Arrive in Istanbul. Upon arrival your guide and the bus will be waiting for you at the airport. You will be welcomed and picked by your guide to the bus. The ride will take one hour thirty minutes which depends on traffic at the city. During your ride the guide will give you an orientation both about the itinerary, city and general suggestions during your holiday in Turkey. Your hotel will be at the Taksim or Sultanahmet Square. You are free to either rest at your room or discover the squares. Your Trip Experience Leader will give you some suggestions about dinner. You can wonder around and mingle with local people and have some delicious street food or drinks. Overnight at Istanbul.
Today your guide will meet you at the lobby at 09:00 am. Then you will start your old city tour. Visit Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Basilical Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar. Overnight at İstanbul.
Your guide will pick you at 09:00 am again and drive to the Topkapı Palace. At afternoon you will head to the Bosphorus Cruise tour. The boat ride will be with a public ferry and the duration is 2 hours. Then we will drive up to the Çamlıca Hill where you can watch the both sides of Istanbul. We will finish the day at the Spice Market. Overnight at Istanbul.
Today we have an early departure to Safranbolu. The duration of the ride is 4 hours we will have a break on the way and arrive at the town at noon. Upon arrival we will check into the hotel. Then your guide will take you a local restaurant where you can watch a short documentary about the town which has been at the list of World Heritage Site since 1994. The beautiful historical Ottoman houses and small shops through the narrow alleys will overwhelm you. You will be able to visit one of these Ottoman House which is used as a museum. Overnight at Safranbolu.
Today we will depart at 09:00 am and head to Amasya. The city is world-wide known with its epical love stories and it was the most popular city for the Ottoman Sultans whose kids for raised here. The city was the hometown of Strabon who was a planner and the author of the book Geographica. Both the stone curved tombs and Ottoman Houses on the bank of river are worth to visit. We will have lunch at a local restaurant and leave the city afternoon. It will take 2 hours to arrive the next city Samsun. On arrival we will visit archaeological museum of Samsun and the statute of Atatürk. Overnight in Samsun.
Today we will head to Trabzon visit Giresun( the hometown of hazelnuts) on our way. The ride will take around 5 hours altogether. The city Trabzon is known with its meatball that’s why we will stop on the way to have a bit late lunch in Akçaabat which named the meatball as well. After lunch we will arrive at Trabzon and visit Hagia Sophia church which is used as mosque although we will be able to see the frescoes and many other relics at the museum. Then we will check into the hotel at the city centre which is known as Atatürk Square. You will be able to discover the centre as the location of the hotel is very central. Overnight in Trabzon.
Today we have an early departure to Sumela Monastery. Upon arrival your guide will give you the historical background of this UNESCO heritage site. Then we will drive back and have a local lunch next to the waterfall. After we will drive to Uzungöl. We will have free afternoon here and drive back to hotel at 6 pm. Overnight at Trabzon.
Your guide will meet you at 8:00 am and drive to Rize Botanical Park where you will see thousands of plants and able to visit the manufactory of the tea. Then we will head to Ayder. Free afternoon at Ayder. Overnight at Ayder.
After breakfast we will drive back to Trabzon for some shopping. On our way we will stop at the Manufactory for the worldwide know Rize Fabric. Then drive back to Trabzon airport for flight back to İstanbul.
What's Included • English Speaking Guide
