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11 Day Wonders of Turkey
Premium Coach Tour starting in Istanbul and finishing in Istanbul
Countries Visited: Turkey
Tour Type: Regional
Tour Duration: 11 Days (10 Nights)
From: Istanbul to Istanbul
Tour Code: I983A
Operator: Insight Vacations
from AU $1,625 pp
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Tour Description

Gifted with natural wonders like the eerie moonscape of Goreme, and the white terraces of Pamukkale, but ancient Ephesus stands out as Turkey's finest gem. This tour captures all the fabulous highlights of Turkey in 11 days, so the pace can be fairly brisk. However, there are two-night stays in Istanbul and Cappadocia, and driving days are of reasonable length with regular comfort stops for refreshment and sightseeing.

What's Included

Quality Dining

  • A Welcome Reception with light informal meal (WR)
  • A spectacular highlight folklore show in an underground cave in Cappadocia (HD)
  • Enjoy a lively Celebration dinner at an Istanbul restaurant (CD)
  • 10 Buffet Breakfasts (BB) and 6 special-menu Dinners, or Buffets, plus tea or coffee (D)

First Class Services

  • Escorted by a professional multilingual Tour Director
  • Headsets for all guided visits and walking tours
  • Luxury air-conditioned 40 seat coach with extended leg room and on-board restroom
  • Insight Hotels include all service charges, taxes and porterage
  • Insight Traveller Welcome pack
  • Arrival and departure transfers between the airport and your Insight tour hotel

Highlights

  • Istanbul: Visit the fabulous Topkapi Palace. A complete guide on how to haggle in the Grand Bazaar! Embark on a superb cruise along the Bosphorus Waterway dividing the two continents. Visit the Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sophia.
  • Gallipoli: Visit Anzac Cove and Lone Pine Cemetery.
  • Troy: View the huge reconstructed Trojan Horse.
  • Pergamon: Visit the famous shrine of Asklepion.
  • Selcuk: Visit the Archeological Museum.
  • Ephesus: Tour one of the world's finest archeological sites. Visit the House of the Virgin Mary.
  • Pamukkale: Visit Hierapolis and the white terraces.
  • Konya: Visit famous Mevlana Tekke and see the Karatay Medrese and Ince Minaret.
  • Kaymakli: Tour this underground city.
  • Göreme: Explore the amazing underground houses and rock carved churches.
  • Anatolia: Visit the well preserved Agzikarahan Caravanserai.
  • Ankara: Visit Ataturk's Mausoleum and Hittite Museum.

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Day
1
Istanbul At Leisure
Welcome to Turkey - a land rich in archeological sites, historic monuments and an enormous variety of spectacular scenery. On arrival at Istanbul Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for your overnight stay. This evening, get together with your Tour Director and fellow passengers for a Welcome Reception and light informal meal.
Stay: Conrad Istanbul/Hilton Istanbul (RW)
Day
2
Istanbul - Gallipoli - Çanakkale
Drive along the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the peninsula of Gelibolu, better known in the west as Gallipoli. Here are the battlefields where, for nine disastrous months during the Great War, Anzac troops fought unsuccessfully to gain control of the strategic Dardanelle Straits. Visit Anzac Cove and Lone Pine Cemetery. From Eceabat, a 30-minute sea crossing to Çanakkale takes you from one continent to another as you leave Europe for Asia.
Stay: Kolin (BB/D)
Day
3
Çanakkale - Troy - Izmir
Drive to Homer's legendary city of Troy, where archeological excavation has established nine levels of habitation, including the great city captured in 1200BC by means of the renowned Trojan Horse. A huge replica of this stands beside the city's ancient walls. Continue to Pergamon, the seat of an ancient kingdom. Visit the Asklepion, one of the most famous shrines and therapeutic centres in the ancient world. Carry on to the cosmopolitan coastal city of Izmir, sited overlooking an inlet of the Aegean.
Stay: Swissôtel Grand Efes/Hilton (BB/D)
Day
4
Izmir - Ephesus - Kusadasi
En route to Ephesus, visit the archeological museum at Selcuk where many of the excavated artefacts of Ephesus are displayed, and visit the House of the Virgin Mary, spectacularly situated above the Ephesus ruins. Finally, tour Ephesus itself, one of the world's finest archeological sites. Visit the colonnaded Arcadian Way, the splendid façade of the Library of Celsus and see the huge Amphitheatre. Head to the lively coastal town of Kusadasi where you can take advantage of your hotel's indoor pool, Turkish bath and fitness centre.
Stay: Charisma (BB/D)
Day
5
Kusadasi - Pamukkale
Follow the Maeander River valley, (so full of twists and turns gives us the word `meander') to Pamukkale, famous for its dazzling chalk-white array of fantastically shaped limestone terraces. Visit the ruins of ancient Hierapolis and the fairyland terraces and see the glistening pools and cascades in scallop-shell basins. The rest of the day is yours to relax and enjoy your hotel thermal pools.
Stay: Thermal Colossae (BB/D)
Day
6
Pamukkale - Konya - Cappadocia
Head to Konya, the old capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Empire and home to the mystic Whirling Dervish sect. Visit the Mevlana Tekke, a museum and national monument, with its beautiful fluted turquoise dome. See the Karatay Medrese and Ince Minaret before driving across fertile plains to Nevsehir in the heart of Cappadocia.
Stay: Dedeman (BB/D)
Day
7
Cappadocia - Göreme Excursion
Enjoy an excursion to Göreme, a region of volcanic landscapes and rock-hewn churches decorated with ancient wall paintings, some of which you can see in the open-air museum. Continue to the Zelve Valley where the scenery is dotted with churches, caves and troglodyte dwellings. Tour the underground city Kaymakli, and see the cone of Uchisar. Enjoy dinner at the hotel followed by a colourful folklore show in an underground cave, featuring dances from different regions. (BB/HD)
Day
8
Cappadocia - Ankara
Visit Agzikarahan, one of the best-preserved Seljuk caravanserais in Anatolia. Continue on to Ankara to visit the Hittite Museum and Anit Kabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, Turkey's greatest modern leader.
Stay: Hilton (BB/D)
Day
9
Ankara - Istanbul
Leaving Ankara, take the highway for a scenic drive through the countryside to Istanbul. Upon arrival, embark on a highlight cruise along the Bosphorus Waterway. Travelling towards the old city from close to the Black Sea, the scenery complements the grandeur of the Ottoman palaces, old mansions and fortresses.
Stay: Conrad Istanbul/Hilton Istanbul (BB)
Day
10
Istanbul Sightseeing
Visit the Blue Mosque with its beautiful tiles and the Hippodrome where Roman chariot races were held, and visit Hagia Sophia, now a magnificent museum. Move on to visit the fabulous Topkapi Palace, a walled city perched above the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, and then the famous Grand Bazaar. Your guide will give you a full explanation of the time-honoured ritual of bargaining! This evening, join a farewell Celebration Dinner at a colourful local restaurant! If you are taking the Greece & Turkey Cruise Package Option, then transfer to your ship where your Aegean adventure continues. (BB/HD)
Day
11
Istanbul
This morning, your tour comes to an end with a transfer to the airport. (BB)
Insight Vacations Brochure Click on the icon if you would like to view an electronic version of the brochure online.

11 Day Wonders of Turkey Reviews

Tour reviews from past clients of Global Journeys. 1 Reviews, Average Rating 4.0 of 5.
The tour was great. Well organised and well run, nothing was ever a problem. Both tour guide and driver were great. The only negative was the 'Turkish version' of history that was presented about the ancient sites visited, which was challenged by a number of travellers who knew their history. eg. presented as Roman ruins rather than Hellenistic, etc. It made it interesting and amusing :)
Chris & Zinovia Georgiou (Australia)
Tour Date 27/05/2011

Tour Prices

Tour prices are per person. Please request a quote for tour availability.

EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL OFFER*

2012 Season Sale! Save up to $100 per couple. Exclusive to Global Journeys. Deposit this month only to qualify! Subject to availability at the time of booking.

START DATE END DATE BROCHURE
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BROCHURE
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OUR
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OUR
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18 May 2012 28 May 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
25 May 2012 04 Jun 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
01 Jun 2012 11 Jun 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
08 Jun 2012 18 Jun 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
15 Jun 2012 25 Jun 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
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27 Jul 2012 06 Aug 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
03 Aug 2012 13 Aug 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
10 Aug 2012 20 Aug 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
17 Aug 2012 27 Aug 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
24 Aug 2012 03 Sep 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
31 Aug 2012 10 Sep 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
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14 Sep 2012 24 Sep 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
21 Sep 2012 01 Oct 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
28 Sep 2012 08 Oct 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
05 Oct 2012 15 Oct 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
12 Oct 2012 22 Oct 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
19 Oct 2012 29 Oct 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
26 Oct 2012 05 Nov 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625
02 Nov 2012 12 Nov 2012 AU $1,675 AU $2,355 Save $50 AU $1,625

Note: The majority of departures above will proceed or are guaranteed to depart. We will outline the status of your departure date in your quote along with all applicable discounts and specials.

Flights:

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General Information

The information below relates to this itinerary only.

Tour Operator: Insight Vacations

Insight Vacations, Europe's premier escorted tour operator, provides premium escorted motorcoach vacations throughout Britain, Ireland, Europe, Scandinavia the Eastern Mediterranean and North America. 'The Art of Touring in Style' lies at the very heart of Insight philosophy. Our carefully chosen unique features and impeccable service standards enable us to deliver exceptional quality, unequalled value, unforgettable memories and personal freedom at levels currently unrivalled elsewhere in the industry.


Tour Type: Regional

These in-depth tours concentrate on towns, cities or scenic areas in a specific region or country. The majority of overnight stays are two nights or more, and are leisurely paced, often with shorter travelling time between exciting destinations.


Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I choose a premium Insight Vacation?

Insight is completely unique. Simply, we are the only tour operator to give you more legroom on every tour at no extra cost: you'll consistently stay in quality hotels in desirable locations; you'll enjoy more included sightseeing; and because you'll travel in smaller groups (max 40 people), you'll receive better personal service from your experienced Tour Director and Tour Driver.

When will I receive my documents?

Documents will normally be mailed 21 days prior to departure provided full payment has been received.

Who else will be travelling with me?

Insight Vacations plays host to over 100,000 guests every year and has offices in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and the UK . The company has also appointed specialist agents in Argentina, Brazil, Mauritius, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and China. It is therefore quite typical to find many different nationalities on any one tour.

How many people will be on tour with me?

With only 40 guests on our premium tours instead of the standard 53, Insight clients enjoy a more personalised service. In a smaller group, you'll be closer to your local guide for a more in-depth experience, you'll spend less time waiting to get into sights and it will be faster checking into hotels with your luggage arriving quicker to your room. Insight groups are smaller, more intimate and more friendly.

Will the coach be modern and comfortable?

Yet another exclusive feature of an Insight premium tour is the incredible space and comfort you'll enjoy when travelling. Our luxury coaches have been specially reconfigured with fewer seats, you'll relax in style whilst enjoying up to twice as much legroom than on a standard touring coach.

Where will my hotel be located and what will it be like?

Insight hotels are consistently first class standard and higher or in a style appropriate to the destination. They have been selected because they are good private or small collection hotels or from well-known chains such as Marriott, Renaissance and Hilton. Insight also chooses hotels based on their location. We know you'll prefer to stay centrally, convenient to the main historic, shopping or entertainment districts; or scenically in areas of natural beauty.

What are Insight Tour Directors like?

Time & time again, our guests tell us that it was their Tour Director who really made their trip. Our Tour Directors are amongst the finest in the business and will help steer you through the labyrinth of Europe 's cultures, languages and diversities and bring its magic to life before your eyes.

I want to see all the main sights, but will I have time to explore on my own?

At Insight, planning the perfect tour is our speciality. Not only to we include the 'must see' sights, we carefully balance our itineraries to give you plenty of free time to relax and immerse yourself in the location.

What does the tour cost include?

The prices listed cover all hotel accommodations, all applicable sightseeing and admissions as per the itinerary, motorcoach, cruise or rail transportation, services of a professional Insight Tour Director, all meals as shown in the itinerary and luggage handling. All tips have been included for services on tour by dining-room staff, chambermaids and porters at hotels, airports, docks and train stations.

Are tips included?

On an Insight Vacation, some gratuities are included in the price of your trip: baggage handling, meal service for all meals listed in the tour itinerary, and hotel service charge. Room service, however, is not included in the tour price. Tips are customarily given to your Tour Director, Driver and Local Guides at your discretion. The recommended amounts are: Tour Directors EUR4 per day, Drivers EUR2.50 per day and Local Guides EUR1 per day. The option to prepay these tips prior to departure is possible. Please ask your consultant to include this in your quote.

What is an 'Optional Activity'?

These are activities that we do not automatically include but are offered at the start of your tour designed to enhance your travel experience. Your Tour Director will have a list of available options and the appropriate costs. They are carefully programmed to coincide with the best highlights available at the time of your visit. It could be a seafood lunch in Venice, a concert in Vienna or a Grand Canyon Helicopter ride. A detailed list and costs can be found in your tour documentation.

Do you have a share program for singles?

If you wish to share with another tour member you can advise Global Journeys at the time of booking. Insight believes that traveling solo doesn't have to cost you more. We will try to match you with someone of the same sex in order to avoid having to pay the single supplement. If we are not able to provide a suitable roommate, we will provide a single room at no extra cost. Several tours do not provide this option (generally tours containing a cruise component) and so the Single Supplement applies.

Do you have a non-smoking policy?

There is a no smoking policy motorcoach touring policy. However, we do make plenty of convenience stops giving you the opportunity to smoke, use local restroom facilities, take a scenic snapshot or just relax and enjoy of cup of coffee.

Where can I find out more information on Insight?

We have a dedicated section on our website providing more detailed information on Insight including FAQ's on what you need to know before, during and after your travel; as well as information on their 'Touring Styles', and a comprehensive search facility to enable you to easily find more of their tours. Read more> (NB: This link will take you away from this tour itinerary page).


Airport Transfer Information

Transfers Athens, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Amman And Istanbul

An Insight bonus in the Eastern Mediterranean region! Insight is pleased to offer complimentary airport transfers at any time either on the first or last day of the tour or on other days in conjunction with pre and post tour accommodation booked through Insight. Flight timings must be provided to Global Journeys no less than 21 days before the flight departure.

Terms & Conditions:

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Yvonne Brooks

Your Tour Consultant Will Be:

Yvonne Brooks
Tour Consultant
Email: yvonne@globaljourneys.com
Expertise: International Coach Touring & River Cruising
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