9 Day Aegean Road Trip: Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale & Antalya

Highlights of the 9 Day Aegean Road Trip

Trace the full sweep of western Turkiye on this nine-day guaranteed-departure road trip that runs from imperial Istanbul down the Aegean coast to the sunlit Mediterranean at Antalya. Travelling by comfortable air-conditioned coach with a professional English-speaking guide, you cross from Europe into Asia and string together five unforgettable regions — the monuments of old Istanbul, the solemn battlefields of Gallipoli, the legendary walls of Troy, the hilltop acropolis of Pergamon, the marble streets of Ephesus, the cotton-white terraces of Pamukkale and the Ottoman old town of Antalya. Because departures are guaranteed, you can plan with confidence while keeping the freedom to choose your own hotels and your own pace.

In Istanbul you explore the UNESCO-listed Hippodrome with the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpent Column and the German Fountain, step inside the tile-clad Blue Mosque and the soaring Hagia Sophia, and can add an optional evening cruise on the Bosphorus. Crossing the Dardanelles brings you to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where the Kabatepe Museum, Anzac Cove, the Ari Burnu Cemetery, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair tell the moving story of the 1915 campaign. At Troy you stand before the famous wooden horse and the layered ruins of Homer's city, while the magnificent Pergamon Acropolis above Bergama reveals its temples and the site of one of antiquity's greatest libraries.

The heart of the journey is Ephesus, one of the best-preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean, where the Curetes Street, the Roman baths, the Great Theatre and the glorious facade of the Celsus Library bring the ancient port back to life, with a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary and the hillside wine village of Sirince and a stop in the resort of Kusadasi. You then reach Pamukkale, dazzled by its white travertine terraces and the ruins of ancient Hierapolis, before the road turns south to Antalya. Here the walled old town of Kaleici, Hadrian's Gate, the Yivli Minaret, the historic marina and the cascading Duden Waterfall bring this classic Aegean and Mediterranean road trip to a memorable close.