7 Days Accessible Turkey Tour: Istanbul, Ephesus, Sirince & Pamukkale Private Tour

Your guide welcomes you at Istanbul Airport, helps with your luggage and escorts you by adapted vehicle to your accessible hotel in the Taksim area. The remainder of the day is yours to rest after the journey and to settle in. Istanbul has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and it spreads across two continents, Europe and Asia. Its museums, bazaars, minarets, churches, palaces and restaurants make it one of the most layered cities in the world, and the next two days are devoted to its highlights. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast your guided city tour starts at the Hippodrome, the ancient arena of chariot races, where the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpent Column and the Column of Constantine still stand. Next comes Hagia Sophia, raised in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian and long the largest church in Christendom; its golden mosaics remain astonishing, and wheelchair ramps are provided at the entrance. You then visit the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Sedefkar Mehmed Agha and named for its Iznik tiles; a ramp serves the northwest entrance, and wheelchair users transfer to a chair supplied by the staff because of the old hand-woven carpet. After lunch at a restaurant beside the mosque, you tour Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman sultans, now a museum of jewels, porcelain and weapons. Some sections have level, threshold-free entrances. Please bring a scarf for the mosques. Overnight in Istanbul.

This morning you visit the Rahmi Koc Museum, an industrial-heritage museum filled with railway vehicles, including a sultan's carriage, the Kadikoy-Moda tram, a 14th-century celestial globe, a 19th-century transit telescope, a model of the Wright Brothers' glider, a Douglas DC-3, a Starfighter jet, a submarine and many vintage cars. Ramps and lifts inside allow wheelchair users to move through the museum. After lunch the tour continues to Pierre Loti Hill, which rises about 55 metres above sea level and is named after the French novelist who wrote Aziyade. The terrace gives a sweeping view over the Golden Horn. In the afternoon you are driven back to the hotel for a relaxed evening. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you are transferred to the airport for the domestic flight to Izmir, which is not included in the tour price. On arrival your local guide meets and assists you, then drives you along the Aegean coast to Kusadasi, where an accessible hotel awaits. The rest of the day is free for relaxing at the hotel, enjoying the sea air and preparing for tomorrow's visit to one of the great ancient sites of the Mediterranean world. Dinner is served at the hotel. Overnight in Kusadasi.

At about nine o'clock you leave the hotel for a guided tour of Ephesus, among the best-preserved ancient cities in the world. The route passes the Temple of Artemis and covers Curetes Street, the Roman baths, the Library of Celsus and the Grand Theatre, while the walk also reveals the elegant Temple of Hadrian, the colonnaded Harbour Street that once led to the sea, the old trading square of the Commercial Agora and the decorated fountains of Androklos and the theatre. Wheelchair access is roughly sixty percent, with cobblestones, uneven stone and wooden surfaces, so manual chairs may need assistance; ramps and restrooms for wheelchair users are available, and service animals are welcome. After a lunch stop you visit a carpet-weaving centre, then the village of Sirince, with its white Anatolian Greek houses, vineyards and fruit wines. Overnight in Kusadasi.

Today you drive to Pamukkale, the Cotton Castle, to see its dazzling white travertine terraces formed by mineral-rich springs. You explore the ruins of Hierapolis, many of which stand close to the main road, so details can be admired without leaving firm paths. The street from the South Gate is cobbled but gives the shortest, most direct way to the highlights for wheelchair users. Four areas are accessible: the travertine boardwalks, the museum, Cleopatra's Pool and Hierapolis; the theatre is reachable with assistance. The travertine pools themselves are not accessible. In the afternoon you return to Kusadasi for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast you are transferred to the airport for your onward flight, with the return domestic flight to Istanbul not included in the tour price. Your guide assists you to the departure area and says farewell, and we hope this journey through Istanbul, the Aegean coast and Pamukkale has left you with lasting memories and photographs. Please remember that museum entrances ask for ID or a parking permit showing the disability, and ask us about arrangements for other types of disability.