Turkey 10-Day Luxury Private Tour

Welcome to Turkey. Your private driver meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel, where you can settle in and rest after the flight. If you arrive with energy to spare, a short walk to the waterfront or an early dinner with a view of the Bosphorus makes an easy first evening. Istanbul is a big city, so we keep this day light on purpose. Your local team is on hand for anything you need, from restaurant tips to the plan for tomorrow.

Spend a calm morning on the historic peninsula with your private guide. Start early at Hagia Sophia, nearly fifteen centuries old, then cross the square to the Blue Mosque with its six minarets and thousands of painted tiles. Mosque visits pause at prayer times, so your guide sets the order of the morning around them. After a long lunch nearby, the afternoon is yours: rest at your hotel, book a traditional hammam, or browse the Grand Bazaar, which is closed on Sundays.

After breakfast, take a short flight of about an hour and a half to Kayseri or Nevşehir, where your Cappadocia guide is waiting. The drive into the valleys is your first look at this strange landscape of fairy chimneys and soft volcanic rock. Settle into your hotel, many of them built into the rock itself, and enjoy a gentle walk or a sunset viewpoint in the late afternoon. Dinner on a quiet terrace is included tonight and is a lovely way to end the day.

An early start for your hot-air balloon flight, when the winds are calm and the sun rises over the valleys. Flights depend on the weather and are confirmed on the morning itself; if they cannot go, we look at the next morning where possible. After breakfast and a rest, explore the painted rock churches of the Göreme Open Air Museum and the views from Uchisar Castle with your guide. The afternoon is yours to enjoy the hotel and the quiet of the valleys.

After breakfast, your driver takes you to the airport for the flight west to Izmir, about an hour and a half. Your Aegean guide meets you there for the drive inland to Pamukkale, about three hours through olive groves and farmland, with a good lunch on the way. You arrive in the late afternoon, as the day visitors leave. Walk barefoot on the white travertine terraces and stay for the sunset, when the pools turn gold and pink. Dinner is at your hotel, many with their own thermal pools.

Return to the terraces in the cool of the morning to walk through Hierapolis, the Roman spa town above Pamukkale, with its great theater and long necropolis. Then drive about three hours west to Kuşadası, with a relaxed lunch stop in the countryside on the way. Your hotel looks out over the Aegean, so the rest of the afternoon can be spent by the pool or on a short walk along the harbor. Dinner by the sea is included tonight.

A short drive brings you to Ephesus as the gates open, before the heat and the crowds. With your guide, walk down Curetes Street past the Terrace Houses and fountains to the Library of Celsus and the Great Theater, among the best-preserved Roman remains anywhere. Return to your hotel for lunch and a free afternoon by the sea. If you would like more, your guide can take you to the hill village of Şirince for a Turkish coffee in the village square, or to the House of the Virgin Mary (tickets included).

Enjoy a slow morning by the sea, with time for a swim or a stroll along the harbor. Around midday your driver takes you to Izmir Airport, about an hour and a quarter away, for the short flight back to Istanbul. Settle into your hotel and spend the evening as you like, perhaps with dinner in Karaköy or a quiet walk along the water as the lights come on across the Bosphorus. Your guide will meet you in the morning.

Spend the morning with your guide at Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottoman sultans for almost four centuries, walking through its courtyards, the treasury and the terraces above the water. Topkapi is closed on Tuesdays, so your guide swaps the order of the day when needed. After lunch, cruise along the Bosphorus past Ottoman palaces, wooden mansions and fortresses, with Europe on one side and Asia on the other. End with a short walk through the Spice Bazaar, or go straight back to rest before a relaxed last evening.

Enjoy a final breakfast and, if your flight allows, one last walk or a Turkish coffee overlooking the water. Your private driver takes you to the airport at the right time for your flight, and your local team stays in touch until you leave. Istanbul Airport is a fair drive from the city center, so we plan the transfer with traffic in mind. Extra nights in Istanbul or a few days on the coast can easily be added. Safe travels.