered in the same car, with the same driver, which allows the stops along the way that an itinerary with planes cannot make.
    Visits
    Istanbul Airport, hotel surroundings (free time)
    Overnight in
    Istanbul
  2. Day 2

    Istanbul: museums and palaces

    A day of museums, which is the way to start Istanbul if the trip is going to last a fortnight: the objects first, the monuments afterwards. It opens at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, in the first courtyard of Topkapı, with the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus — brought from Sidon and carved with a battle on which traces of paint still survive — the Treaty of Kadesh and the lions from Babylon’s processional way. Then Topkapı Palace, residence of the sultans for four centuries: the four courtyards, the kitchens with their collection of Chinese porcelain, the council chamber and the terrace looking over the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. The day closes underground, in the Basilica Cistern, Justinian’s reservoir held up by three hundred and thirty-six reused columns, with its two Medusa heads set sideways and upside down. All three sites are inside the same district and are linked on foot, so the day spends no time on transfers; the Topkapı harem has a separate ticket and is not included.
    Visits
    The Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: The Topkapı harem has a separate ticket and is not included.

  3. Day 3

    Süleymaniye, the spices and the Bosphorus by private boat

    The morning begins at the Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent, Mimar Sinan’s masterpiece above the Golden Horn: a dome fifty-three metres high, a porticoed courtyard and, in the garden behind, the tombs of the sultan and of Roxelana and that of the architect himself, in a corner, the size of a shed. From there we go down to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar in Eminönü, with its stalls of saffron, dried fruit, cheeses, apple tea and Turkish delight, and its coffee shops with the grinders on show. In the afternoon, a private Bosphorus cruise: an hour and a half to two hours for the group alone, with no scheduled-service timetable, between the palaces of Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi, the fortresses of Rumeli and Anadolu, the wooden mansions and both bridges seen from below. A layer is worth bringing, because there is always a breeze on the water. That the boat is private changes the day more than it sounds: you sail at the hour that suits the group, and the stop in front of the palaces can be stretched or cut short if the wind picks up.
    Visits
    The Süleymaniye Mosque, the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, a private Bosphorus cruise
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: The mosque closes to visitors during the five daily prayers and, above all, around the Friday midday prayer.

  4. Day 4

    Istanbul and Ankara

    An early start for the capital: four hundred and fifty kilometres and about five and a half hours by motorway, with the necessary stops. Ankara is the leg that sets this circuit apart, and the reason is the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, housed in an Ottoman bedesten: the finest Hittite collection in the world, with the reliefs from Yazılıkaya, the ivories from Acemhöyük and the finds from Çatalhöyük arranged by millennium, so that in two hours you cover the prehistory and antiquity of the plateau. Then a panoramic tour of the city with a stop at Anıtkabir, the Mausoleum of Atatürk, and a visit to the Citadel of Ankara, with its Byzantine walls, the Roman temple of Augustus and the remains of the baths. Accommodation in Ankara and dinner included at the hotel. The leg runs on motorway with no detours, so the morning goes on the road and the three visits are concentrated in the afternoon; that is why dinner is included at the hotel, which is reached after dark. Ankara stands at a thousand metres and in spring and autumn it cools down once the sun goes.
    Visits
    The Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, Anıtkabir, the Citadel of Ankara and the temple of Augustus
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    Ankara

    Notes for the day: Road leg of about 450 km, approximately 5 h 30. At Anıtkabir there is a changing of the guard and a visiting protocol that should be respected.

  5. Day 5

    Ankara, the Salt Lake and Cappadocia

    Three hundred kilometres and about four hours south-east, with two stops that earn the detour. The first is the Salt Lake, the second largest in Turkey: in summer the water withdraws and leaves a white crust you can walk on for hundreds of metres, with the shore in view and nothing else. The second is the underground city of Özkonak, cut on eight levels and considerably less visited than Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu: it keeps the circular stone doors that were rolled across to close the corridors from inside, and the vertical shafts through which stones were dropped on invaders. Once in Cappadocia, a first look at the valleys of Göreme and Devrent, where erosion of the volcanic ash has left silhouettes each visitor reads differently. Accommodation in Cappadocia. In the evening, anyone who wishes can add the Turkish night in a cave restaurant, with folk dancing, which is optional and arranged on request.
    Visits
    The Salt Lake, the Özkonak underground city, the Göreme and Devrent valleys
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    Cappadocia

    Optional activities

    • Turkish night in a cave restaurant, with folk dancing

    Notes for the day: Road leg of about 300 km, approximately 4 h. Özkonak has narrow, low corridors that in places are walked bent over.

  6. Day 6

    Cappadocia: viewpoints and the cave village

    A full day in the region. Anyone who wishes can begin before dawn with the balloon flight over the volcanic valleys, which is an optional activity: it is booked separately, depends on each morning’s weather clearance and can be cancelled for safety up to the last moment. The guided programme then starts at the viewpoints of Avcılar and Güvercinlik, the two balconies from which the fairy chimneys and the dovecotes cut into the valley wall are best seen. It continues at Uçhisar, the cave village crowned by a fortress hollowed out of the crag: from the top, on clear days, you can see the Erciyes volcano and much of the region. Dinner included at the hotel. Anyone wanting to add an activity can book the 4x4 jeep excursion through the valleys, which is not included either. The day’s guided programme is deliberately short so as to leave the afternoon free: anyone who flew in a balloon before dawn is grateful for the hours, and anyone who did not can use them for the valleys on foot or for the village of Göreme.
    Visits
    The Avcılar and Güvercinlik viewpoints, the fairy chimneys, the village and fortress of Uçhisar
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    Cappadocia

    Optional activities

    • Balloon flight at dawn over the valleys of Cappadocia
    • 4x4 jeep excursion through the valleys

    Notes for the day: The balloon and the jeep are optional activities and are not included in the programme.

  7. Day 7

    Cappadocia to Pamukkale along the Silk Road

    The longest leg of the circuit: six hundred and fifty kilometres and about eight hours of driving, from the central plateau to the inland Aegean. We set out early and the day is organised as what it is, a travelling day with one visit along the way: the caravanserai of Sultanhanı, one of the best preserved the Seljuks built on the Silk Road, with its carved marble portal, its square courtyard, the mosque raised in the middle and the covered halls where the caravans slept. Then we cross the Konya plain and the passes westward, with stops to eat and stretch. Arrival in Pamukkale at the end of the afternoon, dinner and accommodation at a thermal hotel, which is the best way to finish eight hours in the car. It is worth reckoning that this day leaves no room for extra visits. The caravanserai is a little under two hours from Cappadocia, so the stop comes early and the rest of the day is driving; the guide spaces the comfort stops roughly every two hours.
    Visits
    The Seljuk caravanserai of Sultanhanı on the Silk Road
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    Pamukkale (thermal hotel)

    Notes for the day: Road leg of about 650 km, approximately 8 h with stops. It is the longest travelling day of the circuit.

  8. Day 8

    Pamukkale, Ephesus and İzmir

    A double day, well used, with two hundred and sixty kilometres and about three and a half hours of driving split between the two visits. In the morning, Hierapolis and the Cotton Castle: the ancient city with its necropolis, the Frontinus arch and the Roman theatre, and the white travertine terraces, walked barefoot by rule of the site, with the warm water ankle-deep. In the afternoon, the ruins of Ephesus: Curetes Street, the Library of Celsus, Marble Street and the great theatre, and then the House of the Virgin Mary on Mount Bülbül, the stone house tradition points to as her last home. Arrival in İzmir at the end of the day, where the next two nights are spent, and dinner included at the hotel. In a single day you go from the thermal interior to the Aegean coast. It is the busiest day of the circuit and the order matters: Pamukkale is visited in the morning, when the travertine is less crowded, and Ephesus in the afternoon, walking down the slope with the sun behind you.
    Visits
    Hierapolis and the Pamukkale travertines, the ruins of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    İzmir

    Notes for the day: Road leg of about 260 km, approximately 3 h 30. The travertine terraces are walked barefoot by rule of the site.

  9. Day 9

    A day in Alaçatı

    A day at a different pace, given to Alaçatı on the Çeşme peninsula: an Aegean village of stone houses with coloured shutters, narrow lanes covered in bougainvillea and the old windmills up on the rise, which has now become İzmir’s weekend place. It is covered on foot, with no monuments to visit and no timetable: the interest lies in the producers’ market, with its wild herbs from the district, the cheeses, the jams and the oil; in the craft workshops; and in the cafés set up in old houses. It is the lightest day of the circuit and works as a breather between the long Pamukkale leg and the drive back to Istanbul. Dinner included. Accommodation in İzmir, from where we set off north the next day. It is a little under an hour by motorway from İzmir to Alaçatı, so the day does not start early and there is room to be back by mid-afternoon and make use of the İzmir seafront before dinner.
    Visits
    Alaçatı: the old village of stone houses, the windmills and the producers’ market
    Meals
    Breakfast, dinner
    Overnight in
    İzmir

    Notes for the day: The Alaçatı producers’ market has a fixed weekday; if the day does not coincide, the walk through the old village is organised just the same.

  10. Day 10

    İzmir, Bursa and back to Istanbul

    Four hundred and eighty kilometres and about six hours back north, with the day’s main stop at Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, at the foot of Mount Uludağ. We visit the three mosques that sum the city up: the Great Mosque, of twenty domes and with an ablution fountain under the roof, in the middle of the hall; the Green Mosque and the Green Mausoleum, both covered in İznik tiles from the period when that workshop was working for the court. Bursa is also the city of silk and of the cocoon trade, and the district of the old hans is right by the mosques. Then the last stretch to Istanbul, where the final four nights of the trip are spent. Arrival in the afternoon; the time depends on the traffic coming into the city, which is the least predictable part of the day. Bursa is about four hours from İzmir and another two from Istanbul, so the visit to the mosques falls at midday and the group eats there, which is the best stop on the drive for it.
    Visits
    Bursa: the Great Mosque, the Green Mosque and the Green Mausoleum; return to Istanbul
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: Road leg of about 480 km, approximately 6 h.

  11. Day 11

    Classic Istanbul

    Now the monuments of the historic peninsula, after seeing on day 2 the objects that came out of them. Hagia Sophia opens the day: the largest dome in the Christian world for nine centuries, with the Byzantine mosaics that survived its conversion into a mosque. Then the Roman Hippodrome, the long square that was the circus of Constantinople, with the Egyptian obelisk brought from Karnak, the serpent column from Delphi and the base of the obelisk of Theodosius. Next the Blue Mosque, with six minarets and more than twenty thousand tiles, and a close at the Grand Bazaar, with over sixty covered streets and free time to look at carpets, copperwork and jewellery. The four are minutes apart on foot, so the morning is not lost to transfers; the guide decides the order according to the day’s queues. The Grand Bazaar closes on Sundays and on religious holidays; if the day falls on a closure, the end of the day moves to the Spice Bazaar or to the hans of Nuruosmaniye.
    Visits
    Hagia Sophia, the Roman Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: The visiting arrangements at Hagia Sophia depend on current regulations; see the operating notes. The Grand Bazaar closes on Sundays.

  12. Day 12

    Asian Istanbul

    We cross to Asia, the half of the city that hardly any short circuit sets foot in. The first stop is the Çamlıca Mosque, the largest in Turkey, completed in 2019 on the top of the hill: six minarets, room for more than sixty thousand people and, from its terrace, the best overall view of the Bosphorus and both shores. Then down to Kuzguncuk, a small neighbourhood of painted wooden houses, with its main street of cafés, its synagogue, its Armenian church and its mosque within a few metres of each other, which is the most direct way to grasp the Istanbul of several communities. The way back goes by Galata Tower, on the European shore, with its circular gallery above the roofs of Beyoğlu and the Golden Horn. Accommodation in Istanbul. The crossing between the two shores depends on bridge traffic and may be made by ferry if the guide thinks it quicker, which is also the way to see the city from the water without paying for a separate boat.
    Visits
    The Çamlıca Mosque, the Kuzguncuk district, Galata Tower
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: The crossing between the two shores depends on bridge traffic and may be made by ferry if the guide judges it quicker.

  13. Day 13

    Fener, Balat and Taksim: a free day without a guide

    A free day without a guide, at the traveller’s disposal, which the programme deliberately leaves until the end: after eleven days on a schedule, the city is welcome on your own terms. The route the programme suggests for anyone who wants to use it covers Fener and Balat, the two Golden Horn districts where the city keeps its Greek, Jewish and Armenian inheritance, with their coloured façades, their wooden houses on the slope, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of the Trinity; and it closes at Taksim Square and İstiklal Street, with its historic tram. It works well on foot and by public transport. The guide leaves the addresses, the opening hours and how to get around, and the local team remains available on the 24/7 assistance line for anything that comes up. Accommodation in Istanbul. Fener and Balat are on a slope and the streets are cobbled, so comfortable shoes are advisable; from Balat you can walk down to the Golden Horn and return to the centre by ferry, which is the pleasantest leg of the day.
    Visits
    Suggested route on your own: Fener, Balat, the Church of the Trinity, Taksim Square and İstiklal Street
    Meals
    Breakfast
    Overnight in
    Istanbul

    Notes for the day: A day without a guide, at the traveller’s disposal. The Fener, Balat and Taksim route is a suggestion and is done on your own.

  14. Day 14

    Departure

    Breakfast at the hotel and free time 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. If the morning is free, luggage can be left at the desk after check-out, which in most hotels is at midday. Transfer to the airport and assistance as far as the check-in area. End of our services. If you want to lengthen the trip, the additions that fit best after this itinerary are more nights in Cappadocia, south-eastern Anatolia or an extension outside Turkey connected from Istanbul; they are quoted together with the programme. The hotel tax for all thirteen nights is included in the programme, so there is nothing outstanding to pay on that account at check-out.
    Visits
    Transfer to Istanbul Airport
    Meals
    Breakfast

Expected hotels

City Nights Category Hotel
Istanbul 7 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
Ankara 1 4* Akman Premium Hotel · New Park Hotel · Connect Ankara · Divan Ankaraor 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
Pamukkale 1 4* / 5* Richmond Thermal Hotel · Pam Thermal Hotel · Hierapark Thermal Hotel · Adem Pira Termal & Spaor similar
İzmir 2 4*

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.

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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.

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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 is entirely by road and involves five long legs between cities, from 260 to 650 km. The one on day 7, from Cappadocia to Pamukkale, takes about eight hours with stops and leaves no room for extra visits. The vehicle has wifi and mineral water on board.
  • Day 13 is a free day without a guide. The route the programme suggests through Fener, Balat and Taksim is done on your own, on foot and by public transport; the 24/7 assistance line in Spanish remains available.
  • 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, 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, on ground that is uneven and slippery in places. The Özkonak underground city has narrow, low corridors that in places are walked bent over.
  • The balloon flight in Cappadocia is optional, booked in advance and subject to each morning’s weather clearance; when the flight is not authorised, the amount is refunded or a second attempt is made if the programme allows. The Turkish night and the jeep excursion are optional too.
  • The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul closes on Sundays and on religious holidays. 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 the 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 best seasons for such a long road circuit: mild temperatures on the plateau, good visibility in Cappadocia and bearable heat at Ephesus and Pamukkale, which are open-air visits with little shade. In July and August the interior frequently exceeds 35 °C and the long legs become harder; in those months open-air visits are moved to first thing. From December to February the programme runs normally, with shorter days, possible snow on the plateau and in Cappadocia, and more balloon cancellations because of wind.

Frequently asked questions

Are the balloon flight and the Turkish night 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; it is worth booking with the programme because demand is high.

Are there domestic flights?

No. It is an entirely road-based circuit, by private car with driver, and that is what makes the stops along the way possible — the Salt Lake, Özkonak, Sultanhanı, Bursa — which an itinerary with flights cannot do. The longest leg is day 7, about 650 kilometres and eight hours.

How much time is spent in Istanbul?

Seven nights and four days of visits, split between the beginning (days 1 to 3) and the end of the trip (days 10 to 13). It is the circuit in our catalogue that gives the city the most time, which is why it includes the Asian shore and the Fener and Balat districts that short programmes never reach.

Is there a guide on day 13?

No. It is a free day without a guide, at the traveller’s disposal, and the Fener, Balat and Taksim route is a suggestion to be followed on your own. The 24/7 assistance line in Spanish is available that day as on the rest of the trip.

Which meals are included?

Daily breakfast and six dinners at the circuit’s hotels outside Istanbul: Ankara, Cappadocia (two), Pamukkale, İzmir and Alaçatı. Lunches and drinks are not included; the guide suggests where to stop according to the day’s leg.

When is the best time to do it?

April to June and September to October. The road legs are long and in July and August the heat of the interior makes them harder; in winter the circuit runs normally, with shorter days, possible snow on the plateau and in Cappadocia and more balloon cancellations because of wind.

What level of fitness does it require?

Moderate. There are no mountain stages, but there are several open-air visits of two to three hours over uneven ground — Ephesus, Hierapolis, Uçhisar — the Pamukkale terraces are walked barefoot and Özkonak has low, narrow corridors. If anyone travelling has reduced mobility, mention it when requesting the quote.

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.

How to verify us

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