Greece tours and Turkey tours share one coastline of the Aegean Sea, and this page lines up the day trips and multi-day trips for both. Each section names the places a tour visits, how you get there and what to check before you book.
You can read the Greece tours first, the Turkey tours second, or jump to the section on joining both countries in one trip. Every tour card on this page opens a live booking on GetYourGuide.
Which Greece tours start from Athens?
Greece tours from Athens cover the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, old town walks and Cape Sounion. The cape lies 69.5 km southeast of the city. Athens is the capital of the Attica region.
Greece tours in the capital begin at the Acropolis. The rock rises 150 m above sea level and covers about 3 ha. It became a cultural World Heritage Site in nineteen eighty-seven. The Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike are among the surviving structures on top. Athens has a recorded history of over 3,400 years.
Greece tours of the hill include the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Building began in 447 BC and ended in 438 BC, and work on the decoration went on until 432 BC. The temple measures 69.5 by 30.9 m. It is built of Pentelic marble under the supervision of Phidias.
Two smaller temples stand near it. The Erechtheion was built in Pentelic marble between about 421 and 406 BC. The small Temple of Athena Nike was finished between about 421 and 409 BC. Greece tours that cover the whole hill reach both of them.
Entry to the Acropolis is limited. A study by a body tied to the culture ministry found that the daily number of visitors cannot exceed 20,000. The total is divided into hourly zones from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The limit counts individuals and tour groups, so Greece tours share it.
The Acropolis Museum opened to the public on 20 June in two thousand nine. It stands by the southeastern slope of the hill, about 280 m from the Parthenon. Bernard Tschumi designed it, and his design won the fourth competition. Greece tours with a museum stop show you more than 4,250 objects across 14,000 square metres.
Parts of the museum floor are glass, so you see the excavations below. The Parthenon hall sits on the top level, and 48 columns in it mark the outline of the ancient temple. The surviving sculptures are mainly at this museum and at the British Museum in London. Greece tours reach the Athens share here.
Plaka lies on the northeast slope of the Acropolis, between Syntagma and Monastiraki squares. It is the oldest district of Athens, inhabited since the Neolithic. Anafiotika, with Cycladic architecture, was built by settlers from the island of Anafi. Walking Greece tours can link Plaka with Monastiraki, a flea market neighbourhood. Its metro station serves Lines 1 and 3.
The Ancient Agora lies northwest of the Acropolis. Its museum sits in the Stoa of Attalos, a stoa lined with shops built in the 2nd century BC. The Temple of Olympian Zeus stands about 500 m southeast of the hill. It had 104 columns, and 15 remain upright. Greece tours can pair the two.
Cape Sounion sits on the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula. The Temple of Poseidon went up in 444 to 440 BC, during the rise of the statesman Pericles. Of its 34 original columns, 15 still stand. Greece tours to the cape cover 69.5 km. Read more on how to travel in Greece.
Which Greece tours go to Delphi and the Peloponnese?
Greece tours to Delphi and the Peloponnese stop at Delphi, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Ancient Corinth and Olympia. Nafplio adds a harbour town. Delphi lies approximately 2.5 hours from Athens by intercity bus, while Olympia takes approximately 4 to 4.5 hours.
Greece tours that reach Delphi take you to a sacred precinct on the southwestern slope of Mount Parnassus. The Pythia was the major oracle, consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The ruins of the Temple of Apollo that you see today date from the fourth century BC. UNESCO recognizes the precinct as a World Heritage Site.
Greece tours also climb to the Delphi theatre, which held approximately 4,500 spectators. The stadium seated 6,500 people, and its track was 177 metres long. The museum houses artifacts from the site, including the earliest known notation of a melody. The Tholos, a circular building from 380 to 360 BC, stands approximately 800 metres from the main ruins.
On Greece tours, Arachova is the mountain town beside Delphi, 8 km to the east. It sits on the southern slope of Mount Parnassus at about 970 metres. The town is known for colourful textiles, carpets and woodcut creations. Its Formaela cheese holds a protected designation of origin.
Greece tours cross into the north-eastern Peloponnese for Mycenae, near Mykines in Argolis. The site lies about 120 kilometres south-west of Athens and 11 kilometres north of Argos. The main entrance through the circuit wall is the Lion Gate. UNESCO added Mycenae to the World Heritage List together with Tiryns.
Epidaurus is a stop on Greece tours for its theatre, designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the fourth century BC. The theatre seats up to 14,000 people and has long had a reputation for exceptional acoustics. Epidaurus is known for its healing sanctuary, the asclepieion. UNESCO lists the sanctuary and the theatre.
Nafplio is a harbour town on the Peloponnese route of Greece tours. It served as the first official capital of the modern Greek state. Bourtzi, a fortress, stands in the middle of the harbour. Palamidi castle sits at the city’s highest point, and Acronauplia is the oldest part of the city.
Greece tours to Ancient Corinth show the Doric Temple of Apollo. Acrocorinth, a rock, was occupied from archaic times to the early 19th century. Paul the Apostle lived in Corinth for eighteen months. The Corinth Canal separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece and is 6,343 metres long.
Greece tours to Olympia reach the site of the first Olympic festival. The authorities of Elis organized it in the eighth century BC. The Temple of Zeus dates from the mid fifth century BC.
Pheidias sculpted its statue of Zeus, which ancient writers counted among the Seven Wonders. The Olympic flame is lit by sunlight in front of the Temple of Hera.
Bus times from Athens decide day trip versus multi-day on Greece tours. Nafplio and Delphi take 2.5 hours or less. Olympia takes 4 to 4.5 hours, so plan it as its own day or an overnight stay. Mycenae lies 120 kilometres from Athens. Read each tour’s listed duration before you pick.
- Nafplio: approximately 1.5 to 2 hours by bus
- Delphi: approximately 2.5 hours by bus
- Olympia: approximately 4 to 4.5 hours by bus
Which Greece tours visit Meteora?
Greece tours visit Meteora, a group of monasteries on sandstone pillars in Thessaly. Builders set 24 monasteries on the rocks, and six are still open to visitors. UNESCO lists the site. Day trips start from Athens and from Thessaloniki.
Greece tours stop here for the setting. The rocks stand at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly, near the Pineios river and the Pindus Mountains. Monks lived in the caves of Meteora from the 11th century. The monasteries went up from the second half of the 14th century.
Greece tours that stop at Meteora visit a UNESCO site. UNESCO lists it as a mixed property under criteria i, ii, iv, v and vii. The six open monasteries are Great Meteoron, Varlaam, Roussanou, Holy Trinity, St. Stephen and St. Nicholas Anapausas. Four house men and two house women. Roussanou sits 484 metres above sea level.
Each monastery has a dress code. Men wear long trousers. Nobody wears a sleeveless top. Women wear a skirt or sarong and cover their shoulders. The entrances lend skirts. Staircases and paths cut into the rock lead up to the monasteries. Check this before you join any of the Greece tours here.
Each monastery closes one day a week from April to October. Great Meteoron closes on Tuesdays, Roussanou on Wednesdays, Holy Trinity on Thursdays and St. Stephen on Mondays. Varlaam and St. Nicholas Anapausas close on Fridays. Your day decides which monasteries you see on Greece tours.
The monasteries set their own hours and change them without notice. In summer Varlaam opens from 9 am to 4 pm and Holy Trinity from 10 am to 4 pm. Great Meteoron opens from 9:30 am to 3 pm. St. Stephen closes from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Arrive inside these hours on any of the Greece tours.
Kalambaka lies at the foot of the Meteora massif and has 8,573 residents. The town has an Information Tourist Center. Kastraki is a village on the west side of the massif, and it sits closest to the rocks. Greece tours with a local start offer hotel pick-up in Kalambaka or Kastraki.
From Athens the drive takes about 4 hours, and the bus takes about 5 hours. A private transfer takes 3 hours 30 minutes. Thessaloniki has bus routes to Trikala. From Thessaloniki a private transfer takes 3 hours. Day trip Greece tours from Athens travel by road.
Seeing all six monasteries takes two days for a completionist. Visitors see between 2 and 4 in one day. A two-day plan puts a hotel night in Kalambaka or Kastraki. A local site lists a 3-hour sunset hike to the hermit caves. When you compare two-day Greece tours, look at which village the hotel night uses.
The area has more than 20 km of trails, largely unmarked. A map project links 14 interconnected trails. A stone-paved trail climbs from Kalambaka to Holy Trinity, with about 470 metres of elevation gain. A stone path passes hermit caves on the way to Great Meteoron and Varlaam. Greece tours with a hike add this on foot.
Which Greece tours explore Santorini and the Cyclades?
Greece tours cover the Santorini caldera, volcano and hot springs boat trips, catamaran cruises, Mykonos, Delos and Naxos. Fast ferries from Piraeus reach Mykonos in 2 hours 40 minutes and Naxos in 3 hours 15 minutes.
Santorini lies about 200 km southeast of the mainland and has 15,480 residents. The island is the result of repeated volcano building followed by caldera collapse. Greece tours centre on this caldera. The Minoan eruption left it, ringed by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep.
Boat trips on Greece tours land you on Nea Kameni, a small uninhabited island of volcanic origin. You climb a gravel path to the crater top. Nearby Palea Kameni has a hot spring, and you can swim to it from Nea Kameni. The last small eruption pushed out a lava dome.
Oia sits on the north west edge of Santorini. Its houses and restaurants are built into niches carved into the caldera cliff. Oia gives Greece tours views of the sunset over the caldera. A ruined castle crowns Oia, once the seat of the Argyri family under the Venetians. Fira is the seat of the island.
Akrotiri developed into one of the Aegean’s major Bronze Age ports. The Theran eruption buried it in volcanic ash, which preserved its fine frescoes. Archaeologists found three-storey buildings there. Its frescoes matter for the study of Minoan art. No unburied human skeletons have been found there. Greece tours to Akrotiri show you a Bronze Age settlement.
Santorini has a small wine industry based on the native Assyrtiko grape. The soils are poor and made of volcanic ash and rocks. Growers train the vines low to the ground in a basket shape. This protects the grapes from fierce winds and heat. Greece tours with wine tasting let you try this grape.
One sunset catamaran cruise lasts 4.5 to 5 hours. It heads to Red Beach and White Beach, two volcanic beaches. The boat anchors just before sunset and returns to Ammoudi Bay. A full day catamaran trip lasts 7 hours and visits the volcano, Thirasia and Oia. Greece tours by catamaran sail the caldera.
Mykonos lies 150 kilometres east of Athens and covers 85.5 square kilometres. Delos is only 2 km away, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Delos is the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. Seven marble lions remain on its Terrace of the Lions. Greece tours to Mykonos add a boat trip to Delos.
Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades. Its landmark is the Portara, the gate of the Temple of Apollo. Milos is of volcanic origin, and its Sarakiniko coast has white rock shaped by wind and water. A Greek farmer found the Venus de Milo on Milos. Greece tours reach all three.
The ferry from Athens to Santorini takes between 4 hours 50 minutes and 11 hours 30 minutes. The flight from Athens to Mykonos takes 25 minutes, and ferries to Mykonos run daily all year. Naxos has up to 7 daily crossings from Piraeus, and Milos takes 2.5 to 7 hours. Greece tours use these routes.
Which Greece tours cover Crete?
Greece tours on Crete cover Knossos, Chania, Rethymno, Balos, the Samaria Gorge, Spinalonga, Elafonisi and the Lasithi Plateau. Crete is the largest island in Greece. It is also the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Greece tours from Heraklion begin at Knossos, the largest centre of the Minoan civilisation. Arthur Evans began large-scale excavations there. He called one room the throne room of King Minos, but scholars still debate what the room was for. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum holds the Phaistos Disc in Room III and snake goddess figurines in Room IV.
Greece tours in the west stop in Chania and Rethymno. Chania lies on the north-west coast, and its old town sits next to the old Venetian harbour. Rethymno is the capital of its own regional unit. Venice built its old town almost entirely, and its Fortezza is a well-preserved Venetian citadel.
Greece tours to the north-west reach Balos and Gramvousa. Gramvousa is two small uninhabited islands off a peninsula in north-western Crete. The Balos lagoon lies between the island and the coast of Crete. The fort on Imeri Gramvousa is Venetian. Cretan insurgents held it in the Greek War of Independence and survived by piracy.
Greece tours that cover the Samaria Gorge fill a whole day. The main path inside the gorge is 13 km. Another 3 km lead from the south entrance to Agia Roumeli. The official site says an average walk takes 6 to 7 hours. No overnight stay is permitted in the national park.
Greece tours to eastern Crete include Spinalonga, an island in the Gulf of Elounda. Around 750 m of water separates it from the village of Plaka. Venice laid the foundation stone of its fortifications. The island later held a leper colony, and the last lepers were moved to Attica. It has been uninhabited since its last resident, a priest, left.
Greece tours into the mountains cross the Lasithi Plateau. It lies at an average altitude of 840 m. It stretches 11 km east to west and 6 km north to south. Its white-sailed windmills were used for irrigation. The Diktaean Cave lies in the Dikti mountains near the village of Psychro. Greek mythology names it the birthplace of Zeus.
Greece tours to the south-west end at Elafonisi, an island close to the south-western corner of Crete. It belongs to the municipality of Kissamos. Its beaches have pink sand, and the island is a protected nature reserve. When the weather is fine, you can walk to the island through shallow water.
Greece tours on Crete also cover food. Olive oil was the main supply of fat in the Cretan diet. Cooks used it in salads and in cooking. Dakos salad and graviera cheese are Cretan appetizers. Tsikoudia is a Cretan drink, and rakomelo and Cretan wine share its list of drinks.
Distances set the plan for Greece tours on Crete. These are the sourced figures:
- Knossos lies about 5 km south of the historic centre of Heraklion.
- Chania lies 145 km west of Heraklion.
- Crete spans 260 km from east to west and is about 60 km wide at its widest point.
- Near Ierapetra the island narrows to 12 km.
- Both Heraklion and Chania have an airport that serves international travellers.
Which Greece tours sail the Ionian and Dodecanese islands?
Greece tours cover the Ionian Islands from Corfu, Paxos, Zakynthos and Kefalonia, and the Dodecanese from Rhodes, Symi and Kos. Boat trips reach Paxos, Antipaxos, the Blue Caves and Navagio beach. UNESCO lists the old towns of Corfu and Rhodes.
In the west, Greece tours run through the Ionian Islands region, which lies in the Ionian Sea. Corfu is its capital and has the largest population of the major islands. UNESCO lists the old town of Corfu as a World Heritage site. Powerful Venetian fortifications withstood sieges there, and the Liston esplanade now has upscale restaurants.
Greece tours to Paxos cross a short sea gap. Paxos lies about 15 km from the southern tip of Corfu. Antipaxos lies about 3 km south of Paxos. The group is called Paxi or Paxoi. A day cruise from Corfu adds the Blue Caves. Ferry lines also reach Gaios on Paxos from Igoumenitsa and Corfu.
Greece tours to Paxos meet an island of 25.3 square kilometres, the smallest of the seven main Ionian Islands. Steep cliffs on its west coast harbour blue caves. Gaios is the capital, with Lakka and Longos on the coast. Antipaxos covers 5 square kilometres, is largely covered in vineyards and has 21 residents.
Navagio is a stop on Greece tours of Zakynthos. It is a cove on the northwest shore, isolated by high cliffs and reached only by boat. The cove is also called Shipwreck Beach. The ship, the MV Panagiotis, still rests buried in the limestone gravel of the beach.
Greece tours of Zakynthos pair Navagio with the Blue Caves. The caves are carved into the cliffs around Cape Skinari. Zakynthos covers 405.55 square kilometres, and Kefalonia lies 15 km to the north. A ferry links the port of Zakynthos to Kyllini on the mainland. The airport lies 4.3 km from Zakynthos town.
Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian Islands, at 773 square kilometres. Greece tours there stop at Myrtos beach, a mile-and-a-half arc of white pebbles in the northwest. Melissani is a cave and cenote northwest of Sami, with a lake among trees. Ferries run from Poros to Kyllini and from Sami to Patras and Ithaca.
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and Greece tours there centre on its medieval city. UNESCO lists the Medieval City of Rhodes as a World Heritage site. The Knights Hospitaller built the high town inside a wall 4 km long. Their Palace of the Grand Master is now a museum.
Symi lies about 24 km north of Rhodes, and Greece tours reach it on a day cruise. The island covers 65.754 square kilometres. Mansions from the mid-19th-century boom line the slopes above Gialos harbour. Panormitis monastery draws visitors worldwide. A ferry company based in Rhodes runs a line from Rhodes through Symi and Kos to Kalymnos.
Kos measures 42.1 by 11.5 km, and Greece tours there see the ruins of the Asklepieion. Hippocrates is thought to have been born on Kos. The island also has the fortified castle of Nerantzia and Kos International Airport. If you plan more than one stop, read about Greek island travel.
When do Greece tours run, and what do you plan first?
Plan the travel month first. Athens has a mean daily high of 34.3 °C in July and August. In January it is 13.3 °C, so Greece tours feel very different by season. After the month, check the island ferries, the heat closures and the entry rules.
Spring and autumn bring milder heat to Athens, and Greece tours in those months meet lower numbers. April has a mean daily high of 21.1 °C and a low of 12.3 °C. October reaches 24.4 °C and 16.2 °C. September is warmer, with a high of 30.6 °C and a low of 20.4 °C.
Summer Greece tours run in real heat. June has a mean daily high of 31.6 °C in Athens. July and August both reach 34.3 °C, with lows of 24.2 °C and 24.4 °C. Wikipedia adds that tourism in Greece peaks across the five months ending in September, when approximately 75% of visits happen.
Winter Greece tours face cooler days. Athens has a mean daily high of 13.3 °C in January and 14.2 °C in February. The January low is 7.1 °C. The mean daily high over the whole year is 23.3 °C. Set itineraries with fixed dates are listed on our Greece package travel page.
Islands have their own numbers, so check them before you book island Greece tours. Santorini has a mean daily high of 14.3 °C in January, 30.1 °C in July and 30.2 °C in August. Citing the National Observatory of Athens, Wikipedia calls the climate hot semi-arid, with dry summers and relatively wetter winters.
The meltemi is a summer wind. Wikipedia says it blows periodically for about four months, ending in mid-September. The winds can blow at force 7 to 8 on the Beaufort scale. Read the wind forecast before any boat-based Greece tours.
Heat can interrupt Greece tours to ancient sites. In one June heat wave, the Culture Ministry closed the Acropolis from midday to 5 p.m. Other sites in the capital shut during the same hours. Temperatures exceeded 40 °C. Visitors booked for the closed hours were allowed to use their tickets later, until the sites closed at 8 p.m.
Ferries link the mainland to the islands, and the season changes the choice. A Ferryhopper Cyclades schedule lists Piraeus to Paros, Syros, Naxos, Milos, Tinos, Santorini and Mykonos as daily, January to December. Rafina to Tinos and Mykonos is also daily all year. Add these routes to Greece tours with an island stay.
Other ferry routes run only in season. The same schedule lists Rafina to Paros and Rafina to Naxos from April to October. Rafina to Santorini runs from June to October, on 1 to 2 days a week. Lavrio to Mykonos runs in July and August only. Match your Greece tours dates to these windows.
Greece is a Schengen Area state. The EU border-crossing page names a rule of 90 days per period of 180 days. ETIAS is an electronic visitor authorisation valid for 3 years, and Wikipedia lists Greece among its 30 states. Check the official EU travel site for the current ETIAS start date before Greece tours.
Which Turkey tours start from Istanbul?
Turkey tours from Istanbul centre on Sultanahmet. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace stand close together there. Add the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and a Bosphorus cruise, and you have the full city programme.
Turkey tours in Istanbul revolve around Sultanahmet, a neighbourhood in the Fatih district. If you plan to travel in Turkey, this is where the old city sights sit side by side. The next paragraphs take them one at a time.
Hagia Sophia is the first stop on city Turkey tours. The Byzantine emperor Justinian I built the current structure, with Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles as architects. Its dome is among the first fully pendentive domes. The Council of State annulled the museum decision, and the building was reclassified as a mosque.
The status change altered the visit. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism separated the entrances for worshippers and foreign visitors. Foreign visitors pay an entrance fee. Turkey tours plan around prayer times and dress appropriately. Cheap disposable headscarves are sold outside. Check the ministry pages on the day you go.
The Blue Mosque is a working mosque, so Turkey tours schedule it around prayer times. You dress appropriately and step into the prayer hall without shoes. Entry costs nothing. Inside, 21,043 tiles show over fifty designs, and the mosque is one of five in Turkey with six minarets.
Justinian I also built the Basilica Cistern, an underground chamber from the sixth century. It measures about 138 metres by 65 metres and holds 336 marble columns, each 9 metres high. Turkey tours reach it on foot, because it lies 150 metres southwest of Hagia Sophia. Two column bases reuse blocks carved with the face of Medusa.
Mehmed the Conqueror ordered Topkapi Palace, and building began six years after he took Constantinople. Seen from above, the grounds hold four main courtyards and the harem. The Imperial Treasury keeps jewelry and heirlooms of the Ottoman dynasty. Turkey tours explain that Topkapi was the administrative centre until Dolmabahce Palace was finished. A government decree turned it into a museum.
The Grand Bazaar has 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on 30,700 square metres. It is open every day except Sundays and bank holidays. The Spice Bazaar in Eminonu is smaller, with 85 shops selling spices, Turkish delight, dried fruits and nuts. Turkey tours that visit both cover two very different markets.
A Bosphorus cruise shows Istanbul from the water. It is 31 km long and links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It forms one of the borders between Asia and Europe. The Dolmabahce and Yildiz palaces stand on or near its shores, so Turkey tours by boat pass them. Two suspension bridges and a cable-stayed bridge cross it.
An old city walking tour links the cluster on foot. The Obelisk of Theodosius, brought from Egypt, still stands where Theodosius placed it in the Hippodrome. For a half day, Turkey tours can stay inside Sultanahmet with the mosque, the cistern and Hagia Sophia. A full day adds the palace and the bazaars.
Which Turkey tours visit Gallipoli and Troy?
Turkey tours reach Gallipoli and Troy in the northwest of the country. Gallipoli holds the battlefields and memorials of the First World War. Troy is a UNESCO World Heritage site near Çanakkale. A day trip from Istanbul takes 14 to 16 hours, so an overnight stay is easier.
Turkey tours to Gallipoli cover the First World War campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The plan aimed to expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by warships. The campaign left about 250,000 casualties on each side. The peninsula lies in Thrace, with the Aegean Sea on the west and the Dardanelles on the east.
The Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park covers over 33,000 hectares. Turkey tours that enter it reach Anzac Cove, a small cove about 600 metres long. Australian and New Zealand troops landed there on 25 April. The cove then served as their main base for about eight months.
Lone Pine is the site of a battle fought between 6 and 10 August. The attack was a diversion from the main August offensive. It left 2,277 Australians killed or wounded. Turkey tours can stop at the Lone Pine memorial, the main Australian and New Zealand memorial at Gallipoli. The Lone Pine cemetery holds 1,167 graves.
Chunuk Bair was part of the August fighting. British Empire and New Zealand troops took the summit early on 8 August. An Ottoman counter-attack led by Mustafa Kemal retook it. Turkey tours also reach the Çanakkale Martyrs’ Memorial. It is 41.70 metres high and honours about 253,000 Turkish soldiers.
Çanakkale sits on the southern shore of the Dardanelles, at the strait’s narrowest point. The strait is 61 km long and 1.2 to 6 km wide. For Turkey tours, the crossing is short: the direct ferry from Çanakkale to Eceabat takes 25 minutes. Eceabat is the nearest town to the battlefield sites.
Troy lies in present-day Çanakkale Province. Turkey tours to Troy visit Hisarlık, a site open to the public. Archaeologists have identified nine layers there, numbered Troy I, the earliest, to Troy IX, the latest. Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann excavated the hill, and UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage site.
A 15-metre wooden horse of pine timber stands at the entrance of Tevfikiye village, and visitors can enter it. Turkey tours to Troy sit close to the Troy Museum in the same village. The museum is about 800 metres east of the site. It holds more than 40,000 artefacts, and 2,000 are on display.
The road between Çanakkale and Istanbul is 318 km, which takes 5 hours including the ferry crossing. Turkey tours from Istanbul therefore spend hours on the road. Allow an hour for the ferry itself, with the wait. Troy lies about 30 km south of Çanakkale, a drive of about 30 minutes.
A day trip covers both places, but it takes 14 to 16 hours. Two days give you time at each site. Exploring the battlefields without a private car is not easy, so Turkey tours handle the transport for you. Minibuses run from Çanakkale to Troy, so you can also split the two sites over two days.
Which Turkey tours go to Cappadocia?
Turkey tours to Cappadocia cover the Göreme rock churches and the underground cities Kaymakli and Derinkuyu. They also visit Uçhisar castle, Avanos pottery and the valleys. The balloon flights rise at dawn from the valleys around Göreme.
Turkey tours start in Göreme, where the Open Air Museum sits 1 km east of the town. The area belongs to a UNESCO World Heritage Site named Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia. Wikipedia says the Göreme complex contains more than 30 churches and chapels carved from rock.
On Turkey tours you step inside churches cut into the stone. By 842, underground churches there were richly decorated with coloured paintings. The Dark Church, called Karanlık Kilise, was a monastic compound built in the 11th century. Its frescoes are described as a unique artistic achievement of that period.
Turkey tours also explain the landscape. The soft stone is tuff, made from ash that volcanoes threw out millions of years ago. It hardened into rock. Wind and water erosion then shaped the fairy chimneys. Uçhisar and Ortahisar are built of harder volcanic rock layers. The area also holds ignimbrites of Miocene age.
Uçhisar castle appears on Turkey tours as a 60-metre-high rock formation. It is called a castle, but it is a natural rock that you can see from far away. The town lies 7 km east of Nevşehir and 10 km south of Avanos. The castle offers views from its summit. The town stands at 1,270 m above sea level.
Turkey tours include short valley walks. Pigeon Valley is the canyon between Uçhisar and Göreme, named for the pigeon coops cut into its walls. The walk takes around two hours. The Red Valley holds the Üzümlü Church and St. Agentangeus Church. The hoodoo landscape starts at Paşabağ valley, also called Monks Valley.
Avanos is the pottery stop on Turkey tours. The town lies 18 km north of Nevşehir, on the banks of the Kızılırmak, or Red River. It is the longest river of Turkey. Pottery production is the key industry in Avanos, and the potters use clay from the red silt of that river.
Turkey tours go underground at Kaymakli and Derinkuyu. Christians dug a share of Cappadocia’s underground cities for protection during the Arab raids. Derinkuyu reaches approximately 85 metres deep and sheltered up to 20,000 people. Archaeologists have found more than 600 tunnel entrances. Kaymakli lies about 19 km from Nevşehir, and four of its floors are open to tourists.
Balloon flights are the other highlight of Turkey tours here. Between 100 and 150 balloons rise at dawn from the valleys around Göreme. The flight lasts approximately one hour. Balloons fly only within strict Civil Aviation Authority wind speed limits, so unsafe wind cancels a flight. Operators then offer a full refund or a new date.
Turkey tours reach Cappadocia through two airports. Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport is 30 km north of Nevşehir town. Kayseri Erkilet Airport is 70 km east of Göreme. Both have direct domestic flights from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Turkish Airlines flies to Istanbul Airport, and AJet flies to Sabiha Gökçen. Overnight coaches from Istanbul take 10 to 11 hours.
Which Turkey tours visit Ephesus and the Aegean coast?
Turkey tours on the Aegean coast centre on Ephesus, the Roman city near Selcuk. Day trips start from Kusadasi and Izmir, and longer routes add Pergamon, Didyma, Priene and Miletus. Ephesus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Turkey tours to Ephesus show you the Library of Celsus. Builders began it around the year one hundred and twenty-five in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus. He was a former governor of Roman Asia. His son largely completed it. The library once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. Sources give the Great Theatre room for 24,000 to 25,000 spectators.
The Terrace Houses at Ephesus are six luxury Roman residences built on three terraces. Visitors on Turkey tours see mosaic floors and frescoed walls. The oldest house dates to the first century BC. The Temple of Artemis once stood among the Seven Wonders. Today it is represented only by one inconspicuous column.
The House of the Virgin Mary stands on Mount Koressos, called Bulbuldagi in Turkish. It lies about 7 km from Selcuk. Turkey tours to this shrine meet Christian and Muslim pilgrims. A ceremony is held there on August 15. Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI each visited.
Tradition says Saint John brought Mary to this stone house. The Catholic Church has never ruled on whether it is authentic. Selcuk is the town beside Ephesus. Turkey tours in the area also reach Sirince. This village lies about 8 km east of Selcuk and about 8 km from Ephesus. Its farms produce olive oil, peaches and wine.
Kusadasi is a large resort town on the Aegean coast, in Aydin Province. It is a port of call for cruise ships, which makes it a base for Turkey tours to Ephesus. Cesme sits at the westernmost end of Turkey, about 85 km west of Izmir. Cesme Castle dominates the town. Sultan Bayezid II extended and strengthened it.
Izmir ranks third among Turkish cities by population, after Istanbul and Ankara. In classical times it was called Smyrna. The Agora of Smyrna is well preserved. Kadifekale is the present name of Mount Pagos. Turkey tours from Izmir can head north to Pergamon, whose acropolis sits on a mesa 335 metres high.
Pergamon has a healing shrine, the Asclepieion, about 3 km south of the acropolis. The doctor Galen worked there. Its library held at least 200,000 scrolls. The theatre is 36 metres high and holds about 10,000 people. The frieze of the Pergamon Altar is now in Berlin. Turkey tours to Pergamon cover a UNESCO site.
Didyma held the Temple of Apollo and its oracle. Its Ionic columns were 19.70 metres high. A Sacred Way of about 20 km linked Didyma to Miletus, home of the thinker Thales. Priene lies below Mount Mycale, and Alexander the Great funded its Temple of Athena Polias. Turkey tours on this route take in all three.
The Book of Revelation names seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Turkey tours on the Seven Churches route follow these cities. Revelation 1:11 lists them in that order. All seven lie in present-day Turkey.
Which Turkey tours visit Pamukkale and Hierapolis?
Pamukkale and Hierapolis share one UNESCO World Heritage listing. Turkey tours reach them from Denizli, 20 km away. Long road trips start in Antalya, Fethiye, Kusadasi, Izmir and Bodrum. The terraces are white travertine, and the ancient city stands on top of them.
Turkey tours begin at the terraces of Pamukkale, a natural site in Denizli Province. The name means cotton castle in Turkish. The travertine formation is about 2,700 metres long, 600 metres wide and 160 metres high. You can see it from the hills on the far side of the valley, near Denizli.
On Turkey tours you walk beside pools fed by 17 hot springs. The water runs from 35 to 100 degrees Celsius. At the surface, carbon dioxide leaves the water and calcium carbonate settles. That deposit hardens into travertine. Authorities regulate the water flow and close sections from time to time so the rock can recover.
On Turkey tours you cross the open terraces barefoot, because shoes are not allowed on the travertine. You carry them. The Antique Pool, also called Cleopatra’s Pool, is a separate swim among sunken marble columns. Swimming there costs an extra entry fee on top of the site ticket.
Hierapolis was built on top of the travertine, and Turkey tours walk through it as well. The theatre has a capacity of 15,000. The necropolis stretches over 2 kilometres on both sides of the old road and holds about 1,200 tombs. The museum fills three halls of the old bath buildings.
At the Temple of Apollo on Turkey tours, only the foundations remain. Beside it lies the Plutonium, a small cave where carbon dioxide gas rises from underground. Behind it, fast-flowing hot water runs through a deep cleft in the rock. Ancient writers such as Strabo and Cassius Dio described it. In the fourth century, Christians filled this gate with stones.
Laodicea adds a second ancient city to Turkey tours in the area. It lies 6.6 kilometres north of Denizli, a 15-minute drive from Pamukkale. Its ruins include a stadium, baths, temples, a gymnasium and two theatres. The west theatre held 8,000 spectators and stayed in use until the seventh century.
Turkey tours also go to Aphrodisias, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It lies near the village of Geyre, about 100 kilometres inland from the Aegean coast. An inscription on the Sebasteion names Aphrodite, the Divine Augusti and the people. The stadium measures about 270 by 60 metres and had room for around 30,000 spectators.
Denizli is the base for Turkey tours in this region. The city has 691,783 people. It lies 18 km south of Pamukkale, a 20-minute drive. One way by road, the other starting points are:
- Fethiye: 200 km, 3.5 hours
- Antalya: 221 km, 3.5 hours
- Kusadasi: 225 km, 4 hours
- Izmir: 270 km, 4 hours
- Bodrum: 310 km, 5.5 hours
Flights shorten the trip for Turkey tours that start in Istanbul. Pegasus Airlines and Turkish Airlines fly nonstop to Denizli Çardak Airport, and each flight takes one hour. The airport lies 71 km from Pamukkale, so plan the transfer. The General Directorate of State Airports runs it.
Which Turkey tours run from Antalya, Bodrum and the Turquoise Coast?
Turkey tours from Antalya, Bodrum and Fethiye visit Roman ruins, a Hospitaller castle, wooden gulet boats and Lycian rock tombs. Antalya sits on Anatolia’s southwest coast, flanked by the Taurus Mountains. Perge lies 15 kilometres east of the city, and Termessos lies 17 kilometres to the north-west.
Turkey tours in Antalya start in Kaleiçi, the old centre, with narrow cobbled streets and Ottoman-era houses. The Romans built Hadrian’s Gate in the second century to honour the Emperor Hadrian. The Düden river drops 40 metres into the Mediterranean Sea at the Lower Düden Waterfall.
Turkey tours also go to Perge. The ruins lie in Antalya Province on the southwestern Mediterranean coast. Excavations there found a theatre, a stadium, a palaestra, a temple of Artemis and two churches. The Hellenistic walls date from the third century BC and had three gates. The south gate has two towers, each three storeys high, with conical roofs.
Turkey tours reach Aspendos, where the Greek architect Zenon built a theatre in the year 155. It provided seating for 7,000 people. In the 13th century the stage building became a palace. The Turkish State Opera and Ballet organises the annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival there.
Termessos is another stop on Turkey tours from Antalya. The city stands at an altitude of about 1,000 metres. Alexander the Great likened it to an eagle’s nest and failed to conquer it. It lies inside Mount Güllük-Termessos National Park. The theatre sits immediately east of the agora.
Turkey tours visit Side, a city on the southern Mediterranean coast. Its ancient core sits on a small peninsula about 1 km long. The Temple of Apollo stands at the end of that peninsula. A boat trip goes to Suluada, an uninhabited island 7 to 8 kilometres from Adrasan beach. Camping is not permitted there.
Turkey tours in Bodrum centre on Bodrum Castle, also called the Castle of St. Peter. The Knights of St John built it in the 15th century. Today it holds the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, with finds from the Uluburun shipwreck. Ancient Bodrum was Halicarnassus, home of the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders. Only its foundations remain.
Turkey tours by sea use the gulet, a traditional wooden boat. A Blue Cruise is a voyage along the Turkish Riviera. You can start in Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye or Antalya. Göcek lies between Fethiye and Dalyan and is a start and end point for Blue Cruises. The town has six significant marinas.
Turkey tours around Fethiye reach Ölüdeniz, known for its beach spit and the Blue Lagoon. Paragliding is available from nearby Mount Babadağ. Butterfly Valley is in the Fethiye district. Saklıkent Gorge is 300 metres deep and 18 kilometres long. It lies about 50 kilometres from Fethiye.
Turkey tours from Dalyan show Lycian tombs cut from rock above the river cliffs. Kaunos was an ancient trading city that lost its port when the delta silted up. It has six rock tombs on the Dalyan river, dating from the fourth to the second century BC. Briton Kate Clow conceived the Lycian Way, which starts at Hisarönü near Fethiye.
Which season suits Turkey tours, and what do you check first?
Turkey tours cross four climates: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya and the Aegean coast. The average January temperature runs from 0.0 °C in Nevşehir to 9.8 °C in Antalya. Plan your passport and e-Visa first, then pick the season for your region.
Istanbul has a temperate climate with strong sea influence. For Turkey tours there, the Turkish State Meteorological Service averages are 5.9 °C in January and 23.7 °C in July. Summer daytime temperatures average about 28 °C. Sea-effect snowstorms with more than 30 centimetres of snow happen almost every year.
Cappadocia has a continental climate, so Turkey tours there meet cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Nevşehir averages 0.0 °C in January and 22.2 °C in July. The average January night low is -3.5 °C. The town sits at 1,224 metres above sea level. Rain falls through the year, with a slight peak in spring.
Antalya has hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Turkey tours on this coast meet averages of 9.8 °C in January and 28.9 °C in July. The city gets nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. The sea runs from 16 °C in winter to 27 °C in summer. Night frost happens in winter, but snow is very rare.
The Aegean coast follows the same Mediterranean pattern. İzmir has very hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. It averages 9.0 °C in January and 28.6 °C in July, with a January night low of 6.0 °C. Bodrum averages 11.5 °C and 29.0 °C. For Turkey tours there, Bodrum’s average July high is 35.2 °C.
Turkey marks Ramazan Bayrami as a three-day public holiday and Kurban Bayrami as a four-day one. Each also has a half day on the afternoon before. Check these dates before you book Turkey tours. The Islamic year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, so the dates shift every year.
Non-Muslim visitors can enter any mosque in Turkey, but strict rules apply. Turkey tours enter mosques between prayers. You wear long trousers and take off your shoes. Women cover their heads. Do not photograph people who are praying, talk loudly or wear a cross.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs the e-Visa site, evisa.gov.tr. The form takes about three minutes, and you pay the fee online. An e-Visa is valid only for tourism or commerce. Your passport must run 60 days past your allowed stay: 150 days for a 90-day stay. The ministry advises six months of validity for Turkey tours.
The national Museum Pass Turkey covers more than 300 museums run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It is valid for 15 days, counted in hours from your first entry. Regional passes run 5 days for Istanbul, 3 days for Cappadocia and 7 days for the Aegean. The sites and muze.gov.tr sell passes for Turkey tours.
Private bus companies link the cities of Turkey. Antalya Airport lies 13 km northeast of the city centre and has a Domestic Terminal beside Terminals 1 and 2. To compare transport and stops, read about package Turkey tours before you buy separate tickets.
How do you combine Greece tours and Turkey tours in one trip?
You combine Greece tours and Turkey tours with a short ferry from a Turkish port to a Greek island. A direct flight from Athens to Istanbul takes about one and a half hours. You book day tours for each country separately.
Bodrum to Kos is the shortest link. Kos lies across a 20-kilometre stretch of the Aegean Sea from Bodrum. A fast catamaran covers it in an average of 35 minutes. Five operators serve this line. The summer season has daily departures, and winter has one or two a day. Greece tours on Kos fit easily after Turkey tours around Bodrum.
Çeşme to Chios takes between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the operator. In summer every operator sails daily. Ertürk Lines runs car ferries all year from the central Çeşme port. In winter it is the only operator, with one departure a day. Turkey tours near Çeşme and Greece tours on Chios sit one short crossing apart.
Kuşadası to Samos is a 16-kilometre gap, and ferries run daily. The Sea Star catamaran reaches Vathy in 35 to 40 minutes and Pythagorion in about 60 minutes. Peak summer has morning departures every day. Kuşadası ends your Turkey tours on the Aegean coast, and Samos starts your Greece tours.
Marmaris to Rhodes takes 50 minutes to one hour, and the ferries also serve Symi. Fethiye to Rhodes takes about 90 minutes on a high-speed catamaran run by Tilos Travel. Its timetable covers 1 April to 31 October. Rhodes gives you Greece tours, while Marmaris and Fethiye give you Turkey tours.
Ayvalık to Lesbos takes about 72 minutes, and the fastest boat, run by Turyol, takes about 45 minutes. Turyol and İDO serve the route. Crossings are more frequent from June to September, and winter service is reduced. Lesbos adds Greece tours to a trip that already holds Turkey tours.
Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Sky Express list flights from Athens to Istanbul Airport. Pegasus lists Athens to Sabiha Gökçen. Turkish Airlines has its hub at Istanbul Airport, north of central Istanbul. One flight joins Greece tours in Athens to Turkey tours in Istanbul.
Every sea crossing is an international border crossing. Leaving Turkey, you clear exit immigration before you board. Arrive at the Turkish port at least 60 minutes before departure. In Rhodes you pass Greek passport control before you leave the terminal. Timetables change in bad weather, so check the live sailing before Greece tours or Turkey tours begin.
Use this two-week order, with one flight and one ferry:
- Days 1 to 4: Athens.
- Day 5: fly from Athens to Istanbul.
- Days 5 to 8: Istanbul.
- Days 9 to 11: Kuşadası.
- Day 12: ferry from Kuşadası to Samos.
- Days 12 to 14: Samos.
Book day tours by the country where you sleep. Kuşadası asks you to arrive 60 minutes early, and 90 minutes in July and August. Pick Greece tours for your nights in Athens and Samos. Pick Turkey tours for your nights in Istanbul and Kuşadası. Keep the ferry day free of tours, because passport control adds time.
What do travellers ask about Greece tours and Turkey tours?
How are Greece tours and Turkey tours booked on this site?
You pick a tour card on this site, then choose the date and group size in the GetYourGuide booking widget. The booking itself is made with GetYourGuide, not with this site.
Until the operator confirms it, the traveler has paid but holds no ticket. GetYourGuide sends the ticket to the traveler after confirmation. The steps are the same on every card, whether you choose among Greece tours or among Turkey tours.
Can you cancel Greece tours and Turkey tours?
Read the cancellation policy on each tour page before you book. GetYourGuide requires the page text to match the policy set for that tour. Cancellation wording in other text fields must agree with that policy.
If an operator submits a cancellation request for you, the GetYourGuide Care team contacts you first. The refund goes through only after you confirm. Each tour carries its own policy, in Greece tours and in Turkey tours alike.
What languages do Greece tours and Turkey tours offer?
Operators choose the languages a tour can be taken in, and the tour page shows them. When a tour runs in more than one language, GetYourGuide sets up each language as an option. The options sit inside the same listing, not on a separate page.
Operators write each listing in the language they selected for it. So you look for the language option on the tour page you like. The same setup applies to Greece tours and Turkey tours.
Are Greece tours and Turkey tours suitable for children and wheelchair users?
Check each tour page. The operator answers Yes or No to whether the activity is wheelchair accessible. At the Acropolis, a new variable angle lift with a 1,300 kg payload serves visitors with mobility disabilities.
The accessible routes there are now 500 metres long. The Acropolis Museum has ramps for wheelchairs and strollers at all entrances. It also has elevator access and toilets for people with disabilities on all floors.
What is the difference between a private tour and a small-group tour?
A private tour is one where only one group or person can take part in the activity. Operators set this for each option. A small-group tour has a group size of 1 to 10 people on every option.
The tour page shows the label “Small group” under “About this activity”. When an operator sets the options as private, the page shows “Private group”. It appears in addition to “Small group” or instead of it.
What happens if a tour is cancelled for weather?
GetYourGuide lists bad weather as a force majeure event, meaning an unforeseen event beyond the operator’s control. It says such events affect specific activities or categories. When the operator cancels a booking, GetYourGuide tells you by email and in the app.
You can pick a new date or take the full refund. If you make no choice within 2 days, the booking is cancelled. You then get a full refund and a confirmation email.