Istanbul 3 Nights, Kusadasi 2 Nights, Pamukkale 1 Night & Antalya 2 Nights Group Tour – 8 Nights 9 Days with Domestic Flight

Highlights of the Istanbul 3 Nights, Kusadasi 2 Nights, Pamukkale 1 Night & Antalya 2 Nights Group Tour – 8 Nights 9 Days with Domestic Flight

A group tour that travels like the ancient caravans – overland from the Aegean to the Mediterranean with a night at Pamukkale: Istanbul, Kusadasi, Pamukkale and Antalya in 8 nights. Instead of a domestic flight, a shuttle brings you from the coast to the white travertines, you sleep in a thermal hotel, and the next day's guided Pamukkale tour continues straight to your hotel in Antalya. You stay in hand-picked hotels of your chosen category and join small group excursions led by a professional English-speaking guide.

The historic peninsula of Sultanahmet is the heart of old Constantinople: Hagia Sophia, built by Emperor Justinian in 537 and for almost a thousand years the largest church in the world, the Blue Mosque with more than 20,000 hand-painted İznik tiles, the Hippodrome with its Egyptian obelisk and Topkapı Palace, from where the Ottoman sultans ruled an empire on three continents. The Grand Bazaar, with some 4,000 shops under its vaulted roofs, is one of the oldest covered markets in the world.

Dolmabahçe Palace, with its crystal staircase and the largest Bohemian chandelier in the world, was the last residence of the Ottoman sultans and the place where Atatürk died. Along the Golden Horn you visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, ride the cable car up to the Pierre Loti café for the famous view over the inlet and walk through the colourful houses and old churches of Balat.

Ephesus was the capital of Roman Asia and one of the largest cities of the ancient world. Its marble Curetes Street leads past the Temple of Hadrian and the terraced houses of the wealthy to the two-storey façade of the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre, which seated 25,000 people. Nearby stand the House of the Virgin Mary, a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims alike, and the lonely column of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

A cruise on the Bosphorus is the best way to understand Istanbul: the strait between Europe and Asia is lined with Ottoman palaces such as Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi, the baroque Ortaköy Mosque, the Rumeli Fortress built by Mehmed the Conqueror and elegant wooden waterside mansions called yalı. Before the boat trip you visit the Spice Bazaar, built in 1664 and still full of spices, teas and Turkish delight.

In Kaleiçi, the historic walled quarter of Antalya, cobbled lanes lead past restored Ottoman mansions to Hadrian's Gate, built in honour of the Roman emperor in 130 AD, the Clock Tower and the fluted Yivli Minaret, the symbol of the city. The Lower Düden Waterfall pours straight off the cliffs into the sea, and a boat trip along the coast shows you the old Roman harbour and the Falez cliffs from the water.

Instead of flying, this itinerary crosses inland by road and spends a night at Pamukkale, the "Cotton Castle", a UNESCO World Heritage Site where calcium-rich thermal springs have built brilliant white travertine terraces. Staying overnight in a thermal hotel lets you visit the terraces and the ancient spa city of Hierapolis – with its monumental theatre, necropolis and Cleopatra's Antique Pool – in the fresh morning light, and even take a sunrise balloon flight, before the tour continues over the Taurus Mountains to Antalya.

Choose your hotel category for every stop – 3★: Ilkbal Deluxe Hotel Istanbul and Club Hotel Lion and Lycus River Thermal Hotel and Mediterra Art Hotel; 4★: Antik Hotel Istanbul and Kuşadası Derici Otel and Lycus River Thermal Hotel and Sky Luxe Hotel Konyaaltı; 5★: Eresin Hotels Topkapi and Elite World Kusadasi and Lycus River Thermal Hotel and Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Antalya. All prices are per person in a double room for the whole package and change with the travel season; the shuttle to Pamukkale, the Pamukkale tour with onward transfer to Antalya, any domestic flights shown in the itinerary, airport transfers, guided excursions, lunches on tour days and entrance fees are included. A sunrise balloon flight over Pamukkale can be added as an option.