Istanbul to Antalya Tour with 4-Day Gulet Cruise – 9 Days

After breakfast your guide leads a full day in the historic peninsula, moving by tram and on foot. You visit Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, walk across the Hippodrome of Constantinople with its obelisks, and spend time in the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Expect a lot of walking, so comfortable shoes and clothing make the day much easier. In the late afternoon the group boards a boat for a cruise on the Bosphorus, with your guide explaining the palaces, villages and history along the strait between Europe and Asia. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Istanbul.

The bus heads west to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where the campaign that began on 25 April 1915 lasted eight and a half months. Your guide tells the story from both the Turkish and the Allied side as you visit ANZAC Cove and the landing beaches, the ANZAC Commemorative Site, the Lone Pine memorial, Chunuk Bair, scene of the August Offensive, and The Nek. There is also time to walk through original trenches and communication tunnels. In the evening you cross to Çanakkale for the night. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Çanakkale.

The morning is spent at Troy, where you see the wooden Trojan Horse, the sacrificial altars, city walls that are about 3,700 years old and the houses of the first settlement, Troy I. In the afternoon the tour continues south to Pergamon. On the acropolis you walk past the Temple of Athena, the site of the ancient library and the Altar of Zeus, then look down from the Hellenistic theatre, often called the steepest in the world; the lower agora, the terraced gymnasium and the Temple of Dionysus are also on the route. The drive ends near Ephesus, with free time after check-in. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Kuşadası.

An early start takes you to Selçuk and ancient Ephesus, a city whose history reaches back to the 10th century BC and one of the best-preserved ancient sites anywhere. The visit covers the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Hadrian and the two-storey façade of the Library of Celsus. After lunch the bus continues to Fethiye on the Mediterranean coast. Once you have checked in, the evening is free; many guests choose dinner at the Fethiye fish market (at your own cost). Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Fethiye.

After breakfast at the hotel you board the gulet at Fethiye Harbour and sail to Butterfly Valley for a swim, lunch and an optional walk to the waterfall. More than 130 kinds of butterflies and moths live in the valley, although they are hard to see in summer. The next stop is the Blue Lagoon at Ölüdeniz with its turquoise water and white sand. Tandem paragliding from Babadağ mountain with a professional pilot, 30 to 45 minutes over the lagoon, is optional (€189, book in advance). In the evening the gulet anchors at St Nicholas (Gemiler) Island, where pine-shaded paths lead past old chapels to a Byzantine amphitheatre on the summit, a fine place to watch the sunset. Meals: breakfast, lunch, 5 o'clock tea, fruit platters, dinner. Overnight: on the gulet.

An early sail brings you to Aquarium Bay and its very clear water for the first swim of the day. The gulet continues to Hidayet Bay, a good spot for diving; the Kaş area has more than 40 dive sites suitable for beginners and experienced divers, and a scuba dive is optional (€90, book in advance). Afterwards you have free time in Kaş, a former fishing village with Lycian, Roman and Ottoman history, marble-paved streets, boutiques and jewellery shops. In the evening the boat follows the Kekova coast and anchors in Kocakarı Bay for dinner and the night. Meals: breakfast, lunch, 5 o'clock tea, fruit platters, dinner. Overnight: on the gulet.

After breakfast you sail to the Sunken City of Kekova, a Lycian settlement about 2,400 years old that partly sank after ancient earthquakes; stairways and harbour walls are still visible under the water. At Kaleköy, ancient Simena, reachable only by boat or on foot, you walk among bougainvillaea and Lycian sarcophagi, climb to Simena Castle for the view over the Kekova islands (entrance €4, covered by the Museum Pass) and taste the local fig or peach ice cream. The afternoon is spent in Gökkaya Bay, surrounded by pine hills and islets, for swimming, snorkelling or water sports with local providers (optional). Dinner is served on board at sunset, and the Smugglers Inn island bar is a short boat ride away for those who want an evening out. Meals: breakfast, lunch, 5 o'clock tea, fruit platters, dinner. Overnight: on the gulet.

Enjoy a last morning swim before breakfast on deck. The gulet returns to Çayağzı harbour at Demre, where you leave the boat. From there you are driven to Antalya and dropped at your hotel, the airport or the bus station, where the tour ends. If you need a flight from Antalya to Istanbul, contact us and we can help arrange it. Meals: breakfast.