Western Turkey Exploration

Upon arrival at Istanbul Airport, you will be met by your driver and transferred to your hotel. After check-in, you have the remainder of the day at your leisure to begin exploring the city at your own pace. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, meet your guide for a full-day tour of Istanbul’s most iconic sites. Begin at Hagia Sophia, once the city’s religious heart during the Byzantine era and one of the largest buildings in the world. Next, explore Topkapi Palace, the former imperial residence and administrative centre of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years. Continue to the Hippodrome, built in 203 AD by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, which was once a bustling public arena capable of holding 100,000 spectators. Visit the Blue Mosque, constructed in 1616 by Sultan Ahmet I, renowned for its six minarets and impressive dome. Finally, wander through the Grand Bazaar, one of the world’s largest covered markets with over 4,000 shops and 18 entrances. At the end of the day, we will return you to your hotel for an overnight stay in Istanbul.

After breakfast, check out of your hotel and meet your guide for the drive to Çanakkale. Today’s visit focuses on the ANZAC battlefields, where we explore key sites including Brighton Beach, ANZAC Cove, Beach Cemetery, the Lone Pine Australian Memorial, and the Turkish and Allied tunnels and trenches at Johnston’s Jolly. We also visit the 57th Regiment Turkish Memorial and the Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial, each offering a poignant insight into the Gallipoli campaign. Later, we tour the Troy archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring the ancient ruins of the legendary city. Wander among the remains of walls, temples and theatres, and connect with the rich history and mythology of the Trojan War. After the tour, we drive to Çanakkale and check in to your hotel for the night.

After breakfast, check out and drive to Pergamum, a city that served as a capital for nearly four centuries. Pergamum’s history spans from the Stone and Bronze Ages through the Archaic and Classical periods. Explore its impressive temples, palaces, and agoras, including the renowned Asclepion—a complex dedicated to healing that developed over a century alongside the Great Altar of Zeus and the Parchment Library. After lunch, visit the Asklepion ruins, once a prominent medical centre where figures such as Hippocrates and Galenus lived and worked. En route to Kuşadası, enjoy views of the Aegean Sea, dotted with olive groves and scattered Greek and Turkish islands. Arrive in Kuşadası and check in to your hotel for the night.

After breakfast, meet your guide for a full-day tour of Ancient Ephesus. Begin at the House of the Virgin Mary, where a church was built to honour her. Continue to the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the best-preserved classical cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the first century AD, Ephesus was the world’s second-largest city after Rome, home to over 250,000 people. Walking along its ancient streets, you’ll see remarkable monuments such as the third-largest library of the ancient world and the largest Roman theatre in Asia. The tour concludes with a visit to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a significant pilgrimage site in antiquity. After the tour, we return to your hotel in Kusadasi for the evening.

After breakfast at the hotel meet with your guide and start your full-day tour. Visit Pamukkale, Pools of Heaven on Earth. Pamukkale has always been a very popular settlement where hot springs were believed to have healing powers. So it is considered to be the earliest spa on earth where in history people travelled long distances in order to find a cure. The unique terraces were formed by running warm spring water containing calcium bicarbonate at a temperature of 35 C. Today Pamukkale is declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Visit the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest Necropolis with 1200 gravestones in Anatolia. The Sacred Pool is one of the highlights of the site. The shallow thermal waters ripple over a wonderful scattering of ancient Roman ruins which lie beneath. At the end of the tour drive you to Denizli Airport for your onward flight (not included).