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Troy, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Istanbul Coach Tour

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Overview – Troy, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Istanbul Coach Tour, 21-29 September 2026

This 9-day Turkey coach tour from Bucharest, organized by Pro Travel, is a comprehensive journey through Turkey’s most important attractions:

  • UNESCO sites: Troy, Ephesus, Hierapolis/Pamukkale, Cappadocia (Göreme)

  • Spectacular natural landscapes: Pamukkale, Lake Salda, Cappadocia, Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake)

  • Major historic and modern cities: İzmir, Ankara, Istanbul

You will travel by coach from Bucharest, accompanied throughout the tour by a licensed Pro Travel tour leader and by a licensed local guide in Turkey. The package includes accommodation in 4–5★ hotels and a special category hotel in Cappadocia, daily breakfast, dinners according to the program, and tips for guides and drivers included in the package price.

Main highlights of the Turkey tour

  • 9-day / 8-night coach tour from Bucharest

  • Visits to important UNESCO sites: Troy, Ephesus, Hierapolis/Pamukkale, Göreme – Cappadocia

  • Tours in: Çanakkale, Ayvalık, İzmir, Pamukkale, Sagalassos, Isparta, Konya, Cappadocia, Ankara, Istanbul

  • Special experiences:

  • Cappadocia – unique landscapes; optional hot-air balloon flight available

  • Pamukkale – white travertine terraces and thermal springs

  • Lake Salda – known as the “Maldives of Turkey”

  • Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) – one of Turkey’s largest salt lakes

  • Accommodation in 4–5★ hotels and a special category hotel in Cappadocia

  • 8 breakfasts and 6 dinners included

  • Tips for guides and drivers included in the package price

Accommodation by day – Pro Travel Turkey Tour

  • 21.09 – Çanakkale – Hotel AKOL 4★ – Half board

  • 22.09 – İzmir – Hotel KARACA 4★ – Half board

  • 23.09 – Pamukkale – Hotel COLOSSAE Thermal & Spa 5★ – Half board

  • 24.09 – Sagalassos / Ağlasun – Hotel SAGALASSOS LODGE & SPA 4★ – Half board

  • 25.09 – Cappadocia – Hotel DİLEK KAYA – Special Category – Half board

  • 26.09 – Ankara – Hotel ALTINEL 5★ – Half board

  • 27.09 – Istanbul – Hotel BÜYÜK ŞAHİNLER 4★ – Breakfast

  • 28.09 – Istanbul – Hotel BÜYÜK ŞAHİNLER 4★ – Breakfast

Total:

  • 8 nights’ accommodation in 4–5★ hotels and a special category hotel

  • 8 breakfasts

  • 6 dinners (on all half-board evenings)

Itinerary

  1. Day 1

    Bucharest – Canakkale

    Distance: ~550 km

    • Departure: Early morning (around 6:00 - 7:00).
    • Coffee break: Ruse (approx. 60 km, 1h from Bucharest).
    • Lunch break: Lapseki (approx. 490 km, 8h, at one of the seaside taverns).
    • Crossing the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world, inaugurated in 2022, an engineering and construction first that has been featured in many television documentaries and travel articles.
    • Evening: Arrival in Canakkale, walking tour of the city center and promenade, visit to the traditional Aynali Carsi market and tasting of the famous Peynir Tatlisi cheese pastries. Accommodation.

  2. Day 2

    Çanakkale – Troy – Ayvalık – İzmir

    Distance: ~450 km

    • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel, then departure for the Troy archaeological site and the Troy Museum – one of the world’s most famous ancient cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Together we discover what the Trojan Horse really looked like and what lies within the walls of the city that inspired the Iliad and the Odyssey.

    • Lunch break: Ayvalık, a small town on the Aegean coast known for its seafood, olive groves and traditional atmosphere.

    • Afternoon: Departure for İzmir, Turkey’s third-largest city and the ancient city of Smyrna.

    • Evening: Arrival in İzmir in the late afternoon and transfer to the centrally located hotel. Walk along the harbour promenade to the Konak Clock Tower, the city’s symbol, and through Kemeraltı, İzmir’s oldest traditional bazaar.

    • Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel KARACA 4★, İzmir – half board (breakfast and dinner included).

  3. Day 3

    İzmir – Ephesus – Pamukkale / Hierapolis

    Distance: ~300 km

    • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel, then we ascend to Kadifekale (“Velvet Castle”), the ancient acropolis of Smyrna, for the finest panoramic views of İzmir and the Aegean Gulf.

    • Visit to the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi), near Selçuk – one of Turkey’s most important Christian pilgrimage sites and the Virgin Mary’s last home. We stop at the House itself, the spring with its beneficial water and the Wishing Wall, where pilgrims leave notes with prayers.

    • Visit to the ancient city of Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the eastern Mediterranean. We explore the main archaeological area: the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, Curetes Street, the Temple of Hadrian and the other monuments of the city where Saint Paul preached.

    • Departure for Pamukkale, Turkey’s “cotton castle”, renowned for its white travertine terraces and thermal springs.

    • Visit to the ancient city of Hierapolis, situated above the travertine terraces and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – the resting place of the relics of Saint Philip the Apostle, where thermal waters have flowed for more than two millennia, including in the famous Cleopatra’s Pool.

    • Evening: Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel COLOSSAE Thermal & Spa 5★, Pamukkale – half board (breakfast and dinner included).

  4. Day 4

    Pamukkale – Lake Salda – Sagalassos

    Distance: ~230 km

    • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Lake Salda, with a shopping stop at local textile centres.

    • Visit to Lake Salda, nicknamed the “Maldives of Turkey” – one of the country’s most spectacular natural wonders, with turquoise waters and white shores. Its minerals have been studied by NASA for their similarity to the soil of Mars.

    • Departure for Sagalassos, the most impressive ancient city in southern Anatolia, set in spectacular mountain scenery at an altitude of over 1,400 metres. Its strategic position made it a target of Alexander the Great’s campaigns.

    • Visit to the Sagalassos archaeological site, including the monumental Antonine fountain, the theatre and the upper agora, painstakingly restored in their original locations.

    • Evening: Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel SAGALASSOS LODGE & SPA 4★, Ağlasun – half board (breakfast and dinner included).

  5. Day 5

    Sagalassos – Isparta – Konya – Cappadocia

    Distance: ~520 km

    • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Isparta, the land of roses and lavender. A short stop for local products made with rose and lavender essential oils.

    • Departure for Konya, one of Turkey’s most important spiritual centres and the former capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.

    • Visit to the Mevlana Museum, where Rumi, the poet and Sufi sage who inspired the order of the whirling dervishes, has rested for more than 750 years – a peaceful, reflective stop on our journey.

    • Departure for Cappadocia, the region of “fairy chimneys” and rock-cut churches.

    • Evening: Arrival in Cappadocia, dinner and overnight stay at Hotel DİLEK KAYA – Special Category – half board (breakfast and dinner included).

  6. Day 6

    Cappadocia – Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) – Ankara

    Distance: ~460 km

    • Early morning: The opportunity to take an optional hot-air balloon flight over Cappadocia at sunrise – one of the world’s most spectacular travel experiences.

    • Break: Breakfast at the hotel after the balloon flight.

    • Visit to Kaymaklı Underground City, one of Cappadocia’s most famous underground cities and part of the UNESCO area – a refuge for early Christians, carved into volcanic rock on eight levels.

    • A full day exploring Cappadocia: We admire Pigeon Valley, visit the Göreme Open-Air Museum – a UNESCO site renowned for its rock-cut churches and frescoes preserved from the first millennium of Christianity – and the town of Avanos, famous for its traditional pottery workshops on the banks of the Kızılırmak River. Our final stop is Zelve Valley and Paşabağı, an area known for the “fairy chimneys”, the region’s emblematic rock formations.

    • Departure for Ankara, with a photo stop at Tuz Gölü / Salt Lake – one of the largest salt lakes in Turkey and the world.

    • Evening: Arrival in Ankara, dinner and overnight stay at Hotel ALTINEL 5★, Ankara – half board (breakfast and dinner included).

  7. Day 7

    Ankara – Istanbul

    Distance: ~440 km

    • Departure: In the morning we leave Ankara, but not before visiting the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in this city, as well as Ataturk’s Mausoleum.
    • Lunch: stop in Bursa for lunch and a visit to the city center.
    • Evening: Arrival in Istanbul, accommodation.

  8. Day 8

    Istanbul

    Distance: ~40 km (local)

    • Morning: Panoramic coach tour (Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia). Istanbul is the city with the most impressive biography: capital of two empires (the Byzantine Empire, with a history of almost 1,500 years, and the Ottoman Empire, with a history of almost 500 years), a strategic trade point connecting two continents, Europe and Asia, and a religious center for Christians and Muslims. The historic center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
    • Free time: Shopping (Grand Bazaar or Kadikoy).
    • Evening: Dinner on the Bosphorus with cruise.
    • Accommodation: Istanbul.

  9. Day 9

    Istanbul – Edirne – Bucharest

    Distance: ~640 km

    • Departure: Morning departure to Edirne (230 km).
    • Visit stop: Selimiye Mosque and a short city tour.
    • Lunch: In Edirne, at a local tavern.

    Departure: Towards Bucharest (410 km, with gas station breaks in Bulgaria).

What's included

  • Coach transportation from Bucharest on the route Bucharest – Çanakkale – İzmir – Pamukkale – Sagalassos – Cappadocia – Ankara – Istanbul – Bucharest, according to the program.
  • 8 nights’ accommodation in 4–5★ / special category hotels:
  • 1 night in Çanakkale – Hotel AKOL 4★ (half board)
  • 1 night in İzmir – Hotel KARACA 4★ (half board)
  • 1 night in Pamukkale – Hotel COLOSSAE Thermal & Spa 5★ (half board)
  • 1 night in Sagalassos – Hotel SAGALASSOS LODGE & SPA 4★ (half board)
  • 1 night in Cappadocia – Hotel DİLEK KAYA – Special Category (half board)
  • 1 night in Ankara – Hotel ALTINEL 5★ (half board)
  • 2 nights in Istanbul – Hotel BÜYÜK ŞAHİNLER 4★ (breakfast)
  • 8 breakfasts, according to the program.
  • 6 dinners on the half-board evenings (Çanakkale, İzmir, Pamukkale, Sagalassos, Cappadocia, Ankara).
  • Licensed Pro Travel tour leader throughout the tour, from Bucharest.
  • Licensed local guide in Turkey for visits to the main tourist attractions.
  • Tips for guides and drivers, according to the agency policy (included in the package price).

Not included

  • Entrance fees to sites, museums and archaeological areas, and optional excursions (the hot-air balloon flight in Cappadocia, the Bosphorus dinner show, other optional programmes).
  • Other personal expenses: drinks, souvenirs, hotel extras, travel insurance and similar.
  • Meals other than those listed in the programme (lunches, dinners not included, snacks).
  • Hot-air balloon flight in Cappadocia: approximately €280 per person (the rate can be lower or higher depending on demand; paid locally to our partner agency in Turkey).
  • Dinner and show on the Bosphorus, Istanbul: an evening aboard a restaurant boat, with a traditional Turkish menu, drinks included and a show with a DJ, folk dancing and belly dance. Price: €60 per person | Duration: ~3 hours
  • Troy Museum – ~€27
  • House of the Virgin Mary – ~800 TL (~€16)
  • Ephesus – ~€40
  • Hierapolis – ~€30
  • Göreme – ~€20
  • Zelve / Paşabağları – ~€12
  • Kaymaklı – ~€13
  • Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara – ~€12

Services not included

Optional excursions

Estimated museum entrance fees – Turkey

Approximate total for museum entrances: €170 per person.

Entrance rates are indicative and may be changed by the site administrators before the date of the visit.

Useful information

If the traveler withdraws from the travel services package covered by this contract, they owe the Agency the following penalties:

a) 30% of the travel services package price, if the withdrawal is made more than 30 calendar days before the departure date;

b) 50% of the travel services package price, if the withdrawal is made between 29 and 20 calendar days before the departure date;

c) 100% of the travel services package price if the cancellation is made:

  • in case of no-show for the program;

  • less than 19 calendar days before the departure date, or on the departure day;

  • if the traveler is not allowed to cross one of the borders on the tour route for reasons related exclusively to the traveler or for reasons that cannot be attributed to the Agency;

  • if the traveler does not comply with the Agency’s general terms and conditions, presents incomplete or false documents, does not have a passport, or does not pay the tour in full within the stipulated deadlines. These penalties apply to the contract price mentioned in Article II of this contract.