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Tailor Made Holidays: Highlights of Anatolia - Discover Turkey’s Rich History & Extraordinary Landscapes

Tailor-Made Holidays: Highlights of Anatolia, Turkey

Discover Turkey’s Rich History & Extraordinary Landscapes

Prices from £3,898 per person

Sample Itinerary Hotels to Stay Places to Visit Optional Extras

Tailor-Made Holidays: Highlights of Anatolia, Turkey - Discover Turkey’s Rich History & Extraordinary Landscapes

Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus & Pamukkale, 13 Days | 12 Nights | Tailor-Made Turkey Holiday

Discover Turkey’s extraordinary landscapes and ancient heritage on a journey combining vibrant Istanbul, the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, the classical treasures of Ephesus and Pamukkale’s white travertine terraces. Enjoy guided sightseeing, carefully selected accommodation and private airport transfers, with time to appreciate each destination, designed just for yourself as couple or a small group of friends and family. This suggested itinerary can be tailored to your preferred dates, hotels and interests, with small-group sightseeing and private tour options available.

Day 1 – Welcome to Istanbul

On arrival in Istanbul, meet your driver for a private transfer to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day settling in or enjoying your first taste of this fascinating city.

Stay: Three nights in Istanbul.

Day 2 – Classical Istanbul: Historic Treasures

After breakfast, join your guide for a full-day exploration of Istanbul’s historic heart. Discover Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine Hippodrome and the Blue Mosque before exploring Topkapi Palace, the former residence of the Ottoman sultans, and nearby Hagia Irene Church.

Complete your day among the colourful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, browsing traditional crafts, jewellery, textiles and souvenirs.

Included: Small-group Classical Istanbul Tour.
Private tour upgrade: An additional £50 per person.

Day 3 – Istanbul Across Two Continents

Experience Istanbul from the water on a scenic Bosphorus cruise, passing waterfront palaces, historic mansions and neighbourhoods along the European and Asian shores.

Explore the aromatic Spice Bazaar and admire the intricate tiles of Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Cross the Bosphorus to the Asian side to visit Beylerbeyi Palace, then take in sweeping city views from Çamlıca Hill.

Included: Small-group Two Continents Tour.
Private tour upgrade: An additional £50 per person. The Bosphorus cruise remains a shared boat journey, including when the private tour upgrade is selected.

Day 4 – Journey to Cappadocia

Following breakfast, take a private transfer to the airport for your onward journey to Cappadocia. On arrival, transfer privately to your hotel and settle into a landscape of sculpted valleys, cave dwellings and fairy chimneys.

Stay: Four nights in Cappadocia.

Day 5 – Fairy Chimneys & Göreme

Explore Cappadocia’s remarkable rock formations, beginning with the imaginative shapes of Devrent Valley and the distinctive fairy chimneys of Paşabağı.

Stop for lunch in Avanos, a town renowned for its pottery traditions, before visiting Göreme Open-Air Museum, where rock-cut churches reveal the region’s rich religious heritage. Finish with panoramic views around Uçhisar before returning to your hotel. Lunch included.

Day 6 – Rose Valley & Kaymaklı Underground City

Discover the colourful landscapes of Red and Rose valleys on a guided walk, taking in rock-cut churches and beautiful viewpoints. Continue to the historic village of Çavuşin before stopping for lunch.

In the afternoon, visit Pigeon Valley and explore Kaymaklı Underground City, a fascinating network of subterranean rooms and passages once used as a refuge. Round off the day with a stop around Ortahisar before returning to your hotel.

Walking can be adapted where possible; please discuss your preferences when booking.

Lunch included.

Day 7 – Ihlara Valley & Derinkuyu

Begin with a visit to Derinkuyu Underground City, discovering the ingenuity behind its remarkable underground chambers.

Continue to Ihlara Valley for a scenic walk beside the river, with opportunities to see churches carved into the canyon walls. After lunch, visit the impressive rock-cut complex of Selime Monastery before returning to your hotel.

Lunch included.

Optional Experience – Sunrise Hot-Air Balloon Flight
Enhance your Cappadocia stay with an early-morning balloon flight, enjoying spectacular views over the valleys and fairy chimneys. Hotel transfers are included in this optional experience. Flights are subject to weather conditions and operating approval; participation requirements apply.

Day 8 – Cappadocia to Selçuk (Ephesus)

Transfer privately to the airport for your direct flight to Izmir. On arrival, your driver will take you to Selçuk, a welcoming base for exploring Ephesus. Spend the remainder of the day at leisure.

Stay: Two nights in Selçuk, in the Ephesus region.

Day 9 – Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary & Şirince

After breakfast, join your guide to explore the ancient city of Ephesus. Walk along its historic streets and admire remarkable monuments, including the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre.

Visit the site of the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, followed by the House of the Virgin Mary, traditionally believed to have been her final home.

Continue to the picturesque hillside village of Şirince, known for its traditional houses, charming lanes and local wines, before returning to your hotel.

Lunch and entrance fees included.

Day 10 – Laodicea & Aphrodisias to Pamukkale

Leave Selçuk after breakfast for a journey through Turkey’s ancient past. Explore Laodicea, once an important city in the Lycus River Valley, before continuing to Aphrodisias.

Renowned for its sculptural heritage, Aphrodisias is home to a magnificent stadium, the Temple of Aphrodite, the monumental Tetrapylon gateway and a theatre. Visit the museum to admire sculptures discovered at the site before continuing to your hotel in the Pamukkale area.

Lunch and entrance fees included.
Stay: Three nights in Pamukkale, with a thermal spa hotel available on a half-board basis.

Day 11 – Pamukkale & Hierapolis

Explore Pamukkale’s striking white travertine terraces, known as the “Cotton Castle”, alongside the ancient city of Hierapolis.

Discover the extensive necropolis, monumental gates, Roman baths and impressive theatre, together with remains associated with St Philip. There may also be an opportunity to bathe in the ancient thermal pool, subject to opening and an additional local charge.

Return to your hotel after the tour.

Lunch and entrance fees to Pamukkale and Hierapolis included.

Day 12 – Relax in Pamukkale

Enjoy a leisurely day at your hotel. Make the most of its thermal facilities, book an optional spa treatment or simply relax after your journey through Turkey’s cultural and historical highlights.

Day 13 – Departure

After breakfast, take a private transfer to the airport for your journey home. Choose between travelling to Izmir Airport, approximately 2½–3 hours away, for a direct flight home, or transferring to nearby Denizli Airport for a connecting flight via Istanbul. The best option will depend on flight availability and your preferred arrival airport.

Make This Holiday Your Own

Every Diamond Star Experience tailor-made holiday is planned around you. Choose your preferred hotels, upgrade to private guided tours, adjust the pace or extend your journey with a relaxing stay on Turkey’s Aegean or Mediterranean coast.

This is a suggested itinerary, and “from” prices are provided as a guide. Your final holiday price will depend on your travel dates, chosen hotels, room types and sightseeing arrangements. Your personalised quotation will confirm the exact price and all inclusions, including meals and guided tours. Private tour upgrades, optional experiences and spa treatments are available at an additional cost. The order of visits may change to accommodate attraction opening days and local conditions.

Contact Diamond Star Experience for your personalised quotation.

Nowy Efendi Hotel - Istanbul old city

4* - Bed & Breakfast

This lovely boutique hotel is located in the heart of Istanbul's historical old city and within a very short walking distance to all of the major historical sights. The hoteloffers an excellent level of service and a very relaxed atmosphere for you to enjoy your holiday. Read more...

Hera Cave Suites -Cappadocia

4* - Bed & Breakfast

Live the holidays of a lifetime in ultimate private getaways in Cappadocia, Göreme.
A labyrinth of narrow passageways and curved stone stairways lead to unique rooms that are tastefully decorated in warm traditional style. Terraced above the village of ‘Goreme’, the Hera hotel offers the modern travellers a unique cave hotel experience

Richmand hotel

Pamukkale - 5* - Bed & Breakfast

Richmond Pamukkale Thermal 315 invites you to renew both spiritually and physically within its health-filled thermal waters, in the confines of its garden and Pine trees.

Neo Efessos Boutique Hotel

Ephesus - 4* - Bed & Breakfast

This exceptional boutique hotel offers true personal service and amazing architecture representing old glory days of Ephesus.

Istanbul

Istanbul is uniquely positioned at the crossroads of the Orient and the Occident, with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. For the perfect Two-centre holiday, combine a stay in Istanbul with a Turkish coastal resort or Cappadocia or just the city break alone.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia’s landscape was formed around 30 million years ago when volcanic activity left the region blanketed with ash. The ash solidified into what is known as ‘volcanic tuff’, this is an easily eroded material and as it wore away over many years, it left the distinctive rock formations seen in Cappadocia today.

Pamukkale

Literally translated as ‘Cotton Castle’, this unique natural wonder appears from a distance as a shimmering white fairytale castle. Its limestone-laden thermal spring waters have created a magical landscape of white rocks and warm shallow pools, which are said to cure all types of ailments.

Ephesus

Drive to Ephesus to visit this ancient Roman city, one of the best preserved and most visited in the world, with its grand marble streets and imposing library. Once home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was also here that St Paul preached some of his most famous sermons, and where the Virgin Mary spent her last days.

Istanbul Daily Tours

Day 1 - Istanbul Classic Tour
Duration: 9 am to 4 pm.
Visit the most important popular sites of Istanbul in one full day tour.
St Sophia Museum, Byzantine Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar.

Day 2 - Istanbul Two Continents Tour
Duration: 9 am to 4 pm
One of the most beautiful sights in the world, the Bosphorus, is the strait separating two continents Europe and Asia. This tour includes a Bosphorus Cruise and visits the Spice Bazaar, Rustempasa Mosque, Beylerbeyi Palace, Bosphorous Bridge and Camlica Hill

Hot-air Balloon Tours

Cappadocia is known around the world as one of the best places to fly with hot-air balloons. The spectacular surrealistic landscape, combined with excellent flying conditions, allows the balloons to gently drift over and between fairy chimneys and pigeon houses hewn from the unique rock formations, through beautiful orchards and vineyards and impressive valleys with distinctive rock formations and features – and then float up over rippled ravines for breath-taking views across the region.

Prices per person from	Apr, May, Oct	Jun, Sep	Jul, Aug
Tailor Made Holidays	£3,898	£3,998	£4,198

Price Includes

Return international flights and all internal flights.
Private airport transfers throughout, plus the overland journey from Selçuk to Pamukkale as outlined.
12 nights’ accommodation in carefully selected 4-star hotels.
Two small-group sightseeing tours in Istanbul, with private upgrades available at an additional £50 per person, per tour.
Guided sightseeing in Cappadocia, Ephesus, Laodicea, Aphrodisias and Pamukkale as outlined.
Entrance fees for the included sightseeing programme.
Lunches on the three Cappadocia tours and the Ephesus, Laodicea–Aphrodisias and Pamukkale tours.
Half-board accommodation in Pamukkale, depending on your chosen hotel.

Optional Extras

Hot Air Balloon Flight in Cappadocia
Some places private tour is extra

Flight Information

All international and domestic flights are included in the above prices. However, prices may vary depending on your preferred nearest airport, airline availability and flight schedules at the time of booking.

We can arrange flights from virtually any international airport upon request and will always endeavour to secure the most convenient flight options for your holiday.

Once your flights are confirmed, we will issue your ATOL Certificate for all applicable flight-inclusive packages, providing you with 100% financial protection in accordance with the ATOL scheme, including protection in the unlikely event of an airline or travel company failure.

Early booking discounts & loyalty discounts

Call 0330 390 0999 Request Quotation

"Our holiday in Turkey exceeded our expectations. Cappadocia was interesting and beautiful. It was exciting staying in cave. Istanbul was amazing. We had very little previous experience of Turkey and Turkish people, so we enjoyed the beauty of the country and friendly hospitality of the people. We felt safe and not at all threatened in the city. The quality of food and service in restaurants was good. Efes beer is very tasty. We were a little confused on our first day in Istanbul as the tour details implied a bus tour, but all become clear when we realised how close all the sights were to our hotel. We had a memorable holiday. Thank you Akin."

Mr David Hyam

"Dear Mr. Koc,I've been meaning to write to you for some time, to say thank you for arranging such a wonderful holiday for us. We had 4 nights B&B at the Empire Palace Hotel in Istanbul, which was wonderfully central - with friendly, helpful staff - and then flew to Cappadocia, staying at the MDC Cave Hotel in Urgup, which was delightful. The location was outstanding and the hotel quite unique. We have travelled all over the world and I can safely say that this holiday was one of the best - full of new experiences including a trip in a hot-air balloon, visiting underground cities, ancient cave dwellings with amazing frescoes and fabulous landscapes. It was fun and exciting. For the first two days of tours in Cappadocia we went with the local representatives, who were excellent and our guide, Mustafa Sahin was outstanding. Thank you again for a brilliant trip and we will recommend your company. We may be interested in Croatia next year. Yours sincerely,"

Barbara Lewis

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Akin has been to all these places and experienced all these holidays.

Give him a ring to discuss your holiday in detail on 0330 390 0999 or send an email.

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"We just returned from a week in Cappadocia Turkey. Diamond star Experience were really helpful and friendly throughout our experience with all aspects of the holiday. Our flight was delayed and I received contact from Oguzhan and Rica telling me that they had arrange later pick up from the airport when arriving in Turkey. Mustafa our driver was warm and friendly throughout our stay .The transfer and 3 day tours were fantastic , Our guide was really knowledgeable and looked after us while we toured this remarkable place The highlight was the Balloon ride in the morning a truly magical experience . I can not fault any part of the holiday and the service of Diamond Travel Experience . Easy to contact through what’s app anytime which was a great touch . I would strongly recommend Diamond star Experience for booking a holiday , We will def book again with them when returning to Turkey. Thanks and well done ! A truly wonderful Break" Mrs Wilson - 21 Aug 2025

"A week's trip on Perla del Mar captained by Mustafa, with chef Dohan, and crew Cem, Emre and Meric turned out to be the best family holiday we had ever booked. Akin's recommendation of the boat was spot on. Dohan's menu and cooking was absolutely excellent. The crew went out of their way to assist us at every opportunity and their care and attention to the children on the trip was exemplary. There wasn't a single fault that on the whole trip, the transfers worked perfectly, the crew were there to greet us at Marmaris and led us through the alleys to the waterside where the amazing boat in front of us was to be ours for a week. We were all taken aback and realised that Mum's mad dream was coming to fruition. A holiday found by google, sold to us by Akin who took the trouble to explain everything turned out to be beyond the dreams of all of us. Canoeing in quiet coves, swimming and snorkelling to our hearts content then served with drinks and snacks before amazing meals and enjoying the trips between coves became the order of each day. I can firmly recommend this holiday to anyone. It was simply amazing." Christine - 25 May 2025

" We went to Diamond Star experience because they offer multi-centre holidays and had good ratings. We were in no way disappointed with what was organised. We said that we wanted a few days in Athens and then a week on a relatively quiet island. Akin made a proposal (Athens then Naxos) and then, when we agreed, organised everything. The Athens hotel was central and accessible to the main sites and to restaurants, and was of very good quality. The choice of Naxos for the island was equally good and we stayed in an excellent three star hotel on the edge of the town within easy reach of the beach and restaurants. All transfers were efficiently organised and even when there was a transport hiccup (our fault!) there was a phone call from the Athens back-up team within the hour to find out what had happened.
Thank you very much, Akin and staff, for a really enjoyable holiday and for service which can be easily be recommended. " Mr Alan Fraser - 19 May 2025