Bosphorus, Bazaar, Balloons

The journey.

Day 1 · Istanbul · Two continents, one city

An afternoon simply walking Sultanahmet, with the call to prayer coming from three mosques at once, slightly out of time with each other.

Day 2 · Istanbul · The empires, in one day

Hagia Sophia, which has been a church, a mosque, a museum and a mosque again, then the Blue Mosque and Topkapi with a guide who can hold all of it together.

Day 3 · Istanbul · The bazaar, and the water

The Grand Bazaar and the spice market in the morning, where tea is pushed into your hand with no expectation at all, then the Bosphorus in the afternoon.

Day 4 · Istanbul · Yours

A free day for the Asian side, the modern galleries, or a proper Ottoman hammam, which is a scrubbing rather than a spa treatment.

Day 5 · Cappadocia · Into the volcanic country

A short flight to a landscape unlike anywhere else on earth, and a genuine cave hotel carved into the rock to sleep in.

Day 6 · Cappadocia · Balloons at dawn

Up at four thirty for an hour over the valleys as the sun comes up, with a hundred other balloons around you, then the underground cities.

Day 7 · Cappadocia · The valleys, on foot

The rock churches at the Goreme open air museum, and Rose Valley in the late light with nobody else in it.

Day 8 · Istanbul · Home

A flight back and a connection home, with a last simit from a cart on the way to the airport.

What a journey like this includes

• Four Seasons at the Bosphorus, Pera Palace and Argos in Cappadocia among the choices

• Both internal flights and every transfer, private

• The old city with a private guide, all entrance fees included

• Goreme and an underground city with a guide

• Turkish e-visas handled and breakfast every morning

• Three Cappadocia nights in the recommended shape, so the balloon has more than one chance

Build this journey your way

Every day and every hotel here has alternatives, with live pricing as you choose: https://packages.tripn.in/turkey-bosphorus-bazaar-balloons