4-Day Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale Tour by Flight (Starts from Istanbul and Ends in Izmir)

It's an early one. Around 3:50 AM you'll be picked up from your Istanbul hotel and driven to the airport for a flight to Kayseri or Nevşehir, departing between 6:00 and 7:30 AM. The flight takes about 90 minutes. Your driver meets you at arrivals and the group tour starts right away, so pack a small daypack with what you need and keep it handy.

First stop is Devrent Valley, where wind and rain have carved the soft tuff into shapes people nickname after animals. Then it's on to Pasabag Valley, known for the mushroom-capped fairy chimneys and a hermit's chapel cut into one of them. Next comes Avanos, a pottery town on the Kizilirmak River, where a potter demonstrates the kick wheel. That's a shopping stop too, and buying nothing is fine.

Lunch is included at a local restaurant, usually a soup, a grilled main and bread. Afterward you'll walk through the Zelve Open Air Museum, a cave village where families lived until the 1950s. The paths are gravel and uneven, so closed-toe shoes matter more than style here.

The last stop is Uchisar Castle for photos from the base. Entry inside isn't included, but the view over the valleys is the point. Around 4:00 PM you'll be dropped at your cave hotel to check in, with the evening free.

Optional add-ons, each at extra cost and pick one only: a Turkish Night show with dinner, a two-hour ATV ride, two hours of horseback riding through the valleys, or a one-hour Whirling Dervish ceremony. Total walking today is roughly 3 to 4 km on soft, dusty ground. Bring a hat, sunscreen and a refillable water bottle.

• Overnight in Cappadocia.
• Included Meal(s): Lunch

If you've booked the hot air balloon ride (extra cost, not included), your pickup is well before sunrise, usually around 4:30 AM. Balloons only fly when the wind and visibility cooperate, so flights get canceled and refunded fairly often. Otherwise, breakfast at the hotel is your start, with pickup around 9:30 AM. Your guide will run through the day's plan in the van.

The morning begins at the Red Valley, with rock-cut chapels tucked into the cliffs. From there you'll hike about 5 km through Rose Valley (Gülludere Vadisi). It's mostly flat with a few narrow, sandy sections and takes roughly two hours at an easy group pace. Sturdy shoes, water and a hat are essential; there's very little shade.

Next is Cavusin Village, where abandoned cave houses stack up the rock face below an old church. Lunch is included around noon at a nearby restaurant. Vegetarian plates are available if you tell us in advance.

After lunch you'll stop at Pigeon Valley, named for the dovecotes carved into the cliffs to collect droppings for fertilizer. Then it's underground, at either Kaymakli or Ozkonak Underground City, where early Christians hid from raids. Some tunnels are low and tight, so skip it if crouching or close spaces bother you.

The tour wraps around 4:00 PM and you'll be driven to Kayseri or Nevşehir airport for a late evening flight to Izmir via Istanbul. Checked luggage is limited to 15 kg. At Izmir Airport a representative will be waiting with a sign showing your name, then it's about a 90-minute drive to your Kusadasi hotel.

• Overnight in Kusadasi.
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch

Breakfast is early today. Around 7:30 AM you'll be collected from your Kusadasi hotel and taken to the meeting point in Selçuk, where the full small group comes together. Departure is at 8:30 AM sharp. The drive inland to Pamukkale takes about three hours, with a 10-minute restroom stop after roughly 90 minutes.

You'll reach Pamukkale around 11:45 AM and eat first. Lunch is included, usually a buffet with grilled chicken, rice, salads and seasonal vegetables. The guided tour starts near 1:00 PM with a licensed guide.

You'll walk the Pamukkale Travertines, white terraces built up over centuries by calcium-rich spring water. Shoes come off on the travertines, that's the rule, so expect to walk barefoot on wet, slightly rough stone. Above them sits the City of Hierapolis, with its basilica, the hillside theatre and the Roman Baths.

After the guided portion you get free time. If you want, you can swim in the Cleopatra Antique Pools, where broken columns lie on the bottom. Entry is paid on site and isn't included, and you'll need your own swimsuit and towel. Your guide will confirm the meeting spot and time.

Departure is around 4:00 PM for the drive back, arriving in Kusadasi near 7:30 PM. It's a long day with three to four hours in the van and a lot of sun exposure on the terraces. Bring sunscreen, a hat and more water than you think you need, especially in July and August.

• Overnight in Kusadasi.
• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch

Have breakfast, then check out and be ready in the lobby by about 8:30 AM. Your guide meets you there for the full day at Ephesus Ancient City Ruins, roughly a 25-minute drive from Kusadasi. Bring your luggage along; it stays in the vehicle during the tour.

You'll walk downhill through the site, which was a Roman provincial capital and port before the harbor silted up. Stops include the Temple of Hadrian, the Trajan Fountain, the two-story facade of the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre, which held around 24,000 people. Figure two to three hours here on marble paving that's slick in places, with almost no shade by late morning.

Lunch is included at a restaurant near the site. Afterward you'll drive up Bulbul Mountain to the House of the Virgin Mary, a small stone chapel where Mary is believed to have spent her final years. It's a quiet place, and visitors keep their voices down inside.

Next you'll pass the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, now a single reassembled column in a field. Then comes the Isa Bey Mosque from 1375, built with columns taken from Ephesus. Cover your shoulders and knees, women should bring a scarf for their hair, and shoes come off at the door.

The tour finishes around 4:00 PM. You can be dropped in Kusadasi or Selçuk, or transferred to Izmir Airport or the Kusadasi/Izmir bus station for onward travel to Bodrum, Marmaris, Antalya, Fethiye or Istanbul. Onward flight and bus tickets aren't included, though we can book them for you at extra cost. END OF OUR SERVICE AND TOURS

• Included Meal(s): Breakfast and Lunch