Great highlights tour of Turkey - Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus
Turkey
|
Dec 26 - Jan 5, 2024
![Elizabeth](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/users/profile_photos/3347eba2d463d1d337159b589e600ef273a45de9/original-797adba9ef2a53142e23d76258fe6035.jpg)
We had a fantastic 10 day trip to Turkey seeing the highlights in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus/Sirince. We loved our guide in Istanbul, Volkan, and the sights were amazing; Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Cistern, and the Bosphorous cruise. The hotel in Old Town was excellent! Cappadocia lived up to the hype with the amazing hot air balloon ride, cave frescoes, and exploring the valleys. Staying in a cave hotel was a unique experience! Our guide Hattice was excellent with our son! Ephesus was amazing and we enjoyed exploring the town of Sirince. The boutique hotel on the hillside over Sirince was so traditional and the restaurant was amazing. We enjoyed the cooking class we did with the chef!
Hotel Reviews
Absolutely beautiful, great location, fantastic breakfast
Very unique boutique hotel obviously built with love and run by excellent staff. The terrace house was beautiful, and the tower house 3 room was fine, a little small for 3 people. There was a lot of work being done around the property given that it was the off season. Restaurant was amazing and the cooking class was a lot of fun! The hotel is not meant for people who don't like cobblestones or stairs.
Such a unique experience, staff did an excellent job mitigating some cleanliness concerns in one of the rooms, rooms are dark but that is to be expected, hotel facilities are very nice (Turkish bath, terrace). Some minor flaws, nail in the wood on the bed sticking out, dogs were somewhat agressive coming in late at night, dirt from the cave ceiling falling down).
Activity Reviews
![Eminönü Heritage Tour: Explore the Historical Bazaars and Ottoman Architectural Sites of Istanbul](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/2bad7b18913960118b490504f699cdfb7f787b86/medium-66de2d5bf37d7adb02b737c7bc7fd553.jpg)
A must do in Istanbul.
![Whirling Dervish Ceremony at Saruhan Caravansarai](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/3e0d8724d80baf1d05637f127bccaa6745ee15ed/original-cce383ec1af35e9958068d55160563c9.jpg)
Very authentic
![Avanos: Discovering the Ceramic Tradition and Light hiking in the Love Valley](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/c8dd3f2de08238b0fa1b66869775e222d8316ee4/medium-93e1036292e07472e303ba9065ba21a6.jpg)
We enjoyed the Ceramics experience; amazing work and it was fun that Connor got to try it. We did not do the hiking in the Love Valley due to timing and physical constraints.
![Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/e601ce7ccdd5f6bb41c40e6f4e96dbadc1965681/medium-33f130662397a77d96dab6139feb8348.jpg)
Excellent overview of Istanbul and you hit the high points of the Old Town!
![Istanbul Archaeological Museum Tour](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/604088020ee62d9fda891b999522ed4b52dbaf2e/original-5f458482d859523463a1bd725e1d9c23.jpg)
Surprisingly good for kids.
![Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/acaff3a5b245be465f19eef47a10a86fe72c9fcc/medium-8f722c2de4b33f26c929e5b64a953091.jpg)
Flawless - must do
![Sightseeing Around Uçhisar and Discovering the Cappadocian Valleys](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/8133df0e7bb021a2a23a496f3834fbcd4240d166/medium-81be531b1d8ef5b0e8dac56af9482d3f.jpg)
Beautiful
![Explore Sinasos: The Pearl of the East](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/dd9db5fe084a767fcb8e3d783b0ee894e0ca535e/original-b9b52a61ac7d61209ef837f2ae54de01.jpg)
I didn't really find this worthwhile. We only visited the church and it didn't seem particularly special.
![Kaymaklı Underground City](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/8746b3762f5e0b4ab0dc0ae949e92d292794b8ff/medium-6f57f2f6778ec4b2d737cec418feb934.jpg)
Amazing
![Private Boat Tour on the Bosphorus](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/89ca9bea12ca72905fff1ee7d8619580fd2e3ce6/medium-86d94bc6353444f5a74a4269db339380.jpg)
Very interesting experience and the boat was great!
![Discovering the Ihlara Valley and Light Hiking Along the Melendiz River](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/68b9d4a4f06a4b6b819406e09ac77d12bbd14144/medium-03c625ba4637f441fd74b288353495ed.jpg)
Beautiful and great speed for my in-laws. The stop for pancakes along the river was fun.
![Food Tour in Istanbul](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/4995880d0ef4e5f6e7635753ac87740eb8ea6d73/original-a3898fce66255cc45d3ef7c122163553.jpg)
Would recommend doing this earlier in the trip.
![Explore the Ancient City of Ephesus](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/7e5cabcbac61c52302731fc6eb40078232243d26/medium-0423fa4db349dc88ba91111d87248a89.jpg)
Can't miss.
![Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/9da8023cf188f2a715dea8073b9bfe8e9a92c241/medium-1ac6646a7834968cfdd825b9ab5b1746.jpg)
Amazing - recommend including visiting the Dark Church in the price
![Wine Pairing Dinner at Revithia Cappadocia](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/26e7e16860d66e4ea33d8fd85d9200a76c8f788b/original-399ab4c78b7d0b23b1154d8c19189f44.jpg)
Very nice, only snafu was over who was paying for it, but it was worked out.
![Visit to Ephesus Archaeological Museum + House of Virgin Mary](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/images/7bf19301e0d544b09b227e1b0097ea78c190e4b4/original-55c8e4efab4d125e2e7867f73d5aff10.jpg)
![Berat](https://cdn.kimkim.com/files/a/users/profile_photos/79b6d617b57c9e2beb2f3d86769486bc30cb6541/original-088f2715239816ad4569c52f504cb824.jpg)
Dear Elizabeth,
Thank you for this detailed review!
We are very happy to hear you had a positive experience in our beautiful country. Thank you very much for choosing us and for taking the time to write this review - much appreciated. We'll sure take into account all the valuable feedback you provided.
It was also so nice to meet you and your family in person!
All best regards on behalf of Trail Travel team,
Berat