Turkey package tours from experienced gay & lesbian owned travel agency of Turkey

TURKEY TOUR #5  (6 DAYS - 7 NIGHTS)

EVERYDAY DEPARTURE

EPHESUS, PAMUKKALE, ANTALYA, CAPPADOCIA BUS TOUR FROM ISTANBUL

Please briefly read this page to have a better idea about our gay-friendly package tours.
 

DAY 1 : ISTANBUL > KUSADASI

This tour package will start with an overnight bus ride to Kusadasi by new model, air-conditioned coach. Bus ride is especially recommended for people who also want to see the wonderful land panorama of Turkey along the way. Besides this will save you from the cost of 1 night hotel accommodation. Tour buses have flexible seats and you can sleep comfortably during the journey. There will be several stop-over points at some highway cafe-restaurants for various needs.

Transfer to bus at 20:00 o'clock from our office in Sultanahmet. The departure times may change in different days/seasons.
 

DAY 2 : EPHESUS TOUR FROM KUSADASI

Get ready to visit the ancient city which once housed Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of ancient times.

Breakfast in your hotel
Full day tour of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary, including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.

Where you visit:
Ephesus - Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeum, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The Theater had seating for 25,000, was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival.
House of the Virgin Mary - The Vatican has recognized this small house in the Solmissos Mountains as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A small shrine dedicated to St. Mary was found when the ruins of the house were first discovered.
 

What you see along the way: From Kusadasi, you travel north to St. John’s Basilica, passing the Byzantine fortress at Selcuk and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Ephesus Open Museum then up to the House of Virgin Mary located in Bulbul Mountain. After the visit head for the upper gate of Ephesus. By the end of touring Ephesus, return to Kusadasi.
Special notes: Ephesus requires walking long distances over uneven surfaces


Transfer back to hotel after the tour.
Dinner in your hotel included.
Hotel accommodation in Kusadasi.
Possible hotels in Kusadasi are: Palm Hotel Grand Onder, Derici Hotel Hotel Atinc or similar quality/location hotels to be selected by us if they are not available at the time of booking.


 

DAY 3 : PAMUKKALE > ANTALYA

Hot spring pools of Pamukkale are created by nature in thousands of years

This tour package will not be complete without Pamukkale; another amazing point of interest within Turkey:

Breakfast at hotel included
Pamukkale & Hierapolis tour including transfers, entrance fees, guide. Visiting the amazing white colored travertines, hot spring pools and water terraces have been created by nature in millions of years on the mountain slopes of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest ancient Necropolis in present Turkey with 1200 gravestones.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Evening bus to Antalya, arriving late in the evening. Approximately 4 hours ride.

Hotel accommodation in Antalya.
Possible Antalya hotels are: Chrystal Beach Acropol Beach , Perla Mare or similar quality/location hotels to be selected by us if they are not available.
 

DAY 4 : ANTALYA

Antalya is one of the best of Turkish cities perfectly combining historical, natural beauties also known as Turkish Riviera with many neighborhood sandy beaches and vivid night life. There are many well preserved significant ancient sights around the city which you must definitely see if you happen to visit Turkey.

Breakfast at hotel included
Full day tour of Perge, Aspendos, Side and Manavgat, including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Dinner at your hotel included.
Hotel accommodation in Antalya.

Antalya Aspendos Theater	Perge Hellenistic Gate	Roman columns in Side

PERGE: Situated 18 km east of Antalya, Perge is in the city limits of Aksu Bucagi. Because of its location on the Cilicia - Pisidia road, it was a vital part of the province of Pamphylia, and was founded around the same time as the other cities in the area (7th century BC). It was an important city for Christians of Perge who had worshipped the mother goddess Artemis. St. Paul and Barnabas visited the city and wealthy benefactors like Magna Plancia had a number of important memorials built here.

ASPENDOS: This antique city established in the Early age is 48km east of Antalya. Its most important feature is its theatre. The theatre and its stage are the best preserved of the Roman theatres in Anatolia still being used for music concerts and opera shows during festivals. The most popular of these festivals are the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet festival. 15000 spectators can sit in the theatre. It was built during the reign of Emperor Antonius Pius (134 - 164) by architect Zenon.

SIDE: In the ancient town of Side, there are inscriptions, weapon embossing from Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods, sculptures which are Roman Period copies of Greek originals, torsos, temples, tomb steles, portraits, ostotecs and column pedestals on exhibition in the museum.

MANAVGAT: The River Manavgat flows 90 km from the eastern slopes of the western Toros (Taurus) mountains, passes over hard conglomerated strata, forms the Manavgat Falls and then enters the coastal plain to empty into the Mediterranean Sea
 

DAY 5 : ANTALYA > CAPPADOCIA

There are many other world wide famous places of interest near Antalya which you must not miss after coming all the way. The second day's tour covers the most important ones:

Full day tour of Myra, St. Nicolas Church, Kekova including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Transfer to bus station.
Overnight bus to Cappadocia, arriving next morning.

Rock tombs in Myra	St. Nicholas Church	Simena across Kekova Island

MYRA: It is now called Demre it was one of the most important cities of the Lycian civilization. 25km west of Finike and 48km east of Kas, Demre was a place of settlement from the 5th century BC. The city was deserted in 9 AD after the invasions of the Arabs. Rock tombs, theatres and the Church of St. Nicholas (said to be the original Santa Claus) are the most interesting sites in the town today.

KEKOVA ISLAND: It is by the cost of Antalya province between Kas-Demre towns. It is an ancient city submerged and now partly under sea water, but can be seen from outside.

ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH: Saint Nicholas giving its name to the church in Demre (Myra) is said to be the original Santa Claus
 

DAY 6 : CAPPADOCIA

Your bus will arrive to Cappadocia next day early in the morning on time for below tour.
Full day Northern Cappadocia tour including transfers, guide and entrance fee. This tour will cover the most famous parts of the region such as Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve, Urgup and Dervent Valley. Lunch will be served during the tour in a nice Turkish Restaurant.  Transfer back to hotel.
Hotel accommodation in Cappadocia.
SOS Cave Hotel , Urgup Inn  Dedeli Cave , Vera Tassaray (4*) or similar quality/location hotels if they are not available.

Cappadocia region is the place where nature and history come together most beautifully within the world. While geographic events are forming Peribacalari (fairy chimneys), during the historical period, humans had carried the signs of thousand years old civilizations with carving houses and churches within these earth pillars and decorating them with frisks.

 

DAY 7 : CAPPADOCIA > ISTANBUL

One day is never enough to see the wonders of the vast Cappadocia region. You have so many things more to see on your second day that will keep your eyes wide open with amazement. The program will follow as:

Breakfast in your hotel included
Full day Southern Cappadocia Tour including transfers, entrance fees and lunch.
This tour will cover wonderful Rose Valley, either Derinkuyu or Kaymakli underground city, as well as a caravanserai of Seljuk period, which was the great Turkish Empire founded in Anatolia even before Ottomans.
Lunch included in a nice local Turkish Restaurant during the day tour.
Overnight bus to Kusadasi (sometimes via Izmir) arriving next morning.
 

DAY 8 : RETURN TO ISTANBUL

End of the package upon arrival to bus terminal in Istanbul, in the morning. There will be free shuttles to various parts of the city from bus terminal.
 

TOUR PRICE

Tour Price:
640 Euro per person in single room (1 pax)
550 Euro per person in double room (2 pax)
520 Euro per person in triple room (3 pax)

% 5 winter discount from November 01-March 31, except Christmas period (December 23-January 03)

Ask for group discount for participants over 6 pax

Above tour prices include:
All taxes. Various surcharges may apply for credit card payments, of which you will be informed in advance.
4 Night accommodation in private rooms at 3 star or equal quality special class hotels.
6 guided day tours as mentioned.
Entrance fees for museums
All mentioned meals above in the itinerary
Transportation by non-smoking, air-conditioned long distance bus, with flexible seats.
All connecting transfers in between the tour period.



You can customize this tour package:

Flights
Overnight bus rides on departure and return can be replaced with roughly 1 hour flights. In Summer season, Cappadocia-Kusadasi overnight bus can be replaced with a rarely available direct flight, if it matches your itinerary. Depending on season, early reservation etc, there will be roughly 40 - 100 Euro extra cost for each replaced flights. Please ask if interested. .

Possible add-ons :
Airport hotel transfers in Istanbul for your international flights.
Hotel accommodation in Istanbul before or after the tour with discounted rates.
Daily Istanbul Tours with discounted rates as a part of this package.
Extra hotel accommodation in Cappadocia, Kusadasi or Anaya with discounted rates.

Hotels:
Hotels can be upgraded to 4 or 5 star or equal quality special class boutique hotels, if you pay the extra cost. You can tell us specific hotels you want to stay in each destination.
 

Click Here for other Turkey tours and to have a better idea about our package tours
 

PAYMENT AND RESERVATION

Depending on tour type, season, number of participants we will request some 15-30% of the total service cost in advance to finalize reservation procedures. We will send you a detailed reservation contract by e-mail after availability, dates and all details are confirmed mutually.

For payments we accept Visa, Master and American Express credit cards. Online payments with PayPal is also accepted, which is a good option for people who want to make secure payment. We normally meet our clients upon their arrival  to Istanbul to handle balance of payment when we also provide further details, necessary vouchers and documents related with the reserved tour.   Final payments can also be made cash in US Dollars, British Pounds or other internationally accepted currencies from cross rates valid on the payment date.


 

EPHESUS

Library of Celcus	Temple of Hadrian	Virgin Mary's House

During both the Hellenistic and Roman periods Ephesus was the most important port and cultural center of the eastern world. The remains of the city are still spellbinding today. Of all the ancient cities of Turkey, Ephesus is the best preserved and most visited in all ages and is as popular as it was in ancient times. This is due to the miraculous discovery of the House the Virgin Mary. The city had splendid buildings and was dedicated to the Goddess Artemis, whose temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The main monuments that we will see during the visit of this fascinating city are: the street of Arcadiane, the majestic theatre, marble road, library of Celsus, market place street of the Curettes, baths of Scholastic state agora, prytaneion, odeon. The town of Seljuk, is dominated by a Byzantine citadel close to the basilica of St. John built in the 5th century, on the site of tomb of the Apostle. Seljuk has also an exceptionally fine archaeological museum.
 

PAMUKKALE-HIERAPOLIS

Bathing in pools is no more allowed	Ancient graves	Agora entrance of the ancient city

Pamukkale (Hierapolis) is one of the most enchanting and remarkable sights in the whole of Turkey with the great dazzling white plateau, almost 400 feet high, rising in a curtain of stalagmites and shallow pools, giving one into another on hundreds of different levels, and ancient city of Hierapolis located on this plateau. The great baths were constructed in the second century and are so well-preserved that they now serve as a museum. The impressive and recently restored theatre, the Martyrium of St. Philip the Apostle of the 5th century – a colonnaded street erected by Domitian, a monumental gate of the same period, another bath stretching on for over a Mile, the necropolis with a fascinating variety of tombs and sarcophagus are the famous monuments of this antique city.
 

ANTALYA

Modern Antalya is built over high cliffs	A street in old city	Harbor of Kaleici (old city) of Antalya

Situated on a cliff over the Mediterranean, Antalya is surrounded by mountains. Developments in tourism, starting in the 1970s, have transformed the city into an international resort. With its airport and central location, Antalya is a gateway for the Turkish Riviera and many historical sites. Antalya city corresponds to the lands of ancient Pamphylia to the east and Lycia to the west. Antalya has hotel accommodations, a hot climate and places to visit both in and around the city, including traces of Lycian, Pamphylian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman architecture and cultures.

There are many antique cities in and around Antalya. Aspendos, Perga and Termessos are some of the closest ones to the city centre. Other than these historic places, Antalya is also famous with its beaches like Konyaalti, Lara and Karpuzkaldiran. Antalya also has a reputation as a city of waterfalls. Duden, Manavgat and Kursunlu waterfalls are major attractions for both local and foreign tourists. For winter sports, Beydağları and Saklikent are both natural beauties of the city.

There are a large number of mosques, churches, madrasahs, masjids, hans and hamams in the city. Kaleici, the harbor which the city walls enclose is the oldest part of the city. In Kaleici, Yivli Minare, Kesik Minare and historic houses are to be found. In Kaleici, one can see the best examples of traditional Turkish architecture which are striking for their harmony with the nature. All these places are at a walk distance.


Source: Turkish Ministry of Tourism and Culture