11-Day Istanbul, Blue Cruise & Cappadocia Tour – Fethiye to Olympos

Following breakfast, hotel pickups take place between 08:00 and 09:30, with the final time given by your tour consultant the previous day. Your first visit is Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Inside you see glittering collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain, imperial robes, miniatures, the famous jewels of the Treasury and the Holy Mantle with relics of the Prophet Mohammed. You then walk to the Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque, the 16th-century Blue Mosque facing Hagia Sophia and named after its blue Iznik tiles, and to the Hippodrome outside, once the venue of chariot races and home to the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. After a short lunch break at your own expense, you continue to the Grand Spice Bazaar to shop for spices, sweets and souvenirs before returning to the hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast, at 08:30 you leave for a traditional boat trip on the Bosphorus, the waterway separating Europe and Asia, lined with old wooden villas, marble palaces, fortresses and fishing villages. From the water you admire Dolmabahce Palace, the parks and pavilions of Yildiz Palace and the 300-metre marble facade of Ciragan Palace. Ortakoy, with its church, mosque and synagogue standing together for centuries, is a symbol of tolerance and a Sunday meeting place for artists. You also see Rumeli Fortress, completed in only four months in 1452 by Mehmet the Conqueror to control the strait. On the Asian side you visit Beylerbeyi Palace, the summer residence of the sultans with its original furniture, gardens and harem, cross the Bosphorus Bridge between two continents and enjoy the sweeping panorama from Camlica Hill, the highest point of the city. The tour finishes with a visit to the Bedesten, where you see traditional carpet and silk weaving and shop for jewellery, handicrafts and leather. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you check out and transfer to the airport for your domestic flight to Dalaman. A driver meets you and takes you to Fethiye port, the departure point of your four-day Fethiye to Olympos gulet cruise. The gulet is shared, while cabins are private for those who book them. Once on board you sail to Butterfly Valley, a dramatic canyon opening onto a small beach, and then to Oludeniz and its famous Blue Lagoon, where you can add an optional paragliding flight from the mountains above. In the evening the boat anchors at St. Nicholas Island; be sure to climb to the top for what may be the most beautiful sunset of the whole cruise. Lunch and dinner are served on board. Overnight in your cabin on the gulet.

The day is spent cruising east along the coast, with stops for swimming in clear coves, breakfast and lunch served on deck. In the afternoon you reach the attractive harbour town of Kas. Here you can shop in its many jewellery stores or simply wander the cobblestone streets and soak up the atmosphere of this seaside former fishing village. Dinner is served on board. Overnight in your cabin on the gulet. As the boat sails between anchorages you can sunbathe on the cushioned deck, jump in for a swim from the stern or simply watch the rocky Lycian shoreline drift past.

Today you sail past the sunken city of Kekova, once part of the settlement on Kekova Island, which slipped into the sea after a devastating earthquake centuries ago. The gulet moves slowly along the ruins so you can see the walls and staircases beneath the surface. The boat then anchors on the opposite shore at Kalekoy, the ancient Simena. Here you can stroll through the village, walk up to the Lycian tombs or climb to Simena Castle for wonderful views over the coastline you have just sailed. Lunch and dinner are served on board. Overnight in your cabin on the gulet.

After breakfast on the final morning of your Blue Cruise you leave the cabin and transfer to Olympos, where you check in to a treehouse lodge set in a green valley near the sea. In the afternoon you can walk into the national park to explore the overgrown ruins of ancient Olympos on the way down to the beach for more sun and swimming. Dinner is served in the evening. Overnight in a treehouse in Olympos. It is a relaxed day on land after three nights at sea, ideal for a long swim and a quiet evening among the trees.

After breakfast you check out and drive to Antalya Airport for your domestic flight to Cappadocia. On arrival you are transferred to your hotel, where you check in and have time to take in the extraordinary volcanic landscape around you. Dinner is served at the hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia. The flight from Antalya to Cappadocia is short, so you usually arrive in good time to stroll around the village near your hotel, watch the evening light change on the fairy chimneys and prepare for two full days of guided touring.

Cappadocia is a volcanic region whose geological story began around 10 million years ago, leaving behind tall rock pillars and soft tuff valleys. The Persians called it Katpatuka, the land of beautiful horses, and it is also renowned for ceramics and carpets. At about 09:30 you are collected from your hotel for the Red Tour. The first stop is Uchisar Castle, the highest point of Cappadocia, followed by the Goreme Open Air Museum, the heart of the region, whose churches are decorated with 10th-century frescoes of the life of Christ and the monks. Next comes Cavusin, an abandoned village of old cave houses once inhabited by Greeks. Lunch is served at a restaurant in Avanos, after which you watch the potters at work in a pottery workshop. You then see the three-headed fairy chimneys of Pasabag, visit a workshop of handwoven Cappadocian carpets and kilims, and continue to Devrent Valley, also called Imagination Valley, where rocks resemble animals. After wine tasting at a wine shop in Urgup, the last stop is the Three Beauties, the capped fairy chimneys that symbolise Cappadocia. You return to the hotel at around 18:00. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast you are picked up at about 09:30 and driven to Derinkuyu Underground City, one of the deepest and best preserved underground settlements in Cappadocia, reaching 55 metres below ground with eight levels open to visitors. The tour continues to Ihlara Valley, a 16-kilometre canyon whose walls are dotted with rock-carved churches. You hike about 3 kilometres along the river and visit one of the churches on the way. At the end of the walk lunch is served by the river in Belisirma village. Afterwards you explore Selime Monastery, a vast rock-cut complex hollowed out by Christian monks in the 13th century. On the way back to the hotel you stop at Pigeon Valley, named for the dovecotes carved into its cliffs. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast you have free time in Cappadocia for a final stroll or some souvenir shopping. You are then transferred to the airport for your domestic flight to Istanbul and your connection home, ending an eleven-day journey from the Bosphorus to the Mediterranean and the heart of Anatolia. Your driver collects you at a time arranged according to your flight. If your departure is in the afternoon, you can take a last walk among the fairy chimneys or buy a piece of Avanos pottery or a handwoven kilim as a keepsake of the journey.