Turkey: the Aegean, Ephesus, Pamukkale and the Turquoise Coast

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Izmir

   Izmir Airport (ADB) to central Izmir

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Izmir
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB), about 18 km south of the city. A driver meets you in arrivals whatever time you land and takes you to a central hotel within walking distance of the Kordon, the long seafront promenade on the Gulf of Izmir. If you land early, the afternoon is yours to rest or wander. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the ten days ahead, then walks you through Konak Square and its Ottoman clock tower of 1901 into Kemeraltı, the old bazaar quarter, where lanes of spice shops, coppersmiths and tea gardens wind past small mosques and old caravanserais. We finish on the Kordon as the sun goes down over the gulf. Dinner is together at a local restaurant, with Aegean mezze, olive-oil dishes and grilled fish, and a first chance to meet the people you will travel with.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Izmir Airport (ADB)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk: Konak Square, the clock tower, Kemeraltı bazaar and the Kordon
   • Welcome dinner in Izmir

   Temps libre : Free until the early evening briefing

2. Jour 2 : Smyrna, then Selçuk and Ayasuluk Hill

   Izmir to the Agora of Smyrna, then Selçuk

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Selçuk
   Détail du jour 2

   No early start today. After breakfast we visit the Agora of Smyrna, the Roman market square of the old city, rebuilt after an earthquake in AD 178, where arched basements and a row of standing columns sit in the middle of modern Izmir. Then about an hour south through olive and fig country to Selçuk, the small town beside Ephesus and our base for two nights. Lunch is sit-down at a family-run place in town, with gözleme cooked on the griddle. In the afternoon we climb Ayasuluk Hill to the Basilica of St John, built by the emperor Justinian over the traditional tomb of the apostle, with the Byzantine citadel above it, then walk down past the 14th-century İsa Bey Mosque to the single re-erected column of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. We end at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk, which holds the statues of Artemis found at the site, so tomorrow's walk has faces to go with it. Evening free.

   Compris

   • The Agora of Smyrna with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Selçuk
   • The Basilica of St John and Ayasuluk Hill
   • The İsa Bey Mosque (outside prayer times)
   • The site of the Temple of Artemis
   • The Ephesus Archaeological Museum, Selçuk

   Temps libre : Evening free in Selçuk

   Activité : Ayasuluk Hill is a short climb on cobbles and paths. Modest dress (shoulders and knees covered, a scarf for women) for the mosque.

3. Jour 3 : Ephesus at opening, Şirince in the afternoon

   Selçuk to Ephesus, then Şirince, and back to Selçuk

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Selçuk
   Détail du jour 3

   We are at the upper gate of Ephesus when it opens, before the cruise and coach groups arrive and while the marble is still cool. Entering at the top means the whole walk runs downhill: past the Odeon and the Nike relief, down Curetes Street to the Terrace Houses, where Roman families lived among wall paintings and mosaics under a modern roof. Their separate ticket is included. Then the Library of Celsus, the latrines and the Great Theatre, which held around 25,000 people, before we leave by the lower gate. Allow about three and a half hours, with time to sit in the shade and take photos. Lunch is sit-down in Şirince, a hill village 8 km above Selçuk among peach and olive groves, where stone houses with tiled roofs were built by the Greek families who lived here until 1923. After lunch walk the lanes to the church of St John the Baptist and taste the fruit wines the village is known for. Back in Selçuk mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free.

   Compris

   • Ephesus with your guide from opening, upper gate to lower gate
   • The Terrace Houses (separate ticket included)
   • Sit-down lunch in Şirince
   • Şirince village walk and a fruit wine tasting

   Activités en option

   • The House of the Virgin Mary on Mount Koressos, with your driver in the late afternoon (entry and transfer cost shown before you book)

   Option plus facile : Skip the Terrace Houses stairs and rest in the shade by the Library of Celsus while the group goes in.

   Option plus active : Walk on from the lower gate along the old Arcadian Way toward the harbour, or walk up from Şirince's lower lanes to the hilltop above the village.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free in Selçuk

   Activité : Ephesus is about 3.5 km on uneven marble and stone, mostly downhill, with very little shade. The Terrace Houses have metal stairs and walkways. About 5 to 6 hours on your feet in all, counting Ephesus and the Şirince lanes.

   

4. Jour 4 : Aphrodisias, then Pamukkale at sunset

   Selçuk to Aphrodisias, then Pamukkale

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Pamukkale
   Détail du jour 4

   We leave Selçuk at about 8:30 and drive up the Büyük Menderes valley, the river that gave the word meander, past cotton fields and fig orchards. A coffee stop breaks the road. Aphrodisias, the city of Aphrodite and a UNESCO site since 2017, is far quieter than Ephesus. The marble came from quarries nearby, so the city had its own school of sculptors, and you see their work in the Sebasteion reliefs and in the site museum. Walk through the carved Tetrapylon gateway to the temple and on to the stadium, one of the best preserved in the Roman world. Lunch is sit-down in Geyre, the village beside the site. From there it is about an hour and a half to Pamukkale. We reach Hierapolis in the late afternoon, as most day-tour coaches leave, and walk the necropolis, the theatre and the white travertine terraces barefoot as the light turns gold. Dinner together in the village tonight.

   Compris

   • Aphrodisias with your guide: the Tetrapylon, the Sebasteion, the stadium and the museum
   • Sit-down lunch in Geyre
   • Hierapolis and the Pamukkale travertines in the late afternoon
   • Dinner in Pamukkale

   Activités en option

   • A swim in the Antique Pool among sunken Roman columns (separate ticket, price shown before you book)

   Option plus facile : Walk only the lower terraces and sit at the top of the travertines while the group visits the theatre.

   Option plus active : Climb the path from the theatre up to the Martyrium of St Philip on the hill above Hierapolis.

   Activité : The travertines are walked barefoot on wet, ridged limestone, slippery in places. The theatre and the Martyrium paths climb steeply. There is no balloon option here: day 5 leaves at 8:30 for the longest drive, and a sunrise flight would make it longer still.

   

5. Jour 5 : Over the hills to the Turquoise Coast

   Pamukkale to Tlos and Saklıkent Gorge, then Kaş

   • Environ 5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kaş
   Détail du jour 5

   This is the one day over our four-hour driving cap, about four and three quarter hours in all. There is no sensible town between the travertines and the coast to break it with a night, and an extra night there would take a day from Kaş. So we split it into three: about two and a half hours south through the uplands around Acıpayam with a coffee stop on the way, then Tlos, one of the oldest Lycian cities, where rock tombs carved like temple fronts look down from the acropolis over the Xanthos valley. Lunch is sit-down at Saklıkent, at one of the trout restaurants built on platforms over the river, followed by a short walk on the boardwalk into the gorge, where the cliffs close in to a few metres apart. The last hour and a quarter runs down through Kınık and along the cliffs past Kalkan to Kaş, a small harbour town of white houses and bougainvillea. We arrive in the early evening, about 6:30 to 7, and settle in for three nights.

   Compris

   • Tlos with your guide: the rock tombs and the acropolis
   • Sit-down trout lunch at Saklıkent
   • Saklıkent Gorge entry and the boardwalk

   Option plus facile : Stay at the foot of the acropolis at Tlos, and keep to the boardwalk at Saklıkent.

   Option plus active : Wade into Saklıkent Gorge beyond the boardwalk in water shoes, as far as the river level allows.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kaş

   Activité : The longest drive of the trip, over the 4 hour cap and split by a coffee stop, Tlos and lunch. The gorge water is cold all year and may be too high to wade in April.

6. Jour 6 : A boat day to Kekova

   Kaş to Üçağız, then by boat to Kekova and Kaleköy (Simena), and back

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kaş
   Détail du jour 6

   A short drive east brings us to Üçağız, a fishing village on a sheltered bay, where a boat for our group only is waiting. We leave before the day boats from Kaş arrive. Along the north shore of Kekova Island, the walls, steps and house foundations of an ancient town lie half under the water, dropped by earthquakes in antiquity. Swimming over the ruins is not allowed, so the boat drifts past slowly while your guide explains what you are looking at. At Kaleköy, the old Simena, a short climb leads to a small castle and a tiny theatre cut into the rock, with a view over the bay and a Lycian sarcophagus standing in the shallows. Lunch is cooked on board. In the afternoon the boat stops in two or three coves for swimming in clear water, then heads back to Üçağız. Back in Kaş by late afternoon, with the evening yours for the harbour and the old Hellenistic theatre at sunset.

   Compris

   • Full-day boat for our group from Üçağız
   • The sunken city along Kekova Island, seen from the deck
   • Simena castle and its rock-cut theatre at Kaleköy
   • Lunch cooked on board
   • Swim stops in two or three coves

   Option plus facile : Stay on deck in the shade at Kaleköy instead of the climb to the castle.

   Option plus active : Swim at every stop and snorkel along the rocky shore, away from the protected ruins.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kaş

   Activité : The climb at Kaleköy is about 15 minutes on uneven steps. If the sea is too rough to sail, we swap this day with day 7. In April the sea is still cool for swimming.

   

7. Jour 7 : Patara and a free afternoon in Kaş

   Kaş to Patara, then back to Kaş

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kaş
   Détail du jour 7

   We leave Kaş at about 8:30 for the 50-minute drive west to Patara, the main port of ancient Lycia and the birthplace of St Nicholas. Early, the site is quiet and the light is soft on the stone. Your guide walks you through the restored assembly hall where the Lycian League, a federation of cities, met to vote, then down the colonnaded street to the theatre and out toward the old harbour, now silted up and full of reeds, where an ancient lighthouse has been rebuilt from its fallen blocks. From the ruins it is a short walk over the dunes to Patara beach, about 18 km of sand backed by protected dunes, for a swim. Lunch is sit-down in Gelemiş, the village beside the site. We are back in Kaş by about 2:30 and the afternoon is free: a swim from the rocks, a nap, the shops on the old lanes, or a coffee by the harbour watching the boats come in.

   Compris

   • Patara with your guide: the assembly hall, the colonnaded street, the theatre and the lighthouse
   • Time to swim at Patara beach
   • Sit-down lunch in Gelemiş

   Activités en option

   • Sea kayaking from Kaş over the sunken ruins of Kekova or along the Kaş peninsula with a local outfitter (price shown before you book)

   Option plus facile : Ride the vehicle from the ruins to the beach car park instead of walking over the dunes.

   Option plus active : Walk the dunes from the ruins to the lighthouse and along the beach, about 5 km on sand.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Kaş

   Activité : Patara is flat but sandy and has little shade. The beach closes at night in the turtle nesting season, from about May to October.

   

8. Jour 8 : Myra and Phaselis on the way to Antalya

   Kaş to Demre (Myra), then Phaselis, and Antalya

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Antalya
   Détail du jour 8

   We leave Kaş at about 8:30 and follow the coast road east, where the mountains drop straight into the sea. After about 45 minutes we reach Demre and the ancient city of Myra, where Lycian tombs are cut into the cliff like house fronts above a Roman theatre carved with theatre masks. Nearby is the Church of St Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra behind the Santa Claus story, with its frescoes and his empty sarcophagus. Lunch is sit-down in Demre. The road then climbs over the headland past Finike and on to Phaselis, about two hours on, a Lycian port city set in pine woods on a peninsula with three natural harbours. Walk the paved main street between the harbours, past the aqueduct, and swim from the small beach in the south harbour. The last hour runs up the coast to Antalya, where we stay in or beside Kaleiçi, the walled old town above the harbour, for two nights. About three and three quarter hours of driving today in all.

   Compris

   • Myra with your guide: the rock tombs and the theatre
   • The Church of St Nicholas, Demre
   • Sit-down lunch in Demre
   • Phaselis: the harbours, the main street and the aqueduct, with time to swim

   Option plus facile : Stay in the shade by the Phaselis main street or the beach instead of walking out to the far harbour.

   Option plus active : Walk the full loop of all three Phaselis harbours before the swim.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Antalya

   Activité : A long day, kept under the 4 hour cap and broken by Myra, lunch and Phaselis. Myra and Phaselis are mostly flat, with little shade at Myra.

9. Jour 9 : Termessos at opening, Kaleiçi at dusk

   Antalya to Termessos, and back to Antalya

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Antalya
   Détail du jour 9

   We leave Kaleiçi early and drive about 45 minutes into the mountains to Termessos, a city built at about 1,000 m inside a pine-covered national park. Alexander the Great looked at its walls in 333 BC and moved on. We are there at opening, while the air is cool and before the tour groups arrive. The path climbs past the city gate and cisterns to the theatre, which sits on the edge of a drop with the peaks behind it, then on to tombs scattered through the trees. Lunch is sit-down at a village restaurant below the park, and we are back in Antalya by about 2 pm. The afternoon is free: a swim from the rocks below the old town, the small Kaleiçi Museum, or a rest. In the early evening your guide walks you through Kaleiçi: Hadrian's Gate, raised for the emperor's visit in AD 130, the fluted Yivli Minaret and the stairs down to the old harbour. The farewell dinner is in the old town.

   Compris

   • Termessos with your guide at opening: the city gate, the theatre and the tombs
   • Sit-down lunch below Termessos
   • Evening walk in Kaleiçi: Hadrian's Gate, the Yivli Minaret and the old harbour
   • Farewell dinner in Kaleiçi

   Activités en option

   • The Suna and İnan Kıraç Kaleiçi Museum, a small museum in the old town, on your own in the free afternoon (entry not included; hours confirmed for your dates)

   Option plus facile : At Termessos, walk only as far as the theatre and come back down at your own pace, or wait in the shade at the car park.

   Option plus active : Climb on past the theatre to the upper necropolis, where sarcophagi lie tumbled through the forest.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Antalya

   Activité : Termessos is a 2 to 3 hour visit uphill on rough stone paths with no shade on some stretches.

   

10. Jour 10 : Antalya to the airport

    Kaleiçi to Antalya Airport (AYT)

    • Environ 24 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 10

    The last morning is free. Have a long breakfast, walk the old town walls and the cliff-top park above the harbour before the day warms up, or take a last swim from the rocks. Your guide arranges transfers to Antalya Airport (AYT), about 15 km east of Kaleiçi and a 20 to 30 minute drive, to match the group's flights, and comes with the first transfer to see you checked in. Book a flight leaving after about noon if you can; earlier flights are fine, and we transfer you separately. Many routes home from Antalya connect through Istanbul. If you would like longer in Turkey, we can add nights in Antalya, or you can join our Lycian coast trip, which starts in Antalya, or add Istanbul and Cappadocia before you arrive in Izmir; ask us when you request to book and we will quote the extra nights and transfers.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Antalya Airport (AYT)

    Temps libre : Morning free in Antalya

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about noon.

Faune et météo : April to June and September to October keep the inland sites walkable and the sea warm enough to swim from May; July and August are very hot at Ephesus and Pamukkale. Loggerhead turtles nest on Patara beach from about May to October, when it closes at night.

• Izmir1 nuit
• Selçuk2 nuits
• Pamukkale1 nuit
• Kaş3 nuits
• Antalya2 nuits