Turkey is one of the most fascinating destinations where east meets west. Expect bustling cities, ancient ruins, and beautiful beaches. From exploring Istanbul, to seeing the hot air balloons in Cappadocia to sailing the beautiful coastline, Turkey will leave you spellbound.
Best Turkey Tour Operators
Choose between overland, cultural and sailing tours and discover the highlights of Turkey.
Key Facts
Language: Turkish
Currency: Turkish Lira
Electricity: 230V
Dialing Code: +90
Highlights
- Exploring Istanbul seeing places like the Blue Mosque, markets, Topkapi Palace or taking a Bosphorus Boat Trip.
- Cappadocia and the Underground City
- Avanos Pottery Town
- Whirling Dervish Museum
- Kursunlu Waterfalls
- Pamukkale
- Aspendos Amphitheatre
- Gulet Cruise
- Olu Deniz and Blue Lagoon
- Follow the thousands of Aussies and Kiwis down to Gallipoli to pay your respects to fallen war heroes at the April 25th ANZAC Day ceremonies
Travel to Turkey
Turkey – part Asian and part European, is the land of crusaders and whirling dervishes, with foods flavoured with exotic spices, underground cities, and a beautiful Aegean coastline.
Most adventure tours start in the fascinating city of Istanbul where you can explore Topkapi Palace and take a boat ride on the Bosphorus.
Cappadocia, with its stunning scenery and weird rock formations, and underground cities and houses built inside caves, is an unmissable destination.
Learn the history of the Whirling Dervishes in Konya, and marvel at the Roman amphitheatre at Aspendos. On to the coast, you could spend nights on a traditional gulet, cruising the clear waters of the Mediterranean, with chances to explore lost cities and castles, and swim in beautiful bays.
A lot of organised small group tours give you time to relax at the spectacular Blue Lagoon Beach – sailing trips are available here and very popular during summer.
Tours of Turkey are great value for money especially compared to other countries in Europe.
Top Places to See in Turkey
Istanbul
Istanbul is one of the most visited destinations in Turkey, a city full of culture and noise that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. Exploring the Old City is like fog back in time whilst there are so many tourist attractions like the Roman-era Hippodrome, Egyptian obelisks, the Byzantine Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Istanbul is one of the best value for money city breaks in Europe.
Ankara
Ankara capital of Turkey and there are lots of attractions including the mausoleum of Ataturk – the founder of the Turkish Republic.
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is located in central Turkey, is famous for its landscape with underground cities, rock formations and balloons rides. This is one of the most Instagrammable places in the world.
A popular activity is to book a morning hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia to see the fascinating landscape which was formed by the lava thrown by Erciyes and Hasan Volcanoes over 3 million years ago.
You can also visit the many Monasteries and Goreme Chapels, excavated in the rocks and decorated with frescoes. A visit to the underground city of Ozkonak or Derinkuyu built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Arab attacks is popular.
During your stay in Cappadocia you will also usually have the possibility to participate in a folkloric dance show in a typical cave with regional drinks.
Ephesus
The Ephesus ruins, located south along the coast, near Kusadasi, are a popular stop on our Turkey tours. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city of Asia minor, later a Roman colonial capital and one of the largest cities of its time with as many as half a million inhabitants.
Look out for the 24,000-seater amphitheatre and the (now dry) harbour. You can also see important early Christian ruins here. If you’re here at the right time of year, you may witness camel-wrestling at nearby Selçuk.
Pamukkale
Pamukkale, which means “castle of cotton” in Turkish, isn’t a ruin, but at first glance you could mistake it for one.
Pamukkale is like a frozen waterfall, rising more than 100m above the plain at the head of the Menderes valley, and created from chalk deposited by a powerful hot spring from the hills. It’s a remarkable place and you can swim in the warm, mineral-rich water.
Until recent controls were put in, this extraordinary UNESCO world heritage geological site was itself in danger of being ruined by the huge numbers of visitors stomping all over it and the facilities built around it.
Turkey Sailing Tours
Crystal-clear waters, idyllic bays, charming fishing villages and mesmerising valleys – these are just some of the breathtaking sights which can be relished while exploring the Turkish coast.
Turkey has a similar cruise tour scene to Croatia, Greece and Italy on its coast, albeit smaller and less developed.
Our partner sailing companies takes young adventurers on affordable gulet (wooden yachts owned by locals!) cruises around the country.
Gulets accommodate up to 16 people, crew members and food are of the highest quality, but the trips have been made flexible for backpackers. Mid-week and weekend guaranteed departures are available to book, so travellers find our cruises often fit perfectly into their itineraries as they travel around Europe.
Adventure-seekers can also choose from four-day one-way trips, or seven-day returns, depending on their budget or time limit – all of which cover Turkey’s finest assets, including Butterfly Valley, Oludeniz beach, Kas and Olympos. Prices start from around a very affordable £155 per person.
On board, travellers can kick back and bask in the friendly, chill-axed atmosphere, where super helpful staff and delicious, authentic dishes round off the experience perfectly.